In 1989, a Maltese man wrote about ejaculating in a woman's lap. The same man described spearing a woman with his body or male organ ("Mara b'ġismi nifdik..."). Despite the use of explicit language, his writings were not banned by the University Rector of the day. The police did not waste valuable man hours interrogating him in the hope of hauling him before the courts for infringing obscenity laws.

Instead his works were published in an anthology of poems edited by Fr Peter Serracino Inglott. The poems of Daniel Massa (the author of Tempji tal-Qedem and Sagarmata 3 p.m, in which these references appear), together with those of other Maltese poets, came to form part of the syllabus which was studied by sixth formers for several years.

Some six years later, another Maltese author addressed Jesus Christ the Redeemer as a criminal clown. That was Mario Azzopardi writing the magnificent Redentur where he juxtaposes the superficiality and venality of the people munching away at imqaret during the Good Friday procession while the Redeemer statue is carried aloft above their heads.

Elsewhere, Azzopardi wrote a poem dedicated to the hunting season, written from the point of view of a hunter who utters profanities while killing birds. Then there's the poem which mentions the prostitute masturbating in full view of lying men. Again - the vulgar language used doesn't seem to have rung any alarm bells in the authorities' heads. The long arm of the law did not reach out to grab Azzopardi. His poems were printed by the publishing arm of the Nationalist Party and his books are found in libraries all over the island.

Fast forward to 2009, and the authorities have put on their prude hat and come down hard on a work of fiction written by Alex Vella Gera and published in Ir-Realtà, a non-profit left-wing monthly student newspaper.

His Li Tkisser Sewwi (Fix What You Break) is a short story about a man who is obsessed with having sex, preferably with young, nubile tourists. It includes a very graphic description of the protagonist's various encounters, vulgar and obscene language and swear words. Women don't fare very well at the hands of the protagonist. They are basically depicted as places to park his penis. This may have been what sparked off the University's over-reaction to the piece of offending literature. The newspaper was actually from the University precincts and the beadle was told to make campus a Realtà-free zone.

Initially, we were informed that the paper had been banned because it was offensive to women. Strangely enough this conclusion was not drawn by any women or organisation representing women. When I e-mailed the story to a few friends and carried out an informal straw poll, none of the women who had read it found it particularly offensive or degrading to their sex. That's because they realised that it was a realistic description of the way some men think and act.

Whoever found Vella Gera's story to be outrageously shocking must be unaware of the rutting and casual sex that goes on all the time. It may be a sad indictment of our times, but it's a reality which exists. And yes, there are men who couldn't care less about women's feelings and view them merely as sex objects. Haven't the people militating in favour of the ban read the papers recently? In the past week there have been reports of the trial of a man who is accused of raping his seven-year-old niece days after her first Holy Communion. In Britain, a policeman has been found guilty of raping a woman in front of her three year-old son. What is so offensive about featuring men like these - distasteful and unsavoury though they may be - in a work of fiction?

The fact that it is a work of fiction must be stressed. I've read comments condemning Vella Gera for lusting after young girls and wanting to do unspeakable things to them. Such reactions betray an inability to read between the lines and understand the true import of the story. It's not an autobiographical piece but a story written from the point of view of a sex-obsessed man. The crude and vulgar language is necessary to give the piece a ring of authenticity. Someone like the story's protagonist would speak exactly like that. The speech couldn't be toned down or replaced with a string of asterisk signs. It wouldn't be as punchy or ring as true. Admittedly, the story does not make for pleasant reading, but this doesn't warrant its censorship.

The University's latest (and most risible) attempt to justify its heavy-handedness, is that there was no indication on the front cover or on the page containing the article that the material was 'adult' reading, and this might constitute a criminal offence. They really should try harder.

If stickers denoting 'adult' material had to be slapped on every magazine, book or publication which contains swear words, explicit language or a reference to sex and genitalia, the poor beadle would be working round the clock running around with his sticker stash.

It would mean that the works of University lecturers like Prof. Massa would be branded as 'Adult Material' in much the same way as Hugh Hefner's Playboy would. The same treatment would be meted out to the poet who wrote about bouncing boobs in a striptease, or about the Hair choir singing that masturbation can be fun. But, then again, maybe not. That would mean classifying the works of Philip Sciberras - now a judge - as smutty stuff. And it's anything but.

cl.bon@nextgen.net.mt