Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Social Convention and the Likelihood of Harm: Luck’s Initial Attempts at Resolving the Dilemma

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Resolving the Gamer’s Dilemma

Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in Cyberpsychology ((PASCY))

  • 701 Accesses

Abstract

This chapter begins by discussing Morgan Luck’s initial attempt at resolving the gamer’s dilemma through an appeal to social convention, whereby we adopt a normative ethic based on societal norms. It challenges this view, through the use of Japanese manga (cartoon) imagery depicting what appear to be highly sexualized minors, by showing that not all societies prohibit virtual paedophilia, or would consider such imagery to be child pornography. Luck’s next argument is then appraised, which involves differentiating between virtual murder and virtual paedophilia based on the latter’s increased likelihood of leading to harm. Research looking at the effects of violent video games, as well as the relationship between child pornography and molestation, indicates that, at present, the reason for this differentiation cannot be empirically substantiated.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 44.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 59.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 59.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    Yaoi (or ‘boy love’) refers to a particular genre of manga depicting male homosexual (sexual) relations. This is often produced by and marketed at heterosexual women (McLelland 2005; McLelland and Yoo 2007).

  2. 2.

    Responding in this way does not mean that some further reason could not be found.

  3. 3.

    While Malamuth and Huppins are against a blanket prohibition, they do propose selective prohibition targeted at convicted sex offenders. Evidence indicates that child pornography is a significant risk factor for reoffending in those convicted of a child sex offence. They therefore suggest, as a precaution, that the possession of virtual child pornography should be outlawed for this group. As interesting a discussion point as this is, regarding legislation, it does not provide a means of resolving the gamer’s dilemma and so will not be pursued here.

References

  • Alia-Klein, N., Wang, G. J., Preston-Campbell, R. N., Moeller, S. J., Parvaz, M. A., Zhu, W. et al. (2014). Reactions to media violence: It’s in the brain of the beholder. PLoS One, 9(9), e107260.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, C. A., & Bushman, B. J. (2002). The effects of media violence on society. Science, 295, 2377–2379.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, C. A., Shibuya, A., Ihori, N., Swing, E. L., Bushman, B. J., Sakamoto, A. et al. (2010). Violent video game effects on aggression, empathy, and prosocial behavior in eastern and western countries: A meta-analytic review. Psychological Bulletin, 136(2), 151–173.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Beech, A. R., Elliot, I. A., Birgden, A., & Findlater, D. (2008). The internet and child sexual offending: A criminological review. Aggression and Violent Behaviour, 13, 216–228.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bensley, L., & Van Eenwyk, J. (2001). Video games and real-life aggression: Review of the literature. Journal of Adolescent Health, 29, 244–257.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Berlin, F. S., & Sawyer, D. (2012). Potential consequences of accessing child pornography over the internet and who is accessing it. Sexual Addiction & Compulsivity: The Journal of Treatment & Prevention, 19(1–2), 30–40.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bird, P. (2011). Virtual child pornography and the constraints imposed by the first amendment. Barry Law Review, 16(1), 161–176.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bryant, P., & Linz, D. G. (2008). The effects of exposure to virtual child pornography on viewer cognition and attitudes toward deviant sexual behavior. Communication Research, 35(1), 3–38.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bushman, B. J., & Huesmann, L. R. (2006). Short-term and long-term effects of violent media on aggression in children and adults. Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, 160, 348–352.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bushman, B. J., & Huesmann, L. R. (2014). Twenty-five years of research on violence in digital games and aggression revisited: A reply to Elson and Ferguson (2013). European Psychologist, 19(1), 47–55.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bushman, B. J., Rothstein, H. R., & Anderson, C. A. (2010). Much ado about something: Violent video game effects and a school of red herring: Reply to Ferguson and Kilburn (2010). Psychological Bulletin, 136(2), 182–187.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bushman, B. J., Gollwitzer, M., & Cruz, C. (2015). There is broad consensus: Media researchers agree that violent media increase aggression in children, and pediatricians and parents concur. Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 4(3), 200–214.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Casey, M. (2015). Do violent video games leave to criminal behaviour? CBS News, 17 August 2015. Retrieved 25 February 2016 from: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/do-violent-video-games-lead-to-criminal-behavior/

