Idk, maybe because I'm bored with straight love? I sometimes still read straight romance but BL and yaoi is still my priority.
As a hetero sexual woman I‘m just not interested in seeing naked (even if it’s in form of drawings) women , and well, yaoi is mostly written by women for women with your typical uke/seme roles, whereas the bara genre with macho guys is more written for guys. Shoujo is really boring (I think I only like two works) and there isn’t nearly as much smut with m/f as there is with m/m :D. at the end of the day it’s just fiction and you don’t hurt anybody by reading it, as long as you can differ between reality and fiction and don’t try to fetishize gay guys in real life :)
Lol I'd never thought there is a person out there sharing the same opinion and feelings I enjoy the pure and authentic romance between two guys, rather than the sexual attraction they've in hetero stories.. though I read lots of unrealistic webtoons lately, 'path to you' is one of those stories that gives me these "natural" vibes
It makes me go to hell faster
Also I feel like with yaoi we get such a bigger variety of characters. And therefore all different kinds of couples.
Shoujo sadly doesn't explore the possibilities as much as yaoi does.
You don;t understand how long my mouth was left open after ur comment LMAOOO
(≧∀≦)
I feel like it gives me an insight to boys. Like, boys can be really mean and indifferent to girls, and rather than be subjected to that, I’d rather watch them being affectionate to one another. I feel like its “pure” or “sweet” because the feelings are genuine and not based off of simply having sex (I think a lot of stories may start purely based off of sex, but then it really becomes about how much the characters like eachother). That’s why I hate stories that JUST focus on sexy times. Its really a turn off. Also, I hate stories that over sexualise male bodies. Like, when they’re overly muscular (and therefore “macho” or like, “manly”), or when they’re overly skinny (but like small, delicate and sensual). I really hate that. I find it SOOOO MUCH MORE attractive when it’s a normal looking male body (normal in the sense that it makes SENSE). Like, for instance, What’s with highschoolers having 6packs?? Yesterday I read a webcomic about a MANGAKA who had a 6pack??? How is that realistic when most of his time is spent working??? Or, I hate hate hate when uke becomes SUPER FEMINIE. They cant stop “ah~ Ahhh~!!” -ing, they look so soft, their lips are plump, eyes dooey, etc. I want to read about BOYS. (of course, there are exceptions to this even in real life, but I think it happens more often in manga portrayal than I actually see in person).
I think a partial reason for these depictions is because 1. The mangaka wants to portray a man that women will find sexy/lust over (in terms of the overly muscular man). He is created solely for the female sexual gaze. The other reason is I think mangaka think women want to project themselves into the story (in terms of the very feminised man).
But I don’t want either of those things! I just want to watch from afar! I feel like I’m witnessing the inner workings of a romance!
I guess that’s what I like, realism. Then it’s not a superficial story, its like im reading about a relationship that could actually happen… and thefore it gives me a view of men actually being kind and being themselves. It’s like I’m consuming men in a way that makes me comfortable. I can see them as human (lol).
I often read here that girls get really turned on by the stories, or “he’s sexy” this or “I wanna jeck off” to that. Like, I’ve been turned on BY it, but I’ve never “jerked off” TO it.
I think there are different approaches/motives when reading yaoi, such as for “pure love”, “Pro gay representation”, “melodramatic/emotional elements”, “excapeism/reality”. I mean, theres also that fact that (for me) though I used to be a HUGE consumer of purely shoujo manga, the narratives are very one-dimensional (“Female loser gets prince charming”, “Why is my heart going “doki doki”, “I’ve never had a boyfriend or kissed” ect. Ect.). I also think that the “taboo” of reading yaoi is what attracts me as well. Almost like its forbidden (infact, I was very ashamed when I first started reading it, haha)
What about you guys? I’m really curious!