When I started as a BL fan in my teens, my curiosity for the genre was fed by highly informative websites such as Aestheticism(dot)net and communities on Livejournal that outlined the foundations of BL and the different expressions its community created. In many ways, that community has fuelled my personal and professional decisions in making BL a central aspect of my identity and life. Had I been a BL fan in this day and age, I doubt this website would exist or that I would be motivated to do what I do as an academe.
Despite the accessibility of various texts concerning BL in the last decade, BL media and its community of BL consumers are faced with much discrimination and vitriol online. Some of these prejudices bleed onto articles and online discourses that perpetuate misconceptions, misunderstandings, and misreadings of the genre. Rather than getting encouraged to appreciate the vastness of BL, people dabbling with the genre are often faced with remarks on how the genre is perverse, immoral, problematic, and so on. It is in this context that I found myself gathering some of my cohorts to confront these misunderstandings and discuss the broader ways we could appreciate BL.
In this podcast, I talk with Sam Aburime (@SamAburime), an independent scholar, and Thomas Baudinette (@tbaudinette), Senior Lecturer from Macquarie University, about this growing vitriol on BL media and culture, its prevalence in Anglophone discourse, the various feminist and queer studies from all over the globe that are lost in this discourse, and how different communities are using BL as a tool to deepen and broaden their understanding of queer identities and media.
Tom and I also referenced some Japanese scholarship that pushed people’s understanding of the BL genre, such as Naoko Mori’s Onna was porno o yomu and Akiko Mizoguchi’s BL Shinkaron.
Seriously, one hour barely touches the surface but we’re hoping that in listening to this episode, you may be inspired to look deeper into BL and reflect on the many ways BL can be meaningful to you and to the broader media ecology of queer content.
On Friday, June 11 9:00 pm (CST), I’ll be giving a talk at Fujocon on Fujoshi Bait!
What is Fujoshi Bait? How does it work? Why is it successful for some but not for others? How much of it is intentional or unintended? Central to this lecture is the idea of Boys Love literacies and the effective and ineffective ways media use these literacies to keep and maintain a captive female audience and market.
I hope that I can see you at this talk! The talk is for free just register at Fujocon’s website. (And for those who live in my region PH+8, the talk is at 10 AM!!)
There are also many fantastic talks from other BL academics and fans so it’d be a worthwhile experience this weekend. ALSO, I heard Futekiya’s list of guests for Fujocon are A++. Check out the panels!
It was a short and sweet event. It was fun seeing everyone celebrate 801 and it was great to also sit back and enjoy this genre that I love.
It’s been a very busy period for me, no thanks to this new normal. So celebrating BL yesterday kept my anxieties at bay. BL helped me recentre my life and focus on what’s important–boys love. *pfft*
When things look glum, it’s nice to find the light at the end of the tunnel. If there is one thing great about the world right now is that BL is growing and has become increasingly accessible.
When English-translated BL used to be handled by a select number of companies, some of which have consistently given us heavy hitters while others have broken our hearts, in the last few years, there are more publishers eager to publish BL works and distribute globally online. Sublime and Renta have been staples in our community. Seven Seas has also joined the BL race with a number of heavy hitters. And now, there is Futekiya.
On this Yaoi no Hi, I’m happy to speak with Emma Hanashiro, Editor in Chief of Futekiya, and how their website helps us navigate the ever-growing world of BL manga. We talk about their acquisition process, we squeed about how some of our favourite works and titles are there, and then we delved into some of the interesting questions BL titles are raising.
I hope you would find this podcast fascinating to try the titles on Futekiya. (more…)
Today would have been the Blush Convention. For years, as organisers, we’ve sought to find ways to hold the con as close to 801 yet schedules fail to align until this year. There were some exciting things that could have happened. We would have had Kumota Haruko as our first BL manga artist as guest! Our array of speakers would have helped us squee over our favourite ships and series in the last year.
That said there’s no point in crying over spilled milk. The new normal has kept us apart but I’m genuinely happy that we are all celebrating it one way or another through our virtual hashtag party #Blush801.
And in the spirit of fun and giveaways that we usually do in the con, I’m happy to giveaway 5 one month subscriptions to Futekiya! I’ll be giving it to three BL fans in the Philippines and two BL fans outside of the Philippines. These fans MUST also have active paypal accounts.
How will you get to have a chance for this price? Here’s the mechanics.
In a comment below, name three Futekiya titles that you are looking forward to reading and why you want to read them. You can check the list of Futekiya titles here. Let me know where you’re from too by placing which country you’re from.
Is it that easy? Yes! It’s that easy!
All entries must be given before the 11:59 August 1 GMT +8. I’ll announce the winners the next day.
So let me know the titles you’d like to try below while I share my own recs on August 1!!
Here’s the fondest memory I have of Kumota Haruko.
