Forum - View topicQuestion regarding the nature of yaoi.
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Blackpeppir
Posts: 234 |
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So my brother is homosexual and after I got him hooked on manga and anime he found a couple of BL titles that he really grew fond of and eventually recommended a couple of titles to me. Of course as soon as a friend who was over found BL titles in my shelves he threw a fit and one of the things that came out of it was the irksome nickname "The great straight poof." What I want to know is: Would it be "gay" for a straight male to read/watch BL titles?
I mean personally, I've always been under the assumption that so long as you're secure in your sexuality nothing you do is really "gay" or "queer" or whatever you want to call it. But apparently that doesn't seem to be the case. |
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sailorsarah08
 Posts: 471 Location: Houston, Texas |
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It does not make you gay to have BL titles on your shelves. No more does it make your brother straight to have a heterosexual romance on his shelf.
I take it that you're not watching/reading it for some steamy guy on guy action as much as for a story, and some BL titles have a very thought out story. You shouldn't toss out a whole story because of the gender of the characters, it's just not that important if the story is really something you like. Yaoi normally makes me want to upchuck but I like Loveless a lot, (and not just for the lesbians) I even was capable of looking over the age difference because I was so interested in the fighting. So no, I don't think it makes you gay. |
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kyokun703
 Posts: 2505 Location: Orgrimmar |
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No, it does not make you gay.
I'm a straight woman, and I have BL manga, BL anime, lesbian comic collections, lesbian novels, gay novels, yuri anime... If it's a good story, or is hilariously funny, who cares. You're only gay if you're attracted to the same sex. |
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Dark Paladin X
 Posts: 268 |
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You are only gay/lesbian if you are attracted to someone of the same-sex.
Otherwise, Yaoi is mostly stories about a relationship of two gay men. If a male tries to read or watch a yaoi anime or manga, people around might think of that person as gay even though that person may not be. This is mostly because from what I know of, yaoi is mostly dedicated to female audiences. Of course, anime/manga usually portray gays/lesbians in a more casual way/positive light than many western entertainment media. I watched Kyo Kara Maoh!, a yaoi type anime, and the person who showed me this anime was male. EDIT: And yes, I'm a guy as well. Last edited by Dark Paladin X on Wed Oct 14, 2009 7:52 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Blackpeppir
Posts: 234 |
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Well I knew it didn't make me gay, I was just wondering if it was a "gay" thing to do. I don't know if that makes any sense, but a fair share of the people I hang around with are ignorant bigots but I've known them since elementary so I can get past that. Point is, and looking back on my post I can see I didn't even come close to wording it properly, it's rather discouraging that all it takes is one instance for you to be branded. I'm kind of interested to know if anyone else has run into this same sort of situation or has had to deal with people who are that quick to draw a conclusion.
Also just to clarify, I wouldn't be so irritated if it was just a joking sort of "hey you're gay man" thing but the thing is it's been enough to seriously convince people I've grown up with that I'm gay just for enjoy a couple of BL titles. |
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Ralifar
 Posts: 205 Location: League City, TX |
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I have experienced similar issues as you Blackpeppir. Not just with BL type titles though, but I've watched and read plenty of them as well.
Imagine your bigoted friends multiplied exponentially and what do you get? The United States Army. I've been called just about everything you can possibly be called for our shared little hobby. There's not really much you can do for people without open minds. You just drive on and continue to enjoy what you enjoy. Last edited by Ralifar on Wed Oct 14, 2009 3:30 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Maryohki
 Posts: 526 |
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Some people just aren't comfortable enough in their own sexuality to handle other people being comfortable with theirs. It's pretty sad, really.
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egoist
 Posts: 7762 |
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Well, Blackpeppir. Before watching Loveless I certainly was a straight male with no doubts about my genre. But not anymore, I've booked a sex swap surgery for the next month.
Jokes aside...
Clearly, it won't make you gay. But if you already have a tendency to the other side, I wouldn't guarantee. Is it a gay thing? Not really, it depends on who's watching you, and under which circumstances. Personally, I'm an open minded person, but depending even I might have my doubts about your genre. If that was me under your skin, I'd hide that fact from hardheaded people and share the fact with people you know who won't criticize your tastes. Actually, I wouldn't call someone who'd laugh at me a friend. And I'd definitely repel someone trying to comment about my life. |
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DuelLadyS
 Posts: 1705 Location: WA state |
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Like Dark Paladin said, most yaoi is geared toward straight women... and most most women, regardless of 'adult content', want a good story to enjoy- otherwise, we wouldn't have those supermarket romance novels.
There's nothing gay about enjoying a good story. Your friend would be better for figuring that out- but he's obviously so afraid of looking 'gay' he'd never open a yaoi book long enough to figure out that it doesn't play out the same as a standard hentai title.(Ironically, that only makes it look like he's either got something to hide, or he's bigoted.) |
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PetrifiedJello
Posts: 3782 |
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Every time I mention the word "anime". First, the eyebrow gets raised followed by the quizzical expression. Finally, the vomiting of rhetoric filled with ignorance. Ah, how I love watching them squirm. If anyone wants to have fun with these people, try telling them why you like it. I can see the smoke billowing from their ears as they try to understand, which is pointless given they have the comprehension level of burned toast. If these people are at my home, to add insult to injury, I point them to my figure collection. It pisses me off I'm without a camera when they witness it for the first time. |
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Hepzibah
 Posts: 67 Location: Colorado, USA |
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Watching, and enjoying, yaoi or yuri is not a "gay" thing to do any more than watching a heterosexual romance is a "straight" thing to do. What you like is your business, and if your friends want to make judgment calls about your sexuality, just because they spotted a couple of guys kissing in your collection, the issue is with them, and not you. You don't have anything to prove to anyone.
Just continue to watch whatever you like, and your friends will either get over it, or will continue to get strange ideas. If it's the latter, however, you might want to consider finding some new friends. |
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P€|\||§_|\/|ast@
 Posts: 3498 Location: IN your nightmares |
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I've heard of guys being called gay just for liking anime and manga in general. I don't know where that comes from but maybe from the misguided viewpoint that anime is for kids and wouldn't interest real men. And any anime that's not for kids is all sappy love stories, pretty artwork and too much emotional content that average football watching, beer drinking, manly men can't possibly enjoy.
I suppose BL and Yaoi is part of that emotional, sappy stuff that is present but largely the people with a limited experience of anime/manga that I've described above, aren't even aware of the existence of this more niche, subcultre extension of the genre. So don't worry about it. Your friends who are anime fans will probably give you beef about it, but they are anime geeks too. So who cares? |
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