UK Sex Sells News

A poster for Larry Flynt's Hustler Club, which was displayed on the side of a van driven around South London, featured a photograph of a naked woman lying on her side with her back to the camera, and two fully clothed men standing in front of her and looking at her. Text stated THE BEST VIEW IN CROYDON . Issue

The ASA received three complaints.

1. All of the complainants challenged whether the ad was offensive, sexist and degrading to women.

2. Two of the complainants, who reported seeing the ad in Wimbledon Village on a Saturday and on Clapham High Street and Putney Bridge on consecutive Sundays, challenged whether the ad was unsuitable for public display where it could be seen by children.

ASA Assessment: Complaints upheld

1. & 2. Upheld

The ASA considered that, while the ad only showed the back of the woman, it was clear that she was lying on her side, naked, facing the two men who stood in front of her. While we acknowledged that the ad did not include any explicit nudity and the woman's pose was not overtly sexual, it was clear from the men's lines of sight that one was staring at her breasts, while the other was staring at her crotch, and we considered that the overall impression of the image was that it was sexual in tone. When accompanied with the claim The best view in Croydon , we considered the image presented the woman merely as a sexual object to be enjoyed at the whim of the club's clientele. While we acknowledged that the image was relevant to the nature of the club being advertised, we considered that it was likely to be seen as objectifying, and therefore demeaning to, women. Because of that, we concluded that it was likely to cause serious or widespread offence, and was unsuitable for public display, particularly where it could be seen by children.

  Object's website has ceased to be.  twitter and facebook postings seem to have stopped on the 7th July, and Object as a company have failed to file both their accounts (a £150 fine) and annual returns.

strippingtheillusion.blogspot.co.uk asks:

Does Object even have a future? I am sure that when this is read someone will try to make object look active but over the last couple of years they have had less and less impact and failed to deliver anything other than a jolly to Brazil for Roz Hardie, certainly hope that wasn't the last of the funds. And if I donated to Object in the past I would be stopping any standing orders.

...Read the full article

Kirklees Council covering the area around Huddersfield has become the last authority in West Yorkshire to adopt sex entertainment licensing.

Last year the council launched a consultation asking residents and councillors where they thought lap dancing clubs should be. It found that most people thought there should be none at all.

Councillors unanimously agreed to adopt the powers which will allow councillors to ban some applications and closely control where sexual entertainment venues can open.

And it seems that Kirklees has been quick to impose repressive controls. New rules forbid fully nude dancing and also ban clubs from advertising in their windows using photographs or other images which suggest that striptease takes place.

Cleopatras Lounge on Northumberland Street in Huddersfield will bear the brunt of the new moralist policy from 1st October 2015.

Plans for a lap dancing bar in Wrexham have been rejected by the local council. But the applicants, Maxi Promotions Ltd, will be given an opportunity to try and persuade council's environmental licensing committee to change the decision.

About 100 people had signed petitions against the proposal to open an adult venue at the Midnight Lounge premises on Abbot Street. Several church leaders have also put forward their moral opposition to the Sex Establishment Licence application..

The company wanted to open a lap and pole dancing bar with full nudity above the Penny Black bar, which would be open Monday to Sunday between the hours of 9pm and 4am.

At today's meeting committee chairman Cllr Dave Griffiths said objections on moral grounds could not be considered relevant to a decision. So trivial reasons were proposed to cover over the moral objections.

Councillors on the committee rejected the application saying that the two existing establishments were enough.

Amongst the objectors, the Archdeacon of Wrexham, Bob Griffiths, whinged:

It's in proximity to schools and nurseries, close to churches and other areas of worship and close to a business and transport hub in Wrexham that tries to be a place of welcome and safety for all people.

Reverend Richard Sharples, Minister of Wrexham Methodist Church, spouted:

Such a venue would attract unwanted sexual attention to females. The risk to the reputation of the town is considerable, not least to the university's capacity to attract students.

Not all representations to the council were against the plans. One letter of support said:

The average club causes less issues than a restaurant or nightclub.

Perhaps they should have added lap dancing has caused an awful lot less trouble than religion too.

Eden Lounge on Exeter's Fore Street opened in 2009, but has just lost its SEV licence. It won the licence in 2012, had seen it renewed but was refused it at a licensing committee meeting on 21st July. The council's have not been published but it was probably in response to the usual trivial whinges, of which there were 16.

