2026/03/12 by Ashley Remminga · 1 voice
Psychology · Social Sciences · #Gender, Feminism, and Media #LGBTQ Health, Identity, and Policy #Sexuality, Behavior, and Technology
paper · doi:10.1080/23268743.2026.2625085
openalex publication_date 2026/03/12 · openalex created_date 2026/03/13 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/15
Australia has an extensive, and prolific, history of censorship. Laws concerning obscenity, particularly the Customs Act 1901, carry severe penalties, yet are inconsistently applied across state and federal jurisdictions. Feminist and queer studies frequently explore themes of sexual agency and pornography. However, in the case of queer content from Japan, this has been largely neglected in anglophone studies. This article builds on Mark McLelland’s research on Japanese erotic media, specifically within the context of Australia’s obscenity laws under the Customs Act 1901 and how this Act is inconsistently applied across state and federal jurisdictions. As an accredited classifier for the Australian Classification Board, the author is uniquely positioned to observe how regulatory and coding decisions regarding explicit media, such as doujinshi, are made. The article will examine how the laws disproportionately restrict content that is queer in nature or intended for a female audience, and reinforce heterosexual, patriarchal norms.