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Pedobear

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Depiction of Pedobear

Pedobear is an Internet meme that became popular through the imageboard 4chan.[1] As the name suggests ("pedo" being short for "pedophile"), it is portrayed as a pedophilic cartoon bear.[2] It is a concept used to mock child sex offenders or people who have any sexual interest in children or "jailbait".[3][4] The bear image has been likened to bait used to lure children or as a mascot for pedophiles.[3]

Origin

The bear character originates from the popular textboard website 2channel in Japan, where it was introduced, in the form of Shift_JIS art, as クマー (Kumā), a made-up interjection based on the Japanese word for bear, kuma. Unlike Pedobear, Kumā has no sexual connotations, pedophilic or otherwise.

Although initially appearing as a single line:

くまくま━━━━━━ヽ（ ・(ｪ)・ ）ノ━━━━━━ !!!

various posts modified it until reaching the final form as multi-line art: 

      ∩＿＿＿∩
     |ノ      ヽ
    /   ●    ● | クマ──！！
   |     (_●_) ミ
  彡､     |∪|  ､｀＼
/ ＿＿    ヽノ /´>   )
(＿＿＿）     /  (_／
  |        /
  |   ／＼  ＼
  | /     )   )
   ∪     （   ＼
           ＼＿)

Eventually, posting Kumā Shift_JIS art evolved into a response to "fishing" posts submitted as "bait" to attract people (fishing for attention), which is why the bear is depicted as literally running into the forum to get the bait.

The Kumā character was adopted by 4chan and quickly became a meme there,[1] especially on the /b/ board. On 2ch, Kumā was often depicted in images sleeping with children, and this was promptly exploited on 4chan to create the Pedobear persona. Soon it gained its representation as an image rather than text art, and started being superimposed in pictures[4] depicting children (especially if these pictures could be interpreted as sexually suggestive, such as when involving swimsuits, underwear or child beauty pageants).[3] Another common use of the character was to mock or otherwise signal the posting of borderline child erotica content,[3][4] sometimes with references to the FBI or Chris Hansen, the host of the TV show To Catch a Predator.

Mainstream media

Protester in London dressed as Pedobear to protest a visit by Pope Benedict XVI in 2010

Pedobear eventually became known outside 4chan as it was referenced by newspapers and prominent websites. In the media it was frequently claimed to be a mascot of child sex offenders, which is contested by meme catalogs who note that its intent is actually to mock pedophiles.[5][6]

Pedobear was used in a CollegeHumor video parodying the film Doubt.[7]

Artist and media researcher Johannes Grenzfurthner and Pedobear at ROFLcon 2010

On 3 July 2009, Canadian artist Michael R. Barrick created two composite images[8] depicting Pedobear grouped together with the mascots of 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games. One is based on the official art, and the other is based on fanart created by Angela Melick.[9] This image was then mistakenly used by other media,[10] most notably the Polish newspaper Gazeta Olsztyńska for a 4 February 2010 front-page story about the Olympics in Vancouver.[4][11]

On 24 July 2009, a column in the far-right Taki's Magazine by conservative commentator Pat Buchanan about the early months of Barack Obama's presidency included an image of Pedobear, which generated considerable reaction from non-political commentators.[10]

Other uses of Pedobear include an iStockphoto wallpaper,[10] a cover of the auto magazine Import Tuner,[10] and a flyer of a costume store in Portland, Oregon, which accidentally featured a Pedobear-like figure. The incident in Portland was covered by a local news station, which provided a detailed history of Pedobear, and even interviewed Cheezburger Network's CEO Ben Huh about Pedobear's cultural significance.[10]

In September 2010 cosplay participants dressed as the character were accused of being potential child sex offenders,[12] after the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Department issued a warning that Pedobear was a sign of the presence of pedophiles and other people with inappropriate sexual behavior, and suggested that Pedobear was a kind of mascot among pedophiles.[3][13] Law enforcement officials in San Diego later sent a warning to local media, warning parents that the image can indicate the presence of predators. It also issued a bulletin:

Since the Comic Con, law enforcement in San Diego... has come across PedoBear's image in situations during which they were contacting those that exploit and/or abuse children. (...)

The intention of this bulletin is (...) [to] alert citizens that [PedoBear's] presence may be an indicator of the presence of individuals who have a predilection to sexually inappropriate, or even, assaultive behaviour. While not an absolute, the image of PedoBear should be a sign that you should use caution with whatever situation you are in or the individuals involved.

