I'm trying to put together info for a piece on Yaoi and Shonen-ai (Boy's Love) for my blog. I really want your opinion to why women have taken such a liking to this sub-genre of manga that is sometimes the equivalent to gay porn. If you have any opinions on the topic at all please share them...even if they sound silly or are just speculatory.

Also you can include your opinion about Yaoi and Shonen-ai. All comments appreciated. (so if you hate it don't be afraid to mention that...I want ALL opinions).

Actually, I kind of figured the gay porn thing had more to do with gay fans than it did girls. Girls generally don't like gay porn.

.: Kennedy0 :.

I imagine girls like it for the same reason that men like Lesbians.

Trust me, girls are very different when it comes to things like that. Ask any one of them.

.: Kennedy0 :.

Well, the easy answer is because a lot of it is written by women for women. Some women really dig guys gettin' it on (just like guys like the idea of a tangle of women), and they write gay porn directed towards a female audience.

I've actually heard some in the gay male community complain about shonen-ai because gay men are still men and, while not straight, often not "girly." So they get all ticked off that the boys spend so much time stroking each other's hair and gazing into their eyes and not, you know, doing it.

.: mrpedant :.

Have you guys ever spent time on 4Chan? The Yaoi boards are completely populated by 13 year old boys.

.: Kennedy0 :.

I think it has a lot to do with the fact it hasn't really been all that accessable to the US until recently, in comic form.

Guys always had an easier time finding sexual comic material, while woman really didn't. Now it's more socially norm to put this sorta stuff.

for a genre targeting hetrosexual females, i find it odd that there isnt really a direct reverse equivalent targetting a similar male demographic, I don't think I have ever seen a single manga, or anime for that matter with a lesbian theme that focuses on relationships.

Meh Yuri's better, its got chicks in it.

No...trust me, we aren't.

And actually in Japan and in the United States there is a sub-genre of manga that is aimed toward the gay male crowd, but most of what is mainstream Yaoi is written by and read by women...the statistics have proven that.

That's why I wanted to do this piece...its kinda like romance novels (have you ever read the smut in that crap?) for some reason it has become a common occurance for women to read hardcore Yaoi. If you think I'm joking ask any girl at a convention. I bet you at least 50% of them have read a hardcore boy's love comic.




Would you like me to refer you to a few titles. They aren't very popular here, but there are a few good scanlations floating around out there.

That might be because of the way all the male characters both look and behave like women (except with cocks) it seems more like a relationship between two female characters, or in the case of articles with one prodominatley "male" figure and a more efeminate character a traditional male-female relationship.

I think the only real draws are the fact that A) there is no female lead that makes the reader feel inadiquate and some other really comicated stuff pertaining to sexuality that I can't be bothered to go into right now that probably isnt even right.

First off, shonen-ai and yaoi are NOT the same thing. Yes, some shonen-ai is yaoi, but most of it isnt.

I will clearly state though that I see nothing wrong with shonen-ai. I am not offended by the thought of gay romance. Hell, some of the comics I read on DD could be classified as shonen-ai.

Now for yaoi, that is a WHOLE different ballpark. Most of that shit is disgusting as hell. No, not because it has two men, but because of the way it is presented. Most yaoi I have had the misfortune of seeing features disgusting shit like rape and abuse. Yes, it can be VERY funny, but that doesn't make it any less sick.

Now if it featured realistic relationships with sex scenes that didn't involve androgynous 'things' spraying cum and raping each other in the bleeding asshole, it might be respectable. No, I probably still wouldn't care for it if it featured normal realistic men, but I wouldn't be apalled by it.

.: equinox :.

QFT.

Sorry. I guess I've never actually met nerd chicks in person. Maybe they operate on a different super-gay wavelength or something.

.: Kennedy0 :.

For a good part of my life I stayed as far away from yaoi as possible and denied that Zoisite was really a man in the japanese version of sailor moon.

Nowadays I'm the biggest yaoi fanatic around probably. How it happened? I have no clue. It probably came from reading Shoujo. I got bored of the lead characters in most shoujo mangas and I believe one of the series I read featured a gay couple and when I found myself enjoying their story more than the main I turned to yaoi. I think that's what happened but I don't remember. I think I was abducted!!!

