In the anime community, a headpat is considered a suitable manner of showing appreciation for underage anime characters (also known as loli). The headpat meme is closely related to the "protection" meme and is often considered as the polar opposite of lewdness. In addition, fan art often depicts characters, particularly anime heroines, being stroked on the head. In the late 2010s, the Facebook page The Church of Head-Pat-Tology remained one of the primary online sites for headpat-related material, amassing over 120,000 followers in five years.
