Ask John: Why do Even American Otaku Hate Lolicon?

Question:
Why is lolicon so reviled in American anime fandom? Seems whenever the issue of morality and how it’s not actually causing harm arises, it still falls on deaf ears.

Answer:
The American reaction to lolicon art is symptomatic of a larger ideological difference between American and Japanese culture and social psychology. Regardless of perceptions of independence, American society perceives government and society as existing to serve the individual. Americans have the opportunity to excel, but simply by virtue of being American, we also have the opportunity to expect our government and society to to responsible to us, to serve, support, and protect us. This philosophy is actually subconsciously extended to the extent that American society and government has a responsibility to serve and protect those that cannot defend or support themselves, and maintain a common level of civility and decency among all citizens. In other words, American society is perceived to have an obligation to protect children – even hypothetical ones – as well as defend the average moral justice of its populace. The very foundation of the American legal definition of obscenity is not defined by any specific action, theme, content, or depiction, but rather by the collective attitude of the general populace. In simple terms, if “the community” finds something offensively obscene and lacking in artistic credibility, than it legally is obscene.

Japanese society is slightly different in the regard that Japanese individuals serve the society and government, which reciprocates. While Americans fundamentally presume that society and government exists to take care of them, Japanese culture places greater focus on the individual being responsible for himself. Of course, Japanese government and society must do whatever is necessary to promote order and productivity, but Japanese society doesn’t inherently presume a need to legislate and mandate morality; individuals and families, rather than government, do that. So Japan, largely, adheres to the pragmatic belief that allowing artists and individuals to express their sexual proclivities does no harm to society and should be governed by the individual. America, on the other hand, presumes that society and the government has a fundamental obligation to ensure that one person’s imagination and personal expression stay corralled within the acceptable confines of “community standards” and not potential offend or harm anyone else. Americans certainly have freedom of expression, but only until the exertion of personal expression begins to unduly compromise someone else, even if that “someone” is hypothetical.

Although American maintains a separation of religion and government, America was founded upon Christian principles, and those Christian principles continue to influence and determine countless social and governmental policies. Americans agree that the exploitation of children is immoral. So Americans presume that their government has an obligation to do whatever is necessary to prevent the exploitation of children. Although fictional depictions of child pornography have never been scientifically proven to actually harm children, they’ve also never been proven not to be a threat to children. Therefore, Americans presume that their society and government should err on the side of caution, and must expunge material which offends common sensibilities and may possibly harm Americans. Japanese citizens, who subconsciously presume that they themselves, rather than their government, should define their morality and behavior, and who aren’t traditionally influenced by the Christian insistence on imposing personal morality onto others, don’t presume that the government should squash anything which might possibly offend or harm someone somewhere in some vaguely defined way.

While American anime fans do tend to emerge from the more liberal fringes of American society, even most of them are still influenced by the assumptions of their community and upbringing. While American anime fans may be more receptive to provocative imagery and ideas than the most conservative Americans, they’re still influenced by the perceptions and expectations that they were raised with. Furthermore, some of the American otaku community’s objection to lolicon may be elevated defensive reaction. Since animation and comics themselves are a fringe medium in America, already perceived as the territory of children and counterculturists, American otaku may instinctively savage the most fringe aspects of their own community as an instinctive defensive maneuver. “I may like cartoons, but even I have limits. Even I don’t support lolicon,” may be the subconscious effort to earn legitimacy.