Are Lolicons pedophiles?

I have seen several of these cartoons and images trying to either make a clear cut differentiation between pedophiles and lolicons or claiming that they are mutually inclusice groups but I am not sure the distinction is that clear cut. I found a quora answer that makes the argument better than I could so here it is: "Some facts for anyone who's wondering.

A pedophile is sexually attracted to young children.

A lolicon is sexually attracted to depictions of young children.

The difference being, one is real and one is fictional.

Pedophiles see young children in real life and become sexually aroused. They have thoughts about doing sexual acts with real children, and those who cannot control themselves act on those feelings and do actual harm to a human being.

Lolicons may or may not be pedophiles. What's important to note here is that a lolicon who is not a pedophile will not have a sexual desire towards real children.

The first and foremost reason being the harm that would be done to the child.

Secondly, the legal concerns. As you are doing no harm to any physical human being besides yourself by being sexually attracted to depictions of children (that is, drawings, imagery. And I'm not talking about child porn.), no government in the world can rightfully lock you away, because there is no crime being committed here.

However, a pedophile who views child pornography is encouraging the production of child porn, and thus, causing harm to the children in the pictures simply by viewing them. This is a crime, and why the possession of child porn is illegal in the United States.

As you can see, there is a very distinct difference between a lolicon and a pedophile.

Not all lolicons are pedophiles.

Not all pedophiles are lolicons.

Pedophiles hurt real children.

Lolicons hurt no one but themselves.

And then there's sexual predators.

Sexual predators are sexually interested in anything with legs and a sexual organ.

These people may not even be sexually interested in children, but can still cause harm to real children, simply for the power they feel over a young child. Some do it for resentment towards their spouse or significant other in spite of having a child. “Hurting you won't make anything better, so I'll hurt your child in the worst way possible.”

Others do it for various reasons beyond my understanding.

Please note that no where in my answer did I mention a gender. Both men and women, both girls and boys."

I do not agree with his point that lolicons necessarily harm themselves but other than that it seems to be a tight argument. If you disagree let me know why in the comment section.

Source: https://www.quora.com/What-do-you-think-about-lolicon