Editing Victim (1961 film) (section)

===British censor===
An official of the [[British Board of Film Classification|British Board of Film Censors]] (BBFC) had set out its view of homosexuality in film: "to the great majority of cinema-goers, homosexuality is outside their direct experience and is something which is shocking, distasteful and disgusting". Relph said that in ''Victim'', by contrast: "What I think we want to say is that the homosexual, although subject to a psychological or glandular variation from sexual normality, is a human being subject to all the emotions of other human beings, and as deserving of our understanding. Unless he sets out to corrupt others, it is wrong for the law to pillory him because of his inversion." He said ''Victim'' was "a story not of glands but of love."<ref name=stafford/>

Although a number of controversial scenes were cut before the film's release during discussions with the BBFC, including scenes with teenagers,<ref>{{citation | last=Robertson | first=James Crighton | year=1993 | title=The Hidden Cinema: British Film Censorship in Action, 1913–1975 | publisher=Routledge | isbn= 978-0-415-09034-6 | page=120}}</ref> the BBFC nevertheless gave the film an [[History of British film certificates|"X" rating]]—that is, "recommended for adults only"—a classification which was then usually reserved for erotica and horror films. In a letter to the filmmakers, the BBFC secretary raised four objections to the film. First, a male character says of another man: "I wanted him". Second, references to "self-control" in the revised script were omitted from the filmed discussion of homosexuality, leaving the discussion "without sufficient counterbalance". Third, the film implies that homosexuality is a choice, which "is a dangerous idea to put into the minds of adolescents who see the film". Finally, the one blackmailer who unleashes a tirade against homosexuality is so unsympathetic that the views expressed will be discredited.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=PG Tips |magazine= [[Harper's Magazine]] |date=July 2012 |page= 17}}</ref>