I normally like yaoi for it's wacked out stories and smex. I'd be lying if I said I read it purely for the stories. Lots of nice eye candy!!

I also like the fact that it is completely far from reality. I'm not as interested in real-life gay men and have met too many who are only too happy to share every detail of their sex lives. *ugh*
I'd have to say there are more men that like lesbians than there are women who like gays. Women don't look at gay men the same way men look at lesbians. I think men want to get it on the action while women would probably just watch.

Most of the people I know who read yaoi are female. More and more "males" are popping up although who knows if they are really male because there are a lot of girls out there who read it and wish they were gay men and so pretend to be online.

As for hardcore yaoi......sadly I have become used to it though I remember a time when I would o.O at it. There are a few titles that I won't read though like the S&M ones and most shota. I just can't stand those.

I have met and know quite a few gay men. All of them are perfectly normal. And the whole sharing the sex life thing, that is not a gay thing. It is a MAN thing. ALL men do it. Except for those that choose celibacy or are asexual.

.: equinox :.

Haha True true.

And I didn't mean that all gay men are like that. Of course I love my gay friends. Just that a lot of their friends are kind of gross when upon first meeting me they don't hold back on all of their sex tales.

I like it because it usually portrays homosexuality as an entirely normal thing, including interesting evolving relationships and characters that aren't just total sluts.

Also, all american artwork involving male nudity or relationships have that incredibly boring generic male look. All buffed up with very short hair. It's nice to see people supporting the idea that men are allowed to look different.

Or perhaps girls just get off on gay sex. Whatever.
That's just my personal take on the whole thing.

Last I checked most yaoi manga portrays homosexuality as full of violent rape and abuse. The usual relationship in said mangas usually involve "OMG! That guy is hawt! I want his cock!" right before the person gets raped by the guy they were just fawning over. A violent scene of bloody ass rape and forced bukkake quickly ensues.

So NO, yaoi does NOT portray homosexuality as a good thing. It portrays gays out to be oversexed sickos who rape each other, and I think we all know that that is so far from the truth that it is unreal.



That's more it than anything else. Women and men are so goddamn similiar it is unbelievable, and just like men go nuts over lesbians, women go crazy over gays.

.: equinox :.

All this liberal generalization makes me want to vomit.

.: Kennedy0 :.

Lesbian sex is BORING. I'm a guy and I fall asleep if I have to watch lesbian porn. Do every man out there really like lesbian porn? The only redeeming thing about it is that at least they're nekkid and moving around but that's about it. :?

.: mlai :.

It's about the love and intimacy they manage to show while having sex! Sex should always be soft and loving as lesbians (usually) do it, not brutal and fast.

.: equinox :.

The only problem I have with both Yaoi and Shonen-ai is that there is too much of it, and much of it is crap. Most Shonen-ai today is made for one thing, to show "hey look at me, my parents died, I'm emo goth boy" and "I'm the quiet cool looking dude" doing it. Hell, I've seen one Shonen-ai webcomic that captializes on the fact that the comic itself has no plot, nor story, just guys kissing.

I wouldn't hate it so much if at least the people making them tried to make semi-interesting plots and new non stereotypical characters. (The same goes for manga that appeals to men.)

.: Myxomatosis :.

I always thought it was about eating pussy.

.: Kennedy0 :.

I guess I'm not reading the same stuff as you.:?

No, you are probably reading shonen-ai that has some non-explicit yaoi in it. Such comics are exceedingly rare.

.: equinox :.

I always thought this was one of the reasons women seem to enjoy yaoi at a noticibly higher rate than men in a lesbian case.

Personally, I am a guy, and don't read Yaoi, or Yuri. I find both of these less interesting and insensible to me. Especially with the bleeding and the rapes and crap. Never would I want to jump into that kind of sexual fantasy.
I especially hate that tentacle rape crap. Why on earth is that so damn popular? Mutant octopus rape is all the rage?

I guess I find watching the natural way of sexual intimacy most beautiful. But maybe that's just me...? :?

.: KC3T LV :.

**cough** Homo **cough cough**

I don't find Yaoi-related stuff appealing, and that makes me homosexual? Your logic is amazing.

.: KC3T LV :.

the Yuri part >_>