http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12963229/
I recently saw a news story about parents being upset over someone who has been videotaping cheerleaders at high school football games and selling the tapes on eBay. The tapes are obviously being sold to those with a cheerleader fetish and the filming is very suggestive. (zooming in on certain areas and freezeframing)
They want the sheriff to do something about it. They say they do not understand why this is not being prosecuted.
Well. I got news for them: there’s nothing illegal about filming a public event. Sorry. Finding this revolting, sick, perverted and creepy are all perfectly understandable. I can completely see how if you saw yourself or your daughter in one of these videos, it would make your skin crawl.
Of course, the reality is, that if you are an attractive young women dancing as a cheerleader, there’s going to be a lot of guys in the stands with their minds in the gutter. Sorry…it’s true. But there’s definitely a difference between it being your classmates who are there primarily to watch the game versus having it all over the internet.
Unfortunately, this is not actually anything new. There are plenty of pervs on the internet who trade pictures of young girls in the park or at the beach. Many of them weren’t even taken candidly, but were grabbed from parenting magazine sites or family photo albums.
If I were to find out my neighbor had a lot of blown up bikini pictures of the Olsen twins when they were 14, I’d definitely be very creeped out, and I wouldn’t let him anywhere near any of the younger kids in my family. I’d probably also give a warning to my other neighbors.
I’m really not sure what the solution to this problem is. It may have to come down to the school banning videotaping. Perhaps they could instead offer parents the opportunity to buy a school-made videotape of the game. This goes deeper though. It’s completely reasonable to want to prevent the fear and embarrassment that this sort of thing would cause those shown, but as far as legal recourse: I don’t see any.
It could possibly be taken to civil court, on the grounds that it is exploitive or constitutes harassment. That’d be a tough case to make though. Trying to stop this by taking each individual into such a legal battle would be like trying to use a cork to plug the Titanic.
Perhaps the best solution (if there is one) is simply community shame. I don't think this guy should be harrassed to any extreme extent. But at the very least, knowing that those around you know what you are doing with your camcorder could be some disensentive. At the very least...then he'd know what it's like to be scared of people coming after you (such as an angry father)
Reasons why it is not illegal:
#1. It’s in public. It’s a public event. Furthermore, they are performing in front of an audience. There is no expectation of privacy. If it were a hidden camera somewhere where there is a reasonable expectation of privacy, then there might be something to it. But it’s not.
#2. If you want to call this child porn, fine, but then you are saying cheerleading is a sexually erotic activity. There is no nudity. There is no sexual acts. The only thing sexual about the tape is the way it is filmed (the zooming ect). Arguably, the context could be considered sexual. However, at best that’s a very weak case and it would certainly set a dangerous precedent. Imagine: a guy filming his friends on the beach, turns to one of them and says “hey she’s looking hot today.” She’s 17.
#3. Others are allowed to videotape at the game. There’s no prohibition of camcorders. Certainly some of them will show cheerleaders. And, could possibly be considered a turn-on to someone. Even if not filmed in a sexual manner, they certainly could be edited as such.
I recently saw a news story about parents being upset over someone who has been videotaping cheerleaders at high school football games and selling the tapes on eBay. The tapes are obviously being sold to those with a cheerleader fetish and the filming is very suggestive. (zooming in on certain areas and freezeframing)
They want the sheriff to do something about it. They say they do not understand why this is not being prosecuted.
Well. I got news for them: there’s nothing illegal about filming a public event. Sorry. Finding this revolting, sick, perverted and creepy are all perfectly understandable. I can completely see how if you saw yourself or your daughter in one of these videos, it would make your skin crawl.
Of course, the reality is, that if you are an attractive young women dancing as a cheerleader, there’s going to be a lot of guys in the stands with their minds in the gutter. Sorry…it’s true. But there’s definitely a difference between it being your classmates who are there primarily to watch the game versus having it all over the internet.
Unfortunately, this is not actually anything new. There are plenty of pervs on the internet who trade pictures of young girls in the park or at the beach. Many of them weren’t even taken candidly, but were grabbed from parenting magazine sites or family photo albums.
If I were to find out my neighbor had a lot of blown up bikini pictures of the Olsen twins when they were 14, I’d definitely be very creeped out, and I wouldn’t let him anywhere near any of the younger kids in my family. I’d probably also give a warning to my other neighbors.
I’m really not sure what the solution to this problem is. It may have to come down to the school banning videotaping. Perhaps they could instead offer parents the opportunity to buy a school-made videotape of the game. This goes deeper though. It’s completely reasonable to want to prevent the fear and embarrassment that this sort of thing would cause those shown, but as far as legal recourse: I don’t see any.
It could possibly be taken to civil court, on the grounds that it is exploitive or constitutes harassment. That’d be a tough case to make though. Trying to stop this by taking each individual into such a legal battle would be like trying to use a cork to plug the Titanic.
Perhaps the best solution (if there is one) is simply community shame. I don't think this guy should be harrassed to any extreme extent. But at the very least, knowing that those around you know what you are doing with your camcorder could be some disensentive. At the very least...then he'd know what it's like to be scared of people coming after you (such as an angry father)
Reasons why it is not illegal:
#1. It’s in public. It’s a public event. Furthermore, they are performing in front of an audience. There is no expectation of privacy. If it were a hidden camera somewhere where there is a reasonable expectation of privacy, then there might be something to it. But it’s not.
#2. If you want to call this child porn, fine, but then you are saying cheerleading is a sexually erotic activity. There is no nudity. There is no sexual acts. The only thing sexual about the tape is the way it is filmed (the zooming ect). Arguably, the context could be considered sexual. However, at best that’s a very weak case and it would certainly set a dangerous precedent. Imagine: a guy filming his friends on the beach, turns to one of them and says “hey she’s looking hot today.” She’s 17.
#3. Others are allowed to videotape at the game. There’s no prohibition of camcorders. Certainly some of them will show cheerleaders. And, could possibly be considered a turn-on to someone. Even if not filmed in a sexual manner, they certainly could be edited as such.
