Yaoi

Yaoi (やおい)In careful Japanese enunciation, all three vowels are pronounced separately, for a three-mora word, IPA2|jaoi "ya-oh-ee". ] is a popular term for fictional media that focuses on homosexual male relationships, yet is generally created by and for females. Originally referring to a specific type of dōjinshi (self-published works) parody of mainstream anime and manga works, yaoi came to be used as a generic term for female-oriented manga, anime, novels and dōjinshi featuring homosexual male relationships.

In Japan, the term has largely been replaced by the rubric nihongo|Boys' Love|ボーイズラブ|Bōizu Rabu, which subsumes both parodies and original works, and commercial as well as dōjinshi works. Although the genre is called Boys' Love (commonly abbreviated as "BL"), the males featured are pubescent or older. Works featuring prepubescent boys are labeled shotacon, and seen as a distinct genre. Yaoi (as it continues to be known among English-speaking fans) has spread beyond Japan: both translated and original yaoi is now available in many countries and languages.

Yaoi began in the dōjinshi markets of Japan in the late 1970s/early 1980s as an outgrowth of shōnen-ai (also known as "Juné" or "tanbi"), but whereas shōnen-ai (both commercial and dōjinshi) were original works, yaoi were parodies of popular "straight" shōnen anime and manga, such as "Captain Tsubasa" and "Saint Seiya". BL creators and fans are careful to distinguish the genre from “gay manga,” which are created by and for gay men. However, some male manga creators have produced BL works.

The main characters in B.L. usually conform to the formula of the "seme" (aggressor) who pursues the "uke" (the target).

Terminology

Usage

Although different meanings are often ascribed to yaoi and boy's love, (with yaoi generally said to be more explicit and BL generally said to being less so) there is conflicting information on their usage.Masaki, Lyle. (6 January, 2008) [http://www.afterelton.com/Print/2008/1/yaoi? “Yowie!”: The Stateside appeal of boy-meets-boy YAOI comics] "AfterElton.com"]

Yaoi is an acronym created in the dōjinshi market of the late 1970s by Yasuko Sakata and Akiko Hatsu and popularised in the 1980s standing for Nihongo|YAma nashi, Ochi nashi, Imi nashi|ヤマなし、オチなし、意味なし|extra2="No climax, no point, no meaning". This phrase refers to how yaoi, as opposed to the "difficult to understand" shōnen-ai of the Year 24 Group,Suzuki, Kazuko. 1999. "Pornography or Therapy? Japanese Girls Creating the Yaoi Phenomenon". In Sherrie Inness, ed., "Millennium Girls: Today's Girls Around the World". London: Rowman & Littlefield, p.252 ISBN 0847691365, ISBN 0847691373.] focussed on "the yummy parts". It also refers to how there is more emphasis on the "symbolic appearance" of the characters (see Seme and uke) and their emotions than a traditional plot structure.Wilson, Brent; Toku, Masami. [http://www.csuchico.edu/~mtoku/vc/Articles/toku/Wil_Toku_BoysLove.html "Boys' Love," Yaoi, and Art Education: Issues of Power and Pedagogy] 2003] As such, the term "yaoi" is "common knowledge to manga fans".Kinsella, Sharon [http://www.jstor.org/pss/133236 Japanese Subculture in the 1990s: Otaku and the Amateur Manga Movement] Journal of Japanese Studies, Vol. 24, No. 2 (Summer, 1998), pp. 289-316] A joking alternative acronym among fujoshi (female yaoi fans) for yaoi is Nihongo3|"Stop, my arse hurts!"|やめて お尻が 痛い|YAmete, Oshiri ga Itai. [Fujimoto, Yukari (1991) "Shōjo manga ni okeru 'shōnen ai' no imi" ("The Meaning of 'Boys' Love' in Shōjo Manga"). In N. Mizuta, ed. "New Feminism Review, Vol. 2: Onna to hyōgen" ("Women and Expression"). Tokyo: Gakuyō Shobō, ISBN 4313840427. http://matt-thorn.com/shoujo_manga/fujimoto.php (in Japanese). Accessed August 12, 2008. "やめ て、お尻が、いたいから" - "Stop, because my butt hurts"]

Originally in Japan, much BL material was called "june" ジュネ , a name derived from a publication of the same name (See Publishing) that published male/male "tanbi" 耽美 ("aesthetic") romances, stories written for and about the worship of beauty, and romance between older men and beautiful youths using particularly flowery language and unusual kanji. Mori Mari in her debut work used such unusual kanji for her character's names that she converted to spelling their names in katakana.Vincent, Keith (2007) " [http://www.upress.umn.edu/Books/L/lunning_mechademia2.html A Japanese Electra and Her Queer Progeny] " "Mechademia 2" pp.64-79] Kaoru Kurimoto had also written "shōnen ai mono" stories in the late 1970s that have been described as "the precursors of yaoi".Kotani Mari, foreword to Saitou Tamaki (2007) "Otaku Sexuality" in Christopher Bolton, Istvan Csicsery-Ronay Jr., and Takayuki Tatsumi ed., page 223 " [http://www.upress.umn.edu/Books/B/bolton_robot.html Robot Ghosts and Wired Dreams] " University of Minnesota Press ISBN 978-0-8166-4974-7] June magazine, in turn, had been named after the French author Jean Genet, with "june" being a play on the Japanese pronunciation of his name. [cite web|url=http://www.icv2.com/articles/news/8191.html|title=Digital Manga Names New Yaoi Imprint: A Tribute to Jean Genet] Eventually the term "june" died out in favour of "BL," which remains the most common name.

