Boys' love

Yaoi (やおい) is a publishing genre which focuses on male/male relationships and is marketed at females. The genre originated in Japan and encompasses manga, anime, novels and dōjinshi. In Japan, this genre is called "Boys' Love" or simply "BL", and "yaoi" as a genre name is mostly used by western fans. Yaoi has spread beyond Japan; yaoi material is available in the United States, as well as other Western and Eastern nations worldwide.

Yaoi began in the doujinshi markets of Japan in the late 1970s, mostly as parody works; but male same-sex love had previously been presented in shonen-ai, june and tanbi works. Yaoi authors and fans are careful to distinguish yaoi from “gay manga”, which is created by and for gay men.

The main characters in yaoi usually conform to the stereotypes of the older, masculine seme who pursues the younger, feminine uke.

Terminology

Pronunciation

In careful Japanese enunciation, all three vowels are pronounced separately, for a three-morae word, IPA: [jaoi]. However, it is frequently heard with only two syllables, [jaoi̯] .

There is no "official" pronunciation in yaoi. In English, yaoi is commonly Template:PronEng YOW-ee. Some pronounce it YOH-ay, and others pronounce it YOW-ai.

Etymology

Yaoi (やおい) is derived from an acronym of the Japanese phrase 「ヤマなし、オチなし、意味なし」 (yama nashi, ochi nashi, imi nashi), often translated into English as, "no climax, no resolution, no meaning," or as the catchphrase, "No peak, no point, no meaning." However the term is not always used that way.

The term appears to have been originally used in Japan, perhaps as early as the 1970s, to describe any dôjinshi that was a bizarre, playful parody; however, it has come to refer solely to sexually explicit male-male homosexual material. Yasuko Sakata and Rinko Hatsu were part of the doujinshi market in the 70s that coined and popularised the term yaoi.Yaoi is not a common term in Japanese; it is specific to the otaku subculture.

Usage

Yaoi, outside of Japan, is an umbrella term for all male/male comics made for women in Japan; as well as male/male comics made in the west. The actual name of the genre in Japan is called 'BL' or 'Boy's Love'. BL is an extension of shoujo and josei categories, but is considered a separate category. Like 'Yaoi' is used in the United States, 'BL' is used in Japan to include: commercial and amateur works, works with no sex, works with sex, doujinshi about adolescents with little or no sex, works in all types of media - manga, anime, novels, games, and drama CDs with male/male content, and characters of all ages in male/male content. Terms such as yaoi, shounen-ai, tanbi, June, and original June, are all referred to in Japan, as 'BL'. However, it does not include gay publications.

Though yaoi is sometimes used to refer to any male homosexual content in film and print media, particularly in works created by females, that is generally considered a misuse of the term. Professional Japanese artists, such as Kodaka Kazuma, doujinshi creators, and fans are careful to distinguish between "yaoi," and "gay" manga.

Contrary to the belief of many English-speaking fans, "yaoi" is not the primary name of this genre in Japan. Originally much of the material was called "june", a name derived from a publication of the same name that published male/male tanbi romances, stories written for and about the worship of beauty using particularly flowery language. Eventually the term "june" died out in favor of "BL" or "boys love," which remains the most common name.

Though originally a Japanese portmanteau, fans in Japan have only recently started using "yaoi" as a name of the boys love genre, usually in the form of 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". For example, an Internet manga called Tonari no 801-chan, about an otaku guy who wants to date a fujoshi (yaoi fangirl), has been adapted into a serialised shoujo manga and a live-action film. 801-chan, the mascot of a Japanese shopping centre, is used in the manga.

Yaoi and shōnen-ai are terms that are sometimes used by western fans to describe the contents of one title in the genre. Here yaoi is used to describe titles which contain sex scenes and other sexually explicit themes. The counterpart, shōnen-ai, is used to describe titles that focus more on romance and do not include explicit sexual content. This definition of yaoi sometimes clashes with the usage of the word to describe the genre as a whole and the subject is often a cause for debate.

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 shoujo subgenre that told stories of prepubescent boys in relationships ranging from the platonic to the romantic. The term was originally and is currently used to describe pedophilia. 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.

Seme and uke

The two participants in a yaoi relationship 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." Anal sex is a prevalent theme in yaoi, as nearly all stories feature it in some way. The seme and uke are often drawn in the bishōnen style and are "highly idealised".

The seme is often depicted as the stereotypical male of anime and manga culture: restrained, physically powerful, and/or protective. The seme generally has a stronger chin, shorter hair, smaller eyes, and a more stereotypically masculine demeanor than the uke. The seme usually pursues the uke. The uke usually has softer, youthful features with bigger eyes and a smaller build, and is often physically weaker than the seme. He is usually less experienced with romance or sex and his interactions with the seme often make for his first homosexual experience. 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. Another common trope is where the seme puruses the uke to the point of rape, as "an expression of love". Despite this, the seme is shown as being truly in love with the uke. Another 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 pointed to as avoiding having to address prejudices against people who consider themselves to have been born homosexual. Newer yaoi stories have characters that identify as gay.

Though these stereotypes are common, not all works adhere to them. For example, some of the anthologies published by Biblos feature stories on themes such as "younger seme" or "reversibles." The "height rule," the rule by which the taller character is the seme, is also sometimes broken.

Doujinshi

Typical yaoi doujinshi 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. However, 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.