I was running around Osaka station, trying to get my google maps to work just to find the exit to Denden town. I had a Shinkansen to catch. I was hungry. I was lugging my luggage around because lockers were unavailable. At this point, I’m running on adrenaline as I found my way out of the stations, rushed towards Animate, and finally found the limited release of Itoshi no Nekokke vol. 3 that came with a tote bag. After a 5 minute run to animate, I headed back to the station and took my scheduled Shinkansen, out of breath and giggling in my seat as I leisurely read Mii and Kei flirting in their home.
At that point, I realised that I was willing to do everything to read Haruko Kumota’s work.
It’s been a while since I was a part of a BL party. When I hosted the 801MMF, BL felt brand new. The online community was still shifting from using to yaoi to BL. Yaoi hands were still a thing. And I was eager to talk about diversity in boys love at a time when it was being challenged as a queer text.
Back then, I hoped that people could embrace this media and how this was an empowering space for creative sexual expression among women. Years later, some people still refuse to see the beauty in these works.
Cultivators Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji from The Untamed
What I find most interesting is that BL creators and fans did not give a frak. Instead, rotten girls in the region rose to the occasion and created more rotten stories about boys falling in love. Seven years after I did the 801MMF, BL has a different face. BL is no longer isolated in Japan. We no longer imagine BL scenes through Japanese high schools or in high-rise offices. We now see boys love through engineering students in Bangkok, cultivators in ancient mythical China, and altar boys in Manila. There are now different faces to boys who find love in our imaginations.
WHAT MAKES A BOYS LOVE TITLE?
Given the increasing diversity of boys love, it might be important to understand what are the qualities that define boys love. Scholars in Japan would say that BL must follow the ÅdÅ, which translates to the “noble path” of BL but I’d sooner translate it as the “central equation” to boys love because it involves the formula “seme x uke”
For a story to be considered as BL, it must have these two character types where the seme “gives” affection to the “uke” who receives his love. This formula highlights the importance of romantic relationships in BL. BL is devoted to the exploration of this dynamic, whether as a couple, threesome, or an orgy. Whether romantic or sexual.
In my research, another important aspect in boys love media is how BL works play with the intertextual meanings of different narrative elements in an effort to find pleasure or moe in these works. Without going too technical on what this is, let me give an example.
In a BL story, there is a seme and an uke. To make the characters more interesting, a BL author will give one character a pair of glasses. If the author gives the pair of glasses to the uke, the author draws upon all the meanings associated to an uke wearing glasses. Maybe this uke character is quiet. Maybe he’s a bit shy. Maybe he’s a bit clumsy. And the author piles on the intertextual potential of this uke character with glasses until they are satisfied. Or, maybe, the author gives the glasses to the seme and they imagine a very cruel seme character who enjoyed teasing the uke. The way the author plays with the character and the pair of glasses is an example of an intertextual practice often seen in BL works. As BL fans, we’ve developed a rich database of elements whose meanings we can play with. From zodiac signs to the characters’ favourite drink, all of these little details gives us the inspiration to find pleasure in finding the right combination for the BL work that we enjoy.
For years, Japanese BL fans have been playing with this intertextual database and ÅdÅ. Now, fans all over the region, from Korea to Thailand, are also playing with various intertextual elements under this “ÅdÅ.”
A WORLD FILLED WITH BL
I still remember 2016 when the entire fandom was on to Yuri on Ice. The series certainly had interesting discussions online on queer works in Japanese media but interestingly, its impact was isolated in Japanese society. Instead, it took a parody of boys love, Ossan’s Love, to really engage public conversation on queer works and LGBTQ media in Japan.
With the end of Yuri!! on Ice, to be honest, I thought that BL fandom would just hop on to the next interesting Shonen Jump title. Sports series has long been a part of fandom but with Haikyuu dominating the narrative and with Shonen Jump exploring darker and pensive narratives as their main titles, there seemed to be nothing that caught people’s attention.
Mingwa’s BJ Alex.
What I didn’t know was that my timeline, which had always been a reliable source of fandom trends, is no longer representative of the emergent fandoms that were powerful enough to change the face of social media. One interesting shift was the discussion on the BL manhwa Killing Stalking. While this was initially discussed within the context of Yuri!! on Ice, it introduced many to Korean BL Webcomics and its darker narratives and its sexually charged panels. Have you read BJ Alex? Wow. WAO. The discussion on BL webcomics also highlighted the influence of Korean popular culture on BL fandom as some of these fans were also into KPOP Shipping. From here, I noticed the growth of the genre. What I didn’t foresee was the explosion that will happen after.
In another part of the internet, fans turned towards Thai dramas and found pleasure in Y-lakorn. While I’ve been made aware of this corner as early as 2015 no thanks to my ever-curious mate who was asking what’s the tea on Filipino fans of this media, it wasn’t until recently that I’ve seen the scale of interest in these stories as ThaiBL series such as SOTUS was shown globally through Netflix in the last few years and just this year, the series 2gether trended worldwide with every episode. Suddenly, BL had a Thai face.
