What’s happening here, Europe? What’s going on? First, politicians in Russia try to ban all forms of sex, and now Iceland may successfully ban all forms of internet porn in their country. Do . . . do you guys need a hug or something? Is there something going on in the bedroom that you’re not telling us about? It’s okay, you can tell us. You’re among friends here.
“We are a progressive, liberal society when it comes to nudity, to sexual relations, so our approach is not anti-sex but anti-violence. This is about children and gender equality, not about limiting free speech,” she said. “Research shows that the average age of children who see online porn is 11 in Iceland and we are concerned about that and about the increasingly violent nature of what they are exposed to. This is concern coming to us from professionals since mainstream porn has become very brutal.
Advertisement“A strong consensus has been building, with people agreeing that something has to be done. The internet is a part of our society, not separate from it, and should be treated as such. No one is talking about closing down exchange of information. We have a thriving democracy here in our small country and what is under discussion is the welfare of our children and their rights to grow and develop in a non-violent environment.
“There are some who say it can’t be done technically – but we want to explore all possibilities and take a political decision on what can be done and how.” [SOURCE]
All right, I can totally appreciate the idea behind this: domestic violence is a real problem. Taking action against it is great.
The problem I have with trying to ban “violent” porn is the fact that it completely misunderstands kink and hardcore sex. Can sex be violent? Of course. But porn and sex are about consent. Anything that happens between adults happens because all parties agree to it. It’s fun to create a fantasy, but you have to remember that the fantasy ends when you choose to make it end. Admittedly, everyone has their own personal limits, but you can’t focus laws entirely around kink or entirely around vanilla; focus on whether or not consent was involved in sex, rather than what happened during the sex.
The best thing you can do here is actually talk to your kids about this stuff. Let them know that porn is a fantasy, just as much as TV or film is a fantasy. Make sure they know that sex first and foremost is about consent. Educate people to have responsible sex, but don’t demonize kink and porn.
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