Discussion [18+]Share your view about why you like Yaoi!

2D traps are nice but irl not really excluding MairdChan.

 

Hmm

 

I actually don't know why I like it. I just like it, that's it. I do understand it's unrealistic and stuff but believe it or not I usually read yaoi for the plot. (the smut details are just extras on the side. like ketchup? meh I don't even like ketchup. maybe sprinkles is a better comparison) But then again if we're gonna get technical, if it has a plot then it's not yaoi. Maybe I like bl instead of yaoi?

But well, the most reasonable answer to this question is maybe one of the answers of someone above. "It's because I like men." Same concept of guys liking yuri. If you ever wonder why girls like yaoi and you're a guy, just wonder to yourself why you like yuri. That's basically it. ¯\_( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)_/¯ (or not? idk)

It's just all so confusing. ¯\_ಠ_ಠ_/¯
But why do you even need a reason to like something? Well, maybe you do, but there are some things that that just doesn't apply.

 

pretty guys. nuf said.

 

I've read BL for different reasons at different points in my life.

I started out when I was really young, when I was attracted by Yugioh and One Piece fanfiction... And the reason for that is because I'm not straight. My household and surroundings were very heteronormative, though, so BL was the only way I could be exposed to the concept of LGBT+ people at that time. (Besides making my Barbies and Sims lesbian "just for morbid curiosity")

Later, it was my go-to for porn because I didn't like the way straight stuff handled women. (And I'd been told wrongly by other BL fans that GL was gross and only for straight men.)

At my most recent point, I read it because I liked the counter-normative narratives that came with it - stuff like harem protagonists breaking away from their expected stories and deeply loving men instead.

However, I haven't been reading it much at all lately... I got tired of the way most BL treats women badly, and I find that GL has more revolutionary narratives that satisfy me better.

Actually, it's a misconception that GL is "for men" (although of course men can and do read it). A lot of men don't like GL and the ones that do aren't reading it just for smut. Currently, most GL readers (and many, many authors) are women.

You can see it in the Yuri Garden's 2020 Survey Report: https://forum.novelupdates.com/blogs/the-yuri-gardens-2020-survey-report.3437/

 

Yaoi specifically relies on heteronormative ideals, assigning uke and seme roles that go beyond sexual positioning but also the entire character’s identity, personality, and motivations. It’s one of the unfortunate realities of a genre written by women who have only their own experience to write from about male centric romances. There are some good bl out there, but as a collective, the genre is trash.

 

well.. not sure how to explain why i like yaoi genre... or maybe its just a thing for me compare to my sis (she likes yuri dont ask me why)
i have a acc full of mtl yaoi novels but i also like other normal stuff like actions. sci fi ang BGs and stuff (but mostly yaoi 80% of my novel reads are yaois)

 

Greatest Love Stories Ever Told

 

Personally, I make a distinction when talking with people about yaoi. I know that for many who aren't into the genre, 'yaoi' becomes an umbrella term people use to refer to works centred around a gay couple. While I can't say my view can be applied to all, but from my fellow bl lovers, many are resistant to the idea of rape or anything too hardcore. To us that's what yaoi means, uncomfortably explicit or even fetish sex (that doesn't mean there isn't plot, just that there is explicit sex). (And so, as a translator for BL novels (that's the umbrella term in general, danmei to refer to Chinese BL novels), I always hate to see any of the works I'm working on possessing that label when in fact there are ZERO sex scenes within the entire novel.)

I read for plot, simple as that. I started my online reading career with the popular CN novels here on NU, back then it was Martial God Asura, Desolate Era, and Martial World. I had found it repetitive, practically the same thing on repeat, and in addition to that, I hated how the men treated the women. I'm pretty sure that even now, most of these stallion novels are still harem based, women are initially portrayed as OP and then later when the MC is powerful, they become trophies, etc...I assumed it was just because of me not fitting into the target audience. I haven't been back to those for nearly 3 years. I later moved on to things set in a modern setting (still BG at this point), not much changed other than the fact that they at least now only had ONE wife. It was only after this that I started unpackaging the 'romance' genre. I started out BG (still haven't read BL), it was good for the first 5? maybe 6 novels I had read before I noticed it was more or less a copy-paste work of the same thing, 'genius so-and-so gets reborn as a useless someone' or 'Ceo's secret darling' etc (I don't even care to name anything because such titles are so common).

Now, out of curiosity, I opened my first BL. And oh boy, it was yaoi; not the soft stuff. BUT THE PLOT WAS GOOD. I admit I was lucky that the first one I read actually had some form of thought out plot and so it satisfied what I was looking for, therefore giving me a good first impression. I also admit that it's much more immersive to me (as a female) that it is told from the perspective of the 'bottom' role. I'll just say here that I agree that a lot of BL is trash, but I live for the gems. Perhaps because I was more or less defined by my first experience in this genre, but I preferred that even the so-called 'bottom' partner to be a man. So I couldn't take the 'even more beautiful than a woman' type (only if the plot was good enough to make me be able to overlook it) because my brain defaults to "of course the male lead turned bent, the main character is more feminine than a female". In fact, my favourite dynamic is for the couple to look like the very opposite of their more commonly recognized positions. For example, a bottom that is handsome and with a bigger stature vs a top that is pretty and has a smaller one.

Other than the plot, I think the aspect that appeals to me the most is the sense of camaraderie and partnership. It's a very difficult balance to capture, but when the novel gets it, I immediately fall and cry because "WHY HAVEN'T I FOUND YOU SOONER?".

Though, it should be noted that there have been a recent surge of BL novels from the perspective of the 'top' partner.

BUT like with CN BL novels in general, I can't guarantee accuracy.

(note*** I've only ever read BL regularly from Chinese webnovels, I've never tried Korean and couldn't get into Japanese. Not that they are bad, but just not within my zone or that I hadn't had a good impression that encouraged me to explore).

 

[QUOTE="THISBRO, post: 5526285, member: 191]

(note*** I've only ever read BL regularly from Chinese webnovels, I've never tried Korean and couldn't get into Japanese. Not that they are bad, but just not within my zone or that I hadn't had a good impression that encouraged me to explore).[/QUOTE]

Apologies for cutting your comment...
For Korean, I highly recommend "Kill The Lights"
For Japanese: Hako no naka

 

this cat neutral toward it~ read it but there no likes or dislike~
ironically this cat actually introduce bl to some friends and this cat imouto.... now sometimes they try to convert this cat to fu... danmei member

what I have done indeed...

 

I mostly read for the plot, so what I say applies to BL novels that are heavier on plot and lighter on fluff. In terms of what's translated or what's recommended, I find most of the novels condense a lot of plot into a lot less chapters, so you don't need to invest in a thousand chapter monstrosity.

Heck, the popular quick transmigration subgenre is all about seeing plotlines of as many worlds as possible. AND the protagonist is usually rational and manipulative, which is also what I want in non-BL novels too. The bonus here is that love interests are usually integral to the plot and the plans of the protagonist, which is consistent with such a personality. In non-BL novels, however, I find that (potential) love interests seem like distractions from the plot or cause the protagonist's IQ to drop.

 

Bruh all stories i found are adult ****** a kid

 

first time i read yaoi because of a friend's recommendation. Its manga, Haru wo Daiteita by Youka Nitta. And i think this novel has a really good story plot. So i read it until the end. After that if i'm stumble into one of them and has good story, i read it. [Edit : especially manga with beautiful art.]

For yaoi genre i just read manga or watch anime. Even thats rare. Not yet even once ever try read yaoi novel.