‘Choking’ in porn has become the new normal. Here’s why a new UK law banning it is so vital | Clare McGlynn

TThis week marks a turning point in the UK’s approach to violent pornography. The government has announced it will make it illegal to publish or possess pornographic depictions of strangulation or choking – often referred to as “choking”. This bold move could transform the porn that appears on porn sites and social media platforms.

Choking in porn used to be niche. Indeed, studies a survey of porn content 20 years ago found virtually no examples. Yet an independent study of pornography released this year found it was commonplace on the most popular porn sites. This summer, the Children’s Commissioner released a report revealing that 58% of young people had seen strangulations in pornography, although only 6% had looked for them. As famous porn producer Erika Lust says, strangling has become the “alpha and omega” of “any porn scene.”

This is important because the more porn we watch, the more strangling we see – and the more likely we are to strangle someone during sexual activity. This is not speculative: studies of male students show precisely this link. Porn is today’s sex education: In a recent LadBible survey, 70% of young men said porn was their first exposure to sex.

We see this manifest in the lives of young people. Reports suggest that between a third and half of young people have been choked or strangled during sex. And it is a gendered practice: it is mainly men who strangle, and women and sexual minorities who are strangled.

Of course, pornography is not the only influencing factor. Popular culture reinforces and reproduces these messages that life is normal and harmless, with supposedly humorous memes and hashtags, such as #chokemedaddy; as well as popular songs such as Lovin on Me by Jack Harlow, referring to choking as “vanilla”. There is also a much darker underbelly, which the manosphere normalizes and encourages, labeling it as ultra-masculine.

All of this is important because of the serious risks and harms of strangulation. We have long known that strangulation can cause loss of consciousness, sore throat, dizziness, bloodshot eyes, incontinence and even strokes. But what is also now apparent is the negative impact on the functioning of the brains of young women.

Medical research based on MRI scans and blood tests reveals that frequent sexual strangulation impairs brain function, which can affect information processing and concentration. This is worrying at any time, but especially for younger people whose brains are still developing.

And it is essential to emphasize that these risks are not specific to non-consensual acts. Consent does not protect you from brain damage. These studies should not be dismissed as “sex negative” or a “moral panic” (unless you don’t care about brain damage in young women).

What is even more worrying is that these are hidden harms, difficult to detect and largely unknown. Young women are largely unaware of the serious risks of strangulation, meaning they cannot freely consent to it. Many men also strangle themselves without realizing the real risks to their partner – and to themselves if it all goes wrong. The common assumption is that this is a safe practice. This is why we also need to raise awareness of the harms of sexual strangulation, as the #Breathless campaign did in Australia.

All of this explains why there is an urgent need for action to reduce the prevalence and normalization of sexual strangulation. The government’s proposed new law means that under the Online Safety Act 2023, porn platforms and social media outlets such as X will have to proactively detect and remove this content.

This is a courageous and very welcome decision. But passing a law is only the first step: it must be implemented and enforced. All eyes will now be on the regulator, Ofcom. Will he prioritize this issue and force the platforms to act? Unfortunately, the omens are not good. Rape pornography is already illegal, but it remains common on mainstream and porn platforms.

This new law constitutes a decisive moment. It recognizes that mainstream pornography has real-world consequences and that strangulation is inherently harmful. This is the start of a fight against mainstream pornography that shapes our lives in deeply damaging ways.