This is something that I have struggled with (and still do a little bit), questioning my sexuality.
But I came to a realization that may be interesting.

After taking a good hard look at the difference..."shota" artwork and actual kids actually look very different. Very, very different.
Mainly, shota usually has exaggerated neoteny (also known as the "betty-boop syndrome).
For those who don't know, neoteny is the presence of child-like body proportions. In many artworks, shota or not, the neoteny is exaggerated beyond what anything would have in real life.

What is my point?
Neotenous traits trigger attracting and nurturing instincts in the brains of those who perceive them. Even in men with normal sexuality, women who have greater neotenous traits are considered more attractive. They are also why you see so many animals adopting young of other species (there is a reason why young have these traits).

In art, since these traits can be exaggerated beyond anything that would be encountered in reality, drawn characters can exploit this instinct far more than their IRL counterparts ever could.
You could say they are a mental hack not unlike adding sexuality to a piece (which adds appeal to some art that otherwise would not be interesting), or like intentionally invoking the uncanny valley (where something is creepy because it is in between definitely human and definitely not).

Some things instinctually trigger reactions because those reactions helped our species survive, but since art can simulate things that don't or can't exist, these reactions can be exploited for effect. While I may be yammering about the obvious here, I guess the point is that things like shota are not just depictions of children; they are memetic hazards that can be more powerful than the thing they depict. What THIS might imply, is anyone’s guess (gateway drug, or healthier outlet for unacceptable desires?).

Reposted from an aliased account:
Something odd I noticed.
First, an anecdotal story that might illustrate the point:
A while back, I was obsessed with Homestuck, and in particular, Jade Harley. I tracked down quite a bit of art (porn) of her. After a while, something happened; my impression of her changed. She had gone from being an interesting character to a one-dimensional piece of flesh.
From what I hear, this is similar to what happened to Lara Croft; She was designed as a strong, independent female, but the sexual way she was presented and marketed outside of the canon mediums has had an effect on how she is perceived.

This is interesting because it happens in furry art too. While I do like the porn, does furry really need to make everything about sex? My reason for bringing this up is that the exhibitionism of a lot of furry art creates impressions, not just to the outside world (which is not what this is about), but to people in general trying to glean the character of your character.
How can anyone take your character seriously, as anything more than a slut, otherwise?
I guess it might be different if there was an engaging narrative behind it, but usually if there is one, it's the plot of a cheap porno.

Again, I'm not saying we need to completely abolish pornsonas; just that for a serious character, what you put out into the Internet with him/her has an influence in how the character is received. This isn't a problem for characters that really are one-dimensional meat, but more involved stories require careful cultivation to create the intended persona. And for porn artists, anyone who has read a visual novel knows how much more deep and meaningful the erotic parts can be when the character has been fleshed out (pun) over the previous parts of the story.
After all, the arts are fundamentally a means of communication. What message are you communicating?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgPd29MlHpg
An amazing discipline that has many practical applications. It's like a martial art, only without the martial.

There is this lovely series called "The Bomb in the Brain", which covers brain damage caused by underdevelopment due to abuse or neglect. I should have put this here before, because it's important (for some reason, I don't think people read journals here. I certainly don't).
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbiq2-ukfhM
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRaN.....amp;playnext=1
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIDv.....amp;playnext=2
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S16E.....eature=channel
Conclusion: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=px_B.....amp;playnext=1

Ewww...your seamen is everywhere.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqvA.....mp;feature=fvw

Wait for it...wait for it...my inbox...is...emmptyyyyyy...Yes! I have finally whittled away my massive inbox.

Reposted from DA for your pleasure:
I recently found out about freedomainradio's podcast section. There are more than a thousand of them...and they are endlessly fascinating. I had a few in particular I wanted to share, but I can't remember what they were...maybe it will come back to me later.

Also added some stuff to the shareables. One in particular that is interesting is the Salad Fingers series; a story about a guy who is completely insane, but cutely innocent at the same time. The series is great for making you feel happy, sad, and freaked out all at the same time.