Another term for yaoi is 801. "801" can be read as "yaoi" in the following form: the "short" reading (on'yomi) of the number 8 is "ya", 0 can be read as "o" - a western influence without doubt, while the on'yomi for 1 is "i" (see Japanese wordplay). For example, an Internet manga called "Tonari no 801-chan", about an otaku guy who dates a "fujoshi" (yaoi fangirl), has been adapted into a serialised shōjo manga and a live-action film. 801-chan, the mascot of a Japanese shopping centre, is used in the manga. [cite web|url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2007-11-15/tonari-no-801-chan-fujoshi-manga-adapted-for-shojo-mag|title=Tonari no 801 chan Fujoshi Manga Adapted for Shōjo Mag]

"Yaoi" has become an umbrella term in the West for male/male manga or Japan-inspired comics,cite web|url=http://www.aestheticism.com/visitors/reference/jpnse_def/index.htm|title= Definitions From Japan: BL, Yaoi, June|work=aestheticism.com] and it is preferentially used by American manga publishers. The actual name of the genre aimed toward women in Japan is called 'BL' or 'Boy's Love'. BL is aimed at the shōjo and josei demographics, but is considered a separate category.Thorn, Matt [http://www.matt-thorn.com/shoujo_manga/whatisandisnt.html What Shôjo Manga Are and Are Not - A Quick Guide for the Confused] ] Yaoi is used in Japan to include dōjinshi and sex scenes, and does not include gei comi, which is by gay men and for gay men.

Yaoi and shōnen-ai are sometimes used by western fans to differentiate between the contents of the genre. In this case, "yaoi" is used to describe titles that contain sex scenes and other sexually explicit themes and "shōnen-ai" is used to describe titles that focus more on romance and do not include explicit sexual content.Cha, Kai-Ming (7 March, 2005) [http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA508674.html? Yaoi Manga: What Girls Like?] "Publishers Weekly"] However, "Kaze to Ki no Uta" ("the first commercially published boys' love story") was groundbreaking in its depictions of "openly sexual relationships", spurring the development of the shōnen-ai genre in shōjo manga. [Toku, Masami (2007) " [http://www.upress.umn.edu/Books/L/lunning_mechademia2.html Shojo Manga! Girls’ Comics! A Mirror of Girls’ Dreams] " "Mechademia 2" p. 27] The use of yaoi to denote those works with explicit scenes sometimes clashes with use of the word to describe the genre as a whole. Yaoi can be used by fans as a label for anime or manga-based slash fiction. [Aquila, Meredith (2007) " [http://www.upress.umn.edu/Books/L/lunning_mechademia2.html Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction Writers: New Narrative Themes or the Same Old Story?] " "Mechademia 2" p.39]

While shōnen-ai literally means "boy's love", the two terms are not synonymous. In Japan, shōnen-ai used to refer to a now obsolete shōjo subgenre that told stories of prepubescent boys in relationships ranging from the platonic to the romantic. The term was originally used to describe ephebophilia, and in scholarly contexts still is. Boy's Love, on the other hand, is used as a genre's name and refers to all titles regardless of sexual content or the ages of characters in the story (with the exception of titles featuring prepubescent boys, which are categorized as shotacon, a distinct genre with only peripheral connections to BL).

eme and uke

The two participants in a yaoi relationship (sometimes also in yuri [http://manga.about.com/od/mangaartistswriters/a/EFriedman_2.htm] ) are often referred to as "seme" ("attacker",攻め or せめ) and "uke" ("receiver",受け). These terms originated in martial arts and do not carry any degrading connotations. "Seme" derives from the Japanese verb "semeru" (“to attack”) and "uke" from the Japanese verb "ukeru" (“to receive”). Though gay males are often referred to in English as "tops" or "bottoms," seme and uke are more nearly analogous to "pitcher" and "catcher." The seme and uke are often drawn in the bishōnen style and are "highly idealised", blending both masculine and feminine qualities.

The seme is often depicted as the stereotypical male of anime and manga culture: restrained, physically powerful, and/or protective. The seme is generally older and taller,Camper, Cathy (2006) [http://www.wcwonline.org/?option=com_content&task=view&id=1147&Itemid=&Itemid=38 Yaoi 101: Girls Love "Boys' Love."] ] with a stronger chin, shorter hair, smaller eyes, and a more stereotypically masculine, even "macho",Suzuki, Kazuko. 1999. "Pornography or Therapy? Japanese Girls Creating the Yaoi Phenomenon". In Sherrie Inness, ed., "Millennium Girls: Today's Girls Around the World". London: Rowman & Littlefield, p.253 ISBN 0847691365, ISBN 0847691373.] demeanour than the uke. The seme usually pursues the uke. The uke usually has softer, androgynous, feminine features with bigger eyes and a smaller build, and is often physically weaker than the seme.Jones, V.E. [http://www.boston.com/ae/books/articles/2005/04/25/he_loves_him_she_loves_them/ "He Loves Him, She Loves Them: Japanese comics about gay men are increasingly popular among women"] . "Boston.com". April 2005.] Anal sex is a prevalent theme in yaoi, as nearly all stories feature it in some way. The storyline where an uke is reluctant to have anal sex with a seme is considered to be similar to the reader's reluctance to have sex whilst still a virgin.Avila, K. [http://www.sequentialtart.com/archive/jan05/art_0105_1.shtml "Boy's Love and Yaoi Revisited"] . "Sequential Tart". January 2005.] Another common trope is where the seme pursues the uke to the point of rape, as "an expression of love". [Mizoguchi, Akiko. (2003) [http://www.aasianst.org/absts/2003abst/Japan/sessions.htm#187 Homophobic Homos, Rapes of Love, and Queer Lesbians: Yaoi as a Conflicting Site of Homo/ Hetero-Sexual Female Sexual Fantasy] "Japan Sessions"] Despite this, the seme is shown as being truly in love with the uke. One stereotype that is criticised is that the protagonists do not identify as gay, but rather are simply in love with that particular person. This is said to heighten the theme of all-conquering love,Lees, Sharon (June 2006). [http://www.akibaangels.com/articles/06_2006/yaoiandBL.php "Yaoi and Boys Love"] . "Akiba Angels".] but is also pointed to as avoiding having to address prejudices against people who consider themselves to have been born homosexual.cite web|url=http://moongsil.com/study/yaoi_eng.pdf|title=Reading YAOI Comics: An Analysis of Korean Girls’ Fandom|last=Noh|first=Sueen|year=2002] Newer yaoi stories have characters that identify as gay. There has also been criticism of the uke in particular - that he has stereotypically "girly" behaviour.Keller, Katherine [http://www.sequentialtart.com/article.php?id=864 Seme and Uke? Make Me Puke] "Sequential Tart" February 2008] It has been questioned if yaoi is heteronormative, due to the masculine seme and feminine uke stereotypes. [Linderström, Jenny [http://www.diva-portal.org/sh/undergraduate/abstract.xsql?lang=sv&dbid=1206 Boys' Love: En studie av maskuliniteter och maktrelationer i yaoi manga] ] It has been noted that yaoi stories are often told from the uke's perspective.

