From my understanding the laws on censorship were relaxed extremely about 5 years ago, especially on porn mags to the point that you could get untouched copies of foreign mags such as Cherri, Fox, Private and Score in your nearest newsagents. Now, today I went to get the latest copy of Score and it was filled with blobs! Not only that, but the Xtra section had been totally removed!!! This is quite different to what I've become used to, 'cause I've been used to nipping down to the newsagents and picking up my untouched mags for years now. Can anyone tell me why all of a sudden I've found the clock turned back 5+ years?! Have the laws changed for the worse? Have the asexual bigoted "librals" got their own way again?
Not meaning to get political, but I don't think it'll be the Liberals. I don't ever remember seeing proper hardcore available in newsagents.
There's a great Bill Hicks stand up routine about blobs on British porn. I suggest you cheer yourself up by checking it out.
Unfortunately, i have no idea either what the state of play is in this country. It's not really an argument any politician can curry favour by bringing up. That would be my defence for all the hadcore i own.
Last time i bought mags in newsagents (a couple of years ago) they had full penetration and some tame cumshots.
The mags were Cheri, Fox, High Society and Swank.
I would be surprised if they have taken all these off the shelves.
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Mojo Deactivated User
1223 Posts 9/03
Posted - Mar 3 2005 : 8:02AM
Noo, I don't mean the "Liberal Party", but rather all the Mary Whitehouse prudish dictators (they like to think of themselves as liberals with a lower case "l") who think they're doing society a favour by banning everything enjoyable just because they don't agree with it! And you can/could get imports of foriegn porn mags if you go to newsagents that dealt with the importers of such mags.
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Mojo Deactivated User
1223 Posts 9/03
Posted - Mar 3 2005 : 8:10AM
No, they're all still and have always been on the shelves, but it used to be, before the laws were relaxed, that the censors always got their chainsaws and ink pens out before the mags hit the shelves. Just look at the latest May edition of Score and you'll see what I mean, blobs, stars etc. all through the mag, not to mention the missing Xtra section that's in the original US version. Then compare it to an edition of Score from a month or two back and they were all uncut! And yep, I've checked in other newsagents and they're the same blobbed version.
How about an enquiring email to Score Mojo to see if they know anything? Where are these mags censored - in the States before shipping on in the UK after arrival?
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Mojo Deactivated User
1223 Posts 9/03
Posted - Mar 3 2005 : 8:39AM
Nah, it wouldn't do any good to contact Score, because they merely make the mags and ship 'em out. Nor would it be the US customs that would censor the mags, because under their laws they're totally legal. Nope, it would be up to the UK customs and censors to stop and censor incoming foreign goods, because it's them that have to abide by UK laws.
Also, it's somewhat worrying, because if the UK customs and censors have started up their old tricks again, then how long will it be before they start confiscating our DVDs when we send off for them?!
yes, they are. Score magazine has pull outs for our friends across the pond. in the US they're fully inserted into the magazine itself, but in the UK it is different. this is quite strange considering the fact that Score has a London office. maybe it has something to do with packaging or something. perhaps they should package a few hundred thousand there as well.
As there is no state censorship of magazines (like there is for videos) any censorship is probably so that the newsagents will sell them. WHSmith for example sell porn (in airports and stations) but they will not sell hardcore as far as i've heard at least
Edited by - Tinaka on 3/3/2005 8:51:37 AM
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Mojo Deactivated User
1223 Posts 9/03
Posted - Mar 3 2005 : 9:00AM
Hmm, that's strange. I didn't realize that Score had a London office. In that case maybe it was them that censored the mag after all. But if so there must have been a rather grim reason for them doing so, because it's always been that I've been able to get the 100% US version (they even had the US and Canadian prices on them), whereas my latest edition doesn't just have the heavy duty censorship, but it also has an ever so slightly different cover, as well as UK and Austrian (???) prices on it! I still think if Score went to all that trouble to change their mag, then there must be a really, really serious reason for doing so, as in a turn around in the law on pornography.
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Mojo Deactivated User
1223 Posts 9/03
Posted - Mar 3 2005 : 9:04AM
So, are you saying that my mag has been censored because ScoreUK want freakin' WHSmith to sell it?! Are kiddin' me?!!! If that's the case, then they've just lost a valuable customer.
