nuance in bl PART 2!!!!

not to beat a dead horse but i want to clarify some things i made in a recent post. i have received some criticisms/pushbacks for my points, and out of all of them i find only a couple that hold merit:
1. sexual violence in media and bank robberies/serial killers are not an equivalent/valid comparison
i agree with this criticism wholeheartedly and redact that statement. however, i will say that this person also brought up the tangible harm of pornography, to which i will say has more to do with the trafficking and exploitation/abuse of real-life women and girls and plays a larger role in condoning violence towards women. smut in bl does not hold even a thimble of the gravity or violence that exists in the porn you'd find on p*rnhub for example. that said, i don't dismiss the legitimate concern about the frequent normalization of assault and dubcon in yaoi, but this requires a more critical analysis than simply labeling consumers as people who "fetishize gay men being assaulted"
2. consuming yaoi is problematic also because of the racial aspect/fetishization of east asian men.
- i did not consider the racial aspect in my argument, as an asian woman, i think it holds SOME merit. however, the fetishization of east asian men isn't a phenomenon created or primarily perpetuated by bl, but one that has colonial and political roots of western interaction with asia. today, it's more strongly tied to other cultural exports like kpop, dramas, etc rather than yaoi. while bl can be a part of this ecosystem, the primary and most potent critique of yaoi has always been abt its relationship to queer representation, so my focus will remain on that

i don't think people are understanding that when i say the creation and consumption of BL can be empowering for women, i don't mean that it is immune from criticism. they aren't mutually exclusive!
what i find interesting is that no one addressed my point that since queer relationships exist as taboos and on the margins of society, it's natural that queer stories explore transgressive/taboo themes.
also, it's strange that people assume everyone who consumes yaoi is a straight woman. i wonder if you guys have actually interacted irl with people who consume yaoi. i know i have (i myself am a lesbian), and the majority of them have been queer men and women. and even if most consumers are straight women, so what? yaoi depicts an angle to relationships on women's own terms, separating them from the violence they are typically subjected to both irl and in media. also, yaoi CANNOT be heteronormative! heternormative is an academic term! it describes a worldview promoting heterosexuality as the default, normal, and perferred sexual orientation. yaoi cannot be heternormative unless it ironically conveys the message that queerness is bad, abnormal, and that heterosexual relationships are absolutely the way to go. yaoi is the antithesis of that lmfao it centers queer male relationships as the object of narrative desire and emotional investment.
tldr; bl/consumption of bl does not exist in a vacuum, but has grown out of repressive societies that marginalize and shame queerness and female sexuality and desire, and condone violence towards women. there is an ASPECT to bl which points to women exploring certain dynamics or sensuality that isn't rooted in a violence they are very much in danger of in their everyday lives. there's also a reason why queer media in the west is very different than it is in asia lmfao. consider the cultural and historical roots of how media develops and grows. again, this is to add NUANCE to the bl discussion, not to invalidate any criticism of it.
i won't apologize for this post or discussion. read if you want, don't read if you don't want to. but i believe everyone is capable of critical thinking and i don't think this platform of users is above or below this type of discussion. so please be respectful, considerate, and thoughtful if you choose to respond. i might be speaking into a void but...well. this is my niche lmao. and yes, it IS that deep!