27-03-2013, 14:21
I would suggest that Baroness Benjamin's amendments do not widen the scope. At first glance, replacing 'pornographic' with 'adult content' might widen the scope significantly however, applying the 'harmful and offensive' test as per the Comms Act requires PROOF of harm for it to be enforced by the courts. As I've pointed out many times before, R18 is available for people to buy and take into their homes where young children might see it BECAUSE in 2000 the High Court ruled that "based on the available evidence a reasonable person would conclude that the risk to children from viewing adult sexual material is insignificant". Clearly, as far as the legal precedents are concerned, R18-type adult content is neither harmful nor offensive and is thus not considered obscene (i.e. "likely to corrupt and deprave").
The Government should be consulting with child sexual development specialists because as far as I'm aware great HARM is done to the normal development of children by denying them access to sexual knowledge and experiences and poisoning their minds with ideas like "porn is harmful" and "sex is dirty, disgusting and obscene". ALL studies show that children from sexually repressive backgrounds are more likely to develop deviant sexualities (e.g. paedophillia) later in life than those children from sexually open societies. The Government are doing the WRONG THING FOR ALL THE WRONG REASONS.
Sex is such a fundamental part of life itself that it is utterly impossible that the sight or sound of people having sex could "seriously impair the normal development of a minor". There is absolutely no evolutionary advantage in producing a creature that could be harmed by the knowledge, sight or sound of its own means of reproduction. There is no likelihood whatsoever that R18-type pornographic images might seriously impair the normal development of a child. Indeed, to develop into a healthy, rational, sexually mature adult, it is blatantly obvious that a growing child needs access to sexual knowledge and experiences. Moreover, only by routine exposure to sexually explicit material can the 'shock', 'disgust' and so-called 'offence' experienced by some immature, child-like, repressed 'adults' be overcome and a more reasoned and rational - i.e. NORMAL - reaction to images of sex and nudity be arrived at.
Through decades of totally unnecessary censorship (as confirmed by the High Court in 2000), the people of this nation have been FORCED into a state of pornographic hypersensitivity. None of the supposed 'harmful effects' of pornography have been witnessed in any of the sexually open, porn-accepting States around the world. Sex is a normal and necessary part of life. Sexual stimulation is thus a normal and necessary part of life. Pornography and sexually stimulating items have been a part of human existence for tens of thousands of years.
Masturbation is a normal and healthy way to relieve sexual tension amongst children and adults alike. Porn is simply a sex aid to masturbation and relief from sexual tension and thus a means for people to take control of their inherant sexual needs. Porn makes for SAFER, SEXUALLY MATURE, REASONABLE and RATIONAL societies - the benefits of porn clearly outweigh any and all unproven, indeed, disproven moralising concerns against it.
The Government should be consulting with child sexual development specialists because as far as I'm aware great HARM is done to the normal development of children by denying them access to sexual knowledge and experiences and poisoning their minds with ideas like "porn is harmful" and "sex is dirty, disgusting and obscene". ALL studies show that children from sexually repressive backgrounds are more likely to develop deviant sexualities (e.g. paedophillia) later in life than those children from sexually open societies. The Government are doing the WRONG THING FOR ALL THE WRONG REASONS.
Sex is such a fundamental part of life itself that it is utterly impossible that the sight or sound of people having sex could "seriously impair the normal development of a minor". There is absolutely no evolutionary advantage in producing a creature that could be harmed by the knowledge, sight or sound of its own means of reproduction. There is no likelihood whatsoever that R18-type pornographic images might seriously impair the normal development of a child. Indeed, to develop into a healthy, rational, sexually mature adult, it is blatantly obvious that a growing child needs access to sexual knowledge and experiences. Moreover, only by routine exposure to sexually explicit material can the 'shock', 'disgust' and so-called 'offence' experienced by some immature, child-like, repressed 'adults' be overcome and a more reasoned and rational - i.e. NORMAL - reaction to images of sex and nudity be arrived at.
Through decades of totally unnecessary censorship (as confirmed by the High Court in 2000), the people of this nation have been FORCED into a state of pornographic hypersensitivity. None of the supposed 'harmful effects' of pornography have been witnessed in any of the sexually open, porn-accepting States around the world. Sex is a normal and necessary part of life. Sexual stimulation is thus a normal and necessary part of life. Pornography and sexually stimulating items have been a part of human existence for tens of thousands of years.
Masturbation is a normal and healthy way to relieve sexual tension amongst children and adults alike. Porn is simply a sex aid to masturbation and relief from sexual tension and thus a means for people to take control of their inherant sexual needs. Porn makes for SAFER, SEXUALLY MATURE, REASONABLE and RATIONAL societies - the benefits of porn clearly outweigh any and all unproven, indeed, disproven moralising concerns against it.