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Lolicon (ロリコン, rorikon), in the Western world, is a genre of manga-style sexual artwork involving childlike female characters. The term Loli is derived from Vladimir Nabokov's book, Lolita. In Japan, Lolicon is a slang portmanteau short for Lolita complex. In Japan, it refers to an attraction to girls below the age of consent, or an individual attracted to such a person. The equivalent genre focused on male characters is shotacon.

Lolicon in Japan

Generally, lolicon it is a term used to describe a sexual attraction to a girl who is under the legal age of consent, both perceived and actual pedophilia and ephebophilia. Strictly speaking, Lolita complex in Japanese refers only to the paraphilia itself, but the abbreviation lolicon can refer to an individual that has the paraphilia as well. Lolicon is a widespread phenomenon in Japan, where it is a frequent subject of scholarly articles. Many general bookstores and newsstands openly offer illustrated lolicon material.

Sexual manga featuring children or childlike characters are called lolicon manga. These are generally legal in Japan, although child pornography was outlawed in 1999. Some lolicon manga also include crossdressing and futanari.

Lolicon in the West

The meaning of lolicon has evolved much in the West (as have the meanings of other words such as anime, otaku and hentai). In the West, lolicon refers to anime or manga that contains sexual or erotic portrayals of prepubescent or childlike characters, and is thus close cognate to the Japanese term lolicon manga. The use of the word lolicon is an indication that the material is overtly—even if not explicitly—erotic.

Controversy and legal issues

Opponents of illustrated lolicon pornography claim that fictional material encourages viewing children as sex objects and can contribute to actual sexual abuse. However, there is no direct evidence to support these claims of causality. Despite the fact that most lolicon artwork is produced in Japan, there is no evidence that it has caused an increase of violent crimes against children and teens. The number of reported incidents of crime against children in Japan, as well as violent crime in general, is well below that of most other developed countries, and indeed there appears to be a strong correlation between the dramatic rise of pornographic material in Japan from the 1970s onwards, and a dramatic decrease in reported sexual violence, especially crimes involving juveniles and non-impulsive rape cases. This supports the theory that widespread availability of sexually explicit material can in fact reduce the rate of sexual crimes.

Legal status in Canada

Section 163.1 of the Canadian Criminal Code defines child pornography as "a visual representation, whether or not it was made by electronic or mechanical means", that "shows a person who is or is depicted as being under the age of eighteen years and is engaged in or is depicted as engaged in explicit sexual activity", or "the dominant characteristic of which is the depiction, for a sexual purpose, of a sexual organ or the anal region of a person under the age of eighteen years." The definitive Supreme Court of Canada decision, R. v. Sharpe, interprets the statute to include purely fictional material even when no real children were involved in its production. From paragraph 38 of the decision:

Interpreting "person" in accordance with Parliament's purpose of criminalizing possession of material that poses a reasoned risk of harm to children, it seems that it should include visual works of the imagination as well as depictions of actual people. Notwithstanding the fact that 'person' in the charging section and in s. 163.1(1)(b) refers to a flesh-and-blood person, I conclude that "person" in s. 163.1(1)(a) includes both actual and imaginary human beings.

— Supreme Court of Canada, R. v. Sharpe, Paragraph 38

In October 2005, Canadian courts sentenced an Edmonton, Alberta, man to one year of community service for importing manga depicting child sex, possibly the first manga-related child pornography case in Canada.

In April 2006, an American was sentenced to 30 days in jail for bringing child pornography to Canada. While he had possession of three videos and three images of real children, a criminal investigator cited the 13,000 "mostly cartoon" or "anime" images in his possession and the "prohibitive nature of these goods".

So far, no one has been prosecuted solely for possessing or importing fictional Japanese lolicon in Canada. The current law has primarily been used to compound charges for real child pornography. However, the current law does criminalize possession of purely fictional material, could be applied in cases featuring only images of fictional children in the future, and has been used to prosecute possession of fictional stories with no pictures of real or imaginary children.

Legal status in Germany

German law does prohibit the propagation of any kind of pornographic material involving children. In this it does not discriminate between actual and fictitious. Possession is forbidden only for real and realistic sexual depictions of children. In Germany, only minors below the age of 14 are considered as children.

Legal status in Hungary

According to the latest definition of the act (Law 1997/LXXIII., Penal Code 195/A. §), "Production of Forbidden Pornography" is only forbidden if an underage person actually suffered through the production process. Due to this, any sort of graphics that were produced without using actual live models, or those using live models that were not sexually abused is legal. (Similarly it is legal if the resulting graphics is not original but a derivative of two or more pictures, in where the original picture of the underage person contains no matter violating the above paragraph of the Code. It does not need to bear any express label that the material was produced by any of those methods; and it is the task of the State to prove guilty, not of the defendant to prove innocent, which, with the recent developments in computer graphics, might be a burdensome if not impossible task.)

