Age of majority

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The age of majority is the age when a person acquires all the rights and responsibilities of being an adult and is no longer considered a minor.

Countries[edit]

U.S. Child Protection and Obscenity Enforcement Act[edit]

In the United States, producers of adult-oriented materials – from spanking-related images and videos to hardcore pornography – must maintain specific records documenting the adult status of all participants in that work.

The Child Protection and Obscenity Enforcement Act of 1988, is part of an Act of Congress which places stringent record-keeping requirements on the producers of sexually explicit materials. This is otherwise known as United States Code Title 18, Section 2257 (or 18 U.S.C. 2257). This applies to all producers of sexually explicit content who reside and produce material within the United States intended for shipment in interstate or foreign commerce.

Producers of these materials (videos, magazines, photos, etc.) made after November 1, 1990 are required to maintain a copy of a picture identification card (passport, driver's license, etc.) for each performer/model available for inspection at the company's place of business. A Custodian of Records (COR), usually the company lawyer, is responsible for maintaining these records. A statement of compliance to 18 U.S.C. 2257 laws and contact information for the COR must also be included somewhere in or on the work or its packaging.

Portrayal of minors[edit]

Not only do the performers have to be adults, they must also portray adult characters, not minors. Currently, countries that have made it illegal to possess (or create/distribute) sexual images of fictional characters who are described as or appear to be under eighteen years old include Canada, South Africa, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the Philippines.

For example, the portrayal of a little girl in a video series such as The Naughty Schoolgirl (presumably made before 1990) with noted disciplinarian Dana Specht could not be made today.

There are three videos in this Impressions Video/Joey Sparks production: The Naughty Schoolgirl, The Naughty Schoolgirl II, and The Naughty Schoolgirl III: Mommy's Turn. Adult actress Alexandria Panos plays Specht's disobedient 8 or 9 year-old daughter who gets punished repeatedly. Panos speaks in a baby-ish lisp and wears girlish clothes (provided by spanking actress Bobbie Tawse's Bobbie's DropSeats company).

Changes in video production[edit]

The implementation of 18 U.S.C. 2257 has led to precautionary changes in the way characters in spanking videos are presented. Since the passing of this law, the number of stories involving secondary school students of an undetermined age has declined. The remaining videos that involve teenage schoolgirls and cheerleaders often include dialog that indicates the characters are 18 years old.

Uniformed schoolgirls and cheerleaders are by far the most popular characters in fetish (and pornographic) films. To circumvent potential legal complications, many producers have simply plucked these iconic characters out of high school and placed them in the "safe" environment of a college, university or some other tertiary school. Pacific Force has released schoolgirl videos with unambiguous titles such as College Girls Get Paddled After School. The web page descriptions for their Spanked in Front of the Class and The Principal's Office videos contain the disclaimer: "This movie setting is a college classroom. All participants are portrayed as college students. All actors are over 21 years of age and portray characters over 21 years of age." And the cautious Raven Hill Studios would also change the title of their Reform School Punishments film to Reform House Punishments.

The next most popular scenario involves a misbehaving young girl who is punished at home by an adult authority figure (a parent, guardian, aunt, uncle, governess, nanny or babysitter). In these domestic stories it has become common for the girl in question to loudly complain that she is an adult (i.e., over 18) and is "too old for a spanking." This also adds an element of ageplay humiliation to the scene.

Other stories get around the age issue, while retaining the illusion of an adolescent girl, by portraying a character who is clearly an adult in her 20s being forced to wear a schoolgirl uniform (as in Spanked Bubble Butts from Pacific Force) as a prelude to her punishment.

Katie Visits Meryl (Nu-West/Leda Productions) uses a reality video approach to document an actual week-long roleplay session. Here, a woman hires model Katie to wear a schoolgirl uniform and pretend to be her young niece.

Statement of compliance[edit]

Adult magazines, videos, DVDs, and other photographic materials are required to include a standard disclaimer stating that they are in full compliance with 18 U.S.C. 2257. Drawings and other works of art are exempt as no actual humans are involved in their production. There are many versions of this compliance notice. They vary in length and detail from one company to the next. Some, but not all, list the day, month, and year the video was filmed. A typical example of a minimal statement would be: 18 USC Compliance. All persons appearing in this production were 18 years old or older at the time of filming. Keeper of records, [name and address].

One of the more detailed statements that covers every aspect of the law is included on each DVD made by spanking video producer Raven Hill Studios. The following is printed on every videodisc, DVD box, and also appears onscreen before the video's opening title credits.

The records required by section 2557 of title 18, United States Code, with respect to this video production, and all other graphical material associated herewith, are kept by the custodian of records [name and address]. Adult material. Sales to minors prohibited. All persons appearing are 18 years of age, or older. No visual depiction involves the appearance of any individual under the age of 18 years, nor does the distribution of this material convey the impression that activities involving an individual under 18 are contained in this video production.

All websites that feature adult-oriented photographs or videos must also contain a similar statement of compliance. Below is an example from the RealSpankings.com site:

18 U.S.C. Section 2257 Compliance Notice
All models, actors, actresses and other persons that appear in any visual depiction of actual sexually explicit conduct appearing or otherwise contained in this website were over the age of eighteen years at the time of the creation of such depictions. Some visual depictions displayed on this website are exempt from the provision of 18 U.S.C. Section 2257 and 28 C.F.R. 75 because said visual depictions do not consist of depictions of conduct as specifically listed in 18 U.S.C. Section 2257 (2) (A) through (D), but are merely depictions of non-sexually explicit nudity, or are depictions of simulated sexual conduct, or are otherwise exempt because the visual depictions were created prior to July 3, 1995.
With respect to all visual depictions displayed on this website, whether of actual sexually explicit conduct, simulated sexual conduct or otherwise, all persons in said visual depictions were at least eighteen years of age when said visual depictions were created.
The original records required pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 2257 and 28 C.F.R. 75 for materials contained in this website are kept by the appropriate Custodian of Records as listed below:

See also[edit]

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