There were comments about being near to churches, or feminist claims such as:

 Taking away the licence will mean the amount of sexual comments on the streets at night will decrease, meaning women will have a safer evening.

I wonder what the odds actually are of hearing a sexual comment as one wonders through Exeter's town centre? If one was forced to write an estimnate down surely it would be a million to 1. Hardly a proportionate reason for destroying a business and say 20 jobs.

Chester's only strip club has been closed down by moralists on Chester's Council. Arbitrary reasons were quoted for the refusal to renew the licence for Platinum Lounge in the city centre.

Chester and Cheshire West Council's planning committee claimed it was no longer appropriate for Platinum Lounge to continue. The committee noted the venue was close to family friendly premises, such as  BARS??? and restaurants, as well as residential accommodation. They also noted that the presence of a strip club does nothing to enhance Chester's family friendly tourist offering , the Dewa Roman Experience. 

The council received 100 written objections and a petition opposing the renewal of the licence, and 24 letters and three petitions in support. Among the objectors, the Wesley Methodist Church claimed lap dancing clubs provide a venue for a morally objectionable trade, namely in a form of live pornography .

However, barrister Gary Grant, representing club operator Bridgerow Ltd, said an extraordinary and unprecedented campaign had been waged against the venue. He said the objections came from people who would like to return Chester to a world where the pursuit of human fun was shackled by a tutting society .

The ban  will take effect from 24 July.

Offsite Comment: Chester and the Rise of the Prickademics

20th July 2015. See  article from  strippingtheillusion.blogspot.co.uk

Now I do find it strange that a handful of people managed to shut down a club the way it happened in Chester but you do feel that everything was being judged on moral standards rather than if the business was a problem.

...read the full article

Update: Moralists and windbags

21st July 2015. See  article from  sevlicensing.wordpress.com

Chester Council has produced one of the most long winded explanations of how lap dancing is considered inappropriate or immoral in the nice area of town in which it has run for several years without causing any problems. Surely the overegged justification is an indication of insecurity.

The club now says it will try burlesque plus the limited number of lap dancing nights allowed without requiring a licence.

Update: A brave face

23rd July 2015. See  article from  chesterchronicle.co.uk

The current dancers at Platinum Lounge have this week been learning new moves ready for when the club reopens as a burlesque show bar this Friday (July 24),  although the club will still be holding lap dancing nights 11 times a year as allowed without a licence.

Just as before there will be one-to-one dances priced £10 each, but promoters say performances will be art, not adult entertainment, with dancers wearing basques and stockings and no apologies for the gratuitous use of feather boas. Any sexual connotations are in the mind of the customer, say organisers.

Erotic Trade Only is a trade organisation publishing a trade newspaper for UK sex shops and associated products.

The group organises an annual trade exhibition and awards show at the NEC Birmingham. The awards are voted on by readers and this year's winners are:

ETO Award winners 2015

Products

• Best New Female Product: Womanizer [Orion]
• Best New Male Product: Revo Stealth [Nexus]
• Best New Couples Product: We-Vibe 4 Plus
• Best New Product Range: Entice Accessories [California Exotic Novelties]
• Best Consumable: ID Glide

Brands

• Best Fetish Products Brand: Fetish Fantasy Series [Pipedream]
• Best Pleasure Products Brand: Rocks-Off
• Best Luxury Brand: Lelo
• Most Innovative Brand: Pipedream
• Best Sexual Wellbeing Brand: System Jo
• Best Consumable Brand: ID Lubricants
• Best Lingerie Brand: Leg Avenue

Distribution

• Best Fetish Products Distributor: E-Stim Systems
• Best Specialist Products Distributor: Mister B
• Best Pleasure Products Distributor: ABS Holdings (Simply Pleasure)
• Best International Distributor: Scala Playhouse
• Best Lingerie Distributor: Kevco Wholesale

Retail

• Best Retail Chain: Simply Pleasure
• Best Individual Store: Harmony Oxford Street
• Most Innovative Retailer: Sh! Women's Erotic Emporium
• Best Online Retailer: Bondara

People

• Best Erotic Author: Kay Jaybee
• Best Erotic Journalist: Cara Sutra
• Best Store Manager: Renee Denyer [Sh! Women's Erotic Emporium]
• Best Sales Team: Creative Conceptions