Legal status in the Netherlands

On October 1, 2002, the Netherlands introduced legislation (Bulletin of Acts and Decrees 470) which deemed "virtual child pornography" as illegal. The laws appear to only outlaw "realistic images representing a minor engaged in a sexually explicit conduct," and hence lolicon is not included.

Second Life (the US based virtual world) is currently being investigated by the public prosecutor. A number of Second Life users engage in age play where their online avatars dress, act and look like underage children while engaging in virtual sexual acts. Although there is no Dutch law that legislates against under age depictions of sexual acts for computer generated images, the public prosecutor is investigating this on the basis that these virtual actions may incite child abuse in the real world.

Legal status in Norway

Any images or videos that depict pornography in a childish context (which would include, for example, an adult model with childish clothes/toys/surroundings) are to be considered child pornography. Lolicon are therefore counted as child pornography, and not legal, in Norway (although this has not been proved by Norwegian court). So far, however, this law has only been used to sentence individuals in possession of real child porn.

Legal status in South Africa

With the promulgation of the "Films and Publications Amendment Bill" in September 2003, a broad range of simulated child pornography became illegal in South Africa. For the purposes of the act, any image or description of a person "real or simulated" who is depicted or described as being under the age of 18 years and engaged in sexual conduct, broadly defined, constitutes 'child pornography'. Under the act, anyone is guilty of an offence punishable by up to ten years imprisonment if he or she possesses, creates or produces, imports, exports, broadcasts, or in any way takes steps to procure or access child pornography.

Legal status in Sweden

Any images or videos that depict children in a pornographic context are to be considered child pornography in Sweden, regardless of how realistic or abstract they are. This means that lolicon is considered to be child pornography and is therefore illegal in Sweden. It has, however, not yet been tried in court.

Legal status in the United Kingdom

The Protection of Children Act 1978 made it an offense to take, make, distribute or show "indecent" photographs of real children, and was later amended to include possession. At the time, a child was considered to be anyone under the age of sixteen years, although this was raised to eighteen years in 2003. Its purpose was to attempt to prevent abuse towards children during the creation of the photographs.

Non-photographic images have never been proscribed by the Act, and on the 23 November 2006, Vernon Coaker, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department, stated that "Although cartoons depicting child abuse are deeply offensive, they do not in themselves constitute abuse of a child. The 1978 Act is well understood by those who work with it and enforce it and there are substantial arguments against extending its scope to cover cartoons of child pornography."

Despite this, by 13 December 2006, the UK Home Secretary, John Reid, had announced that the Cabinet was discussing how to ban computer-generated images of child abuse — including cartoons and graphic illustrations of abuse — after pressure from children's charities. The Government published a consultation on 1 April 2007, announcing plans to create a new offence of possessing a computer generated picture, cartoon or drawing with a penalty of three years in prison and an unlimited fine.

Legal status in the United States

The Supreme Court of the United States decided in 2002, and affirmed in 2004, that previous prohibition of simulated child pornography under the Child Pornography Prevention Act of 1996 was unconstitutional. The majority ruling stated that "the CPPA prohibits speech that records no crime and creates no victims by its production. Virtual child pornography is not 'intrinsically related' to the sexual abuse of children."

On 30 April 2003, President George W. Bush signed into law the PROTECT Act of 2003 (also dubbed the Amber Alert Law) which again criminalizes cartoon child pornography. The Act introduced 18 U.S.C. 1466A which criminalizes both Miller Test obscene cartoon depictions of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct, and, as noted by the 11th Circuit in United States v. Williams, cartoon depictions of a minor or what appears to be a minor engaging in overt sexual intercourse (not merely sexually explicit) and need satisify only the third part of the Miller Test, that it lack serious artistic value.

In December 2005, Dwight Whorley was convicted under 18 U.S.C. 1466A(a)(1) on twenty counts for receiving "...obscene Japanese anime cartoons that graphically depicted prepubescent female children being forced to engage in genital-genital and oral-genital intercourse with adult males." Whorley was also convicted under 18 U.S.C. 2252(a)(2) on fourteen accounts for receiving "...digital photographs of actual children engaging in sexually explicit conduct." Whorley was on parole for earlier sex crimes at the time of the violations, although these convictions were independent of Whorley's violation of the terms of his parole. The same FOIA-requested November 2006 United States Attorney's Bulletin describing the details of the conviction, concludes by suggesting that the precedent set by the Whorley case be used as a basis for future prosecutions of possession of such obscene cartoons. It is worth noting that Whorley's charges were coupled with charges for possession of conventional child pornography and that he was on parole at the time making the legal possibility of appealing the charges far less feasible and far less attractive to civil rights groups, such as the American Civil Liberties Union.

