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NEWS: Lawyer Indicates Manga in Iowa Obscenity Case are Yaoi


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FeralKat



Joined: 06 Jan 2005
Posts: 402
PostPosted: Mon Nov 24, 2008 3:46 pm Reply with quote
This really scares me. I've always wondered when yaoi was going to get negative press. Confused
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sooocute



Joined: 08 Oct 2008
Posts: 18
Location: SOCAL
PostPosted: Mon Nov 24, 2008 3:51 pm Reply with quote
Me too... it scared me when I saw a word Yaoi since I also collect 'em so it's good thing, it's only Iowa for now, I think. Confused
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minakichan





PostPosted: Mon Nov 24, 2008 3:56 pm Reply with quote
I'm pretty vague on US pornography laws. Is explicit virtual child porn (so I guess, what would include minor yaoi and shouta) legal or not in this country?
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maichips



Joined: 11 Jun 2006
Posts: 96
PostPosted: Mon Nov 24, 2008 3:58 pm Reply with quote
sooocute wrote:
Me too... it scared me when I saw a word Yaoi since I also collect 'em so it's good thing, it's only Iowa for now, I think. Confused


I live in Iowa, and the whole thing makes me nervous, even though I don't collect explicit titles. I feel like if I ever start collecting hard Yaoi, I'll be arrested. Anime smile;;; Better stick to shounen-ai, I suppose...
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kokuryu



Joined: 07 Apr 2007
Posts: 915
PostPosted: Mon Nov 24, 2008 4:02 pm Reply with quote
minakichan wrote:
I'm pretty vague on US pornography laws. Is explicit virtual child porn (so I guess, what would include minor yaoi and shouta) legal or not in this country?


Depends on the state you live in, and whether or not it was transported using the US Postal Service. It's touch and go. It's just best NOT to order anything, or move to a country that has friendlier laws. Maybe one day we can get protection for anything that is virtual and not real.... but right now its getting real hard to do so.

All these "obscenity" laws are really harsh too. Personally I think they are an invasion of one's privacy, and what's private should be private. There should be no laws that actually tell you whats legal and not legal to do in private that does not affect anyone else. Laws like THAT are what religious based societies use to kill each other with.
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posterior_praiser



Joined: 21 Oct 2007
Posts: 296
PostPosted: Mon Nov 24, 2008 4:07 pm Reply with quote
Interesting case. I think it will be struck down though, especially if none of the characters depicted in said obscene material were actually intended to be seen as minors. I can see where there might be some questioning of this from someone unfamiliar with yaoi, but people who do read it know that this is a typical design used for adult males in the genre. Yes the ukes sometimes do look young, but I think that is more to give them a feminine appearance than to cater to pedophiles (which is odd considering the main audience is female, and the vast majority of pedophiles are male). This is all very vague legal ground though. I hope this case sets some (hopefully positive) precedent for the genre, so real criminals an be persecuted as opposed to people who aren't at all after kids.
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Kiyoko



Joined: 27 Jul 2003
Posts: 131
Location: Pennsylvania
PostPosted: Mon Nov 24, 2008 4:13 pm Reply with quote
I could see arresting him for ownership of these items if he had a prior sexual crime conviction in the past, but I didn't see anywhere that it lists if he did or not.

If he didn't have any prior convictions or accusations, thats just frightening.

And the ruling on this case might have farther reaching implications. If you could get arrested for just owning these things, what about all the legal, licensed yaoi shrink-wrapped manga you can just walk into your local Borders or Waldenbooks and buy?
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Reibooi



Joined: 03 Mar 2008
Posts: 394
PostPosted: Mon Nov 24, 2008 4:13 pm Reply with quote
This whole thing pisses me off. I mean the guy is facing 20 years in prison so something that didn't hurt anyone and no one is making any effort to understand it. This is laughable. tens of thousands of people collect Yaoi manga and never has anyone cared. Now all of a sudden this person is arrested for no real reason at all. This whole situation just angers me.
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gynocrat_rex



Joined: 16 Mar 2006
Posts: 57
Location: Texas
PostPosted: Mon Nov 24, 2008 4:16 pm Reply with quote
Wow ANN, the title of this post says his books ARE YAOI...not 'some of the books are yaoi'. Crying or Very sad

From the article:

“There is explicit sex in yaoi comics,” Handley’s lawyer Eric Chase told MTV. “And the men are drawn in a very androgynous style, which has the effect of making them look really young. There’s a real taboo in Japan about showing pubic hair, so they’re all drawn without it, which also makes them look young. So what concerned the authorities were the depictions of children in explicit sexual situations that they believed to be obscene. But there are no actual children. It was all very crude images from a comic book.”

All this broohaha over what they think are children-- and they aren't children. Once the lawyer explains this to the judge, the judge will engage the brain and see that this is all for nothing--still I have to wonder, are they Shotakon manga, or 'BL'?

If he collects Lollicon, what are the odds he also collects shota? :/
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jsyxx





PostPosted: Mon Nov 24, 2008 4:19 pm Reply with quote
Free speech isn't just for speech you like. Nothing is closer to free speech than drawing a picture. If this is accepted, next it will be cartoons criticizing the government.
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Beryl7



Joined: 02 Nov 2007
Posts: 73
PostPosted: Mon Nov 24, 2008 4:26 pm Reply with quote
Originally, I thought this lawsuit was rather odd. But now that it's revealed to be yaoi-related, I find this very amusing.
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tissuebubble



Joined: 21 Apr 2006
Posts: 49
PostPosted: Mon Nov 24, 2008 4:30 pm Reply with quote
minakichan wrote:
I'm pretty vague on US pornography laws. Is explicit virtual child porn (so I guess, what would include minor yaoi and shouta) legal or not in this country?


It is legal within the United States declared by the United States Supreme Court. However, obscenity laws vary based on community. That is what is being used. It depends on if a jury of peers find it offensive.
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Egan Loo



Joined: 25 Feb 2005
Posts: 1356
PostPosted: Mon Nov 24, 2008 4:39 pm Reply with quote
gynocrat_rex wrote:
Wow ANN, the title of this post says his books ARE YAOI...not 'some of the books are yaoi'. Crying or Very sad


The MTV article is unclear on this. One part of MTV's article says that Handley's collection "included lolicon and yaoi manga," but no firsthand source, including the court case, has mentioned lolicon before. MTV's direct quote from Handley's lawyer only mentions yaoi manga.
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The Xenos



Joined: 29 Mar 2004
Posts: 1519
Location: Boston
PostPosted: Mon Nov 24, 2008 4:39 pm Reply with quote
I've been waiting for this. Though it doesn't bring up the homosexuality as much as the questionably underage characters in the manga. Either way, I'm glad this ludicrous case is being fought. Good bless the CBLDF. They have the brains and the spirit to fight people foolish enough to wage a crusade to ban fiction. Lines on paper people. The thought police are out in full force, but thankfully there are those who fight back. Plus Neil Gaiman is just awesome, but his work with the CBLDF is notable in particular.
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Expias



Joined: 30 Oct 2008
Posts: 176
PostPosted: Mon Nov 24, 2008 4:59 pm Reply with quote
This scares the hell out of me. Maybe it's just Iowa. But I have a LOT of Yaoi and something like this really makes me wonder..

Also, what happens if it's NOT just adults? What about the yaoi that have the under-aged boys at 16 years of age?
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