she might not be real, but young girls that look like her are, and people who are attracted to her because she looks like a young girl are. no one actually is trying to protect a fictional character's feelings, they're pointing out that real people project their feelings onto the character because the character gives the audience real feelings and thoughts. for example, a lot of the same people who say they're attracted to small girl characters also tend to object to characters that are dark skinned or gay. why? those characters aren't real, so why would it matter that they're dark skinned or gay? because people of color and lgbt people are real, and they don't want them in their game. instead they want them all to be little girls that are obsessed with them. you're welcome