R E V ENGE
PORN
Thing that piqued my
interest this month:
Dudes who have engaged in
revenge porn are now going
to jail. I’M LOOKING AT
YOU, ROB KARDASHIAN.
And not just in the litigious US- a new bill going through the
ringer in Oz means perps could
be fined up to $11,000 or face
three years’ jail time. It seems
the law is finally catching up.
The question is, how far do
these new laws go... and more
importantly – could you go to
jail for showing your friends
your collection of dick pics?!
Here’s the thing. No matter
who you are, what you do or
the kind of person your parents
think you are, everyone has at
least one naked photo of them-
selves saved somewhere. You
might have sent it to someone,
you might just be holding onto
it for when the opportunity
arises – but pixelated nudity
is here to stay. Relationships,
of course, go south more often
than frostbitten birds, meaning
it’s what you do with those pics
afterwards that counts. Which
is why Rob sharing pics of Blac
Chyna recently to get back at
her for her alleged infidelity
is so noteworthy. He’s not the
first, of course, even celebrities
like Rihanna and Prince Harry
have had nudes supposedly
leaked by ex lovers.TRY THIS ON FOR SIZE
Recently, an American man
was slapped with 18 years in
prison for operating a revenge
porn site that charged victims
to remove their images. Not
many people would argue that
he’s basically a douche canoe.
But what if you WhatsApped
your best friend a suggestive
pic your Tinder date sent you?Is that OK? What if you set up
a group called ‘penises I have
known and ridiculed’ and send
it to 18 of your friends – what
then? Could you be facing three
years’ jail time?IN A WORD... YES
Revenge porn is a relatively
new human invention and we’re
just now starting to untangle
the emotional consequences
from the legal ones. Like all
things internet-based, it’s a
minefield with catastrophes
peppered among the octopus
videos and Instagram snaps.
Honestly, between RedTube,
Grindr, Bumble and more, the
internet has probably donemore for the pursuit of sex
than vibrators and condoms
combined. But with great gains
come great clusterf*cks. And
revenge porn is one of these.SO WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
If you’ve been a revenge porn
victim, see a lawyer. If you’ve
been giggling at images of a
doodle with your mates, think
again. Basically, if you show
anyone explicit material of
someone else without their
consent, it fits the definition
of revenge porn. To that I say,
Snapchat your funbags to your
heart’s content but maybe don’t
commit them to a hard drive.
No app or service is foolproof,
of course, and if in doubt just
remember the sexter’s number
one rule – make sure your face
isn’t in it. It’s much harder to
prove it’s you (well, unless you
have a birthmark shaped like
a brontosaurus). The moral of
this story: no one wants to go
to jail for a penis portrait. #Sex sells – that we know. But what
happens when your provocative pics
go from fetch to fodder? Retribution
is coming, says Emma Markezic...Marky
ponders
MARKY
CONTEMPLATES
THE FUTURE OF
SEXY SNAPS.ROB AND CHYNA IN
HAPPIER TIMES... AND MORE
INNOCENT PICTURES.PHOTOGRAPHY BY PAUL SUESSE/BAUER16 COSMOPOLITAN SEPTEMBER 2017 Follow Emma on Twitter and Instagram @markyknowsbest.^
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