What does loli mean? I have seen that Loli comes from sexualized teen girls (as lolita means) but also that is just a little girl so I'm confused
(TL;DR at end because this is a long post)
Lolicon is an art genre based on erotic/suggestive depiction of anime girls that appear to be youthful. A loli is a character that could be used in this art form. The male equivalent is shotacon.
I would like to point out that not all lolis or shotas are necessarily canonical adolescents in their media, and can be any age (yes, even adult) as long as their youthful appearance and/or mannerisms are the center of attention and is shown in a somewhat suggestive way.
The art form itself is not meant to be sexual, actually. You can appreciate it without being aroused by it.
The term lolicon comes from "Lolita," a famous book about a teen character in a controlling sexual relationship, and "complex." "Lolita complex" was eventually shortened to "lolicon" as it made it easier to pronounce for Japanese speakers (the art genre was started in Japan, iirc).
The reason why lolicon isn't specific to just teenaged characters is due to how the book Lolita wasn't focused on the character's age, but rather her youthfulness and innocence.
In more modern media, loli had also described a body type of a short anime character with large eyes, a small body, and "chibi" features.
TL;DR - Loli is focused on the sexualization of innocence and youthful body type rather than age. The body types are dramatic due to it being cartoon.
I hope that helped xd










