BDSM MEDIA NEWS!!!!
26 june 2011
Sexually graphic spread under fire
Source: tvnz.co.nz - TV New Zealand - New Zealand
NEW ZEALAND - An edgy pop culture magazine is under fire after the chief censor's office ruled a set of pictures in its February issue could lead young readers to think it depicted scenes of sexual violence or coercion.
However the R18 classification comes four months after the bondage shots in Vice magazine were first circulated.
The censor's office decision follows a complaint about the photo spread "All tied up in love" in February's issue, which shows topless women tied to beds and ceilings.
"I see very passive young women being tied up like animals and that really does send out quite sinister messages," said complainant Green Party MP Catherine Delahunty.
Vice is a lifestyle magazine aimed at 18 to 34 year olds, which people can pick up for free in coffee and music shops all over the country and around the world.
The February edition was first available more than four months ago, but censor's office said the images were "objectionable" and have slapped the highest age restriction on it - R18.
It said that while "the presentation and context of the images mark them as 'art', the photographs are clearly sexual images."
The censor office added that adult reader will understand that "the photographs are clearly sexual images."
But that the magazine's "younger readers may not have the maturity or experience, and may well believe them to show sexual violence or coercion," the office said.
Some experts agree with their decision.
"Without the clear message that bondage can be fun if it's between consenting partners, they could be seen to be showing violent, images of violence," said Felicity Perry of Auckland University.
Vice issued this statement about its next edition: "We're super-excited - it's a follow on from last year's Still Life edition by focusing on that other great tradition in photography - the photo essay".
The magazine told the censor's office it has asked all its local outlets to pull the magazine after the complaint.
See Video on TV New Zealand.