Though these stereotypes are common, not all works adhere to them. Sometimes the bottom character will be the aggressor in the relationship,This character has been called an "Osoi uke" (襲い受け, "attacking uke"). He is usually paired with a "Hetare seme" (ヘタレ攻め, "wimpy seme").] or the pair will switch their sexual roles. [Manry, Gia. (16 April 2008) [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/issues/issue_145/4629-It-s-A-Yaoi-Thing It's A Yaoi Thing: Boys Who Love Boys and the Women Who Love Them] "The Escapist"] "Riba", リバ (a contraction of the English word "reversible") is used to describe a couple that yaoi fans think is still plausible when the partners switch their seme/uke roles.cite web|url=http://fujyoshi.jp/fujyoshi_kouza0|title=fujyoshi.jp] In another common mode of characters, the author will forgo the stylisations of the seme and uke, and will portray both lovers as "equally attractive handsome men". In this case, whichever of the two who is ordinarily in charge will take the "passive role" in the bedroom.

hōnen-ai

nihongo|Shōnen-ai|少年愛|boy-love originally meant ephebophilia or pederasty in Japan, but from the early 1970s to the late 1980s, was used to describe a new genre of shōjo manga, primarily by the Year 24 Group, about beautiful boys in love. Characteristics of shōnen-ai include that they were exotic, often taking place in Europe, and idealistic.Suzuki, Kazuko. 1999. "Pornography or Therapy? Japanese Girls Creating the Yaoi Phenomenon". In Sherrie Inness, ed., "Millennium Girls: Today's Girls Around the World". London: Rowman & Littlefield, p.250 ISBN 0847691365, ISBN 0847691373.] Suzuki describes shōnen-ai as being "pedantic" and "difficult to understand", saying that they required "knowledge of classic literature, history and science" and were replete with "philosophical and abstract musings".Suzuki, Kazuko. 1999. "Pornography or Therapy? Japanese Girls Creating the Yaoi Phenomenon". In Sherrie Inness, ed., "Millennium Girls: Today's Girls Around the World". London: Rowman & Littlefield, p.251 ISBN 0847691365, ISBN 0847691373.] She says that this challenged the young readers and expanded their minds. Although they could not understand the works at first reading, as they grew older they would come to understand the works more. In the meantime, "the readers' attention became focused on the figure of the male protagonist" and how he navigated his sexual relationships. By the late 1980s, the popularity of professionally published shōnen-ai was declining, and yaoi dōjinshi was becoming more popular.

Dōjinshi

The dōjinshi subculture has been considered the Japanese equivalent of the English-language slash fandom, especially as they both do not have typical "narrative structure", science fiction works are particularly popular in both, and they both originated in the 1970s.Typical yaoi dōjinshi features male-male pairings from non-romantic, published manga and anime. Much of the material derives from male-oriented shōnen and seinen works which contained male-male close friendships and are perceived by fans to imply homosexual attraction, such as with "Captain Tsubasa" and "Saint Seiya", two titles which popularised yaoi in the 1980s. For a time, yaoi dōjinshi was known as “Captain Tsubasa”.cite web | first= Matt |last=Thorn |authorlink=Matt Thorn | title=Unlikely Explorers: Alternative Narratives of Love, Sex, Gender, and Friendship in Japanese "Girls'" Comics | url=http://www.matt-thorn.com/shoujo_manga/sexual_ambiguity/index.html|accessdate=2007-12-05] Dōjinshi has been described by Comiket's co-founder Yoshihiro Yonezawa as being "girls playing with dolls"; yaoi fans may ship any male-male pairing, sometimes pairing off a favourite character, or creating a story about two men and fitting existing characters into the story.

Matt Thorn notes that unlike in slash fandom, a canonical homoerotic element "takes away the fun" of creating yaoi for that series, for example, "From Eroica With Love" is more popular with slash fans than it has been with dōjinshi artists. Kazuko Suzuki outlines the thematic development of the yaoi fandom, from curiosity about sexuality, to taking a parodic revenge against men, to a feminist protest, and lastly, exploring "ideal relationships". [Suzuki, Kazuko. 1999. "Pornography or Therapy? Japanese Girls Creating the Yaoi Phenomenon". In Sherrie Inness, ed., "Millennium Girls: Today's Girls Around the World". London: Rowman & Littlefield, p.260 ISBN 0847691365, ISBN 0847691373.]

