The porn down under

Australia is distant and vague – at least to me.

But then I hear about this startling change in the country’s censorship codes; a sudden regurgitation of antiquated chauvinism. And damn if I wasn’t paying attention.

Last week, the Australian Classification Board announced it would start banning the sale and distribution of adult films featuring small-breasted women and depictions of female ejaculation . The board believes images of small breasts encourage pedophilia. They also believe that female ejaculation doesn’t exist, so they are classifying the act as a form of urination, which is already banned by the board.

Problem number one with the prohibition of small breasts: no matter what the intended reasoning is, this legislation will undoubtedly tinker with an already distorted ideal of the female body. The board’s proposal posits that women bearing small breasts appear underage; that women bearing small breasts attract and encourage pedophilia; that the person negatively affected isn’t the pedophile, it’s the woman.

Problem number two: The board’s decision will brand the depiction of small-breasted women as obscene. My reasoning follows this logic: Australian pornography considers depictions of a minor engaging in sex acts to be obscene and therefore illegal. It is now also illegal for small-breasted women to appear in pornography. So, small-breasted women are being treated as minors under the law. A woman with small breasts is deemed obscene. 

And what are the problems with the denial of an already proven bodily function? Australia, you might want to note that the process of female ejaculation was scientifically recognized in 2001. Women generate prostatic fluid during arousal, which is what the female ejaculate is. And did I mention women have prostates, just like men? Well they do. So during orgasm, the prostatic fluid travels through the prostate, and then, with varying degrees of intensity, it is ejected. And behold, you have your mythological ejaculation.

For a society that has sequenced the human genome, how can we not agree on the existence of a scientifically supported bodily process that is as evident as the female ejaculation? And can we even pretend that the restriction of small-breasted women in pornography is anything but nauseating sexism weakly disguised as gallantry?

I must say, I miss the reefs. I miss the peripheral assumptions, the half-truths. I wish I hadn’t looked closely at Australia – hadn’t disconnected my morphine drip and sobered myself to its disturbing reality. I won’t be going there anytime soon, and I certainly won’t be watching its porn.


E-mail: joskraus@indiana.edu