World Sex Sells News

Indonesia's parliament has overhauled the country's criminal code to outlaw sex outside marriage and curtail free speech, in a dramatic setback to freedoms.

Passed with support from all political parties, the draconian legislation has shocked not only rights activists but also the country's booming tourism sector, which relies on a stream of visitors to its tropical islands.

Newspapers in Australia have labelled the legislation the Bali bonk ban as the law will apply to Indonesians and visiting foreigners.

Maulana Yusran, the deputy chief of Indonesia's tourism industry board, said:

The code was totally counterproductive and introduced just as the country was trying to recover from the pandemic. We deeply regret the government have closed their eyes.

Supporters of the new laws say that while sex outside marriage will be punishable by a year in jail and cohabitation by six months, charges can nominally be based only on police reports lodged by a spouse, parents or children. But Taufik Basari, a legislator of the NasDem party, said that if a tourist visiting Bali, for instance, had consensual sex with an Indonesian national, and it was reported to police by the Indonesian's parent or child, that tourist could be arrested.

There are fears the rules could have a severe impact on LGBTQ+ communities in Indonesia, where gay marriage is not acknowledged.

Bangkok's first erotic book festival aims to break taboos and seeks to pave the way for an open conversation about sexual freedom in Thailand.

According to Vicky Wichta, one of the organizers of the event:

Talking openly about sex is very difficult for Thais so we created the festival to address these issues in a safe environment, mixing literature, exhibitions, talks and movies.

It is the first festival of its kind in Thailand, which many foreigners consider an open and tolerant country regarding sex work, but in fact the state is very uptight about porn and sex toys..

Viewers will be immersed in a multi-sensory journey of (no doubt very soft) titillating art, passionate books, sensual movies and provocative debates with experts, historians and sexual content creators

A government spokeswoman for the DES or Digital Economy and Society Ministry that censors the internet in Thailand said that everything was being done to protect young people from online pornography.

Noppawan Huajaiman said that this was a concern of Thai PM Prayuth Chan-ocha. So the DES were monitoring the situation closely, following up on parental complaints, giving advice and ensuring that the law was followed to the letter.

She said that court orders can be obtained to remove obscene content and offenders can be jailed for five years and get 100,000 baht (£2300) fines under 2007 legislation. But she also said that parents can and should complain to platforms when they see obscene material.

Thai ISPs routinely block major porn websites but the blocks can be readily evaded using VPNs or TOR

Melbourne's longest-running adult cinema is closing. The basement-level adult theatre on Elizabeth Street has been screening pornography for more than 50 years, with many punters taking advantage of its $20 all-day ticket offer. Its reign as Melbourne's longest, continuously running cinema is coming to an end in the next month or so.

Crazy Horse Cinema, which is located in the basement below Club X sex shop, was previously known as the Star Theatre before being bought and rebranded in 1985. And while it did become infamous for screening exploitation and sexploitation films, it's also recognised by film historians for its historical contributions. Visitors could also catch amateur movies shot on 16mm film of local events like sports matches and news reruns, and a lot of that footage has since been catalogued by the National Film and Sound Archive.

The venue is set  to become a sex shop.