It's my hope that the CBLDF will establish guidelines on how to deal with this and fight it. These obscenity laws are ridiculous. Gaiman save us.

Welcome back.

You’re probably right in saying that one should wait for a few years (and maybe I’ll just stick to shounan-ai for a while). But even if you say so to me, there are still loads of underage kids out there reading yaoi or smut. So I’ll try to speak to those I know, but changing one’s mind, or lifestyle in many cases isn’t exactly easy.

While my comics are intended for adult readers, the truth is, I really don't have any "shoulds" I'm looking to put out to young people who are interested in yaoi — except that they should listen to their own hearts and judgments (guided by the advice of responsible adults) about what they are comfortable with and shouldn't feel pressured to read stuff they aren't comfortable with. Some people under 18 are going to be comfortable and ready to explore harder stuff, some will be much happier just sticking to the fluffier stuff. I won't break any laws, but other than encouraging tolerance and acceptance for those we find different, I don't have much interest in "changing people's minds", young person or adult — I'd rather be about building self-esteem and helping people feel comfortable about who they are.

In your case, if shonen-ai is what feels most comfortable and interesting to you, I'd say there's a lot of great work out there that falls in that category (and that IMHO the writing of those works tends to be superior to the harder works that can get by on "good looks" as it were.)

I know I personally have a few friends to talk to, and there are online boardss for other fans, but from chatting with some of them, I can tell that a lot of them don’t even have a friend to talk to, and most of them don’t tell their parents, for fear of discrimination against them.

I think the isolation you describe is quite common and it saddens me. In my case, it was the school guidance counselor I felt most comfortable confiding in. My parents turned out to be much more accepting than I thought they would be when I eventually came out to them, but sometimes it can feel safer to reach out to another adult. Personally, I like the "school guidance counselor" option because those professionals have very specific rules they have to follow that help protect kids from exploitation and, due to the nature of their jobs, often have people looking over their shoulders to make sure they follow those rules. If you're chatting with someone who is feeling isolated, I'd encourage you to recommend people at their school as an option. Also, if they are wrestling with their own feelings of sexual identity, there's a national Hotline, The Trevor Project, that I hear good things about:

The Trevor Project
(866) 488-7386

(They also have a page for Asking Questions and a page for finding local resources like Gay Youth Groups etc.)

Also, I hadn't heard about the site Amplify Youth Resource before I did a Google Search, but after a quick look-through, they seem to be saying the right things and are not as focused on crisis-prevention as The Trevor Project. They have a listing of Hotlines as well as young gay "Peer Educators" kids can ask questions to. Definitely worth a look.

Now, this is probably a lot more information than what you were looking for, but I thought I'd include it here, just in case other young people find their way to this site — perhaps someone will find it helpful.

Anyway, thank you very much for the compliments. I'm glad to hear you have friends to talk to. And I hope you're having a great week!

Alex

Thanks for reading my confusing question! (I admit, it was a bit hard to dicipher, even to me.) You're probably right in saying that one should wait for a few years (and maybe I'll just stick to shounan-ai for a while). But even if you say so to me, there are still loads of underage kids out there reading yaoi or smut. So I'll try to speak to those I know, but changing one's mind, or lifestyle in many cases isn't exactly easy.

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I would hope that there are responsible adults in those “underage fangirls” lives — like their parents — who they could turn to for guidance and support in discussing those feelings and interests.

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I know I personally have a few friends to talk to, and there are online boardss for other fans, but from chatting with some of them, I can tell that a lot of them don't even have a friend to talk to, and most of them don't tell their parents, for fear of discrimination against them.

Either way, thanks for responding, and keep up the good work as a bold yaoi writer!

Howdy and thank you for commenting. I'll do my best to answer your question, but just to be clear, I'm not a lawyer (I don't even play one on TV) or a child psychologist, so my thoughts are based on my own research and opinions on these matters. If you're concerned about being arrested for anything, you should actually reach out to a real lawyer and not just take my word for it.

Could some yaoi be considered "porn"? Certainly. As the Handley case shows, sexually-oriented material in comics can be legally considered "obscene" and "appealing to prurient interest" and that's really what matters in terms of something "counting as porn".

That said, my understanding is that there isn't much risk of being arrested if you are a person under 18 who gets their hands on adult material (so long as it's not actual child porn — if actual children are involved in any sexually explicit material you have, you can get into huge trouble. Just look what's happening with teenagers getting arrested for sending nude pics of themselves to their friends aka "sexting". There you have child porn laws — meant to protect children, mind you! — actually being used to hurt kids. Idiotic and evil, IMHO — but I digress…)

The real risk is if an ADULT provides someone underage with that material. There are laws on the books of most (all?) states here in the U.S. that makes providing sexually explicit materials to a minor a crime. This is why events like YaoiCon are 18-and-over and why I market my books to adults. (Now, for something that I know isn't going to get sexually explicit like Tough, it's tempting to label that 16-and-over — but even there, I hesitate. There are no hard and fast rules for what is acceptable content for minors and frankly, it's just safer to say that everything is 18-and-over. And to be extra safe, I'll make the truly sexually explicit stuff "for-pay" because you need to be over 18 to get a credit card — legally, that barrier is supposed to offer me some protection.)

My opinion is that it is perfectly normal for young people to be interested in romance and sex. Most kids post-puberty are. I personally don't think it's "creepy or screwed up". I would hope that there are responsible adults in those "underage fangirls" lives — like their parents — who they could turn to for guidance and support in discussing those feelings and interests. I know that's not always the case, but I will say, oftentimes parents can be more understanding about such things than we expect, particularly when questions are asked in a calm and straight-forward manner. I would hope in your case that there is such a person — be it a parent or family friend or guidance counselor.

My opinion on underage fangirls? Well, I love all fans of our work — and have nothing but warmth in my heart for them — but for my own protection as a publisher, Yaoi 911 comics are meant for adults. Even though most of the content is fairly tame, if you are under 18, I'd ask that you wait before reading our comics. It's the safest — for me. (And there are plenty of yaoi fans over 18 so I have no need to market to young people.) That's the official Yaoi 911 opinion — no winks, no nudges.

But on a personal level, I'm glad you're out there asking questions. I would hope that you in no way feel that you're "creepy and screwed up" for your interests. There are yaoi publishers out there who specifically court younger readers (like June and netcomics.com who have a number of 16+ books) — they might be worth checking out. And I hope you feel I've answered your questions fairly and helpfully.

Take care of yourself

Alex

Well put. And it's particularly frustrating when there is a double-standard for films where high school romance and drama seems to get away with a lot more…

Good for you for donating to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund! You're making things safer and fairer for everyone!

It's not in every manga that a age is determined, and in some high school manga's, a character turns 18 within the story. The inspectors aren't going to read through the whole story to find out that they later turn 18.

It's ridiculous to treat a manga book, fictional and purely not with real people, as you would a pornographic tape that was recorded.

I don't want to be arrested for supporting my favorite authors and artists overseas. I don't want rash speculation about the contents of my manga, I don't even read shotacon or lolicon! We shouldn't have to look at the cover of our manga before ordering it and wonder if it will look suspicious to authorities.

(Yes, I am donating by the way, Alex. )