Important characteristics of the early yaoi dōjinshi were that they were amateur publications not controlled by media restrictions, the stories were by teens for other teens, they were based on famous characters who were in their teens or early twenties, the same age as the yaoi fans.cite journal|last=McHarry|first=Mark|url= http://www.guidemag.com/temp/yaoi/a/mcharry_yaoi.html|title=Yaoi: Redrawing Male Love|journal=The Guide|date=November 2003] During the early 1990s, dōjinshi played a part in popularising yaoi.McLelland, Mark. " [http://wwwsshe.murdoch.edu.au/intersections/issue3/mclelland2.html Male homosexuality and modern culture in modern Japan] ." "Intersections: Gender, History and Culture in the Asian Context" Issue 3, January 2000]

Though collectors often focus on dōjinshi based on particular manga, any male character may become the subject of a yaoi dōjinshi, even characters from non-manga titles such as "Harry Potter" or "The Lord of the Rings". [Granick, Jennifer (16 August 2006) [http://www.wired.com/politics/law/commentary/circuitcourt/2006/08/71597?currentPage=all Harry Potter Loves Malfoy] Wired.com] Video games have also been parodied, including titles like Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy. [ [http://www.aestheticism.com/visitors/gaming/kingdom_hearts/index.htm Kingdom Hearts] aestheticism.com] [cite web|url=http://vcj.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/3/2/213|title=Heavy Hero or Digital Dummy? Multimodal Player–Avatar Relations in Final Fantasy 7]

Most dōjinshi is created by amateurs who often work in "circles"Fact|date=March 2008; for example, the group CLAMP began as an amateur dōjinshi circle. However, some professional artists, such as Kodaka Kazuma create dōjinshi as well. [Lees, Sharon (July 2006). [http://www.akibaangels.com/articles/07_2006/bebeautiful.php "Be Beautiful: Yaoi Publishers Interviews Part 3"] . "Akiba Angels".] Some publishing companies have used dōjinshi published in the 1980s to spot talented amateurs, such as Biblos hiring Youka Nitta.O’Connell, M. [http://www.sequentialtart.com/article.php?id=99 "Embracing Yaoi Manga: Youka Nitta"] . "Sequential Tart". April 2006.]

Convention when labelling stories differs between Japanese fandom and slash-influenced fandoms. In Japan, the labelling is to put the two names of the characters separated by an X, with the seme's name being first, and the uke's being second.Toku, Masami (6 June 2002) [http://www.csuchico.edu/~mtoku/vc/interviews_full/Interview%20wi_%20Sagawa.html Interview with Mr. Sagawa] ]

Global BL

As Japanese yaoi gained popularity in the U.S., a few American artists began creating gay-themed original English-language manga referred to as "American yaoi." What started as a small subculture in North America, has, since approximately 2004, become a burgeoning market, as new publishers began producing male/male erotic comics and manga from creators outside Japan. [cite web|url=http://sequentialtart.com/article.php?id=408|title=The Growth of Yaoi|accessdate = 2007-07-13] Because creators from all parts of the globe are published in these original English language works, the term 'American yaoi' is not used; the term 'Global BL' [cite web|url=http://comipress.com/news/2008/04/18/3508|title=German Publisher Licenses Global BL Titles] or 'GloBL' is considered more acceptable.

Current North American publishers of 'Global BL' are Yaoi Press, who currently have over twenty titles on the market, [cite web|url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/press-release/2007-01-08/yaoi-press-moves-stores-and-opens-doors|title=Yaoi Press Moves Stores and Opens Doors|accessdate = 2007-07-13] as well as licensors DramaQueen and Seven Seas Entertainment. DramaQueen debuted its 'Global BL' quarterly anthology "RUSH" in 2006. [cite web|url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/press-release/2006-08-07/dramaqueen-announces-new-yaoi-and-manhwa-titles|title=DramaQueen Announces New Yaoi & Manhwa Titles|accessdate = 2007-07-13]

Former publishers include Iris Print. [cite web|url=http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6423880.html|title=A Year of Yaoi At Iris Print|accessdate = 2007-03-13] [cite web |url=http://www.icv2.com/articles/news/12751.html |title=Iris Print Wilts|publisher = ICv2 |date=2008-06-17 |accessdate=2008-07-14 ]

Publishing

The earliest magazine about Boy's Love was "June", which began in 1978 as a response to the success of commercially published shōnen-ai manga such as the works of Keiko Takemiya, Moto Hagio and Yumiko Ōshima. As of 2008, June was still running, [cite web|url=http://www.june-net.com/|title=June.net] although the target audience's ages has widened, and the style of stories has changed from being a "soft love" to being pornographic.The Japanese publisher Biblos was a BL publisher established in 1988 but their bankruptcy due to failure of their parent companyMcLelland, Mark. [http://blogs.arts.unimelb.edu.au/refractory/2006/12/04/why-are-japanese-girls’-comics-full-of-boys-bonking1-mark-mclelland/ Why are Japanese Girls’ Comics full of Boys Bonking?] "Refractory: A Journal of Entertainment Media" Vol.10, 2006/2007] caused them to fold in April 2006. [cite web|url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2006-04-05/biblos-bankrupt|title=Biblos Bankrupt]

