Yaoi
| Synonyms: | 801 |
| See also: | Seme, Uke, Boys' Love, Shounen Ai, Slash, Yuri |
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Yaoi is a term used by Western anime and manga fans to refer to explicit male homoerotic works, generally created by women and for female readership, either canonical or fan-created. The Japanese usage of yaoi and related terms differs considerably.[1]
It is an acronym of "yama nashi, ochi nashi, imi nashi: no mountain (ie peak; climax), no point, no meaning"[2] and in its original meaning similar to PWP, i.e., sex is the be-all and end-all of the story. The term yaoi is today no longer used in Japan. As, the word has bad connotations, (being used originally to refer to stories considered to be of poor quality because of their high amount of sex scenes and simple plot) fans preferred to opt for a neutral term, without pejorative origin.[3] However, in the rest of the world the term has grown to be a loose catch-all for M/M stories, even though some fans distinguish between yaoi and shounen ai according to the degree of sexual explicitness (which is sometimes categorized as lemon or lime.)
Yaoi has conventions and aesthetics that are sometimes quite different from those in fandoms for Western source. There is a greater emphasis placed on sexual roles: a seme is the active penetrative partner in anal sex, and the uke is the receptive partner. These denote not only their preferred sexual activity, but are often used to map personality traits, and their role in the relationship. Usually it means ascribing feminine and masculine characteristics accordingly, stereotypically uke being more delicate, weak and/or submissive as one performing role of female. That way, it might show clear binary view on sexual roles, while non heteronormative and gay community' viewpoint on this topic might differ. It might be cause of concern for some.[4] LGBT+ community put emphasis on responsibility of presenting a discriminated minority rightly, not spreading misinformation and fetishizing homosexuality.[5]
Moreover, the fandom may place correspondingly greater weight on the importance of a relationship being conceived of in terms of an active and passive partner: for instance, pairing names in yaoi fiction are expected to convey not only who is involved, but what role they play. Another way of differentiating yaoi from other types of slash media is that it is marketed as female-oriented media, while the term slash doesn't define an audience, but rather just a term to define fan-made media involving male/male content. Incidentally, that could explain heteronormativity of such representation of sexual roles.
Female fans of BL (yaoi) are known as fujoshi, aka "rotten girl", which make up a majority of the BL fan base. Correspondingly, male fans are called fudanshi.[6]
Yaoi is usually used in fandoms for Japanese sources, such as anime and manga. However, when anime fans cross over into fandoms for Western sources, notably Harry Potter, they may apply yaoi conventions and aesthetics to the new source.
The term is more or less unrelated to the phrase "my thoughts on yaoi."
The number 801 is sometimes used as a shorthand or codeword for yaoi, as 801 can be read "ya-o-i" in Japanese. Accordingly, some fans celebrate Yaoi Day on August first.[7]
International Usage
Distinct usages:
Japan - The main contemporary catchall term in Japanese is 'BL' (for "Boys Love"). See the BL article for a more thorough discussion of Japanese terminology. Fans with a significant degree of exposure to Japanese often follow Japanese usage regardless of the local usages listed below.
North America - 'Yaoi' is used for m/m fanfic, anime, manga, and general themes. 'Shounen ai' may be used for less explicit fanfic (and other things?).
Germany / Australia / (Italy?) / (?)
Further reading
- The Reasons I Don't Support Yuri or Yaoi, Archived version by unknown author (early 2000s)
- Classifying the Wild Bishounen Part 2: Yaoi Theory 101; Classifying the Wild Bishounen, Part 2: Yaoi Theory 101, Part 2 (The Metal Years) (just kidding) by Mie Tsukikoushi (2001)
- Western Yaoi? Smut Goes Domestic by Nora Jemison (2001)
- Yaoi: Redrawing Male Love (2003)
Resources
- Crimson Ink
- Yaoi Adicción
- Yaoiville
- Try this fic a LJ rec community.
- Mundo Yaoi - a Spanish-speaking community
- Knights' Quarters - multifandom yaoi site
See also
References
- ^ Aestheticism. Definitions From Japan: BL, Yaoi, June. (Archived 05 June 2009 by the Wayback Machine.)
- ^ Yaoi. Aestheticism's Yaoi/Slash Glossary. Written by Jeanne, compiled from AMLA, 1998. (Archived 05 June 2009 by the Wayback Machine.)
- ^ Twitter post by 720gou
- ^ Yaoi. On gay sex by author of Mortal Instruments.
- ^ Comments on this post
- ^ Fudanshi - Rotten Boy
- ^ Scott Green (August 1, 2012). "Happy Yaoi Day!". Crunchyroll. Archived from the original on 2021-11-07. Retrieved February 24, 2019.