Lolicon, or Rorikon (ロリコン) is the Japanese gairaigo term for Lolita complex (derived from the novel Lolita), the sexual attraction to fictional and real underage girls, or ephebophilia.

In order to extract the name "Lolicon" from "Lolita Complex", it is important to realise that "Complex" is abbreviated as "con", rather than "com", due to the phonology of Japanese. Other foreign words with syllables ending in "m" are often transliterated in the same manner.

It is used to refer to hentai anime, manga, and other visual forms of art that contain sexual/erotic representations of underage girls, and also to people who are sexually attracted to fictional and also sometimes real underage girls (and who are not themselves underage). Actual photographs or videos of underage children in sexual situations can be considered lolicon, but is usually simply called child pornography; lolicon manga are legal in Japan (so long as actual underage models are not used in the creation of the art); actual child pornography is not.

Lolicon usually involves girls between the ages of 8 and 13 (although technically speaking, anything under 18 could probably be considered lolicon). It is frequently accused of being similar to or a form of pedophilia, particularly by westerners. Those people who have a "lolicon" are believed by some to have a tendency to act violently against children or to prefer sex with children to adults. Despite Japan producing (and consuming) most lolicon media, there is no evidence that it causes violent crimes against children and teens. Their prevalence (as is the case for violent crimes in general) is well below that of most other countries.

Lolicon is a frequent subject of scholarly articles on sexuality in Japan, and is often suggested to exist in Japan for the same reasons that adult women in high-school uniforms are considered attractive, and enjo kosai is popular. In many non-pornography-specific bookstores and newsstands in Japan, lolicon media is freely available for browsing and purchase. Defenders of lolicon say that fictional material does not adversely affect children, and may in some cases help to relieve the sexual tension of actual pedophiles; opponents often say that the existence of fictional material encourages the viewing of children as sex objects.

Also, some japanese culture's researchers define "lolicon" as the sexual imaginary toward young girls and children in Japan, not only in manga, because there are another manifestations about sexual activity with young girls (as the "Loli photobooks"), and this is not only fictional material.

Shota-con is the underage-boy equivalent of lolicon.

Toddlerkon is essentially lolicon that depicts girls younger than those in a typical lolicon manga/drawing, typically infants and toddlers (hence the term "toddlerkon"). Because many aficionados of lolicon find it distasteful and offensive, this sub-genre was created in an attempt to distinguish it from ordinary manga/drawings that focus on older prepubescents.

External links

• Does comic relief hurt kids? - Japan Times (April 27, 2004)
• Lolicon board - discussion board for lolicon fans with links and images