GOP scares XXX biz

Get your news from a source that’s not owned and controlled by oligarchs. Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily.


John Ashcroft has barely stepped into the office of attorney general, but his emphasis on religious morals is already bringing big changes to the US porn business. Some of the biggest players in the industry, fearing lawsuits from a conservative Justice Department, are embarking on a program of self-enforced censorship.

Recent Must Reads

2/9 – Activist uses Web to monitor Beijing

2/8 – Dot-coms behind bars

2/7 – Youth, liberalism ascend in Syria

The porn industry, which enjoyed relative freedom and eight years of boom-time under Clinton, is now anticipating a return to the harsh prosecution they last saw under the administrations of Reagan and Bush, reports THE NATION.

So producers say they are going to stop recording scenes that include sexual acts that might draw the most ire from right-wingers in Washington. The list of taboo scenes includes not only fetishistic material like sex in a coffin and sexual use of food, but also more socially sensitive material like bisexual encounters and scenes between black men and white women (scenes between white men and black women, however, are still kosher).

BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

payment methods

BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate