Am I right that the word "chan" is Japanese? I've seen it appended to names, like a diminutive of -san. I think it means, like cute-little-thing or something. I was not aware the word had been appropriated to mean adult/child sexual fic; although I gather that older/younger pairings are rather common in manga. (Not usually parent-age/child-age, unless I miss by guess, but for some reason many of the pairings have a substantial age-differential.)

Yep. It comes from Star Wars TPM fandom, and per the fanfiction glossary, has something to do with aspects of samurai culture:

Chanslash: Slash stories wherein one member of the pairing is under the legal age of consent (usually between 13-18 years of age but can also be under 21). When George Lucas based the Jedi upon Samurai warriors, he neglected the fact that the Samurai expected apprentices to "service" them in return for training. Many Phantom Menace slash writers have thus interpreted this into Jedi tradition.

he neglected the fact that the Samurai expected apprentices to "service" them in return for training. Many Phantom Menace slash writers have thus interpreted this into Jedi tradition.

When you think about it, it's a "tradition" that goes well back in human history. If you look at a lot of Greek pottery from 2000 years ago, there's a lot of erotic art of young men "tending" to older men in the athletic arena. It's kind of interesting to see how, while the forms may change, the actual actions don't.

By mentioning lawyers, I actually wasn't so much meaning defense lawyers, but that TV shows have people to consult with about what might be legally iffy before the public ever sees it, whereas there's a lot of explicit fanfiction which is pretty open about being plotless (that is, having no pretensions to 'literary merit'). If that makes sense.

(Also should point out that I find 'literary merit' such a subjective term as to be almost meaningless. Certainly there are stories and scenes in movies and TV shows that I find gratuitous and there purely for the purpose of titillation, but who gets to say?)

If that makes sense

Completely.

And, wrod, to your last paragraph.

It comes from Star Wars TPM fandom

Does it really? I had no idea. I assumed it was imported from anime/manga.

The term really wasn't around before TPM hit?

I thought chan was an anime term that become popular in Harry Potter fandom when anime fans became interested in HP.

I've also seen the anime influence in HP fanart.

Anne's our anime expert, but a quick hunt didn't turn up chan used in that sense in the fandom, and most refs I've seen to the term are TPM.

Well, FWIW, most manga fans I know would probably object to the change in the word's meaning, since most meta-manga vocabulary I've learned is faithfully Japanese or direct translation. It should take a not-really-Japanese, just-clanging-off-quasi-Japanese-copycatters fandom to take a Japanese word and give it a new interpretation.

I've never seen 'chan' used in any of the anime fandoms. Or, to put it simply:

What Nutty said.

If someone has breasts and hips and is menstruating? (Or male of equivalent sexual maturity?) Not a child any more.

It isn't at all unusual for 12-year-olds to menstruate. IMHO they're too young to have sex, and any adult who has sex with them should be prosecuted.