Jailbait images

Jailbait images are sexualized but non-pornographic images of minors who are perceived to meet the definition of jailbait. The online distribution of jailbait images has caused legal and moral controversy, in some cases leading to the censorship of both the images and the word itself as a search term.

Jailbait images can be differentiated from child pornography, as they do not feature minors before the onset of puberty, nor do they usually contain nudity.[1][2] The images are, however, usually sexualized,[1] often featuring tween or young teen girls in bikinis, short skirts,[3] underwear or lingerie.[4]

Legality, censorship and online impact

The legal status of jailbait images is controversial. When questioned regarding their legality, legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin stated he thought it was not illegal, though legal expert Sunny Hostin was more skeptical, describing jailbait images as "borderline" child pornography which may be illegal.[5][6] While the images may be legal, they are often considered to be in poor taste.[5][7] Jailbait is amongst the list of banned hashtags at the photo-sharing website Instagram,[8][9] and the social networking website Tumblr.[10] The term is also blocked on Google Instant.[11] Jailbait images have been defended on the grounds of free speech,[2] and have also been defended on the grounds they are similar to mainstream sexualised images of minors, such as those in the music video for "...Baby One More Time" by Britney Spears, who was 16 years old at the time of filming.[3] Jailbait images are often collected directly from girls' Facebook pages.[12]

Numerous webpages and forums are devoted to jailbait images. As well as uploading and sharing images, popular discussion topics at jailbait communities include ephebophilia, the difference between ephebophilia and pedophilia, and debating whether images of certain girls are too young or old to be classified as jailbait.[13] Vice magazine commented on the lack of attention the press paid to the role popular jailbait image boards had on the suicide of Amanda Todd.[14] An individual who was alleged to be harassing Todd prior to her suicide was tracked down by posts and images he uploaded to jailbait forums on the Internet. Online jailbait communities have been described as "a very insidious force on the Internet that is pitting overly clever pedophiles against insecure teenagers."[14] They have also been said to "offer a window into a disturbing mindset."[13] Self-identified pedophiles can be found in jailbait communities.[13]

Reddit controversy

The most infamous online jailbait community was the subreddit section "/r/jailbait" on the website Reddit. It was the first result when searching for "jailbait" on Google,[4] and was at one point the second largest search term that brought visitors to Reddit, topped only by the word "Reddit" itself.[3]

The jailbait subreddit received widespread attention after Anderson Cooper devoted a segment of his TV program on September 29, 2011, to condemning both the subreddit itself and Reddit for hosting it.[1] On October 10, 2011 the subreddit was shut down by Reddit administrators.[7]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Morris, Kevin (September 30, 2011). "Anderson Cooper addresses Reddit's teen pics section". The Daily Dot.
  2. 1 2 Alfonso III, Fernando (11 August 2011). "A free-speech haven wrestles with violent images". The Daily Dot. Retrieved June 12, 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 Chen, Adrian (12 October 2012). "Unmasking Reddit's Violentacrez, The Biggest Troll on the Web". Gawker. Retrieved June 12, 2014.
  4. 1 2 Hachman, Mark (August 10, 2011). "Reddit Closes 'Jailbait' Pic Site, Allows Others to Remain". PC Magazine. Retrieved June 12, 2014.
  5. 1 2 Crugnale, James (September 30, 2011). "Anderson Cooper Excoriates Reddit For 'Creepy' Jailbait Section". Mediaite. Retrieved June 12, 2014.
  6. ↑ Fitzpatrick, David; Griffin, Drew (October 19, 2012). "Man behind 'Jailbait' posts exposed, loses job". CNN. Retrieved June 12, 2014.
  7. 1 2 Morris, Kevin (11 October 2011). "Reddit shuts down r/jailbait". The Daily Dot. Retrieved June 12, 2014.
  8. ↑ Bosker, Biance (29 October 2013). "The New Banned Hashtags Of Instagram -- Now With More #SexyTimes". The Huffington Post. Retrieved June 19, 2014.
  9. ↑ "The Banned #Hashtags of Instagram". thedatapack.com. August 26, 2013. Retrieved June 19, 2014.
  10. ↑ Romano, Aja (July 18, 2013). "29 tags Tumblr banned from its mobile app (and 10 it didn't)". DailyDot.com. The Daily Dot. Retrieved July 19, 2014.
  11. ↑ "Google Blacklist – Words That Google Instant Doesn't Like". 2600: The Hacker Quarterly. Retrieved June 19, 2014.
  12. ↑ Morris, Kevin (August 23, 2011). "Reddit's ban on r/jailbait goes international". The Daily Dot. Retrieved June 12, 2014.
  13. 1 2 3 North, Anna (20 September 2011). "Reddit's Pedophilia Posse And The Return Of Jailbait". Jezebel.com. Jezebel. Retrieved June 19, 2014.
  14. 1 2 McGuire, Patrick (October 15, 2012). "A Jailbait Loving Perv Destroyed Amanda Todd's Life". Vice. Retrieved June 19, 2014.
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