Necrobabes
From Seenoevil
The site www.necrobabes.com has been cited as a prime example of the worst offending 'snuff' and 'necrophiliac' internet sites. However, according to the site creators, everything on the site is staged. In contrast, some claims of criminality have been made about the site by people backing the proposed extreme pornography laws.
It is interesting to note that the mainstream press in the USA (the site's country of origin) has on several occasions run articles about the site which discuss it explicitly and with rather more irreverence and humour than their British counterparts. Seen in the light of the american coverage, the site rather loses its mystique.
Contents |
Media Coverage
American Press Coverage
- An old article by Thomas Roche in The San Francisco Bay Guardian. The article is no longer online, but you can find it here at The Internet Archive.
- Here you will find the commisioning editor of the SFBG article above defending her decision to publish it, against the criticisms of some anti-pornography feminsts:
And this article explains the background of the position she is arguing from:
UK Press Coverage
Online
- Lib Dem Councillor Stephen Tall has quoted on his blog certain comments debunking the myths about the necrobabes site.
The Necrobabes site itself
Before it becomes illegal to do so in the UK, it is worth visiting the site in question to assess how serious a cause for concern it is. For those who do not wish to visit the site themselves, the following is the prefaratory material that appears upon visiting the page www.necrobabes.com (which features no explicit graphics):
Prefaratory Text
"a word about censorship
These sites deal with very politically incorrect fantasies. If you do not have these sorts of fantasies, you will likely find them shocking, if not offensive -- our sites are not for you, please go away.
Among those who are offended, there are those who would wish us censored. Their assertion is that these web sites inflame the lusts of the viewers, 'normalize' the idea of violence, and thereby drive the viewer to commit acts of violence mimicking what they view on these sites. It is the same sort of theory that drives the forces of censorship everywhere, for all manner of things that people would censor. Yet there is no evidence for such a link between those who commit acts of rape and violence and their consumption of pornography other than the fact that many people who commit acts of violence also consume pornography. Many dentists also consume pornography. Does pornography also lead to dentistry? If the logic applies to one, the same logic must apply to the other. The vast preponderance of people who consume pornography never commit any crime at all.
The material we produce is fanciful, even cartoonish in many regards; there is nothing realistic about it. Our viewers know this. Far from normalizing violence, it relegates it squarely into the realm of fantasy.
Time and time again we harp to our members that as long as you don't harm anyone, as long as you keep things safely in the realm of fantasy, that you use the fiction and imagery found on these sites as a mere virutal realization of a fantasy, you are fine. Harm no one, keep it in fantasy, and you are okay, you are a decent human being.
Unfortunately, there are people in this world, in all walks of life, who value their own pleasure more than they value the well being of other people. Such monstrous individuals will do monstrous things and so, thankfully, are an infinitesimal minority within any gathering of human beings. A person who has these violent fantasies, however, and yet does NOT value their own pleasure more than the life and well being of other people, such a person will NOT harm another person. It is not the absence or presence of such fantasies that drives people to acts of violence or not, it is the absence or presence of a conscience.
In any community of thousands, there are going to be those sorts of people who lack a conscience. It is unfortunate that the actions of those few among us who lack conscience would cause the censors to wish us all harm. I would however ask those who would be tempted to censor to please stop for a moment and think again.
disclaimer This site is intended for Adults ONLY If you are not over 18, please leave now WARNING This website contains scenes of simulated violence, nudity, and adult situations that may offend some viewers. The content of this website is inappropriate for viewing by anyone under the age of 18. Viewer discretion is required
The Necrobabes web sites contain nudity and fantasy violence which some may find to be offensive. If you are offended by such material, or if you are under age, please leave now.
By entering this site, you are making a legal statement that you are an adult, that you want to view this material, and that it is legal for you to do so in your community, state, province or nation. By proceeding you assume full responsibility for your actions. "I am an adult. Let me in."
protect your children These webpages are not intended to be viewed by minors. Labeled by ICRA - http://www.icra.orgEach web page available on this site is self-rated with ICRA labeling, which is built into Microsoft Internet Explorer's Parental Controls. If you are a parent and you want to block this site, please enable MSIE parental controls. All material copyright © 1997 - 2006 NunYa BizNets, Inc.
- No images may be reproduced or distributed without prior permission *
We do NOT spam e-mail! If you found this page through a spammed e-mail, please read this. Our web sites are subscription or pay-per-view entertainment for ADULT audiences ONLY. Our sites contain nudity and simulated violence intended purely as fantasy entertainment. No one was harmed during the making of our photo stories and videos. We do NOT encourage nor condone real-life violence against others. There is no pornography on these sites. NunYa BizNets, Inc. is a proud member of the Visit the Free Speech Coalition -- http://www.freespeechcoalition.com
This website, and all images associated therewith, are categorically exempt from the recordkeeping requirements of 18 U.S.C. § 2257, because there are no images of actual sexually explicit conduct"
Analysis of the prefaratory text
Some points to note in the text quoted above:
- the site explicitly states on its frontpage that it is all fictional and consensual.
- the site admits that its content is not realistic.
- The site is self-censoring - the owners have registered it with ICRA to make it extremely easy for parents to block, using the standard controls built into Internet Explorer.
- There is nothing on the site that is 'sexual' by the US legal definition.
Further Observations about the site
With a little investigation one can see that:
- Many of the models on the site have since appeared on various other sites, including their own personal modelling sites. (They are alive and well!)
- The site links to a partner site Necrodudes, where the fantasy 'victims' are men and not women.
Mentions in House of Commons debate
- Early Day Motion (also see Press Release from David Lepper)
- House of Commons debate on 6 May 2004
- House of Commons debate on 18 May 2004 (also available here).
- House of Commons debate on 23 November 2005
US Law Enforcement and International Cooperation
Necrobabes has now been online on this domain for a long time (since 1997). It is very easy to find this out, and also who is responsible for the site, using internet domain research tools. This information is available in the public domain, for free. Therefore the US police could easily trace the producers of the site if they suspected any violence was taking place in the production of the site's content. But the site has continued to run, and it can therefore be safely assumed that noone has been harmed in its making.
Nevertheless, if the British government really believe that this site is a corrupting influence on those who view it, perhaps they should consider urging the US authorities to close it down, before criminalising British citizens for visiting it. In fact "better international cooperation to close down sites hosted abroad" was something that the many people who signed the Longhurst petition requested, and it is perhaps likely that those people would prefer to see this attempted in the case of Necrobabes before the government pushes ahead with a proposed law criminalising British consumers (which proper international cooperation would render unnecessary).