Japanese BL works are sold to English-speaking countries by companies that translate and print them in English; companies such as Digital Manga Publishing with their imprints 801 Media (for explicit BL) and June (for "romantic and sweet" BL),Strickland, Elizabeth. [http://www.villagevoice.com/2006-10-31/news/drawn-together/full "Drawn Together."] "The Village Voice". November 2 2006.] as well as DramaQueen, Kitty Media, Central Park Media's Be Beautiful and Tokyopop under their imprint BLU. The earliest officially translated BL manga sold was in 2003, and as of 2006 there were about 130 English-translated works commercially available. Diamond Comic Distributors estimated the U.S. sales of yaoi manga as being approximately $US 6 million in 2007. In English-speaking countries explicit stories are either sold online or displayed in shrink wrap. [Cha, Kai-Ming (10 August, 2008) [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/08/08/RVR110R7D9.DTL&type=books Brokeback comics craze] San Francisco Chronicle]

Japanese BL Magazines and their Imprints

*Action Comics Boys Love (Futabasha)http://comipedia.com/genre/yaoi]
*Adaruto (Shobunkan)
*Akita Top Comics (Akita Shoten)
*Aqua BL Kingdom (Dream Maker) [http://www.bl-magazine.com/pc/]
*Aqua Bunko (Oakla Shuppan) [http://www.oakla.com/htm/genredata/newaqua.html#bunko]
*Aqua Comics (Oakla Shuppan)
*Aqua Novels (Oakla Shuppan)
*Arles Novels (One Two Magazine-Sha) [http://www.arlesnovels.com/]
*Asuka Ciel (Kadokawa Shoten) [http://www.kadokawa.co.jp/mag/ciel/]
*AZ Novels (East Press) [http://www.aznovels.com/]
*B's Anima / B's Anima Series (Taiyou Tosho) [http://www.bs-garden.com/system/bsanima.php]
*B's-LOG Bunko (Enterbrain) [http://www.enterbrain.co.jp/bslog/]
*B's-LOVEY COMICS (Enterbrain)
*B-Boy Novels (Libre Shuppan)
*b-BOY Phoenix (Libre Shuppan) [http://www.b-boy.jp/comicnovel/phoenix.html]
*B-Boy Slash Novels (Libre Shuppan)
*B-Prince Bunko (MediaWorks) [http://b-prince.com/]
*Baby (Fusion Product) [http://www.comicbox.co.jp/baby/]
*Bamboo Comics http://www.aestheticism.com/visitors/junecat/lists/pubinfo.htmlhttp://www.aestheticism.com/visitors/junecat/imprints.html]
*Be X Boy Comics
*Boys L List fact|date=October 2008
*Chara Comics
*Chocolat Comics List fact|date=October 2008
*CIEL
*Dear + Comics
*Deux Press List fact|date=October 2008
*Diamond Comics List fact|date=October 2008
*Daria Comics
*Drap Comics
*Enrous Comics
*Gush Comics
*Gust Comics
*Hanaoto Comics
*Hanamaru Comics
*Hana to Yume Comics
*Hit Comics
*Ikisuchi Comics
*June Comics / June Pierce Series
*Kousai Comics
*Marble Comics
*Princess Comics
*Margaret Comics
*Misshi Comics
*OAK Comix
*Paper Moon Comics
*Pixy Comics
*Racish Comics
*Sanwa Comics
*SBK C (Shobukan Comics)
*Scholar LC Rutile Series
*Shuubeiru Comics
*Shy Comics
*SUPER BBC
*Zero Comics
*Shota Comics List fact|date=October 2008
*Yaoi Hentai Comics List fact|date=October 2008

Fandom demographics

Most yaoi fans are either teenage girls or young women. The female readership in Thailand is estimated at 80%, [Keenapan, Nattha [http://archive.japantoday.com/jp/feature/93 Japanese "boy-love" comics a hit among Thais] "Japan Today" 2001] and the membership of Yaoi-Con, a U.S. yaoi convention, is 85% female. It is usually assumed that all of these are heterosexual, but there is also a presence of lesbian manga authors and lesbian, bisexual or questioning female readers.Welker, James. [http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/SIGNS/journal/issues/v31n3/40167/40167.html Beautiful, Borrowed, and Bent: "Boys' Love" as Girls' Love in Shôjo Manga] "Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society" 2006, vol. 31, no. 3] Although the genre is marketed at women and girls, gay, bisexualhttp://apha.confex.com/apha/130am/techprogram/paper_42542.htm] and straight males [cite web|url=http://www.xtra.ca/public/viewstory.aspx?AFF_TYPE=3&STORY_ID=3062&PUB_TEMPLATE_ID=2|title=Anime North's bent offerings] cite web|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1589/is_2003_Oct_14/ai_110809191/pg_1|title=Anime, mon amour: forget Pokemon—Japanese animation explodes with gay, lesbian, and trans themes - video] also form part of the readership. In one U.S. survey of yaoi fans, about one quarter of respondents were male. Brenner, Robin E. (2007) chapter 3 p. 137 Understanding Manga and Anime Libraries Unlimited ISBN 978-1591583325] That is not to say that majority of homosexual men are fans of the genre as some are put off by the feminine art style or unrealistic depictions of homosexual life and instead seek "Gei comi" (Gay comic), written by and for homosexual men,Lunsing, Wim. [http://wwwsshe.murdoch.edu.au/intersections/issue12/lunsing.html Yaoi Ronsō: Discussing Depictions of Male Homosexuality in Japanese Girls' Comics, Gay Comics and Gay Pornography] "Intersections: Gender, History and Culture in the Asian Context" Issue 12, January 2006 Accessed 12 August 2008.] as gei comi is perceived to be more realistic. Lunsing notes that some of the narrative annoyances that homosexual men express about yaoi manga are also present in gei comi. Some male mangaka have produced yaoi works, using their successes in yaoi to then go on to publish gei comi. Thorn noted that fans tend to prefer BL to both non-BL shōjo manga, and Suzuki noted a preference for BL over other forms of pornography, for example heterosexual love stories in ladies' comics.Suzuki, Kazuko. 1999. "Pornography or Therapy? Japanese Girls Creating the Yaoi Phenomenon". In Sherrie Inness, ed., "Millennium Girls: Today's Girls Around the World". London: Rowman & Littlefield, p.245 ISBN 0847691365, ISBN 0847691373.]

