Looking for safe content suggestions

It seems like a lot of people think obscenity equates to child porn an Loli, but that is false. Obscenity is restricting a lot of creative expression outside of Japan such as many of the best Hentai categories.

Good old obscenity, forcing one group's morals on everyone else.

Sorry this might be a little long, I do have a few specific questions I would really like from the community, but first I want to explain why I am asking. I first got into Hentai maybe 20 years ago when I saw the good stuff, like tentacles, nonconsensual, submissive teachers, private investigators, etc. And just about 6 months ago I wanted to learn how to create my own similar doujinshis, but after getting into it and learning the art for a while I slowly discovered the possible legality issues that US artists have to worry about that Japanese artists don't. A lot of people think Japanese porn is more censored than other countries because of the visible mosaics. However, as an artist I would much rather have to use mosaics than deal with all the content restrictions that we have in the west. I really want to draw the same type of content as Japanese artists, but am scared to do so because of the grey area in obscenity laws.

Fun fact: US rate of rape crimes is 27.3 per 100,00 people, while Japan's is 1 per 100,000 people. Yet the main argument of people that want to ban Hentai is that it promote rape culture. This is while all the Japanese are free to make all the good Hentai worry free. It could be argued that these stats prove the hentai actually lowers real-world instances of rape.

US artists are pretty much free to simulate any type of crime imaginable in their art except sex related crimes. Murder: OK, Hostage situations: OK, Robbery OK, sex: OH NO I'm OFFENDED! We already have laws protecting real-world instances of these simulated acts in art, so why do we need to limit our expression when there is statistical evidence that this type of art prevents real crimes?

This is my State's super vague definition of obscene material: "The word "obscene" where it appears in this article shall mean that which, considered as a whole, has as its dominant theme or purpose an appeal to the prurient interest in sex, that is, a shameful or morbid interest in nudity, sexual conduct, sexual excitement, excretory functions or products thereof or sadomasochistic abuse, and which goes substantially beyond customary limits of candor in description or representation of such matters and which, taken as a whole, does not have serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value."

As for Loli. I don't like it, but I don't think it should be banned. You can see I like full developed women with big jubblies on my gallery. The only law I really agree with is the distribution of art with real child actors, which I don't think many people can disagree with.

This leads me to my questions:

1) Am I being too paranoid? Am I misunderstanding US laws, and I really am allowed to create and distribute hentai related to submission, rape, tentacles, etc?

2) If I am correct and distributing this type of material could get me in trouble do you have any good suggestions of content I could create that would keep my interest? Creating entire manga and doujinshis is a huge task, and I could never possibly complete one if I am not passionate about the content.

3) Has there been any movement in repealing obscenity all together since obscenity has no scientific backing, and it is just stacked on top of other 'good' laws that protect real people.

4) Why do we even have laws based on one group's morals?

I would like to cap this reply with - I am not a lawyer. At all. Just a fan who has recently been forced, by personal choice, to take a very hard look at my collection of manga/anime as it pertains to this very matter. You may wish to contact (as I am considering) the CBLDF.

1) I doubt that you are being "too paranoid." There are several cases, very recently (I think one was decided in 2019 actually), with regards to obscenity laws. Usually the law cited is 18 USC 1462. I've personally not had any experience with this law, and frankly, never want to... but as we're all here on this site, and probably other sites, it is something that may be worth reviewing. I remember reading that one artist was fined and jailed for producing"obscene" material in his locality alone - not on a national level. Two cases that seriously frighten me the most are US v. Handley, and US v. Whorley.

2) I am sorry to say, I have no suggestions here. Even possession of said material - not necessarily buying or selling it - can land you in trouble from the cases I've read. Worst-case... consider moving to a different jurisdiction that has more open laws regarding content.

3) Moving laws through any jurisdiction takes time. The most recent "PROTECT" law was enacted in response to challenges against an outdated 1996 obscenity act. Given it's now 2019, you get the idea for the amount of time "required."

4) I would argue that, as a society, there has always been an interest in providing a "clean and wholesome" environment for persons of age and those coming-of-age. Pornographic material has always been considered - one way or another - taboo (with some possible exceptions), which sometimes only serves to enhance it's appeal. Since the US was founded on religious expression and freedom, and given the level of control that all religion patently places on sexual expression, it only makes sense that materials of sexual nature are subject to both (a) increased scrutiny and (b) radically varying degrees of "acceptability" between regions. I have at times spoken with my elders (read: parents) with regards to today's new information-driven society in the context of time and isolation. In previous generations, it required days or weeks or even months before news of events happening in one region of the country would reach distant regions (i.e. things happening in Cali vs things happening in Iowa), with exception to matters of national importance (i.e. Pearl Harbor). Even in the case of such events, there were limited means for obtaining such information - hence the images of people hanging at a restaurant with a radio, or a whole town huddling around the windows of one affluent member of the town who had a TV. With the internet and cell phones it's possible to transmit information instantly across borders, regions, and in some cases whole continents, which now opens up regions that would otherwise be isolated to every other region's information - and by extension, their media. Hence the conflict when you have a very traditional area, who's spent the last hundred years passing laws based on their own local customs, suddenly faced with information and/or media that potentially challenges all those laws.

I am taking a very conservative approach going forward, in that - if there is any question - don't download, access, or otherwise obtain it.