Pornography Inquiry (Press, 27 August 1971)
This is a Generative AI summary of this newspaper article. It may contain errors or omissions. Please note that the language in the summary is reflective of the original article and the societal attitudes of the time in which it was written.
Summary: Pornography Inquiry (Press, 27 August 1971)
On 26 August 1971, Lord Longford, a prominent British critic of pornography, was in Copenhagen for discussions about the effects of pornography on society. He had previously declined an invitation to participate in a provocative event at a local sex club, which involved whipping a male transvestite. In Denmark, Lord Longford met with two bishops over lunch to further explore his concerns about pornography, and he also engaged with officials from the Danish Foreign Ministry. The officials presented a compelling argument in favour of liberalising pornography laws; however, Lord Longford remained unconvinced by their perspective. As part of his investigative efforts, Lord Longford's team began fieldwork in Denmark, with each member visiting two sex clubs known for their live shows featuring explicit acts. When asked by a Danish journalist about his feelings after attending such performances, Lord Longford commented that he was not emotionally affected by the shows but acknowledged that he might have been had he stayed longer, indicating a limit to his tolerance. While at one establishment, he left abruptly when a performer unexpectedly handed him a whip, only to realise the performer was a man dressed as a woman. In another club, Lord Longford departed before a significant part of the performance, despite club officials urging him to stay to witness the explicit act. Susan Pegden, the committee's 21-year-old research assistant, watched an entire performance and later described it as boring rather than shocking. Gyles Brandreth, another young member of the committee at 25, shared similar sentiments about the experience, expressing that it was not only unpleasant but also had the opposite effect of being arousing, calling it "anaphrodisiac". Lord Longford's visit exemplified the cultural clash between more liberal attitudes towards sexuality in Denmark and his staunch opposition to pornography, as he sought to understand the implications of such permissiveness on society.
Important Information
The text on this page is created, in the most part, using Generative AI and so may contain errors or omissions. It is supplied to you without guarantee or warranty of correctness. If you find an error or would like to make a content suggestion please get in contact
The text on this page is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 New Zealand