If you aren't already aware, FA will soon have some new additions to its policy regarding content that can be posted, specifically "child-like" characters in sexual situations. ---> https://www.furaffinity.net/journal/10552819 <---

This subject keeps popping up, and as more and more diverse character designs continue to appear, this subject will no doubt continue to keep popping up. To that end, I'd like to take a moment to share my point of view on this subject, overall. No, I'm not trying to change anyone's minds. No, I'm not under any delusion that things will change. Yes, you're probably not going to like what I'm about to say. I don't care.

The following is an OPINION regarding the age of fictional, drawn characters.

We, as an intelligent species, are defined by our capacity to choose our actions, to either act or not act, to differentiate between real and not real, and thus make a decision based on that knowledge. Many people have trouble making these distinctions and that's usually because there is something very wrong with them that is out of their control. Others simply lacked the proper education, and some simply choose what the vast majority of us wouldn't, for one reason or another. A leopard hunting in the wild chooses when to remain hidden and when to pounce, but only so far as it to its understanding of whether or not it can catch its prey. Even so, half the time its choices are wrong and it goes hungry for the day. That's because the leopard is an animal, a simple minded, instinct driven creature lacking the awareness we "higher beings" possess. The leopard knows only that it is hungry, or that is has young to feed, and it acts purely on those base needs. It hunts, it feeds, it fucks, and it sleeps.

But, unlike the leopard, we can choose to act on our desires or not. In our minds we think "Dam, I'd like to #@$! that" or "I'd really like to beat the @!#$ out of that person", but we are capable of choosing not to. Were we an animal, like the leopard, we would simply act on those thoughts. But, we're not; our higher awareness affords us the capacity to go against our base desires. Usually.

So, why then do people feel the need to govern the age of fictional characters? "Because child porn is illegal" you say. And I return with "So is murder. So is rape, and causing grievous bodily harm" and then you say "what does that have to do with child porn?" Everything. It's the age ol' double standard of 'violence is fine but sex isn't'. But, before we go any further, let me reiterate that this is about fictional, drawn portrayals. Not real life photos or videos, but imaginary characters that exist solely in pixels and lead or ink on paper, and the shadows of the mind. Intangible. Not real.

Less than a century ago, in some places, it was considered illegal to be gay. Yes, things were very different, back then, and we as a society have grown and developed beyond that. Again, you ask what this has to do with "little girls". Being heterosexual, homosexual, or some point in between (or beyond), is not something a person can control, despite what some would have you believe. Eventually, people came to realise this. Most people also understand that, just as you can no more control your sexuality, you can't control what kinks excite you. Some people like feet. Some people like body odor. And some people get aroused by the idea of raping or even being raped. Does that mean they're going to go out and find someone to rape? No. Why? Because, unless they have something wrong with them (or they're just an asshole), they can recognise that it is not a nice thing to do and can choose not to do it. Fortunately, there's this wonderful little thing that has been around for as long as we've been cognitively aware called "The Imagination". This marvelous little thing allows people to think up and indulge their wildest fantasies as much as they want, with no risk of anyone else being harmed. Isn't it brilliant?

But, hold on. If no-one gets hurt, and it's not real, why try to control it? Why does it matter that that imaginary character, on the computer screen or page, is "of legal age"? What's the point? Nobody is being hurt. Nobody is being exploited. If you don't like it, you can just not look at it. If someone can drive down the sidewalk of Grand Theft Auto, and run down dozens of people, killing them all for pure fun, and nobody will care "because it's not real", why do people care that someone jacks off to an equally not real drawing of a loli? Where are all the disputes about sadism, or rape, or vore? OK, vore is a bit of a stretch, but, if you've read this far, you probably get my point.

It's a fetish. It's a kink. It's not real. Nobody is being harmed, or exploited, or being forced to do something against their will. The perceived age of a fictional character, and by extension, their appearance, doesn't matter. What matters is the action the person making or viewing that content chooses to take. If they're going to sit in their room and jack off, so what? No harm, no foul. If they choose to go out and molest a little girl, then they've done bad. Then punish them accordingly. Just the same as anyone playing a violent game; which, I might add, has been proven time and time again to not be connected to violent behavior.

Lastly, if a person does have urges that they feel is beyond their control, is it not better to provide them with a harmless outlet to indulge and vent, rather than deprive them of a means to do so, increasing their likelihood to seek other, more harmful means of gratification? Or should they be shunned and condemned, like gays once were, simply for being attracted to something society deems unsavoury.