  • Cohen, N. (2016). The vocabulary of manga: Visual morphology in dialects of Japanese visual language. Journal of Pragmatics, 92, 17–29.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cunningham, S., Engelstätter, B., & Ward, M. R. (2016). Violent video games and violent crime. Southern Economic Journal, 82(4), 1247–1265.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davidson, D (ed.). (1980). Actions, reasons and causes. In D. Davidson (ed.) Essays on actions and events (pp. 3–21). Oxford: Clarendon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Diamond, M., & Uchiyama, A. (1999). Pornography, rape and sex crimes in Japan. International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 22(1), 1–22.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Edwards, L., & Waelde, C. (1997). Law and the internet: Regulating cyberspace. Oxford: Hart Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eke, A. W., Seto, M. C., & Williams, J. (2011). Examining the criminal history and future offending of child pornography offenders: An extended prospective follow-up study. Law and Human Behavior, 35, 466–478.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Elliott, I. A., & Beech, A. R. (2009). Understanding online child pornography use: Applying sexual offense theory to internet offenders. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 14, 180–193.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elliott, I. A., Beech, A. R., Mandeville-Norden, R., & Hayes, E. (2009). Psychological profiles of internet sexual offenders: Comparisons with contact sexual offenders. Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment, 21, 76–92.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eneman, M., Gillespie, A. A., & Stahl, B. C. (2009). Criminalising fantasies: The regulation of virtual child pornography (pp. 1–12). Retrieved 7 July 2016 from: http://www.cse.dmu.ac.uk/~bstahl/publications/2009_Criminalising_Fantasies_ECIS.pdf

  • Ferguson, C. J. (2007a). Evidence for publication bias in video game violence effects literature: A meta-analytic review. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 12, 470–482.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ferguson, C. J. (2007b). The good, the bad and the ugly: A metaanalytic review of positive and negative effects of violent video games. Psychiatric Quarterly, 78(4), 309–316.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ferguson, C. J. (2011). Video games and youth violence: A prospective analysis in adolescents. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 40, 377–391.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ferguson, C. J. (2013). Violent video games and the supreme court: Lessons for the scientific community in the wake of Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association. American Psychologist, 68(2), 57–74.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ferguson, C. J., & Kilburn, J. (2010). Much ado about nothing: The misestimation and overinterpretation of violent video game effects in eastern and western nations: Comment on Anderson et al. (2010). Psychological Bulletin, 136(2), 174–178.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Galbraith, P. W. (2011). Lolicon: The reality of ‘Virtual Child Pornography’ in Japan. Image & Narrative, 12(1), 83–119.

    Google Scholar 

  • Graham, G. (1999). The internet: A philosophical inquiry. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Greitemeyer, T., & Mügge, O. (2014). Video games do affect social outcomes: A meta-analytic review of the effects of violent and prosocial video game play. Personality and. Social Psychology Bulletin, 40(5), 578–589.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gutierrez, R., & Giner-Sorolla, R. (2007). Anger, disgust, and presumption of harm as reactions to taboo-breaking behaviors. Emotion, 7(4), 853–868.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gwynne, J. (2013). Japan, postfeminism and the consumption of sexual(ised) schoolgirls in male-authored contemporary manga. Feminist Theory, 14(3), 325–343.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haidt, J., & Hersh, M. A. (2001). Sexual morality: The cultures and emotions of conservatives and liberals. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 31, 191–221.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hellmann, M. (2014), Japan finally bans child pornography. Time, 18 June 2014. Retrieved 8 July 2016 from: http://time.com/2892728/japan-finally-bans-child-pornography/

