Last week, the British Parliament quietly banned a whole lot of porn. New legislation now forbids a range of sexual acts in porn produced and distributed in the UK - from spanking and aggressive whipping, to face-sitting and even female ejaculation.
While legislators have framed the bill as a way to “protect minors”, many have rightfully attacked it as a form of censorship, in particular targeting female pleasure. The inclusion of female ejaculation on the list has made this case extremely clear. How, one asks, is it okay for men to have the pleasure of ejaculating, while women are denied the enjoyment? And how exactly does a woman ejaculating harm children?
Look more closely at this list however — along with the very similar list that exists in Australia — and the legislation becomes much more insidious. This is not just about denying women’s right to pleasure, but about denying their right to power.
“With this legislation, the UK is in danger of finding itself back in an age where porn is simply the boring, unrealistic, male fantasy of bimbos eagerly pleasing men as if it is their duty, where women are submissive and lack ownership of their sexuality.”
The banning of face-sitting is a perfect example. Face sitting is the act of one partner, often fully clothed, literally sitting on the face of another. It is often practiced, particularly in porn, by dominant females, or dominatrixes. As Itziar Bilbao Urrutia, a dominatrix who produces feminist porn describes: “its power is symbolic: woman on top, unattainable.”
These dynamics run throughout the sexual acts in the banned list. Spanking, caning, aggressive whipping, physical restraint and humiliation for example are all increasingly being used by dominant female performers to show their power over their male counterparts. Boutique and feminist porn production houses, which are growing in size and popularity, are increasingly using these acts to portray strong and powerful sexual women.
It is no wonder therefore that legislators have moved to ban these activities. In engaging in these acts, particularly in a public way, women are challenging a power system that has underpinned our society for centuries. Our capitalist society is based on a system of male domination over women. As men took control economically, they also did so domestically, subjugating women physically, economically and sexually.
While much of this subjugation has been challenged by feminist movements this culture and system is still dominant. One only needs to look at the ongoing horrific levels of sexual and domestic violence men perpetrate against women to see this. This violence is the horrific symbol of a culture of domination — a culture in which men are taught they have the right to control women sexually and physically however they please. A culture in which women are taught they must submit themselves to this dominance.
This is why the claim this legislation is about “protecting minors” is almost laughable. In banning these activities, this bill leaves porn to a mainstream depiction of male sexual domination. Award winning erotic film director, Erika Lust discusses the impact this bill will have on British porn:
“With this legislation, the UK is in danger of finding itself back in an age where porn is simply the boring, unrealistic, male fantasy of bimbos eagerly pleasing men as if it is their duty, where women are submissive and lack ownership of their sexuality.”
Mainstream pornography is designed to please men. It follows a basic formula: a women gives a man a blowjob, he fucks her and then he cums on her face. It is part of a culture that teaches men they have the right to pleasure whenever and however they want, and that it is the duty of women to provide that pleasure, no questions asked. And with children accessing porn at earlier ages, and often learning about sex directly through viewing porn, this is the culture they are being brought up in.
Instead of protecting children therefore this legislation actively harms them. It bans the porn that is challenging this system of domination, actively excluding alternative sexual practices and power systems from mainstream consciousness. In doing so it helps entrench a system of male domination, one that sees girls and women fall subject to physical and sexual violence on a daily basis.
Porn bans in the United Kingdom, and Australia, are not there to protect children. They are misogynistic attacks. They teach a standard of sex and sexuality that denies female pleasure and more importantly denies female power. These bans are not about protecting children, they are about oppressing women. The consequences will be real.
Simon Copland is a freelance writer and climate campaigner. He is a regular columnist for the Sydney Star Observer and blogs at The Moonbat.
