Danmei isn't gay?

Discussion in 'Novel General' started by XD, Sep 16, 2019.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. XD

    XD Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Feb 6, 2017
    Messages:
    536
    Likes Received:
    1,074
    Reading List:
    Link
    I was trying to explain my annoyance at danmei that have the protagonist states something akin to "I'm not gay, I just like him." I don't see this line anywhere in shonen ai or yaoi, but I notice it often in danmei.

    My friend interrupted me with a word. Demisexual.

    I thought about it for a bit. All the characters that I'm thinking of are basically asexual until they meet that one guy. They've been virgins who haven't even wanked until they meet "him" ...

    They're actually demisexual!

    I don't know why this is blowing my mind, but I had to share it.
     
    readerz, yuzuki and AMissingLinguist like this.
  2. SlimIcee

    SlimIcee Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Apr 27, 2018
    Messages:
    140
    Likes Received:
    136
    Reading List:
    Link
    :/

    I'm not well read in the intricacies of Danmeiology. Interesting idea nonetheless.

    From a quick google search, Danmei is something like "the pursuit of beauty". Not 100% sure if that just means hot guy X hot guy, or if I'm just completely butchering the genre.
     
    Last edited: Sep 17, 2019
  3. Ashley123

    Ashley123 Your senior

    Joined:
    Feb 9, 2016
    Messages:
    219
    Likes Received:
    794
    Reading List:
    Link
    Isn’t danmei yaoi and shounen ai..?

     
  4. Juju48

    Juju48 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Feb 11, 2019
    Messages:
    553
    Likes Received:
    1,406
    Reading List:
    Link
    The physiology on this subject has expanded extensively in the last few years. It’s interesting to me because sexuality isn’t as cut and dry as western culture has made it out to be. There were civilizations in that past that believed there were many more genders as many as six or more.
     
    readerz likes this.
  5. Anra7777

    Anra7777 All powerful magic grammar hamster queen pirate.

    Joined:
    Apr 13, 2018
    Messages:
    4,030
    Likes Received:
    33,686
    Reading List:
    Link
    I think mushrooms are supposed to have millions. :hmm:
     
    readerz likes this.
  6. mmonstra

    mmonstra Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Aug 27, 2018
    Messages:
    38
    Likes Received:
    170
    Reading List:
    Link
    You haven't read the older yaoi and shonen ai manga cos that shit is full of that mentality. Though in those cases they're trying to convince me it's "straight with exceptions" whereas I see a lot more danmei (and CN het novels aimed at women) who are obsessed with "pure love" (aka cp with no romantic or sexual experience outside of that pair)
     
    baka8roukanako, yuzuki and Anra7777 like this.
  7. Diametric

    Diametric Waifu Connoisseur

    Joined:
    Dec 29, 2018
    Messages:
    1,184
    Likes Received:
    1,565
    Reading List:
    Link
    That would be a good concept, but I don't think that in China they have the concept of things like "demisexual", so what those authors are thinking I have no idea...
     
  8. JIKI

    JIKI Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Mar 3, 2016
    Messages:
    913
    Likes Received:
    645
    Reading List:
    Link
    I thought it was too, but after researching through google today, it's apparently china specific, so it is different from yaoi/shonen-ai in that it's more how chinese view male homosexuality.
    I'm pretty sure this line does exist in shonen ai and yaoi. I don't know how often because I don't read homosexual manga/novels.but it does get referenced in fujoshi/otaku talk.
     
    Last edited: Sep 17, 2019
  9. Moonlightlily13

    Moonlightlily13 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Aug 10, 2017
    Messages:
    75
    Likes Received:
    77
    Reading List:
    Link
    demisexual is a person who does not experience sexual attraction unless they form a strong emotional connection with someone.

    It's a novel - someone's imagination so it's not goin to be actual reality so the characters wouldn't actually have that much connection with real people so basically novel people are idealistically demisexual
     
  10. Ai chan

    Ai chan Queen of Yuri, Devourer of Traps, Thrusted Witch

    Joined:
    Nov 7, 2015
    Messages:
    11,278
    Likes Received:
    24,346
    Reading List:
    Link
    It is most definitely gay. What are you going to do about it?:blobsmirk:
     
  11. ludagad

    ludagad Addicted to escapist novels

    Joined:
    Oct 31, 2015
    Messages:
    3,930
    Likes Received:
    10,613
    Reading List:
    Link
    Thinking back on the straight seme/ straight uke tags that exist, trust me, there's lots of 'I'm not gay, I just like you' in yaoi manga... As someone who is actually asexual, if I ever make an exception for a person, it would be a man, because I'm heteroromantic. I'm not even interested in reading yuri, let alone interested in being with a woman. So it doesn't make sense to me to fall in love with someone regardless of gender, except if you're pansexual or bisexual, cause then it's obvious. But demisexuals still have a clear leaning (ok, they can still be biromantic or panromantic I guess). Not to mention in those yaoi manga, the characters are rarely as pure as in danmei, so the straight seme or uke have been with women before. We all agree that they're actually bi. And those guys with no experience who suddenly fall for a guy and want to smex him, yeah, they're gay, just deep in the closet.
     
  12. AliceShiki

    AliceShiki 『Ms. Tree』『Magical Girl of Love and Justice』

    Joined:
    Apr 27, 2016
    Messages:
    24,647
    Likes Received:
    98,366
    Reading List:
    Link
    All those 3 basically mean "Gay Romance", the only difference is that danmei is the Chinese term for it, while Yaoi and Shounen Ai are Japanese terms. (technically speaking, nobody in Japan uses Shounen Ai as it referred to a specific type of yaoi involving underage partners. They generally use either Yaoi or Boys' Love)

    In this context though, the OP is using Danmei to refer to BL of Chinese Origin as opposed to BL of Japanese Origin.
     
    Ai chan and Ashley123 like this.
  13. yuzuki

    yuzuki [sweet night] [plum blossoms]

    Joined:
    Nov 24, 2015
    Messages:
    662
    Likes Received:
    4,875
    Reading List:
    Link
    I think it's really easy to assemble a headcanon for what the characters are!

    In many cases, it's not officially endorsed or written by the authors, so it ends up being headcanon nonetheless!

    Furthermore, the characters are fictional. The counterexample that I can think of is sort of "traps" in Japanese anime. It's easy to put together a headcanon that maybe the trap is actually transgender! However, the reality of the situation is that probably the authors were not thinking that hard... and in truth transgender people are nothing close to anime traps...

    That doesn't mean headcanons are bad though!

    I have a lot of headcanons for everything!
     
    AliceShiki likes this.
  14. readerz

    readerz Madam Jin

    Joined:
    Jan 4, 2017
    Messages:
    3,797
    Likes Received:
    8,595
    Reading List:
    Link
    That's why Quickly Wear the Face of the Devil is so great. I mean, the main character says he's gay and that he has never been attracted to women. He's straightforward about it. (y)

    As for the whole "I"m not gay/lesbian, I just love YOU" thing, that is not just in danmei, yaoi, BL, boy's love, yuri, etc. That is a common trope in romance novels and other media for women. :LOL: The character type "I've never been in love in my entire life..." isn't rare at all. Why?
    • No ex-girlfriend/boyfriend drama.
    • Almost guaranteed to never be unfaithful (because they aren't attracted to people in general)
    • Virgin
    And, of course, it makes the romantic partner more special since he/she is the only one.
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.