Tribunal ruling is ‘topsy-turvy’

Press, 24 May 1988, Page 38

Tribunal ruling is ‘topsy-turvy’

PA Wellington Women Against Pornorgraphy has described recent decisions by the Indecent Publications Tribunal as topsy-turvy.

The tribunal has classified publications, “Jock,” “Uncut,” “Cavalier” (March, 1987), “Cheri,” “The Best of Cheri,” "Stallion,” “Stallion’s 50 Best,” and “Blueboy” (November, 1986), as unconditionally indecent. A spokesperson for W.A.P., Ms Trish Mullins, said the decision to outlaw “Cavalier” and “Cheri” magainzes was applauded. These publications degraded and incited hatred against women and promoted violence against them.

“Cavalier” was designed for the heterosexual market with a sexual theme of violence in the form of female wrestling.

It carried advertisements showing spanking and wrestling scenes which the tribunal said were injurious to the public good.

“Cheri” and “Best of Cheri” were magazines with photographs of single female nudes, but contained a number of multiple model scenes of females in acts of intimacy. However, W.A.P. condemned the decision to ban “Jock,” “Uncut” and “Blueboy” merely because they involved sexual intimacy between men. This showed once again present laws were absurd and based on the wrong criteria, Ms Mullins said. “The issue should not be sexual explicitness, nudity or other Victoria views, but the real issue of whether they involve

the sexual subordination of people,” she said. The “Stallion” publications were male homosexual publications containing many photographs of males performing homosexual acts. The tribunal said there was excessive sexual intimacy shown between the male models. “Jock” and “Uncut” were also aimed at male homosexuals and also contained photographs of sexual intimacy which breached guidelines set by the tribunal. “Magazines which show women as mere sex objects, wanting to be hurt or raped or degraded should be outlawed, not mere nudity or material about gays or lesbians,” Ms Mullins said.

The publications were seized by customs officials in Auckland last year.