Arthit and Kongpob in Sotus
While my ever-curious mate and I think that there are biases with regards to particular character features in Thai BL, we were more impressed with the growing scale of ThaiBL media which was initially produced by Thai women on online novel platforms. Well, I was impressed by this. My ever-curious mate has his own two cents on this and I’m sure he’ll publish that in a book someday. Right now, Thai BL is an unstoppable force that is encouraging conversations on LGBTQ media in Southeast Asia.
And then there was China with their BL works called danmei. While danmei had been around for some while, I never imagined it would become massively commercial given China’s censorship and takedown of various danmei creators and spaces. Hence I was surprised when I saw mdzs and mxtx emerging on my timeline. I didn’t know what it was but I was definitely surprised when I realised that it was a danmei title was garnering global attention. And then, the live-action drama The Untamed was released. All hell broke loose. And now, one of my timelines shifted from ice-skaters to ancient Chinese soulmates. As for me, I was innit for Little Apple, the smartest of donkeys.
As these things were happening, BL manga also took a sharp turn as their seme and uke were now in South America, Amish, and in hell. The world of BL is growing and evolving and I am up for it.
ONE KHURSTEN, TOO MUCH BL
I’ll be honest, I’m the kind of BL fan who can only handle one active fandom. I’ve gotten used to weekly manga releases that kept my heart interested in my ship. I’m used to monthly releases of new BL titles. Recently, I got into KPOP fandom no thanks to the urging of my ever-curious mate who gave me a 5-hour TED talk on his favourite KPOP band. The pace in which content is released in this space is INTENSE. My wallet is bleeding but my heart is full.
What’s fascinating is that other BL spaces such as Thai BL and even danmei are also following this tight schedule that thrives in keeping BL fans’ attention to the minute. It is insane. I am trying to find air to breathe and I am particularly impressed by those who manage to juggle all of these fandoms. For now, my focus is on my wonderful KPOP boys and the already exploding world of BL manga. Not gonna lie though, I’m also enjoying watching some Thai BL titles too! And I’m also dipping my toes over this sleuth in the Ming dynasty! I said to myself that I should establish boundaries but the temptations are too good.
Truly, I am excited by this growth. I’m looking forward to other corners of the world where boys love emerges as a space for queer expression. It’s already happening here in Manila as we started creating our own BL web drama series. I hope it happens in other parts of the world too. Maybe someone will make that Penguin BL in the North Pole. Who knows?
What are you looking forward to in this BL explosion?
This new normal has certainly left the introvert in me happy but the lockdown has certainly made me miss some of the fun things I do outside my home. Like walking around a green campus. Having a leisurely cup of coffee while sharing a cake with friends. And of course, conventions.
Virtual conventions (or even conferences) are just not good enough. This year, one of our local BL cons in Manila, BLush, had to cancel because of COVID-19. It could have been an awesome convention given that for the first time in years, the calendars aligned and we were FINALLY hosting it on 801. Quite a number of people were excited about the convention, however, they had to replan the event for the safety of everyone involved.
Interestingly, virtual conventions are a thing now but given the reliability of internet connections in Manila, the people of BLush decided to hold a virtual hashtag party instead. From July 27 until August 1, @BlushCon will be launching a set of activities for BL fans in Manila all over the globe. Even when the world robbed us the opportunity to squee together, the folks at BLush feel that we still deserve a decent 801 party online. And I am TOTALLY up for that.
So, what happens?
During this week, follow @BLushCon and they’ll be releasing some activities for everyone under the hashtag #BLush801. If you’re an artist, there’s a fun activity to do. If you’re just a fan of boys love, there’s something for you too! And this event is open to fans of all iterations of boys love–from danmei, ThaiBL, BL manhwa and of course BL in Japan!
Over here at Otaku Champloo, I’ll also be writing some articles just to contribute to this BLush801 party! I’ve also got some more surprises for everyone especially towards the actual 801 weekend!
Photo of a circle. Taken by the author at Comic Frontier 2018.
In case you missed the memo, fandom is not a safe place, especially for BIPOC fans.
It’s something that we Asian fans have been keenly aware of since our engagement online. It’s something that has been documented by scholars. In the last week, as different organisations respond to justice and equality, the Organisation for Transformative Works also made an effort to address racism in fandom. Of course, there are people who felt these promises are empty as there is no promise of structural change that supports BIPOC fans.
This recent drama has left my friends and me in a tiff, as we have been enraged as fans over the years. The ways in which Western ideas, practices, and morals are shoved down our throats has left a bitter taste in our fan experiences that, more often than not, we disengage with fandoms popular in the West or we seek for circles that understand our contexts. For a space that claims to be “our” own, this should not be the case and yet this displacement continues and it impacts the way we express our fandom.
Here are links to some of the articles and discussions I mentioned here and others that may also reflect the cultural tensions we face in fandom.