As of the mid-1980s, fan translations of the series "From Eroica with Love" began to circulate through the slash fiction community,Thorn, Matthew. (2004) [http://matt-thorn.com/shoujo_manga/outofhand/ “Girls And Women Getting Out Of Hand: The Pleasure And Politics Of Japan's Amateur Comics Community.”] pp. 169-186, In "Fanning the Flames: Fans and Consumer Culture in Contemporary Japan", William W. Kelly, ed., State University of New York Press. ISBN 0791460320. URL accessed 12 August 2008.] creating a "tenuous link" between slash and shōnen-ai. [cite web|url=http://www.matt-thorn.com/shoujo_manga/girls_stuff/gs94-03-08.html|title=Girls' Stuff, May (?) '94] Although the English-speaking online yaoi fandom is observed to increasingly overlap with online slash fandom, [Youssef, Sandra [http://yuuyami.com/luce/thesis.pdf Girls who like Boys who like Boys - Ethnography of Online Slash/Yaoi Fans] Honours Thesis for Bachelor of Arts, Mount Holyoke College, 2004.] yaoi fans tend to be younger than slash fans, and so are less shocked about depictions of underage sexuality.cite web
url= http://motspluriels.arts.uwa.edu.au/MP1901mcl.html
title= Local meanings in global space: a case study of women's 'Boy love' web sites in Japanese and English
last= McLelland
first= Mark
year= 2001
month= October] Kazuma Kodaka, in an interview with "Giant Robot" suggested that the Japanese yaoi fandom includes married women who had been her fans since they were in college. [ "Giant Robot" issue 42, excerpted by Butcher, Christopher (9 August, 2006). [http://comics212.net/older/2006_08_01_archive.shtml Y is for Yaoi - Everyone else is doing it] ] Youka Nitta has noted a split in what her readers want - her younger readers prefer seeing explicit material, and her older readers prefer seeing romance. [Totilo, Stephen. (10 March, 2006) [http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1525830/20060310/index.jhtml Japanese Comics With Gay Themes Attracting Young Female Readers] MTV.com] There is a perception that the English-speaking yaoi fandom is demanding increasingly explicit content, [Chavez, Ed (30 October, 2007) [http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6495479.html?nid=2789 Yaoi-Con and BL, No Longer “Niche”] "Publishers Weekly"] but that this poses problems for retailers. [http://www.icv2.com/articles/home/9523.html]

In the mid-1990s, estimates of the size of the Japanese yaoi fandom were at 100,000-500,000 people, and also at around that time, "June" had a circulation of between 80,000 and 100,000, twice the circulation of the "best-selling" gay lifestyle magazine "Badi". As of 2003, on Japanese-language internet sites, there were roughly equal proportions of sites dedicated to yaoi as there were sites by and for gay men about homosexuality. [McLelland, Mark. " [http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=bkbkMXkX8J0C&oi=fnd&pg=PA52&dq=Yaoi+google+hits&ots=P9tojjoebM&sig=MMIJqWUWmsZgDYKsYhxOHUvKgrY#PPA53,M1 Japanese Queerscapes: Global/Local Intersections on the Internet] " in Berry, Chris, Fran Martin, and Audrey Yue (editors) (2003). "Mobile Cultures: New Media in Queer Asia". Durham, North Carolina; London: Duke University Press. ISBN 0-8223-3087-3. pp. 52-53.] On 16 November 2003 there were 770,000 yaoi websites. As of April 2005, a search for non-Japanese sites resulted in 785,000 English, 49,000 Spanish, 22,400 Korean, 11,900 Italian and 6,900 Chinese sites.McLelland, Mark. [http://ro.uow.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1152&context=artspapers The World of Yaoi: The Internet, Censorship and the Global “Boys’ Love” Fandom] "Australian Feminist Law Journal", 2005.] In January 2007, there were approximately five million hits for 'yaoi'. [cite web|url=http://www.capstrans.edu.au/resources/events/2007/aior-oct-2007.pdf|title=Roundtable: The Internet and Women’s Transnational “Boys’ Love” Fandom|format=PDF] As of July 2008, 18.5 million.Or|date=July 2008

