Extreme Celebrity Fantasy
The case of Darryn Walker could be a turning point in the way in which UK sex bloggers write their blogs. On the final verdict on the case will indicate if we can continue to express ourselves freely, or if a legal precedent will be set and boundaries will be set out that we dare not cross.
The prosecution is being brought under the obscene publications act. The same legislation that failed to convict Penguin for publishing D H Lawrence’s Lady Chatterley’s Lover in 1960. It appears that the only reason the Crown Prosecution service decided to proceed with the prosecution is that the content of Walker’s blog is so extreme that they felt compelled to act.
I have not read the blog, but the content outline I have found described on the web is of a kidnap, mutilation and rape fantasy involving the girl band Girls Aloud which culminates in their murders.
From what little I have read of the blog it certainly deserves to be investigated, if only to ensure that Walker gets some form of help. I can’t see how the blog would have been a great work of erotic fiction and suspect it simply betrays his inability to moderate his own fantasies and temper them to within what most people would consider reasonable parameters.
The worry of course is that this and possible subsequent prosecutions will set precedents which will be used to prosecute adult bloggers. The Judge’s summing up to the jury and, assuming a prosecution, his remarks at sentencing, will be very interesting.
Until then, enjoy your freedom to fantasise, but don’t abuse it.
If you have concerns about a site you can report it to The Internet Watch Foundation here.
I don’t think one can really draw a parallel with the ‘Lady Chattrley’ trial: In that instance the defence was able to produce a long list of credible witnesses; writers, academics and even churchmen, who were prepared to testify, and managed to persuade the jury, that Lawrence was indeed a great writer and that this was a serious work of literature.
Freedom of expression is always a relative thing. There is no ‘freedom’ to incite to racial hatred or publish indecent pictures of children for example, and rightly so. In the end, these matters are left to a jury, to be persuaded by the arguments of counsel. It’s not a perfect system but it’s the best we have.
FC, I didn’t intend to draw parallels with the Lawrence trial, except to point out that the CPS is using the same instrument that was used against a talented writer to prosecute a guy who obviously has issues that need attention.
In the last half century attitudes towards adult literature and porn, and the way in which it is accessed have changed completely. Maybe at one time walker would simply have fantasised all to himself and never been discovered. Maybe he’d have tried to act out his fantasies because he had no outlet. Of course there are those that will say that he was encouraged to invent such fantasies because of what h’e read on the Internet.
We should all have the freedom to act and speak as we wich so long as that doesn’t imapct on the freedom and wellbeing of others. As you say it’s all relative, but most people agree broadly on most things about what is and is not acceptable. No system of legislation and regulation can be perfect, especially in such a fast moving age as the one we live in.
We are all running to keep up with society and the technology it uses.