Neither Whorley's, nor any other conviction under this law has been reviewed by the Supreme Court.

In February 2007, Senator John McCain introduced S.519, which would add a mandatory 10-year sentence in jail to anyone who uses the Internet to violate the PROTECT Act.

See also

• Shotacon, the male equivalent of lolicon.
• Bishōnen, often the subject of female desire towards underage boys.
• Shōnen-ai, or 'Boys Love'. Mostly drawn by women and marketed to a female audience.
• Moe, a similar aesthetic but less sexual in nature.

• Legal aspects
  • Legal status of Internet pornography
  • Child pornography
  • Pedophilia

Footnotes

1. ^ Kinsella, Sharon. Adult Manga. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 2000. ISBN 0-8248-2318-4
2. Gelder, Ken. The Subcultures Reader, 2nd ed. Oxon: Routledge, 2005. p. 547. ISBN 0-415-34415-8
3. Tim Richardson, "Child porn banned in Japan". The Register, 18 May 1999
4. Lolicon entry at Wiktionary
5. Glossary Entry: Lolicon Anime Meta-Review web site URL accessed May 13, 2006as
6. President Signs PROTECT Act: President's Remarks Upon Signing of S. 151, the Protect Act (30 April 2003). Retrieved January 28, 2006.
7. The Early Window Liebert, R. M., Neale, J. M., & Davison, E. S. ISBN 0-08-017091-9
8. Pornography, Rape and Sex Crimes in Japan International Journal of Law and Psychiatry 22(1): 1-22. 1999.
9. R. v. Sharpe (26 January 2001). Retrieved February 20, 2006.
10. Anime News Network (20 October 2005). Retrieved January 20, 2006.
11. CBC News (April 4 2006)
12. R. v. Beattie (8 April 2005). Retrieved March 12, 2007.
13. Justitie (1 October 2002). Retrieved January 20, 2006.
14. Draft Convention on Cyber-crime (25 April 2000). Retrieved January 20, 2006.
15. Template:No icon Lovdata - Straffeloven, 19. kapittel, Seksualforbrytelser, § 204a
16. Template:No icon Lovdata - Straffeloven, 19. kapittel, Seksualforbrytelser, § 204 - "Pornoloven" ("The porn law")
17. "Films and Publications Amendment Bill of 2003 (104kb pdf file)" (PDF). Retrieved 14 January. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
18. Template:Sv icon Frågor och svar om sexuella övergrepp mot barn
19. "House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for [[23 November]] [[2006]]". Retrieved 6 December. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); URL–wikilink conflict (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
20. "Ban urged on child abuse images". BBC News. 2006-12-13. Retrieved 2007-02-12. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
21. "Plan to tighten child abuse law". BBC News. 2007-04-02. Retrieved 2007-05-28. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
22. "Ashcroft v. Free Speech Coalition". Retrieved 12 January. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
23. "Bush signs child protection bill". Retrieved May 1. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
24. "United States v. Williams" (PDF). Retrieved 2007-02-12.
25. "Richmond man first convicted under expanded child-porn law". Retrieved 12 January. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
26. Flannery, Sara E. (2006). "Prosecuting Obscene Representations of the Sexual Abuse of Children" (PDF). Internet Pornography and Child Exploitation. United States Department of Justice. p. 50. Retrieved 2007-02-12. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
27. "Whorley Sentencing" (PDF) (Press release). U.S. Department of Justice, Eastern District of Virginia. 2006-03-10. Retrieved 2006-05-14. {{cite press release}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
28. "Whorley Verdict" (PDF) (Press release). U.S. Department of Justice, Eastern District of Virginia. 2005-11-30. Retrieved 2006-05-14. {{cite press release}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
29. "Virginia Man Sentenced in Landmark Obscenity Case". Federal Bureau of Investigation. Retrieved 2006-09-15. (March 10 2006)
30. CNET News.com, Senator to propose surveillance of illegal images

External links

• "'Virtual child' pornography on the Internet: a 'virtual' victim?" Duke Law & Technology Review, 9/23/2002,
• "Does comic relief hurt kids?" at ecpat.net Japan Times (April 27 2004)
• "New Law Banning Lolicon?" ComiPress (November 17 2006)

• Japanese sex terms
• Anime and manga terminology
• Pedophilia