Critical attention

BL ("shōnen-ai", "yaoi") manga has received considerable critical attention, especially after translations of BL became commercially available outside of Japan in the 21st century. Different critics and commentators have had very different views of BL. In 1983, Frederik L. Schodt observed that “aesthetically” depicted male-male homosexual relationships had become popular among female readers as an extension of bisexual themes already present in shōjo manga.Manga! Manga! The World of Japanese Comics". pages 100-101 Tokyo and New York: Kodansha International. ISBN 0-87011-752-1] Japanese critics have seen BL as allowing girls to distance sex from their own bodies, Ueno, Chizuko (1989) "Jendaaresu waarudo no no jikken" ("Experimenting with in a Genderless World"). In "Kikan Toshi II" ("Quarterly City II"), Tokyo: Kawade Shobō Shinsha, ISBN 4309902227. Cited and translated in Thorn, 2004.] as allowing girls to avoid adult female sexuality while simultaneously creating greater fluidity in perceptions of gender and sexuality,Fujimoto, Yukari (1991) "Shōjo manga ni okeru 'shōnen ai' no imi" ("The Meaning of 'Boys' Love' in Shōjo Manga"). In N. Mizuta, ed. "New Feminism Review, Vol. 2: Onna to hyōgen" ("Women and Expression"). Tokyo: Gakuyō Shobō, ISBN 4313840427. http://matt-thorn.com/shoujo_manga/fujimoto.php (in Japanese). Accessed August 12, 2008.] and as rejecting “socially mandated” gender roles as a “first step toward feminism.”Takemiya, Keiko. (1993) "Josei wa gei ga suki!?" (Women Like Gays!?) " Bungei shunjū", June, pp. 82-83.] In more elaborate theorizing, Kazuko Suzuki sees BL manga emerging from girls' contempt and dislike for masculine heterosexism and from an effort to define "ideal relationships" among men. [Suzuki, Kazuko. (1999) "Pornography or Therapy? Japanese Girls Creating the Yaoi Phenomenon". In Sherrie Inness, ed., "Millennium Girls: Today's Girls Around the World". London: Rowman & Littlefield, p.246 ISBN 0847691365, ISBN 0847691373.] BL has been compared to romance novels by English-speaking librarians. [Brenner, Robyn [http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6477427.html Romance by Any Other Name] ]

Other commentators have suggested that more radical gender-political issues underlie BL. Shihomi Sakakibara (1998) argued that yaoi fans, including herself, were homosexually oriented female-to-male transsexuals.Sakakibara, Shihomi (1998) "Yaoi genron: yaoi kara mieta mono" (An Elusive Theory of Yaoi: The view from Yaoi). Tokyo: Natsume Shobo, ISBN 4931391427.] For Sandra Buckley, "bishōnen" narratives champion “the imagined potentialities of alternative [gender] differentiations"Buckley, Sandra (1991) "'Penguin in Bondage': A Graphic Tale of Japanese Comic Books", pp. 163-196, In "Technoculture". C. Penley and A. Ross, eds. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota ISBN 0-8166-1932-8] and James Welker described the "bishōnen" character as "queer", observing that manga critic Akiko Mizoguchi saw "shōnen-ai" as playing a role in how she herself had become a lesbian.Welker, James. 2006. "Beautiful, Borrowed, and Bent: 'Boys' Love' as Girls' Love in Shôjo Manga' "Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society" vol. 31, no. 3. page 843. doi|10.1086/498987 ] Welker added that "shōnen-ai" liberates readers "not just from patriarchy, but from gender dualism and heteronormativity."

Some gay and lesbian commentators have criticized how gay identity is portrayed in BL, most notably in the "yaoi ronsō" or "yaoi debate" of 1992-1997.Vincent, Keith (2007) "A Japanese Electra and Her Queer Progeny" "Mechademia, 2," pp.64-79. http://www.upress.umn.edu/Books/L/lunning_mechademia2.html Accessed August 12, 2008.] In May 1992, gay activist Masaki Satō criticized yaoi fans and artists in an open letter to the feminist zine (or "minikomi" in Japanese) "Choisir". Satō said that yaoi failed to provide accurate information about gay men, promoted a destructive image of gay men as wealthy, handsome, and well-educated, ignored prejudice and discrimination against gay men in society, and co-opted gay men as masturbation fantasies. An extensive debate ensued, with yaoi fans and artists arguing that yaoi is entertainment for women, not education for gay men, and that yaoi characters are not meant to represent "real gay men." As internet resources for gay men developed in the 1990s, the yaoi debate waned [Blackarmor (February 19, 2008) "A Follow-Up To the Yaoi Debate" http://blackarmor.exblog.jp/7508722/ (In Japanese.) Accessed August 14, 2008.] but has had later echoes, for example when Mizoguchi in 2003 characterised stereotypes in modern BL as being "unrealistic and homophobic". Mizoguchi, Akiko. (2003) "Homophobic Homos, Rapes of Love, and Queer Lesbians: Yaoi as a Conflicting Site of Homo/ Hetero-Sexual Female Sexual Fantasy". Session 187, Association for Asian Studies Annual Meeting, New York, March 27-30, 2003. http://www.aasianst.org/absts/2003abst/Japan/sessions.htm Accessed August 12, 2008.] In 1993 and 2004, Matt Thorn pointed to the complexity of these phenomena, and suggested that yaoi and slash fiction fans are discontented with “the standards of femininity to which they are expected to adhere and a social environment that does not validate or sympathize with that discontent.”Thorn, Matt. (1993) "Unlikely Explorers: Alternative Narratives of Love, Sex, Gender, and Friendship in Japanese Girls' Comics." New York Conference on Asian Studies, New Paltz, New York, October 16, 1993.]

ee also

*—for specific shōnen-ai titles.
*—for specific yaoi titles.
*Hentai
*Pornography in Japan
*Yuri—the female counterpoint of yaoi.

