a quick note on obscene manga
I have a lot of things to talk about lately if I can remember to sit down and type it all out. But for now I figured I'd drop a quick note to talk about the Christopher Handley case going on right now, just in case some people aren't aware of it or forgot. We spoke about it a bit on AWO.
Basically, a man in Iowa is in trouble for receiving "obscene" manga through the mail. So far no list has been released, nor has a detailed description been given for the manga in question, though some statements indicate that it's BL material with guys who look underage due to being drawn in an androgynous style and lacking pubic hair.
But really, in the end I suppose it doesn't really matter what manga they are. Look, I definitely understand why people can be really uncomfortable with loli or shota material. My feelings on it are rather complex, and certainly I have similar discomfort with a lot of moe and ero material. At the same time, given the history of governments exercising censorship and many of the extremely repressive trends that our Puritanically based society goes through, I tend to err on the side of non-interference and say that the only legitimate point to abridge free speech is by the clear and present danger test, and you have to make a pretty good case for the "clear and present" part. Your right to swing your fist ends when it hits my face, you can't yell fire in a crowded theater, and so on. And the evidence that pornography can cause or seriously encourage people to commit sexual crimes is, to my understanding, ambiguous; there's also some debate about whether all people who enjoy illustrated representations of minors (like loli and shota) are necessarily sexually interested in real children.
Also obscenity laws are ridiculously vague, and I take issue with being able to put someone in prison over standards that can't actually be codified.
Plus, come on. In the current political climate do you really think it would stop just at loli or shota? I mean, you do remember that just last year various places challenged books including The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Chocolate War and The Golden Compass, and all the stink over Harry Potter right?
The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund is helping out on the case. CBLDF does good work, helping a lot of people - not just Chris Handley. If you don't think Handley should be in jail, or if you like any of the other things that CBLDF does, maybe you can donate a little bit. I actually purchased stuff from their shop recently which gives proceeds to them, but I might go back and make a plain donation.
If you're interested in any other POVs on the subject, Carl Horn and Jason Thompson have some thoughts. I also really enjoyed Neil Gaiman's post on the subject of defending even "questionable" art.
Next time, maybe I'll bitch about racism and the cast of the live action Avatar movie! Also I have some stuff kicking around about fake girlfriends due to this making the rounds lately. But uh, maybe I'll post something about games or sexy boys in between.
Basically, a man in Iowa is in trouble for receiving "obscene" manga through the mail. So far no list has been released, nor has a detailed description been given for the manga in question, though some statements indicate that it's BL material with guys who look underage due to being drawn in an androgynous style and lacking pubic hair.
But really, in the end I suppose it doesn't really matter what manga they are. Look, I definitely understand why people can be really uncomfortable with loli or shota material. My feelings on it are rather complex, and certainly I have similar discomfort with a lot of moe and ero material. At the same time, given the history of governments exercising censorship and many of the extremely repressive trends that our Puritanically based society goes through, I tend to err on the side of non-interference and say that the only legitimate point to abridge free speech is by the clear and present danger test, and you have to make a pretty good case for the "clear and present" part. Your right to swing your fist ends when it hits my face, you can't yell fire in a crowded theater, and so on. And the evidence that pornography can cause or seriously encourage people to commit sexual crimes is, to my understanding, ambiguous; there's also some debate about whether all people who enjoy illustrated representations of minors (like loli and shota) are necessarily sexually interested in real children.
Also obscenity laws are ridiculously vague, and I take issue with being able to put someone in prison over standards that can't actually be codified.
Plus, come on. In the current political climate do you really think it would stop just at loli or shota? I mean, you do remember that just last year various places challenged books including The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Chocolate War and The Golden Compass, and all the stink over Harry Potter right?
The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund is helping out on the case. CBLDF does good work, helping a lot of people - not just Chris Handley. If you don't think Handley should be in jail, or if you like any of the other things that CBLDF does, maybe you can donate a little bit. I actually purchased stuff from their shop recently which gives proceeds to them, but I might go back and make a plain donation.
If you're interested in any other POVs on the subject, Carl Horn and Jason Thompson have some thoughts. I also really enjoyed Neil Gaiman's post on the subject of defending even "questionable" art.
Next time, maybe I'll bitch about racism and the cast of the live action Avatar movie! Also I have some stuff kicking around about fake girlfriends due to this making the rounds lately. But uh, maybe I'll post something about games or sexy boys in between.