Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely loved the idea that more and more people are accepting LGBTQ media and the community itself, especially in a way that isn’t viewed as disgusting or offensive. However, I see more and more debates if yaoi is fetishizing gay men and how it’s seen as more “performative” to read it. Personally, I remember when newer concepts like BL Alex, Sign, and Window to Window showed more sexual tensions and more couples. But at the same time, I remember reading Japanese and Chinese mangas showing that two men being together wasn’t considered a “normal” concept. In fact, a lot of Chinese manhuas had it censored to the point where you were forced to read between the lines or heard confirmation somewhere else. The idea of sex, relationships, and even the hopes of being together was super foreign and THAT was the main plot. It wasn’t just two men having issues with each other, or falling in love with some other theme plot. It was them against society or their own mentality, and that was what made yaoi so appealing to me. To be heartbroken to see men that just loved each other be pulled apart because of discrimination, to the point of even considering suicide was just so tragic. Or seeing them choose not to be together after high school because of the pressures of having a “normal” family. I missed stories like that, stories that expressed how hateful people can be to others who don’t follow what is considered the social norm, and how harmful it can be to those people. Nothing is wrong with the current concepts, art styles, and progression of these comics. I just wished the storytelling felt as impactful as it did then when putting it in perspective with our current society. If anyone else can share their opinion about the change, or even newer readers can express if they felt the same impact I did back then, I’ll gladly read it. I just haven’t been able to share this with another person, since everyone I know started reading recently…
Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely loved the idea that more and more people are accepting LGBTQ media and the community itself, especially in a way that isn’t viewed as disgusting or offensive. However, I see more and more debates if yaoi is fetishizing gay men and how it’s seen as more “performative” to read it. Personally, I remember when newer concepts like BL Alex, Sign, and Window to Window showed more sexual tensions and more couples. But at the same time, I remember reading Japanese and Chinese mangas showing that two men being together wasn’t considered a “normal” concept. In fact, a lot of Chinese manhuas had it censored to the point where you were forced to read between the lines or heard confirmation somewhere else. The idea of sex, relationships, and even the hopes of being together was super foreign and THAT was the main plot. It wasn’t just two men having issues with each other, or falling in love with some other theme plot. It was them against society or their own mentality, and that was what made yaoi so appealing to me. To be heartbroken to see men that just loved each other be pulled apart because of discrimination, to the point of even considering suicide was just so tragic. Or seeing them choose not to be together after high school because of the pressures of having a “normal” family. I missed stories like that, stories that expressed how hateful people can be to others who don’t follow what is considered the social norm, and how harmful it can be to those people. Nothing is wrong with the current concepts, art styles, and progression of these comics. I just wished the storytelling felt as impactful as it did then when putting it in perspective with our current society. If anyone else can share their opinion about the change, or even newer readers can express if they felt the same impact I did back then, I’ll gladly read it. I just haven’t been able to share this with another person, since everyone I know started reading recently…