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My Dad Published Lolita

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Re: My Dad Published Lolita

#11

The actual article title is "How Would the Publishing World Respond to Lolita Today?" The title here is a small bit from the article. Unless the submitter here is the author I don't think it's appropriate to link this article under this title. The article consists of the story of how Lolita was published in the US mixed with background on the political setting of the era it was published in. The overall claim of the…

It’s a little awkward to comment on moderation but I want to say I’m glad to see this comment visible again after it was marked dead, because it is an interesting contribution and there’s no reason to snuff it out.

Re: My Dad Published Lolita

#13

The actual article title is "How Would the Publishing World Respond to Lolita Today?" The title here is a small bit from the article. Unless the submitter here is the author I don't think it's appropriate to link this article under this title. The article consists of the story of how Lolita was published in the US mixed with background on the political setting of the era it was published in. The overall claim of the…

It’s a little awkward to comment on moderation but I want to say I’m glad to see this comment visible again after it was marked dead, because it is an interesting contribution and there’s no reason to snuff it out.

That was because of the user’s shadowban, not votes.

Re: My Dad Published Lolita

#15
post #4

What a terrible cookie consent from

It should be illegal to have these giant lists without a single opt out all button.

If they make a cent from users who visit but then leave when they see this giant form, they should be fined into a smoking hole the ground.

Re: My Dad Published Lolita

#16
post #10

The actual article title is "How Would the Publishing World Respond to Lolita Today?" The title here is a small bit from the article. Unless the submitter here is the author I don't think it's appropriate to link this article under this title. The article consists of the story of how Lolita was published in the US mixed with background on the political setting of the era it was published in. The overall claim of the…

> the world has reached a point where it is broadly understood that written erotica is freedom of speech and trying to ban it or make it stop is pointless. Unfortunately, this isn't entirely true, even today. https://www.vice.com/en/article/3a8nv3/canadian-author-charg... This is the most famous recent one. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/man-convicted-multiple-obscen... There is also a Texas Man, by the name of Thoma…

Alright. This is a fair point. I go way out of my way to discourage underage visitors to the erotica website I run, and I do agree that there is tremendous sensitivity in the current era towards the notion of anything sexual involving children.

Despite that, I don't think such sensitivity is unreasonable. I do believe that children are sexual from quite an early age, and that that should be accepted and encouraged from a sexual wellness perspective, but simultaneously I think children are abused very frequently even in this era and we should continue to do everything we can to protect them from abuse.

I still see plenty of "stories of my childhood" on erotica websites, and I don't see anyone going out of their way to shut them down. Example: solotouch ( not my website, but a common example with many such stories )

Another legal example that comes to mind is the man who was convicted for importing obscene hentai manga. I personally believe hentai should be considered free speech but that is certainly not the case in the legal arena right now.

My point remains that I believe the world is very accepting of many types of erotica that I had previously thought would be highly frowned upon.

I will point out that under the miller test ( the main law concerning this in the US ), textual material that is artistically meaningful as writing does not constitute illegal writing. I myself shy away from writing any erotica describing explicit sexual activity of minors, but I still believe it to be legal if written well enough... I does though fail 2 of the 3 prongs on the miller test:

1. The average person would agree that description of explicit child sexual activity is illegal. ( fiction wise at least; I think accounts of childhood activity may be deemed acceptable by many normal folk )

2. Description of child sexual activity is patently offensive.

In the case of Lolita, for the most part, the book isn't terribly explicit in nature. It also ensures its legality by being an instance of well written fiction.

Other applicable law is "activity contributing to the delinquency of minors". So, it isn't unreasonable for something that is otherwise legal to be illegal ( for good reason ) if it is used to encourage minors to engage in sexual activity ( with adults or for the entertainment of adults )

Essentially, the world is very accepting of erotica in many forms. The world simultaneously has many laws to attempt to protect children while maintaining the general acceptance.

Re: My Dad Published Lolita

#17

I just reread Lolita at 45, for the first time since I was 14. I slogged through it the first time, and didn't particularly enjoy it. All I remember from the first reading is that HH seemed kind of icky. I was barely older than Delores was in the first half of the novel, and I didn't really understand all the implications. I probably skimmed a great deal of the book without paying attention to it. Much of the subtlet…

It is a remarkable story on many levels. It's also very disturbing, as it manages to make you feel sympathy for an odious character. I did end up wondering how Nabokov could so completely imagine this world and this character, which was also troubling.

I don't think anyone is ready to read this as a child, not because it is going to corrupt children (who are routinely exposed to exactly this sort of manipulation in their teen years), but because there are so many levels you'd miss.

Truly a masterpiece, in spite of the icky subject matter, some parts are really dark in retrospect, but it's handled with such a light touch it's hard to look away.

Re: My Dad Published Lolita

#18

The actual article title is "How Would the Publishing World Respond to Lolita Today?" The title here is a small bit from the article. Unless the submitter here is the author I don't think it's appropriate to link this article under this title. The article consists of the story of how Lolita was published in the US mixed with background on the political setting of the era it was published in. The overall claim of the…

It’s a little awkward to comment on moderation but I want to say I’m glad to see this comment visible again after it was marked dead, because it is an interesting contribution and there’s no reason to snuff it out.

[dead] is a comment from a shadowbanned user, [flagged] is... well, flagged comments.

Vouch gets rids of it if other people find it unnecessary.

Re: My Dad Published Lolita

#19
post #10

The actual article title is "How Would the Publishing World Respond to Lolita Today?" The title here is a small bit from the article. Unless the submitter here is the author I don't think it's appropriate to link this article under this title. The article consists of the story of how Lolita was published in the US mixed with background on the political setting of the era it was published in. The overall claim of the…

> the world has reached a point where it is broadly understood that written erotica is freedom of speech and trying to ban it or make it stop is pointless. Unfortunately, this isn't entirely true, even today. https://www.vice.com/en/article/3a8nv3/canadian-author-charg... This is the most famous recent one. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/man-convicted-multiple-obscen... There is also a Texas Man, by the name of Thoma…

The Canadian one wasn’t convicted; the law was effectively ruled partially unconstitutional: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/yvan-godbout-acquitt...

That is, arguably, the system working. Unfortunately, when things go to court, the system working often involves people getting hurt.

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