We believe that Bertrand Russell believed right. So here goes.... If society
needs to tackle pornography, it needs to (a) stop saying 'Dirrty' each time it
comes across the word 'pornography'. And (b) it needs to give up the
'XXX-rated' attitude towards what is fast becoming the largest industry in the
world. What's more important, porn's becoming a legit industry in the advanced
world while India still likes to let it linger under wraps with its
schoolgirlish morals.
Our point? With four MMS (the school kids, Kareena-Shahid, Ashmit-Riya, Mallika
Sherawat) and two videotape (Miss Jammu and Miss Shimla) controversies having
already captured headlines in less than a year, an Internet spilling over with
porn sites of semi-clad babes' bodies that have been morphed into
Bollywood-Hollywood beauty queens -- you'll find them all -- Preity, Manisha,
Aishwarya, Julia, Cameron, Britney -- and a growing grey market of blue films
and clips in the heart of the Capital, is it time to legalise porn in India
too?
"Yes," says Pavan Duggal, cyber law expert, "it's time to kick up a debate
whether porn should be legalised or not." And why not? asks novelist Shobhaa
De. "People all over the world have learnt to live with it; it's high time we
Indians -- specially celebs -- need to do the same."
We asked some of our 'subjects' (potential) of morphed porn clips and films and
they too felt it was time we 'grew up'. "As long as we do not intrude on
anyone's privacy, watching porn should have nothing to do with the law. I don't
really care if one morphs my image on the Internet. Morphing is there to be
enjoyed... that's it!" says Upen Patel, model.
The industry
So, legalising porn makes economic sense. Consider this.The US porn industry
churned out 11,000 titles last year. The industry also has its own studios. It
is estimated that Americans spend around $10 billion a year on adult
entertainment. Consumer demand is so strong that film companies are now making
millions selling erotica to America. According to Paul Fishbein, president,
Adult Video News, the industry's trade publication, there are over 800 million
rentals of adult videotapes and DVDs in video stores in the US every year along
with 200 adult entertainment companies.
The industry also has its own major stars, like Jenna Jameson. "This is kind of
art for me. I'm entertaining the masses. I'm not doing it for the gratification
of another man.It's like being Julia Roberts, but just one step further," she
says in her autobiography. Every year, Every year, Comcast, the largest cable
company in the US, pulls in $50 million from adult programming. Then there are
the big hotel chains which offer adult films on in-room pay-per-view television
systems. And they are purchased by a whopping 50% of their guests, accounting
for nearly 70% of their in-room profits.
The final word
Porn is okay, says Alyque Padamsee, theatre and ad man. "Because India is the
land of the erotic. Celeb porn is eroticised male and female fantasy. Nothing
wrong with that. But we need to stop all forms of child pornography."
XXX Legalese
India 'Whoever publishes or transmits or causes to be published
in the electronic form any material which is lascivious or appeals to the
prurient interest or if its effect is such as to tend of deprave or corrupt
persons who are likely, having regard to all relevant circumstances, to read,
see or hear the matter contained or embodied in it, shall be punished on first
conviction with imprisonment of either description or a term which may extend
to five years and with fine which may extend to one lakh rupees and in the
event of a second or a subsequent conviction with imprisonment of either
description of a term which may extent to 10 years and also with fine which may
extend to 2 lakh rupees. -- Section 67 of the IT Act, 2000
Denmark
In the 1960s, Denmark legalized porn. For producers of sex films, everything is
legal.
Sweden
Glowing computer screens and super-fast broadband connections create tons of
money for adult webmasters.
Norway
Special shipping rules are in place; Norway is a gold mine for live shows and
paysites.
New Zealand
New Zealand has a healthy, vibrant and active sex industry. It is constantly
changing to keep up with the times.
America
The only explicit, hardcore sexual material that is absolutely illegal by law
in the US today is child pornography. Snuff pornography is technically illegal,
but only if it cannot be proven that any death depicted in the film is fake.
United Kingdom
Pornography as such is not illegal. It becomes so if and when it qualifies as
being obscene according to the Obscene Publications Act 1959. The legal test of
obscenity is the 'depravity and corruption' yardstick.
Laws are not Timeless
"Law or no law, we have to live with morphing. If we have a 19th century law to
deal with a 21st century issue, it won't be long before 'privacy' loses its
place in the dictionary. The state will be powerless, the MMS menace is just
the beginning." - Mahesh Bhatt, filmmaker