Though collectors often focus on doujinshi based on particular manga, any male character may become the subject of a yaoi doujinshi, even characters from non-manga titles such as Harry Potter and Pirates of the Caribbean. Video games have also been parodied, including titles like Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy. Popular yaoi pairings are usually refered to by a word that combines the first two characters of the seme's name followed by the first two of the uke's e.g. a Sasuke and Naruto pairing is widely refered to as Sasunaru.

Most doujinshi is created by amateurs who often work in "circles"; for example, the group CLAMP began as an amateur doujinshi circle. However, some professional artists, such as Kodaka Kazuma and Maki Murakami, create doujinshi as well. The bulk of yaoi manga is doujinshi, and some publishing companies have used doujinshi published in the 1980s to spot talented amateurs, such as Biblos hiring Youka Nitta.

Important characteristics of the early yaoi doujinshi 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.During the early 1990s, doujinshi played a part in popularising yaoi.

American yaoi

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, in the last three years, become a burgeoning market, as new publishers began producing male/male erotic comics and manga from creators outside Japan. 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', is considered more acceptable.

Current North American publishers of 'Global BL' are Yaoi Press, who currently have over twenty titles on the market, Iris Print, as well as licensors DramaQueen and Seven Seas Entertainment. DramaQueen debuted their 'Global BL' quarterly anthology RUSH in 2006.

Publishing

The earliest magazine about Boy's Love was June, which began in 1978. The Japanese publisher Biblos (from the mid 90s) was once the most commercially successful publisher of yaoi in Japan, but their bankruptcy due to failure of their parent company caused them to fold in April 2006, and provided an opportunity for competitors to take up a larger share of the professional yaoi and BL manga market.

Japanese yaoi and 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 yaoi) and June (for "romantic and sweet" yaoi), as well as DramaQueen, Kitty Media, and Tokyopop under their imprint BLU. The earliest officially translated yaoi manga sold was in 2003, and as of 2006 there were about 130 English-translated yaoi titles commercially available.

Japanese BL Magazines and their Imprints

Aqua Comics – CL DX – B's Anima Seires – Bamboo Comics – Be X Boy Comics – Super BBC – Boys L – Chara Comics – Chocolat Comics – Dear + Comics - Deux Press – Diamond Comics – Drap Comics – Enrous Comics – Gush Comics – Gust Comics – Hanaoto Comics – Hanawaru Comics – June Comics – Kousai Comics – Marble Comics – Misshi Comics – OAK Comix – Paper Moon Comics – Pierce Series – Racish Comics – Sanwa Comics – SBK C (Shobukan Comics) – Scholar LC Rutile Series – Shubeiru Comics – Shy Comics – SUPER BBC – Zero Comics - Shota Comics - Yaoi Hentai Comics

Fandom demographics

Most yaoi fans are either teenage girls or young women (figures of 80%, and 85% have been proposed). 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. Although the genre is marketed at women and girls, gay, bisexual and straight men also form part of the readership. That is not to say that all gay men are fans of the genre as some are put off by the feminine art style or unrealistic depictions of gay life and instead seek gay manga, written for or by gay men, as gay manga is perceived to be more realistic. Lunsing notes that some of the narrative annoyances that gay men express about yaoi manga are also present in gay manga.

Although the English-speaking online yaoi fandom increasingly overlaps with online slash fandom, yaoi fans tend to be younger than slash fans, and so are less squicked about depictions of underage sexuality.

In the mid-1990s, estimates of the size of the Japanese yaoi fandom were at 100,000-500,000 people.

References

General references

• Lunsing, Wim. 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
• McHarry, Mark. Yaoi: Redrawing Male Love The Guide November 2003
• McLelland, Mark. Why are Japanese Girls’ Comics full of Boys Bonking? Refractory: A Journal of Entertainment Media Vol.10, 2006/2007

See also

• Homosexuality in Japan
• Shotacon
• Category:Yaoi - for specific yaoi titles.
• Yuri - the female counterpoint of yaoi.

Further reading

• Fujimoto Yukari ‘Transgender: Female Hermaphrodites and Male Androgynes’ (2004)27 U.S.-Japan Women’s Journal 76
• Lees, Sharon. "Yaoi and Boys Love". Akiba Angels. June 2006.
• Lees, Sharon. "Be Beautiful: Yaoi Publishers Interviews Part 3". Akiba Angels. July 2006.
• McHarry, Mark. "Identity Unmoored: Yaoi in the West." Queer Popular Culture: Literature, Media, Film, and Television Ed. Thomas Peele. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007.
• McLelland, Mark; Yoo, Seunghyun. The International Yaoi Boys' Love Fandom and the Regulation of Virtual Child Pornography: The Implications of Current Legislation Sexuality Research and Social Policy: Journal of NSRC March 2007, Vol. 4, No. 1, Pages 93-104
• Mizoguchi Akiko ‘Male-Male Romance by and for Women in Japan: A History and the Subgenres of Yaoi Fictions’ (2003)25 U.S.-Japan Women’s Journal 49
• Nagaike Kazumi ‘Perverse Sexualities, Perverse Desires: Representations of Female Fantasies and Yaoi Manga as Pornography Directed at Women’ (2003)25 U.S.-Japan Women’s Journal 76
• 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, pp. 243-267.
• Valenti, Kristy L. "Stop, My Butt Hurts!" - The Yaoi Invasion The Comics Journal issue 269, 2005.