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Can you easily identify ‘roles’ in BL?
I’ve read a lot of BL through my teens into adulthood (21) and I don’t feel the same way about it. I don’t agree with typecasting and fetishising queer people, and the lens of ‘seme’ and ‘uke’ is not an appropriate cultural lens to look at anybody with. But. What bothers me is that whenever I look at a BL cover or read just the first chapter, I’m 99% of times right about who’ll be the top or bottom in the story. I’m sure it’s the same with a lot of BL readers, My question is — how?? Like they could all look different in their physique, art style yada yada but we’ll always know?? So there’s conditioning at play, of course, because we’ve been consuming formulaic archetypal narratives continually over years of developments in this genre but — I want to know your experiences too?? Because I feel really awkward about it, and it’s also just a question unanswered for me.
Ok but hear me out: Heteronormativity plays a big part imo. The uke tends to be shown as weaker/meek within the story as well as his design most of the time (like having a feminine and petite appearance for example) and hell even within the cover of the story making one automatically (yet maybe subconciously) think of how women also get treated wit...... 3 reply
I've very VERY rarely been surprised by the roles in BL even "unconventional semes/ukes" still have the typical tells. I refuse to believe people are genuinely surprised by the roles in those stories because they're still so fucking obvious.
I think about this all the time so here's the incomplete checklist I've made. Mostly filled with obvious th...... 2 reply
1. If one is shorter they are the uke
2. If one looks scared or flustered they are probably the uke
3. If they are straddling someone they are the uke
4. If the cover has only one person on it they are the uke, idk why but uke's are always the main characters
5. If they are between 2 people they are the uke
6. If they are looking at the reader they...... 3 reply
seme and uke is really just an easy way to describe the dynamic of the characters as the "giver" and "receiver" i dont find it weird as a smut term, but anywhere outside of fiction i would find those terms really weird if used.
in contrast, in straight porn there is no need for "identifying" terms because the sex positions are obvious (unless there...... reply
honestly the positioning of the main characters on the cover also has a lot to do with it. most bls will have the main two in some sort of close proximity often with one leaning over or pushing down the other. the one pushing down is usually labelled as the seme and the one being pushed down tends to be the uke (again leaning into heteronormativity...... 3 reply
I will tell you how I identify them. It isn't with who os more feminine or masculine (BOTH seme and uke have both attributes after all). It is actually with who seems to be liked more by the author.
Ukes, unlike what many of you think, isn't a self insert or anything like that. That is a very reductive way of seeing things. Many semes have a gap ...... 2 reply
i think there is some truth to it, people see patterns irl and those patterns become archetypes. even in commonly used gay slang a twink (based on physical features) is usually assumed to be the one receiving, in corn predominantly consumed by gay or bi men tops with fem features are refered to as a niche fetish rather than the norm. i dont think f...... reply
Even with less stereotypical couples I can still usually identify who tops and bottoms easily. It is a little sad, I LOVE getting surprised about these things and couples who go outside the norms. I was actually surprised yesterday with a manga but ironically it was because I was SURE that the short guy was gonna top but then he ended up being the ...... 1 reply
Yea from the manga/manhwa/manhua yaoi cover And chapts 1 or chp 0. There even bara bottom... i dk i even know how the manga will end too even when it still on goings reply
