One of the many things that I do when I'm not making porn is write a "sex and relationships" column for my college newspaper under the not-so-secret pen name of Ms. Scarlet. I thought you all might be interested in the most recent installment, since it draws directly on my experiences as a BDSM player and a porn producer. -Lauren


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Hello, readers! I didn't receive any letters this week, so I'm going to try something a bit different. This is the last column of the quarter, and possibly the last column, period, so I wanted to leave you with some thoughts to remember me by.

Recently, I gave a presentation on pornography to a college class. I talked about the history of porn, how I got involved in making it, and why I viewed it as a form of activism. I also touched on some of the legal challenges facing pornography producers in the United States, particularly the recent wave of obscenity charges from the FBI's new "anti-porn" squad.

We discussed the legal definition of obscenity, which states that material is obscene if it depicts or describes sexual activity in a way that an average person, using "contemporary community standards", would think appealed to prurient interest, and if it does not have any serious political, artistic, literary or scientific value.

Ok, fine. But wait a second...whose community standards are we talking about? Seattle has pretty different standards from Alabama. Who, exactly, is an average person? What constitutes serious artistic value?

The problem with the definition of obscenity is that it's entirely subjective. Even Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart, in attempting to describe it, had to fall back on the words, "I know it when I see it."

After the presentation, I asked the students if they had any questions for me. One raised a hand and asked, "How do you *personally* define obscenity?"

I was stumped for a moment. Though I disagree with the law's definition, I had never tried to form my own. Like Justice Stewart, I thought that I knew it when I saw it. So I stayed quiet for a minute, and I checked in with my heart and my brain, and this is what I found:

I think that denying people the right to make choices about what to do with their own bodies and spirits is obscene.

That can be related to sexual activity, of course. Rape is obscene because it strips away consent. Engaging in sex with those incapable of giving informed consent, likewise. But I think that the spectrum of obscenity is broader than that.

Creating laws that regulate the sexual behavior of consenting adults is obscene. Telling someone that what gets them off is sick or disgusting (when what gets them off harms no one), is obscene.

Cultural and moral policing by our government is obscene.

You may not agree, of course, but that's my personal definition. And in adhering to it, I'll let you form your own.

That's all for now, folks. Stay safe, stay sane, and own your pleasure just as hard as you can. Ms. Scarlet wishes you joy of it.