Aestheticism

Website
Name:	Aestheticism
Owner/Maintainer:
Dates:	1996-?
Type:
Fandom:	BL, shoujo, and josei manga
URL:	http://www.aestheticism.com/ (WBM link to archived version from Aug 2008) http://aestheticism.net/ Aestheticism Fanfic Archive, 2001
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Aestheticism is a website (and formerly a zine?) that covers BL, shoujo, and josei manga. It was the premier source of information for English-speaking "yaoi" fans as of the late 90s. The site is notable for its adherence to Japanese word usage (for example, 'yaoi' vs. 'BL') and for its information on older works from the 80s and 90s.

The site went down for unknown reasons; it reportedly became inaccessible to its maintainers.

Aestheticism contains news related to yaoi/BL, detailed articles about various aspects of yaoi/BL and its fans in Japan and the United States, translations, recommendations, and lengthy introductions to and summaries of famous manga, anime, and novels. It also hosts a fanfic archive and manga exchange/shop. In the late 90s, proof of age such as a credit card number had to be provided to access mature content on the site.

Aestheticism was a sponsor of the first Yaoi-Con.

Contents

• Articles
• Fan Fiction
• Fanzine
• Game Room
• Gallery
• Reviews
• Resources
• Translations
• Community Info
• Columns
  • Jeanne's Addiction: Musings of a recovering Tokyonite.
  • Letters From Tokyo: Writings and reports by our oversea correspondents.
  • Nora's Soapbox: A Western fan's view
  • Katchan's Corner
  • Fanfic Spotlight: In-depth fanfiction review, hosted by Nora and Katchan
  • Kitty Litter: Our resident feline's mad rantings. Readers beware.
  • Guest Columns

Links

• Sequential Tart article on the history of the site and paper zine
• Official site
• A 2002 Sequential Tart interview with Mimi about the site's history.
• Aestheticism's LiveJournal account
• AMLA, Aestheticism's mailing list on Yahoo! Groups.