— Public Safety Bulletin. A Seemingly Innocent Menace. An introduction to "PEDO BEAR"(Page 2)[3]

Gawker later reported that it had spoken to the San Luis Obispo Sheriff's Department, and that the department knew it was an "Internet joke",[3] despite the fact that they had referred to pedophiles adopting it as a mascot. Two local television stations, KSBY and KCOY-TV, passed on the warning to their viewers.[12] In Tulsa, Oklahoma, Sgt. John Adams of the Tulsa Police Department Child Exploitation Unit falsely told local television stations KOKI-TV and KOTV that the person wearing the costume was a registered sex offender, a claim which was later retracted.[14][15][16]

Coupon book ad of the Florida-based computer repair business, "CP Distributor"

On March 22, 2011, the blog Urlesque posted a photograph of a coupon book advertisement for "CP Distributor", a computer repair business in Polk County, Florida, that prominently featured the Pedobear image. "CP" when paired with the Pedobear meme normally stands for child porn.[17]

In July 2011, a Pedobear iPhone application, released a few weeks earlier on June 25, was removed from Apple's App Store. It contained a series of dance moves and background music, with the mascot branded as "Cuddle Bear".[18]

On December 15, 2011, a citywide alert was issued by the Pierre Police Department after images of Pedobear had been sighted in certain parts of the city.[19]

In March 2012, a primary school in Christchurch, New Zealand, was notified by the public of the meaning of a student-created poster portraying Pedobear in a classroom window. The poster was left displayed to the public for some time.[20]

On July 19, 2012, the Nestlé food company took down the inaugural Instagram photo from its Kit Kat chocolate bar's Facebook page because it featured a person dressed as a bear that some Internet users quickly pointed out resembled the Pedobear cartoon. Nestlé itself had produced the image, and officials claimed they were completely unaware of the Pedobear meme.[21]

References

  1. ^ a b Amy Graff (September 14, 2010). "California police warn parents of pedophilia mascot". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on 2011-01-21.
  2. ^ Kelly, Jon (2010-08-31). "The strange virtual world of 4chan". BBC News. Retrieved 2010-09-13.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "Stupid California Police Warn Parents of Pedobear, the 'Pedophile Mascot' (Updated)". Gawker. 2009-09-12. Archived from the original on 2010-09-13. Retrieved 2010-09-12.
  4. ^ a b c d Moore, Matthew (8 February 2010). "Polish newspaper claims 'Pedobear' is 2010 Vancouver Olympic mascot". The Daily Telegraph. London.
  5. ^ "A Beginner's Guide to Pedobear, the Internet's Favorite Pervert". Urlesque. Archived from the original on 2009-11-29. Retrieved 2015-09-15.
  6. ^ "Know Your Meme: Pedobear". Know Your Meme. 8 December 2008. Retrieved 2015-09-15.
  7. ^ "Pedobear "Doubt" Trailer - CollegeHumor video". CollegeHumor. 2009-06-02. Archived from the original on 2010-03-30. Retrieved 2010-08-03.
  8. ^ "Michael R. Barrick - New Mascot Added to the Vancouver 2010 Team". LiveJournal. Archived from the original on 2010-03-09. Retrieved 2010-08-03.
  9. ^ "Gallery". SpikeComix.com. Archived from the original on 2010-06-09. Retrieved 2010-08-03. Pedobear was also starred as a 3 second character on Cartoon Network's MAD on a short called "Grey's in Anime". But pedobear is seen as green, but can still be recognized.
  10. ^ a b c d e Robert Quigley (7 February 2010). "Vancouver and More: 5 Times Pedobear has Infiltrated the Real World". Geekosystem.
  11. ^ "'Pedobear' an Olympic mascot?". Toronto Sun. 10 February 2010. Archived from the original on 25 September 2012. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
  12. ^ a b "Sheriff's department warns parents of Pedo Bear image". KSBY-TV. Archived from the original on 2010-09-15. Retrieved 2011-12-20.
  13. ^ San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Department Public Information Bulletin "A Seemingly Innocent Menace. An introduction to "PEDO BEAR" and Page 2
  14. ^ "Pedobear Panic Hits Tulsa". gawker. Archived from the original on 2010-09-19.
  15. ^ "Pedobear, The New Pedophile?". FOX23. Archived from the original on 2011-08-23.
  16. ^ "A Seemingly Innocent Menace -- An Introduction to "PEDO BEAR"" (PDF). Tulsa Police Department Child Exploitation Unit. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-18. Retrieved 2011-09-09.
  17. ^ "Pedobear Sneaks Into a Convicted Sex Offender's Computer Parts Ad - Urlesque". Mar 24, 2011. Archived from the original on 2011-03-24. Retrieved Oct 8, 2022.
  18. ^ "Pedobear iPhone app vanishes from Apple store | Technology | News & Comment | The First Post". Jul 16, 2011. Archived from the original on 2011-07-16. Retrieved Oct 8, 2022.
  19. ^ "My Daily News". mdn.dakotaradiogroup.com. 2011-12-15. Archived from the original on 2012-04-26. Retrieved 2011-12-20.
  20. ^ Blackstock, Russell (4 March 2012). "Pedobear pops up at school". The New Zealand Herald.
  21. ^ "Pedobear comparison prompts Nestle to pull Instagram photo for Kit Kat". Los Angeles Times. Jul 20, 2012. Retrieved Oct 8, 2022.
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