  • Honda, M. (2010). The genealogy of Hirahira: Liminality and the girl (T. Aoyama, & B. Hartley, trans. ). In T. Aoyama & B. Hartley (eds.), Girl reading girl in Japan (pp. 19–37). London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Huesmann, L. R. (2010). Nailing the coffin shut on doubts that violent video games stimulate aggression: Comment on Anderson et al. (2010). Psychological Bulletin, 136(2), 179–181.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Huesmann, L. R., Moise-Titus, J., Podolski, C., & Eron, L. D. (2003). Longitudinal relations between children’s exposure to TV violence and their aggressive and violent behavior in young adulthood: 1977–1992. Developmental Psychology, 39, 201–221.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jewkes, Y., & Wykes, M. (2005). Reconstructing the sexual abuse of children: ‘Cyber-paeds’, panic and power. Sexualities, 15(8), 934–952.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Karnold, S. (2000). The cyber world of child pornography and the Child Pornography Act of 1996: Thoughts on morphing, virtual imaging and the First Amendment. Journal of Information Ethics, 2, 60–65.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kass, L. R. (2002). Life, liberty, and the defense of dignity: The challenge for bioethics. San Francisco: Encounter Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kingston, D. A., Fedoroff, P., Firestone, P., Curry, S., & Bradford, J. M. (2008). Pornography use and sexual aggression: The impact of frequency and type of pornography use on recidivism among sexual offenders. Aggressive Behavior, 34(4), 341–351.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kinsella, S. (1998). Japanese subculture in the 1990s: Otaku and the amateur manga movement. The Journal of Japanese Studies, 24(2), 289–316.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kontominas, B. (2008). Simpsons cartoon rip-off is child porn: Judge. The Sydney Morning Herald, 8 December 2008. Retrieved 9 July 2016 from: http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/simpsonsstyle-cartoon-is-child-porn/2008/12/08/1228584707575.html

  • Krahé, B. (2014). Restoring the spirit of fair play in the debate about violent video games: A comment on Elson and Ferguson (2013). European Psychologist, 19(1), 56–59.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lau, C. Y. (2013). Manga drawings as stereotypes aesthetics. Visual Arts Research, 39(2, issue 77), 42–53.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lodato, V. (1998). Computer-generated child pornography – exposing prejudice in our First Amendment jurisprudence? Seton Hall Law Review, 28(4), 1328–1364.

    Google Scholar 

  • Luck, M. (2009). The gamer’s dilemma: An analysis of the arguments for the moral distinction between virtual murder and virtual paedophilia. Ethics and Information Technology, 11, 31–36.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Malamuth, N., & Huppin, M. (2007). Drawing the line on virtual child pornography: Bringing the law in line with the research evidence. New York University Review of Law and Social Change, 31(4), 773–827.

    Google Scholar 

  • Markey, P. M., Markey, C. N., & French, J. E. (2015). Violent video games and real-world violence: Rhetoric versus data. Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 4(4), 277–295.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Masuchika, G. (2015). Japanese cartoons, virtual child pornography, academic libraries, and the law. Reference and User Services Quarterly, 54(4), 54–60.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McCarthy, J. A. (2010). Internet sexual activity: A comparison between contact and non-contact child pornography offenders. Journal of Sexual Aggression, 16(2), 181–195.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McLelland, M. (2005). The world of YAOI: The internet, censorship and the global ‘boys’ love’ fandom. The Australian Feminist Law Journal, 23, 61–77.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McLelland, M., & Yoo, S. (2007). The international Yaoi boys’ love fandom and the regulation of virtual child pornography: Current legislation and its implications. Journal of Sexuality Research and Social Policy, 4(1), 93–104.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nagel, T. (1979). Mortal questions. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Niveau, G. (2010). Cyber-pedocriminality: Characteristics of a sample of internet child pornography offenders. Child Abuse & Neglect, 34, 570–575.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Norrie, J. (2010). Hardcore comics sidestep porn law. The Sydney Morning Herald, 20 February 2010. Retrieved 8 July 2016 from: http://www.smh.com.au/world/hardcore-comics-sidestep-porn-law-20100219-olu8.html

  • Norris, C. (2009). Manga, anime and visual art culture. In Y. Sugimoto (ed.), The Cambridge companion to modern Japanese Culture (pp. 236–260). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Office, H. (2007). Consultation on possession of non-photographic visual depictions of child abuse. http://www.gov.scot/Resource/Doc/1099/0048474.pdf. (Accessed 9/08/2016)

  • Orland, K. (2013). Obama looks to fund study into link between gun violence, video games and ‘media’. Gaming, 17 January 2013. Retrieved 25 February 2016 from: http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-01/17/obama-on-video-games

