Forum - View topicSan Diego Comic-Con 2011 - Manga Censorship
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Jarm
Posts: 87 |
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Good article. It's good to see there are those still fighting the good fight against restriction of freedom.
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Jedi Master
 Posts: 400 |
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I believe that trying to justify rape as a means of arguing against censorship is foolish and distracts from the real issue of restrictions on freedom of expression. Rape is violent and reprehensible. So are a lot of other crimes. Even so, censoring the inclusion of violent and reprehensible acts in fiction is still wrong. |
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AzureGrimmjow
 Posts: 14 |
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I agree. There are a lot more crimes out there besides fictional stories. |
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enurtsol
 Posts: 14773 |
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Just having a li'l bit of fun here:
In the court of law, would that difference really matter? "But your honor! I am merely unable to control myself, that's all! And it's not my fault she's extremely beautiful!" 
Rather, I think what she meant was: surprise sex =! rape.
So, when is Japan gonna ratify the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction?
So, basically the typical Japanese unforgiveness for failure - don't even try unless you're 99% sure you won't fail. I wonder what other under-reported crimes the J-police chooses to overlook for fear of failing a conviction?
Of course, the over-reliance on confessions (where interrogations are only recently allowed to be video-recorded on an experimental basis, still without the presence of the lawyer), above good ol' detective work, may have something to do with it. Anyways, I'm a bit disappointed with the panel. It would had been much more interesting if they also had someone or two who are for the Youth Bill. Like how news debate would always try both sides of the issue. Just imagine the fireworks!
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ArthurFrDent
 Posts: 466 |
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Too bad the panel was up against Dr. Who... There could have been more people...
With regard to what Fujimoto-sensei said about how rape is portreyed in B/L or josei manga, I think her point was more an illustration of the different way that it is viewed in the Japanese female audience, more than as a justification of it. In my opinion the underlying point being made is that these are fictional characters that are drawn. They don't exist. In the same way that some pirate captain throwing a woman down on her bed in a Harlequin romance is a fiction. This is the sense I got from her, from the front row. Interestingly, they don't need to justify their artistic decisions to you, these are stories. The upshot of the rest, for me was really that their laws are quite different, and not codified in the way you would expect. They have been broadened to the point where it would be up to a prosecuter to decide after the fact if you have done wrong. This has an incredible chilling effect on speech. There seems to be little codification of where a line is crossed, except for the showing of genitals. Sounds like for cops, that is the primary test. All in all a good panel... Not enough people, but it was up a hg a |
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Jedi Master
Posts: 400 |
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That is exactly my point. It seemed like they were trying to justify their artistic decisions when there is no need for them to do so. |
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ArsenicSteel
 Posts: 2370 |
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Yeah they do kind of. The artists are facing more and more pressure to not show certain things. The Tokyo act last year was just one example of the pressure they face because of the content theyto depict. |
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reanimator
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Oh great, Since we westerners brought adult anime and manga to the spotlight, I guess we are partially responsible... |
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vashfanatic
 Posts: 3489 Location: Back stateside |
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And yet, the boyfriend-who-can't-help-himself is probably the most common form of rape, as well as the least likely to be reported, and depicting it as romantic in any way is decidedly problematic. What message are they sending young female readers* when they reuse this element over and over again? What's more, this idea that rape is somehow only rape when it's stranger-rape has been a very real reason for not prosecuting acquaintance-, date-, or spousal-rape. It's easy to say that they're "just stories" and no one is getting hurt, but if this is the message girls in Japan are getting about rape, it's an issue. Rape incidents in Japan might only appear low because they don't get reported. While outright banning any subject matter is highly problematic both from an ideological as well as a practical perspective, I think authors should be encouraged to move away from sexually abusive models of romance. Apologies for the rant, but this is a major sticking point with me because I have a friend who was involved in a protracted sexually abusive relationship which has left her with a lot of trauma. It isn't any less rape because the rapist is attracted to or in loved with their partner. *and yes, they make up most of the readership of BL and yaoi, which often simply replicate gender roles but with the submissive partner as an effeminate man instead of a woman. Hence it's absolutely relevant to heterosexual relationships. What's more, BL and yaoi are far from the only kinds of manga that contain these rape motifs; heterosexual josei romance manga frequently does as well. |
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BassKuroi
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I don't agree with this point of view. Some theories read yaoi/BL more as a payback to male chauvinism in Japan's society. It's OK anyway, Fujimoto didn't need to justify it. In fact, reading the text, I have the impression that the justification is worst than the phenomenon itself. |
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rinmackie
 Posts: 1040 Location: in a van! down by the river! |
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I have to agree with Bass. There is no real life justification for what happens in fiction. But they are fiction and I think most people who read these stories can tell the difference. I enjoy yaoi with some non-consensual sex but I disapprove of real life rape. Lots of women have rape fantasies, including some who have experienced real life rape.
As for these stories causing underreported rape; I don't necessarily think there's a correlation. These stories are merely reflections of real life attitudes in Japan. Stories of "seduction" are no longer popular in America but it's because of the change in our society, not the cessation of rape fantasies in romance novels. Change the attitudes and the popularity of such stories will decrease. Anyway, if you don't know the difference between real life rape and fictional fantasy rape, you probably shouldn't be reading erotic fiction in the first place. |
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