An article I found on Reddit

The discussion is about the writer's feeling on on Lolicon, Shotacon and other "Child Like" characters in Manga and Anime being sexually active or present in sexually explicit acts. To quote the article "Fans like Hide argue they are just enjoying harmless fantasy. No child models or actors are involved, he says, so 'there is no child abuse for creating sexual topic mangas'."

Another quote from the article that brings up the counterpoint: "'People get sexually excited by something, then become used to it,' says Tomo, who works behind the counter in one of the adult stores. 'So they are always looking for something new, and get sexually excited by young, immature women.'

This is what worries critics - the concern that even if no-one is harmed in the creation of sexually explicit manga, it might normalise, facilitate, or lead to an increased risk of sexual abuse."

What are your feeling on Lolicon/Shotacon in Manga and Anime? Do you think it should be censored or banned outright? Even if it really doesn't hurt anyone which is one of the main reasons for banning Child Pornography?

My personal opinion was also summed up in the article. "'I'm not comfortable with it, but it is not my right to tell people how they think or what they want to share,' he says. 'As long as it doesn't infringe upon people's human rights, what's wrong with having a fantasy life?'"

I think that the main issue should be with real child pornography and the exploitation of actual children. We should focus our efforts in ending the real problem. If people want to be creepy but it doesn't actually hurt anyone just let them be creepy.

I agree with Flee, it potentially opens up the path to worse alternatives and criminal activity, nevermind the morality of the material involved.

The US hasn't either. You can buy Dance of The vampire Bound online and at stores.

What are your feeling on Lolicon/Shotacon in Manga and Anime? Do you think it should be censored or banned outright? Even if it really doesn't hurt anyone which is one of the main reasons for banning Child Pornography?

I have no problems with it since it's not CP. CP are sexual images or videos of kids. Last time I checked cartoon characters are not kids. So there's no harm done by having these cartoon characters that are child like getting fucked. The other thing is that they are a safe release to help prevent people from finding the real thing.   

It should be banned, but it also should have research done into it.  It's already banned in my country, though.

It could perhaps prove useful in rehabilitating paedophiles by giving them an outlet.

Gateway arguments are nearly always horseshit.

I think it's creepy as hell, but it seems harmless enough. I don't think it will encourage sexual abuse in anyone who wasn't already a fringe case, so I don't see any real reason to ban it.

Don't really care. Setting the laws to determine when exactly the arrangement of lines on paper becomes illegal would be tedious at best. I'd be far more concerned about real cp/abuse.

Maybe I'm just desensitized to the stuff though. I lived near Tokyo for 4years. When I first got there I was walking around and saw a big sign saying 'DVDs'. Was looking for a CD at the time and figured I'd try the place. Turned out to be a porn shop. Loli stuff right out for everyone to see. Its just a different culture. They're less pearlclutchy when it comes to stuff like that. Crime rates there are a lot lower too.

We must dig deeper.

I find it amusing that everyone is willing to believe that smoking pot won't turn you into a hardcore cocaine addict but plenty of people still think that looking at lolicon will make you touch little girls.

And no, just to clarify, pedophiles who haven't actually abused children shouldn't be prosecuted. Duh.
You can't help what you're sexually attracted to.

I got nothing against persecuting them, though, if they ever display their sick fetish to the public.
That you can help.

Displaying as in letting people know about it. Flaunting it. Through discussion, you know.

If you act on your urges, you should be persecuted AND prosecuted. Draconianly.

That's not really what I mean, though. I'm gonna ignore your conflation of homosexuality with pedophilia--I don't think you meant to do that. But what I'm saying is just that... sex is, whether you like it or not, sort of a taboo subject. It's not something you talk about over the dinner table with your family. It's only ever "okay" to talk about if every party is consenting to have the discussion--and once everyone has established that they're okay with talking about sex (either explicitly or implicitly), then, you know, whatever, have at it. That goes for all discussions of any or all sexuality.

You know me--I persecute people for bringing sex into shit all the time. Doesn't matter what kind of sex it is. The reason I censure pedophilia more (should be pretty obvious, but whatever) is because of the implications of the fetish itself. "Oh, you're a pedophile? So you like to fantasize about having sex with children who are developmentally unable to give consent in any lucid, rational manner and may not even know what sex is or what it's for, thereby ruining their childhood and possibly their entire life?"

Yeah, I might just say something unkind to that person. I'm just conditioned that way, I guess.

I really cant think of it as 'child porn'

I think you're just trying to say that "hentai" should just be considered a different genre entirely, regardless of its content. But that's silly. Undeniably, hentai explicitly depicts sexual acts between characters with demonstrable and observable traits. There are males, females, adults, teenagers, children, animals... there's straight sex, gay sex, threesomes, orgies, BDSM, and even some really fucked up shit like... I don't know, coprophilia. Just like in real life.

Going by your logic... let's say I enjoy pleasuring myself to hentai. What would I choose? Well, of the porn between real people that I pleasure myself to, I just like to watch straight-up sex between a male and a female. They can be interracial, and they can do some mildly kinky stuff, but nothing too crazy. Standard stuff.

By your REFUSAL to CATEGORIZE what's being depicted in hentai, I should be able to pleasure myself to every single type of hentai out there. I can masturbate to gay hentai without feeling uncomfortable. I can masturbate to lolis without feeling uncomfortable, according to you. All the stuff I mentioned.

...except that's not true. I wouldn't be able to pleasure myself to hentai that doesn't conform to my sexual interests. So you're arguing for the existence of one's "real sexuality," and "fantastic sexuality". You can be straight in real life, but in your fantasies, you can be a bisexual pedocoprophile.

Does that sound absurd to anyone else?