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[–] 2 points 10 months ago (8 children)

Yaoi is generally by women. That’s part of the definition.

When it looks like that second panel, it isn’t yaoi, it’s bara (at least in English).

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  • [–] 3 points 10 months ago (2 children)

    Is it? I've always heard that it's ヤマなしオチなし意味なし, "no climax, punch, or meaning", which I think is just based on early criticism about it mostly being flagrant homosexual sex, rather than having much plot to it?

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  • [–] 3 points 10 months ago* (1 child)

    This isn’t a hill I’m willing to die on, but here:

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bara_(genre): Bara is distinct from yaoi, a genre of Japanese media focusing on homoerotic relationships between male characters that historically has been created by and for women.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boys%27_love: The term yaoi (/ˈjaʊi/ ⓘ YAH-oi; Japanese: やおい [jaꜜo.i]) emerged as a name for the genre in the late 1970s and early 1980s in the context of dōjinshi (self-published works) culture as a portmanteau of yama nashi, ochi nashi, imi nashi("no climax, no point, no meaning"), where it was used in a self-deprecating manner to refer to amateur fan works that focused on sex to the exclusion of plot and character development, and that often parodied mainstream manga and anime by depicting male characters from popular series in sexual scenarios. "Boys' love" was later adopted by Japanese publications in the 1990s as an umbrella term for male–male romance media marketed to women.

    So it depends on where you look.

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  • [–] 2 points 10 months ago

    I should've quoted, I was mostly wondering about the "part of the definition" as I've only heard of it being, well the portmanteau. To be fair I've mostly ever heard if called BL in a modern context so that makes sense to me.

    Thank you, though! :)

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  • [–] 3 points 10 months ago* (4 children)

    Who says women can’t be gay men? Like Anne Rice, yaoi queen!

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  • [–] 6 points 10 months ago (3 children)

    Afaik, Anne Rice was not trans. Many women identify with gay men in my experience. Her writing was very typical of women writing men.

    Her writing doesn’t represent the bara-type content shown in the second panel of the post, and to that point, your counterpoint is to the graphic in the post rather than to me.

    The picture in “gay mens yaoi” is characteristic of bara, for which there is already a term. I was just pointing that out. I wasn’t picking a fight.

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  • [–] 2 points 10 months ago (2 children)

    I was just joking around :)

    Her writing definitely falls under the “straight woman” yaoi stereotype in my opinion. I just think she’s neat and very silly.

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  • [–] 1 point 10 months ago (1 child)

    Why do you find Anne Rice so neat and silly?

    I read some of her vampire books when I was young teenager and getting into gothy stuff and every single one that I picked up had multiple and extensively detailed csa scenes with children who adored their abusers.

    I gave up trying to read her books when I realised this was a recurring theme.

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