UK Sex Sells News

The 'justice' secretary and Cheltenham MP Alex Chalk has said he wants strip clubs to be banned from his constituency town. He claimed such venues harm businesses and attract antisocial behaviour.

His views on Sexual Entertainment Venues (SEV) were aired at the borough council's licensing sub-committee. In an e-mail from the MP he added:

The time has come to stop such venues opening in Cheltenham altogether.

During the meeting councillors approved a temporary licence allowing a bar to host lap dancing during Cheltenham Racecourse's November meet.

A spokesperson for Chalk said the MP has a standing objection to SEV licences and complains that Cheltenham Borough Council has the power to refuse them but they choose not to.

The BBFC has just published its verdicts about whether online adult retail websites should be considered 18 rated or not for the purposes of mobile internet blocking for under 18s.  

LoveHoney: www.lovehoney.co.uk

BBFC Adjudication (18 rated)

The URL led to a retail site specialising in sex toys and lingerie. The site lists its products and offers customer reviews; it includes a blog and a forum. In the blog, we found an entry on electro sex which offered advice on how to apply electricity to the genitals. In the forum, we found repeated very strong language, erotica and entries on rough sex and pornography. Part B of the Framework states that the following issues should be considered inappropriate for children: fetish material; very strong references to sexual behaviour using pornographic terms; repeated very strong language; and sex education or advice which is i) aimed at adults and ii) inappropriate for children. Each is present on the site under consideration and, accordingly, the BBFC found material on the website that we would classify at least 18. 10 July 2023

 

Ann Summers: www.annsummers.com

BBFC Adjudication (not 18 rated)

As previously, we noted that the URL led to a site devoted to images of the male form. It contained a gallery section, a news section and contact details. The site no longer contained erotica or provided hyperlinks to other sites which we would rate 18+. The BBFC Mobile Classification Framework states that works whose primary purpose is sexual arousal should be considered 18+: we do not believe that the site met this test. Rather, we consider such images as were available on the date of sampling to be 'glamour' material, ie, material which may be sexual, but the primary purpose of which is not to arouse or stimulate. Consequently, we found no material that we would rate 18+ for reasons outlined in part B of the framework.

 

Agent Provocateur: https://www.agentprovocateur.com/

BBFC Adjudication (not 18 rated)

The URL led to a retailer of lingerie and associated products. There are multiple images of women posing in underwear, but these do not go beyond the requirements of the company to advertise their garments. The shop also sells items such as whips, but without describing in detail what these products might be used for. At the time of sampling, we did not find for sale any more advanced BDSM paraphernalia such as ball gags, nipple clamps or even handcuffs. The site does not feature a blog or anywhere for visitors to post comments. We found no material that we would rate 18+ for reasons outlined in part B of the framework

 

Another website also revealed a little about about the BBFC's thinking abpout glamour material

 

Zoe Ballz: https://zoeballz.tv

BBFC Adjudication (not 18 rated)

#The URL led to the homepage of a video game streamer, and included a brief bio, as well as links to her YouTube page, her Twitch stream and a list of some of her favourite songs. It also included a photo gallery with glamour-style photographs. The Framework makes some allowance for images which have clear suggestive intentions but whose primary purpose falls short of sexual arousal or stimulation. We found no nudity in the gallery, nor any stronger sexual detail and the images available at the time of sampling were comfortably permitted under the glamour concession. We found no material that we would rate 18+ for reasons outlined in part B of the framework

Channel 4 aired a brand new show Open House: The Great Sex Experiment this week and a few viewers watching couldn't believe some of the scenes that aired as part of the series.

The show involves a host of committed couples staying in a luxury retreat to test whether opening up their relationship to other parties and having sex with other people can strength their connection. Throughout the series, the couples and singletons are given tasks to complete to push the committed participants towards having sex with someone other than their partner.

The Channel 4 show, which is currently in its second series, aired its steamiest episode so far when one couple hosted an after-party which resulted in a group of 15 people having sex with one another.

A few Channel 4 viewers were left 'stunned' as one tweeted:

Film on Sky finished and tv pinged onto #OpenHouse what fresh hell is this?!? I can't believe this is on normal TV.

A High Court judge has ruled that Bournemouth, Christchuch and Poole council was unreasonable to dismiss a woman's moralistic safety concerns as moralistic.

A council's policy on lapdancing and strip clubs was overturned by a high court judge, after a challenge by a sexual abuse survivor who claimed it would have a negative impact on women's safety.

Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council adopted a new policy in November 2021, which allowed an unlimited number of sexual entertainment venues in the area. The policy also meant there would be a presumption in favour of existing venues having their licence renewed annually.

However, a judge at the high court in London has now ruled in favour of the woman and quashed the decision to adopt the policy, concluding the council had wrongly ignored objections raised against it by dismissing them as moralistic.

Mr Justice Akhlaq Choudhury decided that the woman was deeply concerned about the impact of such venues on the wellbeing and safety of women. She believes they contribute to the objectification of women, and to a climate in which women are routinely subjected to sexual and domestic violence, harassment and discrimination. She also believes the policy would lead to a rise in the number of sexual entertainment venues, resulting in an increase in risks to women's safety and welfare and to abusive and demeaning attitudes to women that are detrimental to relations between the sexes and to sex equality in general.

JoyClub describes itself as sex-positive community for a life of love and lust.

A digital billboard ad for JOYclub, an online sex community, seen in November 2022, in various outdoor locations featured two men and three women lying on top of each other, wearing minimal clothing. At the centre of the image was a woman wearing nipple covers and high cut knickers, exposing her crotch, with each of her legs being held apart by the two men. Large text superimposed in front of the face and body of one of the women said Explore. Connect. Meet. Play. At the bottom of the ad, there was a QR code accompanied by smaller text that stated Explore your kinky side, connect in a safe, respectful space, meet new people and play out your wildest desires.

Three complainants, who believed the ad was overtly sexual, challenged whether the ad was offensive and whether it was irresponsibly targeted because it was displayed in a medium where children could see it.

ASA Assessment: Complaints upheld

The ASA was concerned by F&P GmbH's lack of response and apparent disregard for the Code, which was a breach of CAP Code (Edition 12) rule 1.7 1.7 Any unreasonable delay in responding to the ASA's enquiries will normally be considered a breach of the Code. (Unreasonable delay). We reminded them of their responsibility to provide a response to our enquiries and told them to do so in the future.

The ad was displayed in various outdoor locations in London, which were untargeted media and where the image was likely to be seen by children and adults.

The ad featured a group of men and women lying on top of each other wearing minimal clothing and the woman at the centre of the image was exposing her crotch, with her legs spread apart by the two men. The text stated Explore your kinky side play out your wildest desires. We considered that the positioning of the individuals was likely to be understood as suggestive of group sexual activity. Taking the image of the sexual positioning and the centre woman's exposed crotch, combined with the references to your kinky side and your wildest desires, we considered that the ad was overtly sexual.

We concluded that, because the ad was overtly sexual and was displayed in an untargeted medium where it had the potential to be seen by a large number of people, including children, it was likely to cause serious or widespread offence and was irresponsible. We concluded that the ad was unsuitable for outdoor display and therefore breached the Code.

The ad must not appear again in outdoor advertising.