While I don’t doubt people who think of Near’s youthful appearance and interests as something inherently ‘hot’ exist, I’ve honestly met with a lot more people who, instead, go literally like: “Don’t ever sexualise the smol & pure little sheep pls!!!11 I am perfectly aware he’s an 18 year old but like…I’m gonna ignore that he’s an adult, because I say so!! he looks like a ten year old!! also plays with toys!! CAN U BELIEVE IT?! So if you depict him in sexual situations you’re like!! total nasty fucks now!! you’re literally promoting pedophilia!”
[Yes. I’ve read comments like those somewhere on the internet, believe it or not.]
Hahaa, OK! I can’t fucking wait to tell my 21 yo brother that he’s a fucking pedophile lmao!! His current partner is a 19 yo adult, but you see…she’s so petite and cute, looks a lot younger than her actual age so, y’know…my brother shouldn’t totally engage in sexual activities with her! that would make him a ‘pedophile’, according to some…
also you remember that ask I answered recently, where I explained how L and Near get hugely different treatment from the fandom? where I said that while they’re both autistic (now I don’t remember if I mentioned I think L is autistic too, in that post, but rest assured that even if I didn’t, I implied it) L has always been much more loved than Near whereas Near is one of the most hated characters in the fandom also because of his autistic traits, commonly considered ‘childish, annoying and creepy’?
here’s yet another difference..it’s somehow totally ok (and accepted for most people) to sexualise the ‘sexy frog’, of course, but you’re a nasty fuck if you sexualise the ‘pure lil sheep’. look, it’s obvious not everyone is going to have the same headcanons about fictional characters–and I never shoved mine down other people’s throat, but really? if some headcanon L having a sexual life, why can’t we do the same for Near? Because, contrary to L, he ‘literally looks like a child’, or has a lot of ‘childlike’ special interests? ..Oh come on.
again: they’re both adults, they’re both autistic, they’re both infantilised by the fandom (-> though as for L, he was a lot more in the past than now) and yet. this happens.
Just adding a small note: I think the word “pedophile” is an extreme reaction to what might make sexualized art of Near uncomfortable. I definitely don’t think the artists or folks are going enjoy the art are pedophiles or are mentally ill purely for enjoying the art. However, there is something uncomfortable for some about having a character that comes off as very young in their original work presented in a sexual setting with the defense being “he’s 18, so it’s fine”. Does it make you a bad person who deserves verbal abuses and shaming? Not at all!! Does it just make some people uncomfortable? Definitely. And I think people choose to speak through their fear of the issue at hand rather than approach it with an open mind.
And I think your point of the sort of forced purity angle for both Near and L is a good insight. Autistic adults are often infantilized in reality, but especially so in fictional works. I think it’s important to keep in mind that these characters are adults and therefore are fully capable of having healthy and active sex lives. The art is definitely okay and it’s unfair for anyone to sling around words like “pedophile” just because it’s not for them.
Just one additional point to add to this though, If L is also autistic (though I don’t think I’ve seen any mention in the source material), he isn’t associated with childlike behaviors to the same extent that Near is. I’m thinking particularly of the sequence in which Near is playing with a model train in the anime. He frequently plays with toys the way children do, while L is never seen doing something comparable. For a casual watcher, this might immediately create the assumption that Near is also emotionally immature and can’t have the agency required to be sexually active. It’s a common issue for characters like him and I think the comments you read were likely a knee jerk reaction to a false assumption about Near’s physical and mental age.
Penhales 