Notes

References

Further reading

* Arrant, Chris (6 June 2006) [http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6341172.html Home-Grown Boys' Love from Yaoi Press] "Publishers Weekly"
* Buruma, Ian (1983) "Behind the Mask: On Sexual Demons, Sacred Mothers, Transvestites, Gangsters, Drifters, and Other Japanese Cultural Heroes"
* Butcher, Christopher (11 December, 2007). [http://www.xtra.ca/public/viewstory.aspx?AFF_TYPE=3&STORY_ID=4057&PUB_TEMPLATE_ID=1 "Queer love manga style"] . "Xtra!".
* Butcher, Christopher (18 August, 2006). [http://comics212.net/older/2006_08_01_archive.shtml A Few Comments About The Gay/Yaoi Divide - Strong enough for a man, but made for a woman...]
* Cha, Kai-Ming and Reid, Calvin (29 March, 2006) [http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6428918.html Japanese Publisher Claims CPM Infringes] "Publishers Weekly"
* Drazen, Patrick (October 2002). '"A Very Pure Thing": Gay and Pseudo-Gay Themes' in "Anime Explosion! The What, Why & Wow of Japanese Animation" Berkeley, California: Stone Bridge Press pp.78-103. ISBN 1-880656-72-8.
* Fletcher, Dani (May 2002). [http://www.sequentialtart.com/archive/may02/ao_0502_1.shtml Guys on Guys for Girls - Yaoi and Shounen Ai] . "Sequential Tart".
* Fujimoto Yukari (2004). "Transgender: Female Hermaphrodites and Male Androgynes". [http://www.josai.jp/jicpas/usjwj/ "U.S.-Japan Women’s Journal"] 27: 76.
*"Giant Robot" issue 42
* Johnston, M.J. (May 2002). [http://www.sequentialtart.com/archive/may02/ao_0502_4.shtml "A Brief History of Yaoi"] . "Sequential Tart".
* Kakinuma Eiko, Kurihara Chiyo et al. (eds.), "Tanbi-Shosetsu, Gay-Bungaku Book Guide," 1993. ISBN 4893673238
* Lee, Tammy (May 2001) [http://www.sequentialtart.com/archive/may02/johnson.shtml Tantalizing Translations - M.J. Johnson] "Sequential Tart"
* Lees, Sharon (July 2006). [http://www.akibaangels.com/articles/07_2006/bebeautiful.php "Be Beautiful: Yaoi Publishers Interviews Part 3"] . "Akiba Angels".
* Levi, Antonia (1996) "Samurai From Outer Space - Understanding Japanese Animation"
* Matsui, Midori. (1993) "Little girls were little boys: Displaced Femininity in the representation of homosexuality in Japanese girls' comics," in Gunew, S. and Yeatman, A. (eds.) Feminism and The Politics of Difference, pp. 177-196. Halifax: Fernwood Publishing.
* Mautner, Chris (2007) " [http://panelsandpixels.blogspot.com/2007/03/introduction-to-yaoi-part-1.html Introduction to yaoi, part 1] "
* McHarry, Mark. "Identity Unmoored: Yaoi in the West". In Thomas Peele, ed., "Queer Popular Culture: Literature, Media, Film, and Television". New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007. ISBN 140397490X.
* McLelland, Mark; Yoo, Seunghyun (March 2007). [http://caliber.ucpress.net/doi/abs/10.1525/srsp.2007.4.1.93 "The International Yaoi Boys' Love Fandom and the Regulation of Virtual Child Pornography: The Implications of Current Legislation"] . "", Vol. 4, No. 1, pages 93–104. DOI:10.1525/srsp.2007.4.1.93.
* McLelland, Mark (2000) Male Homosexuality in Modern Japan: Cultural Myths and Social Realities Richmond, Surrey: Curzon Press ISBN 0700714251
* Mizoguchi Akiko (2003). "Male-Male Romance by and for Women in Japan: A History and the Subgenres of Yaoi Fictions". "U.S.-Japan Women’s Journal", 25: 49.
* Nagaike Kazumi (2003). "Perverse Sexualities, Perverse Desires: Representations of Female Fantasies and Yaoi Manga as Pornography Directed at Women. "U.S.-Japan Women’s Journal", 25: 76.
* Nishimura Mari (2001) "Aniparo to Yaoi" Oota Shuppan ISBN 978-4-87233-643-6
* Pagliassotti, Dru (8 July, 2008) [http://ashenwings.com/marks/2008/07/08/back-from-australia/ Japanese Transnational Fandoms Papers]
* Pagliassotti, Dru (2 June, 2008) [http://ashenwings.com/marks/2008/06/02/yaoi-timeline-spread-through-us/ Yaoi Timeline: Spread Through U.S.]
* Perper, Timothy and Cornog, Martha (March 2002) [http://www.springerlink.com/content/30p8x1878nbjlrax/ Eroticism for the masses: Japanese manga comics and their assimilation into the U.S.] "Sexuality & Culture", 6 (1) pp. 3-126
* Sabucco, Veruska "Guided Fan Fiction: Western "Readings" of Japanese Homosexual-Themed Texts" in Berry, Chris, Fran Martin, and Audrey Yue (editors) (2003). "Mobile Cultures: New Media in Queer Asia". Durham, North Carolina; London: Duke University Press. ISBN 0-8223-3087-3. pp.70-86
* Salek, Rebecca (June 2005) [http://www.sequentialtart.com/archive/june05/allaccess_0605.shtml More Than Just Mommy and Daddy: "Nontraditional" Families in Comics] "Sequential Tart"
* Shamoon, Deborah (July 2004) “Office Sluts and Rebel Flowers: The Pleasures of Japanese Pornographic Comics for Women” in Linda Williams ed. "Porn Studies". Duke University Press pp. 77-103
*Schodt, Frederik L. (1996) ""
* Solomon, Charles (30 June 2004) [http://articles.latimes.com/2004/jun/30/entertainment/et-solomon30 Young men in love] "Los Angeles Times"
* Valenti, Kristy L. (2005). [http://www.tcj.com/269/e_yaoi.html "'Stop, My Butt Hurts!' - The Yaoi Invasion"] . "The Comics Journal", issue 269.