  • Ortega-Brena, M. (2009). Peek-a-boo, I see you: Watching Japanese hard-core Animation. Sexuality & Culture, 13, 17–31.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Patridge, S. (2011). The incorrigible social meaning of video game imagery. Ethics and Information Technology, 13(4), 303–312.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Prinz, J. J. (2007). The emotional construction of morals. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Quayle, E., & Taylor, M. (2002). Child pornography and the internet: Perpetuating a cycle of abuse. Deviant Behaviour, 23(4), 331–362.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ray, V. R., Kimonis, E. R., & Donoghue, C. (2010). Legal, ethical, and methodological considerations in the internet-based study of child pornography offenders. Behavioral Sciences and the Law, 28, 84–105.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Riegel, D. L. (2004). Effects on boy-attracted pedosexual males of viewing boy erotica. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 33(4), 321–323.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Russell, G. (2008). Pedophilies in Wonderland: Censoring the sinful in cyberspace. Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, 98(4), 1467–1500.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ryder, B. (2003). The harms of child pornography law. UBC Law Review, 36(1), 101–135.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sabin, R. (1993). Adult comics. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sandin, P. (2004). Virtual child pornography and utilitarianism. Journal of Information, Communication & Ethics in Society, 2(1), 217–223.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schreler, J. (2015). Why most video game ‘aggression’ studies are nonsense. Kotaku, 14 August 2015. Retrieved 25 February 2016 from: http://kotaku.com/why-most-video-game-aggression-studies-are-nonsense-1724116744

  • Seto, M. C., & Eke, A. W. (2005). The criminal histories and later offending of child pornography offenders. Sexual Abuse, 17(2), 201–210.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Seto, M. C., Reeves, L., & Jung, S. (2010). Explanations given by child pornography offenders for their crimes. Journal of Sexual Aggression, 16(2), 169–180.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Seto, M. C., Wood, J. M., Babchishin, K. M., & Flynn, S. (2012). Online solicitation offenders are different from child pornography offenders and lower risk contact sexual offenders. Law and Human Behavior, 36(4), 320–330.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Shigematsu, S. (1999). Dimensions of desire: Sex, fantasy, and fetish in Japanese comics. In J. A. Lent (ed.), Themes in Asian cartooning: Cute, cheap, mad, and sexy (pp. 127–163). Bowling Green: Bowling Green State University Popular Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Singer, P. (2007). Video crime peril vs. virtual pedophilia. The Japanese Times, 22 July 2007. Retrieved 4 March 2016, from: http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/eo20070722a1.html

  • Sullivan, J., & Beech, A. R. (2003). Are collectors of child abuse images a risk to children? In A. MacVean & P. Spindler (eds.), Policing paedophiles on the internet (pp. 11–20). London: The New Police Bookshop.

    Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, J. (2009). Graphic artists condemn plans to ban erotic comics. The Independent. Monday 23 March 2009. Retrieved 9 July, 2016 from: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/graphic-artists-condemn-plans-to-ban-erotic-comics-1652270.html

  • Veber, M. (2004). Virtual child pornography. Public Affairs Quarterly, 18(1), 75–90.

    Google Scholar 

  • Webb, L., Craissati, J., & Keen, S. (2007). Characteristics of internet child pornography offenders: A comparison with child molesters. Sexual Abuse, 19, 449–465.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Williams, K. S. (2004). Child pornography law: Does it protect children? Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law, 26(3), 245–261.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, B. (1999). Becoming Japanese: Manga, children’s drawings, and the construction of national character. Visual Arts Research, 25(2, issue 50), 48–60.

    Google Scholar 

  • Young, K. S. (2001). Tangled in the web: Understanding cybersex from fantasy to addiction. Bloomington: Authorhouse.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Social Sciences, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, United Kingdom

    Garry Young

Authors
  1. Garry Young
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2016 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Young, G. (2016). Social Convention and the Likelihood of Harm: Luck’s Initial Attempts at Resolving the Dilemma. In: Resolving the Gamer’s Dilemma. Palgrave Studies in Cyberpsychology. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-46595-1_2

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation