Gay London Life | June '25 Edition - Magazine - Page 46
Topher
Talks
Remember when they said
in nudity, sex, or excretion a federal
this bill. Once this kind of legislation
crime. It’s vague. That’s the intention.
is passed, it opens the door to
This bill isn’t just about adult films
censorship on any front they choose.
or OnlyFans. It’s an attack on art and
The logic used to ban porn will be
media. It targets everything from
used to attack all art, all expression,
social media to magazines, books,
all difference.
television, cinema. The vagueness
And let’s not pretend the so-
is strategic. It gives them power to
called progressive left is free from
decide what they don’t like and call it
blame. Scratch the surface and you’ll
“obscene.”
find many who are anti-sex work,
“Obscene” is doing a lot of work
anti-kink, and quietly invested in
Project 2025 was not a thing? That
here. What does it mean? Who
respectability politics. They liked the
it was the left being dramatic? When
decides? To a far-right Christian
right posts, maybe even marched a
the convicted felon in orange makeup
nationalist government, obscene
bit, but they’re now pearl-clutching
denied all knowledge?
includes LGBTQ+ content, sex
at the thought of someone making
education, sexual health campaigns,
money off nudes. They’re ripe for
right do exceptionally well: lie, commit
queer art, body-positivity, drag,
propaganda and radicalisation, too.
crimes, and whine. It’s May 2025,
theatre, music, and even certain
I’ve seen it happen.
and Republican Senator Mike Lee
types of therapy. If it’s liberating,
is introducing a Porn Ban. Russell
queer, sexual, or questions authority,
propaganda, and most people still
Vought, the author of Project 2025,
it’s a target.
don’t realise how deep it runs.
There are three things the far
We are in a new era of
This bill should terrify anyone
is now heading the Department of
This bill fits perfectly into the
If you are watching American politics
Government Efficiency, replacing
framework of Project 2025, a hard-
working in creative industries,
through your fingers or hiding from
Elon. Yes, it’s really called DOGE. And
right fantasy to overhaul the entire
education, or media. It makes moral
the harsh reality – it really is time to
yes, it sounds fucking stupid.
federal government and impose a
panic into law. The obsession with
Christian nationalist agenda. It’s not
nudity and sex becomes a weapon.
begin paying attention. As queer
Let’s focus on the porn ban. Keep
people, and witnessing how the
your eyes on this. I’ve brought it up
just about re-criminalising porn. It’s
Want to run a queer wellness brand?
MAGA-style politics are appearing in
before, but it’s gaining momentum
about criminalising educators, sex
Too sexual. Write a play that includes
the UK, there is a new ruling could be
and it’s dangerous. The bill goes
workers, queer creators, artists,
gay sex? Too obscene. Post your
a game changer for us, including the
far beyond porn. Senator Mike Lee
therapists, kink educators, anyone
body online? See you in court.
industries and arts we enjoy - and not
wants to make any “visual depiction”
they see as part of the “problem.”
This is a cultural purge and it
in a good way.
appealing to “the prurient interest”
They need to keep feeding
will not stop at America. In the UK,
outrage to the megachurch base and
the government is pushing changes
the poorly educated masses being
to the Crime and Policing Bill that
spoon-fed rage bait on social media
would make it illegal for sex workers
and Fox News. That’s what this is.
to work together or for anyone to
The irony is painful. Some
support them. Including friends,
OnlyFans creators came out as
web designers, even drivers. All
MAGA in the run-up to the election.
criminalised. And yes, really.
Aran Winwin, for example. A reminder
None of this is about protecting
that even when you’re selling your hole
people. It’s shrinking the space
online, you can still be a fucking idiot.
we’re allowed to exist in, punishing
Sex work is just the bait and
people for being different, loud,
the socially acceptable scapegoat.
sexual, queer, questioning, or proud.
Society still has a deep, hysterical
The goal is to leave us with only
fear of sex, so it’s not hard to rile
what they deem acceptable: white,
people up about OnlyFans creators.
straight, patriarchal, state-aligned
It makes headlines and plays into
conformity. It sounds dystopian and
long-standing prejudice, and people
it absolutely is.
fall for it every time.
They’ll claim it’s about protecting
If you think you’re safe because
you don’t make porn or post online,
women which is the same line used
you’re wrong. The vagueness of the
in anti-trans rhetoric. And like that,
bill is the danger. It lets them choose
it’s not really protecting anyone – its
who to come for next and from what
just punishing people (look up Kady
we can see in the anti-LGBTQ+ surge
Grass in America – a lesbian who
worldwide, they will.
was refused entry to a womens toilet
Please write to your MP about the
and badly beaten). Women are now
Crime and Policing bill. I have included
being harassed in changing rooms
a template on tophertaylor.co.uk.
and forced to explain their bodies to
strangers.
We could talk for hours about
the far-right connections between
Don’t wait until it’s your work,
your expression, your identity on
the chopping block. This is already
happening.
the anti-trans movement and this
broader crusade, but let’s stay on
46
@tophertaylor
