The Legacies of R v Brown in Contemporary British Law: The Case of Dr Evil

The Legacies of R v Brown in Contemporary British Law: The Case of Dr Evil

In February 2019, Wolverhampton-based body modification artist Brendan McCarthy, known professionally as Dr Evil, was convicted to 40 months in prison having undertaken a series of body modification procedures, including a tongue split and an ear removal. McCarthy was the first person in more than two decades to be convicted under the logic of consent to harm established in the 1994 case R v Brown, which convicted numerous gay men (including piercing pioneer Mr Sebastian) for harm inflicted during consensual sex acts. This talk will examine the legal and cultural contexts of the McCarthy ruling, and the current state of discourse surrounding harm and consent in British law, as well as the impacts for the body modification community.

by: Dr Matt Lodder
Slot 10 (Saturday 2:00pm-3:30pm)
90 minutes /  english