Penthouse in fight over genitals .....
PENTHOUSE, Australia's biggest-selling adult magazine, may be forced to submit all its future editions for approval by censors after a ruling that it has "emphasised genitals" in its latest issue.
The troublesome pictures include ?a depiction of two breast naked females standing with their breasts pressed against one another? and an indiscreet depiction of genitals, according to documents obtained by NEWS.com.au.
Penthouse has said the pictures that were deemed too obscene by the Office of Film and Literature Classification are identical to previously published images.
The magazine's editor Ian Gerrard has said he was puzzled by the attention from OFLC scrutineers.
?Images in previous issues were nearly identical, but this is the first time it?s happened to us,? Mr Gerrard has said.
Mr Gerrard has said the restrictions on what can appear in the ?weaker? newsstand editions of Australian Penthouse are decided by the magazine and the regulator.
?We have to avoid 'genital emphasis' in our images, which we?re quite stringent about. We look at images published in the past which were approved by the OFLC? as a kind of template.?
Mr Gerrard has said he suspects that published extracts from a controversial book written by euthanasia campaigner Philip Nitschke may have led to the decision.
?(The book) delivers a scathing attack on Attorney-General Phillip Ruddock,? Mr Gerrard has said.
Mr Ruddock has said the matter has nothing to do with the excerpts.
?I am advised that the content in question is not the extract from the Nitschke article,? Mr Ruddock has said.
?But in any event, this is a matter for the classification board, which is an independent statutory body.?
The board's director Donald McDonald has said the board is still considering the matter.
Documents show the censorship board formed a ?preliminary view? that three images inside the magazine and an advertisement on the back cover breached the classification guidelines.
?The rear cover contains a depiction of two breast naked females standing with their breasts pressed against one another? the cover is not suitable for public display as it contains depictions of sexualised nudity,? Mr McDonald said in the documents.
He said the other images depicted genitals indiscreetly or as the focus of the photographs.
According to the regulator?s website, if a magazine publishes content that was deemed to have exceeded its classification, the publishers would be forced to submit each issue for individual classification.
Under the current contract between the regulator and Australian Penthouse, approval for the ?M? classification was granted for two years.
The magazine had to agree to several undertakings to allow it to publish without seeking approval for each edition.
Mr Gerrard said if his appeal against the decision failed, it could cost the magazine at least $30,000 extra per edition in costs.
He has until July 15 to appeal against the decision.
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,21863912-2,00.html
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The troublesome pictures include ?a depiction of two breast naked females standing with their breasts pressed against one another? and an indiscreet depiction of genitals, according to documents obtained by NEWS.com.au.
Penthouse has said the pictures that were deemed too obscene by the Office of Film and Literature Classification are identical to previously published images.
The magazine's editor Ian Gerrard has said he was puzzled by the attention from OFLC scrutineers.
?Images in previous issues were nearly identical, but this is the first time it?s happened to us,? Mr Gerrard has said.
Mr Gerrard has said the restrictions on what can appear in the ?weaker? newsstand editions of Australian Penthouse are decided by the magazine and the regulator.
?We have to avoid 'genital emphasis' in our images, which we?re quite stringent about. We look at images published in the past which were approved by the OFLC? as a kind of template.?
Mr Gerrard has said he suspects that published extracts from a controversial book written by euthanasia campaigner Philip Nitschke may have led to the decision.
?(The book) delivers a scathing attack on Attorney-General Phillip Ruddock,? Mr Gerrard has said.
Mr Ruddock has said the matter has nothing to do with the excerpts.
?I am advised that the content in question is not the extract from the Nitschke article,? Mr Ruddock has said.
?But in any event, this is a matter for the classification board, which is an independent statutory body.?
The board's director Donald McDonald has said the board is still considering the matter.
Documents show the censorship board formed a ?preliminary view? that three images inside the magazine and an advertisement on the back cover breached the classification guidelines.
?The rear cover contains a depiction of two breast naked females standing with their breasts pressed against one another? the cover is not suitable for public display as it contains depictions of sexualised nudity,? Mr McDonald said in the documents.
He said the other images depicted genitals indiscreetly or as the focus of the photographs.
According to the regulator?s website, if a magazine publishes content that was deemed to have exceeded its classification, the publishers would be forced to submit each issue for individual classification.
Under the current contract between the regulator and Australian Penthouse, approval for the ?M? classification was granted for two years.
The magazine had to agree to several undertakings to allow it to publish without seeking approval for each edition.
Mr Gerrard said if his appeal against the decision failed, it could cost the magazine at least $30,000 extra per edition in costs.
He has until July 15 to appeal against the decision.
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,21863912-2,00.html
;-)
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