Want to have rough sex with your spouse? Not in Virginia.
The ruling of a recent case Doe v. George Mason University has drawn the attention of a number of advocacy organizations committed to protecting sexual freedom and expression. The case jeopardizes the precedent set by Lawrence v. Texas, in which the Supreme Court held consensual activities between adults could not be criminalized by states.
The Woodhull Freedom Foundation is among those organizations who issued statements:
“The minute we heard the court decision we began to bring together a team of attorneys to evaluate Woodhull’s response, and get the word out regarding the potential danger posed by this decision. “We have been warning about the current hostile climate towards sexual expression, and the risks to fundamental human rights. We have also been preparing.”
Read the full statement on Woodhull’s site.
The National Coalition for Sexual Freedom also released a slightly more optimistic statement. They argue that the majority of the references directly relating to BDSM activities were made during the judge’s opinions:
This is but one more example of a judge giving expression to his own moralistic and uninformed displeasure concerning BDSM. But it is entirely what lawyers call dictum. It creates no precedent and does not even have any effect on this case.
If nothing else, the case has shown a bias against BDSM and other alternative sexual practices and should be a sign that more work needs to be done to protect all types of sexual expression.
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