This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 128.97.1.114 (talk) at 01:55, 2 December 2004. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Revision as of 01:55, 2 December 2004 by 128.97.1.114 (talk)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Lolicon, or Rorikon (ロリコン) is the Japanese (or Engrish) term for "Lolita complex" (derived from the novel Lolita), the sexual attraction to fictional and real underage girls.
It is used to refer to hentai anime, manga, and other visual forms of art that contain sexual/erotic representations of underage girls, and also to people who are sexually attracted to fictional and real underage girls (and who are not themselves underage). Actual photographs or videos of underage children in sexual situations can be considered lolicon, but is usually simply called child pornography; lolicon manga are legal in Japan (so long as actual underage models are not used in the creation of the art); child pornography is not.
"Complex" is abbreviated as "con", rather than "com", due to the phonology of Japanese. Other foreign words with syllables ending in "m" are often transliterated in the same manner.
Generally speaking, lolicon involves girls between the ages of 8 and 16. It is frequently accused of being similar to or a form of pedophilia, particularly by westerners. Those people who have a "lolicon" are believed by some to have a tendency to act violently against children or to prefer sex with children to adults. Despite Japan producing (and consuming) most lolicon media, there is no evidence that it causes violent crimes against children and teens. Their prevalence (as is the case for violent crimes in general) is well below that of most other countries.
Lolicon is a frequent subject of scholarly articles on sexuality in Japan, and is often suggested to exist in Japan for the same reasons that adult women in high-school uniforms are considered attractive, and enjo kosai is popular. Despite stereotypes, however, neither culture has homogeneous views; there are many Japanese staunchly opposed to lolicon, and there are many westerners that would have no objection to it. Defenders of lolicon say that fictional material does not adversely affect children, and may in some cases help to relieve the sexual tension of actual pedophiles; opponents often say that the existence of fictional material encourages the viewing of children as sex objects. It has been theorized that because Japanese men have the smallest penis size out of all nationalities, they exert this shame and inferiority complex unto underage girls who are not mature enough to ridicule the men.
Shota-con is the underage-boy equivalent of lolicon.
External links
- Does comic relief hurt kids? - Japan Times (April 27, 2004)
- Youngsters succumb to evil of sex - Mainichi Daily News (November 5, 2004)