Ask John: Is lolicon Illegal in the USA?

Question:
Is lolicon illegal in the USA? And how come some people like it?

Answer:
On April 16, 2002, the US Court of Appeals Ninth Circuit overturned the 1996 Child Pornography Prevention Act, determining that it was unconstitutional because it was too vague. The Child Pornography Prevention Act of 1996 outlawed any material resembling child pornography, regardless of whether the material was actually obscene or actually involved real children. The ninth circuit appeals court determined that the 1996 act ignored the 1973 Miller vs. California ruling defining the legal status of obscenity, and failed to acknowledge the 1982 New York vs. Ferber ruling on the protection of children from sexual exploitation. In effect, the ninth court’s 2002 ruling specified that material which does not violate obscenity laws and which does not exploit real children is protected by first amendment free speech rights. (Allow me to make it clear that the 1996 act and the 2002 decision involve only simulated depictions of child sexuality. Actual child abuse is still very much illegal.)

As a result of the 2002 national ruling, “lolicon,” the Japanese artistic depiction of fictional children in sexual situations, does qualify for American First Amendment protection. Legal obscenity is defined as material that “does not have serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.” Since lolicon anime and manga is hand drawn art, it does have “artistic value” and therefore doesn’t violate the Miller vs. California statute. Because lolicon doesn’t involve real children, it doesn’t violate the 1982 New York vs. Ferber statute. However, individual examples of lolicon material may violate specific local and state “contemporary community standards” (referring to Miller vs. California). In other words, the general concept of lolicon art is legal in America, but specific pieces of lolicon art may be illegal in certain parts of America, depending on local laws. That’s why, for example, Media Blasters released the Kite anime in a heavily censored version, then in a less censored version, then finally in an uncensored edition. Media Blasters progressively tested the waters to see if there would be any legal accusations of Kite containing child pornography.

It should come as no surprise to any rational person that some people enjoy or appreciate lolicon art. After all, there are fetishes for virtually everything imaginable, and every person has unique interests. There are probably countless motivations for liking lolicon. I’ll name just a few. Sex with children may create feelings of power and dominance which may be satisfying for some adults. The idea of sex with children may be less threatening or intimidating than interaction with an equal mate. Children are cute, so depictions of sex involving children may be perceived as innocent and attractive.

I think it’s necessary to stress that an interest in Japanese lolicon and/or shota art (“shota” referring male children in heterosexual erotic situations) does not signify or justify an interest in sexually abusing real children. I have no doubt that there are lolicon and shotacon fans worldwide who have no interest in victimizing real children and vehemently oppose the exploitation of children. Puritanical American attitudes recoil from the mere thought of drawings of underage sexuality, but there is no scientific evidence to suggest that lolicon and shotacon, or interest in either, contributes to the exploitation or abuse of children. Anime and manga fans who appreciate girls with guns, battling giant robots, or naked children are all enjoying the same basic thing- artistic expression. Lolicon is just another variety of manga and anime; nothing more, nothing less. Even the American judicial system has determined that erotic art depicting fictional children is a legitimate form of creative free expression. Not everyone may approve of it, but one of the foundations of American society is a respect for dissenting opinion and interests.