England's Extreme Pornography Act and BDSM

In just three days, a law will go into effect in England deeming that possession of extreme pornography is illegal. The Extreme Pornography Act goes into effect January 26, 2009. Due to the vagueness of the Extreme Pornography Act, many British people, particularly those involved in the BDSM lifestyle, are left baffled.

Definition of the Extreme Pornography Act

According to England's Ministry of Justice website, there are three criteria for an image to be deemed as extremely pornographic. First, it must be pornographic. Secondly, the pornographic image must be "grossly offensive, disgusting, or otherwise of an obscene character." Lastly, it must be realistically and/or explicitly depicting necrophilia (the act of having sexual intercourse with a corpse); bestiality (the act of having sexual intercourse with an animal); anything that is likely to cause "serious injury" to a person's breasts, genitals, or anus; or an act that threatens a person's life.

With the exception perhaps of necrophilia and bestiality, the last two qualifiers, causing serious injury to specified body parts or threatening a person's life, are rather vague in nature. Furthermore, the law states that it doesn't matter if these pornographic images are taken with or without the person's consent.

Neither "life threatening" nor "serious injury" is defined under the Extreme Pornography Act.

Extreme Pornography and the BDSM Community

First, let me state that the very foundation of BDSM (Bondage, Discipline, Domination, Submission, Sado-Masochism) play is based on the idea that all acts are "safe, sane and consensual." The BDSM community does not condone sexual acts that are not practiced in a safe, sane or consensual manner. However, several BDSM pornographic photographs could fall under the new Extreme Pornography Act.

For instance, it is not uncommon to see a Dominant and a female submissive enjoying 'needle play', in which several small needles are inserted into the female's breasts. Under the Extreme Pornography Act, these images may be illegal because it depicts a "serious injury to a person's breasts".

Another instance of a common BDSM act which might now fall under the Extreme Pornography Act is 'breath play' or erotic asphyxiation. Erotic asphyxiation is the act of constricting a person's breath to achieve sexual stimulation. While this reporter agrees that erotic asphyxiation is dangerous, images of such may now be deemed illegal because it shows "an act that threatens a person's life", whether the image is staged or not.

Photos of suspension bondage is another BDSM act which may be illegal under the Extreme Pornography Act because it depicts a person "hanging", which could be construed as being life threatening.

Pictures depicting knife play, or 'edge play' as it is sometimes called, may now be illegal under the Extreme Pornography Act. In the BDSM community, knife play is used to heighten sexual arousal by putting the submissive in a "dangerous" situation. Knife play is commonly used in conjunction with blindfolds and bondage and is always consensual. But according to the Extreme Pornography Act, images of knife play may be illegal because it "threatens a person's life" and depicts an act of "sexual assault involving a threat of a weapon".

These are just some examples of how the Extreme Pornography Act affects certain BDSM images. The law itself is rather vague. According to the Ministry of Justice website, "life-threatening is not defined in the Act. It will therefore take its ordinary English meaning and will be a question of fact for the magistrate or jury." Like-wise, the term "serious injury" is also not defined.

One British Dominant's Perspective

I had the opportunity to discuss England's Extreme Pornography Act with a British BDSM Dominant. For obvious reasons, he chose to remain anonymous. However, he had several issues with the new Extreme Pornography Act.

Admittedly, he said he did not have much knowledge of the law, nor did he intend to pay the law much attention. He predicted the law wouldn't last long once the British government "realizes that most of the population is breaking the law. Then it will be hard to implement."

He complained the law was too vague as well. "There's a lack of information about it, almost like they are sneaking it in."

He concluded by saying, "As long as any picture is taken consensually, I don't believe it should be illegal."

Sources:

"Extreme Pornographic Images," Justice.gov.uk

"BDSM", Wikipedia.org

"Erotic Asphyxiation", Wikipedia.org

"Knife Play", Wikipedia.org