I read somewhere that magazines are far softer than they could be legally (only restrictions are the obscene publications and indecent displays acts, also no formal age restrictions) because their main sales come through newsagents which won't stock hardcore. WHSmith, i remember in the '90's had protests outside their shops in London over selling porn and will likely have pressure from shareholders and small newsagents are mostly run by asian familes who also might have objections. However i've never bought them so i could be wrong.
Mojo - I just rang Score's London office on your behalf.
They confirmed what you said about the May edition of Score being censored but didn't know why the censorship had taken place. The bloke I spoke to said that he'd look into it and get back to me.
Interestingly, he told me that no such censorship happens in the UK. It takes place in the States, so an email to Score might not be such a bad idea after all.
I'll update this thread if I hear anything back from Score's London office.
PS. I asked the bloke at Score if the censorship could be as a result of any new legislation and he thought not as he said that their office usually gets informed of any such developments in advance.
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Mojo Deactivated User
1223 Posts 9/03
Posted - Mar 3 2005 : 9:44AM
Up until this month every, and I mean every issue of Score I saw on the shelves of independent newsagents were the uncut US version. And I've never seen Score on the shelves of larger newsagents like Smiths, censored nor unsensored, so why bother censoring a mag that WHSmiths don't want to sell anyway?
And this thing about most newsagent owners being Asian is somewhat of a false stereotype, because almost every newsagent in the city where I live is native English. Not only that, but everywhere else in which I've lived had native English people running newsagents and convenience stores, including my family. Nope, all the newsagents where I've ever lived were and still are quite happy selling the uncensored mags.
Besides, like the US, must we change our ways in order to please a few minorities who came here of their own free will?
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Mojo Deactivated User
1223 Posts 9/03
Posted - Mar 3 2005 : 9:55AM
Thanks for that bub! That was most appreciated to say the least.
And would you Adam and Eve it, I wouldn't have expected ScoreUS to have done such a thing, to censor the mag before it came over here! Well blow me down with a feather! If this is the only censored Score issue, then it's a damned unfortunately one, because they chose the one issue I was really looking forward to.
And thanks for keeping the thread informed of any other news! I'll try myself to contact Score as well, only through E-mail.
Edited by - Another porn addict on 3/3/2005 9:58:17 AM
Edited by - Another porn addict on 3/3/2005 9:59:35 AM
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Mojo Deactivated User
1223 Posts 9/03
Posted - Mar 3 2005 : 10:05AM
Thanks. Believe me it was hell to find!
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Mojo Deactivated User
1223 Posts 9/03
Posted - Mar 3 2005 : 10:59AM
Just to let you know, I've E-mailed ScoreUS to enquire why they've done such a stupid thing as to censor May's edition of Score. I've also pointed out how UK law now stands on porn mags, just in case they've forgotten what the laws are in the UK.
I've just spoken to the bloke at Score's London office again (he calls himself Mr Wong by the way) and what he said to me doesn't make sense.
He said that he had a copy of the May 2005 edition in front of him and there was no censorship in it at all.
I reminded him that he had agreed with me earlier on about there being the censorship - and he confirmed that he had said that the magazine had been censored - and asked him what he had been talking about when he said this. To which he replied that he 'didn't know'.
So it looks like - for whatever reason - he's got an uncensored copy while you've got a censored copy.
Make of it what you will. The only thing that I can suggest is you might want to go to Score's London office (if you're near London) and buy an uncensored copy from them. I've been to this office myself on a couple of occasions previously to buy mags published by the Score group. They're always the US uncensored versions.
Alternatively, you might want to get them to mail you a copy (you can pay by cheque/postal order/cc). They do this. Their contact details are:
The Score Group Ltd Units 161-167 Block F Riverside Business Centre Haldane Place London SW18 4UQ
Tel: 0208 877 3110
PS. If you're going to visit in person, nearest station is Earlsfield BR station (few stops from Waterloo)
Hope this helps.
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Mojo Deactivated User
1223 Posts 9/03
Posted - Mar 3 2005 : 2:26PM
Nah, I'm almost as far away from London as you can get.. .exeter. But thanks for the contact number all the same. I might phone them and enquire about getting an exchange of my mag for an uncensored one. But it doesn't surprise me that this Wong character contradicted himself, because I've found that most of these exec types over here don't know their jobs (too many bits of paper with writing on them, not enough savvy at the job). But like I said, thanks for the contact details. It's a big help.
Posted - Mar 3 2005 : 5:28AM