Shareables still here:
Flash movies---
Madness series (much fun! Seriously, check them out. Has good music too.): http://www.krinkels.net/index_animations.html
Madness newgrounds page: http://krinkels.newgrounds.com/flash/
Happyness Apotheosis (spoof of madness 4): http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/401520
TheBoogly's flash: http://theboogley.newgrounds.com/flash/
Salad Fingers (story of a crazy person): http://www.newgrounds.com/collectio.....adfingers.html

Games---
Time Fcuk: http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/511754
Sonny 2: http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/492477
Thing Thing 4: http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/433321
Seed of destruction (it's about a cowboy riding a giant sperm...): http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/496038
Coil (a game with no clear instruction; fun to figure out): http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/422918
Gray Matter (addicting game about a bullet in the brain): http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/467236

Truth--
http://www.freedomainradio.com/Books.aspx -Stefan Molyneux free online books.
http://www.humantruth.info/index.html -HumanTruth

Politics relevent to you---
Send your senator a message to save the internets: http://www.savetheinternet.com/

Flash movies---
Madness series (much fun! Seriously, check them out. Has good music too.): http://www.krinkels.net/index_animations.html
Madness newgrounds page: http://krinkels.newgrounds.com/flash/
Last Resort (very scary): http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/514987

Games---
Time Fcuk: http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/511754
Sonny 2: http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/492477

Politics relevent to you---
Send your senator a message to save the internets: http://www.savetheinternet.com/

---

Resposted from DA:

---

I want you to draw your character as a nameless-like. By now most of my older watchers probibly have a general idea of what they look like, but maybe I should mention details on them:
-They are floating skin; completely hollowed out.
-Said skin is usually white and black.
-Can be any kind of skin; Furred, scaly, human, feathered, membranous, liquid, etc.
-Places where the skin is "cut" are usually red with a fleshy texture, but variations can occur.
-Many add/cut skin to/from themselves to create a more stylized appearance.

Traits:
-Being based on liquidshifter origins, they can form blades (the sharper ones glow; usually red). Some can create a thin blade string.
-Many of them can absorb heat/light (creating cold), and release it (fire/shock/light).
-Some also have psycological attack powers.
-Thier weaknesses are usually electrical (destablizes thier composition) and anti-illusion (a reference the the fact that they are non-beings).
And holy; nameless-likes like to loiter in other worlds, and their prolonged presence can cause distortions. As such, deities do not take kindly to them.
And wind; they do not have a lot of mass, and tend to get carried by strong wind.

Yesterday I had posted a response in doomsgrin's journal; a quote from ranting gryphon that was meant to be in agreement with her journal (it was about all the whiners and such).

Except she percieved it as directed towards her personally.

I was a bit saddened about leaving it as it was (when you're blocked, apologies can only be made through a third party), but after thinking about it some more, I'm more annoyed than anything else.

Why? Because, after thinking about it for a while, I remembered that it takes a lot to get on my blocklist (things like spamming). That's why my blocklist is empty.

I would not block someone simply for being insulting.

Right now, the stuff here is mostly just anthro stuff. But there is much more stuff (not many humans, but misc stuff, like surreal, photography, wax dolls with sharp blades, etc).

What would you, the watchers, like me to continue to post here?

Had a certain virus called RECYCLER that is notoriously hard to get rid of, and has caused the banning of my flash drive. So now I'm depressed.
And I found an interesting youtube channel http://www.youtube.com/user/stefbot After watching it, you will realize that America is, in fact, a lost cause. Has been for a long time.

A little contest I'm doing. Maybe it will close by the end of the month. Draw your characters face, and then take a picture of yourself...with your character's face covering your own. Show me what you made, and the best one will...get a free gift art!
Example: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/2510558
Good luck!

It's on DA too: http://silkeyn.deviantart.com/journal/25925485/

(The contests on FA and DA have separate prizes)

Monty Python. I was thinking of drawing that one scene...

"I was going along my merry way when a pang of hunger came over me, so I infiltrated your place of business in order to purchase some cow curd for my personal consumption."
"...what?"
"I want to buy some Cheeeeese!"

I need to look up it's actual quotes, because it was funnier.

"It's not much of a cheese shop, is it?"
"What makes you say that?"
"Because it's certainly uncontaminated by cheese."

"Do you or do you not have any cheese?"
"Yes!"
"Now, I will ask you that again, and if you say no, I will shoot you through the head."
"Let me check......no."