[Paul - Personal Changes]

While some may feel that any laws of restriction with regard to personal sexual behavior are harmful to the human condition, sometimes they actually are appropriate.

My understanding is that in the US, there is a difference in law between sexual deviations and sexual perversions. A deviation (deviant behavior) is a variation from the "norm" or the "mainstream" of human sexual behavior. This would include things like fetishes, bi-sexuality, homosexuality, etc. A perversion is when a human performs a sexual act with someone or an animal who is not capable of giving permission to participate in the sexual act. This would include: necrophilia (sex with dead bodies), bestiality (sex with animals), negrophilia (sex with infants), pedophilia (sex with pre-pubescent children), etc.

Obviously, in this regard, the law is clearly there to protect those who are unable to protect themselves from sexual agression.

The extreme "hurting of the body" part of this U.K. law is also there to keep people from even thinking about or focusing on such extreme sexual situations. After all, if someone injurs themselves with this, then who pays for the consequences? Often, the government ends up paying the hospital bill. Like it or not, humans often mimic what they see. This is why TV ads showing people drinking a certain soda or eating a certain food or eating at a certain place, when repeated often, will tend to create that behavior in others. While it's a numbers game, it does work to some degree. It's the old, "monkey see, monkey do" thing... and it's very effective. So, while it's true that none of us like to be told what to do... in this case, they actually are looking out for our best interest. When people, especially young and impressionable ones, repeatedly see these types of images... and their hormones are raging and they are young and ignorant.. well, things happen.

I agree that governments are often too intrusive in our lives, but in this case, I support their efforts for the reasons stated above.