Is yaoi illegal?!' : let's get real about the potential criminalisation of yaoi

As seen in the previous chapters, there are several interrelated areas of law that may be relevant to YAOI, such as copyright, intellectual property, and censorship laws. The criminal laws in Western countries that prohibit fictional child pornography, which may have impact on YAOI fans, have received relatively less academic attention. The limited scholarly literature that specifically considers the potential criminalisation of YAOI tends to suggest that governments are targeting YAOI because it depicts fictitious young male characters in a sexual context. Coupled with media reporting of a few instances involving males prosecuted for having in their possession comics depicting children engaging in sexual activity, many panic-stricken fans have been eager to know, 'is YAOI illegal?!'.