Shota
| Synonyms: | shotacon, shoutaroukonpurekksu, lolishota |
| See also: | lolicon, chan |
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Shota (Japanese: ショタ) is a term used in manga and anime fandoms to indicate sex involving an underaged boy, and is commonly used as a warning on fanfic.
It is short for shotacon (Japanese: ショタコン), which itself is a portmanteau of the words Shotaro (a reference to the character in Tetsujin 28-go) and complex[1][2] and follows the pattern of fathercon, mothercon, brocon, and siscon, which are commonly used (often jokingly) to refer to someone who is obsessed with a relative.
It is similar to the use of the western term chan in some corners of fandom (especially in Harry Potter fandom), but shota refers exclusively to fiction or art about prepubescent characters or characters just beginning puberty, while chan includes stories about older teenagers as well and used to exclude prepubescent characters before the definition of the term changed in some parts of fandom through fannish drift.
The female version is lolicon (from Lolita complex). Stories about prepubescent het and slash couples are sometimes referred to collectively as lolishota.
Controversy
Like chan, lolicon and underage, shota is often criticised as being child pornography, and thus morally wrong and/or illegal. Shota fanfic and fanart are also in danger of getting negative attention of non-fandom groups (see Strikethrough and Boldthrough) that could result in a threat for fandom as a whole.[3]
References
- ^ Wikipedia article on Shotacon Accessed 10 October 2008
- ^ In Japanese, words cannot end with an "m" sound, so the shortened version "com" gets pronounced like "con". Despite the word's origins, the English language spelling and pronunciation reflect this Japanese pronunciation.
- ^ Why I disapprove, and why I will be neither ashamed, nor silent.[dead link] Accessed 15 November 2009