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Boys` Love Manga
©

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Boys` Love Manga
Essays cn the Sexual Ambiguity
and Crcss-Cultural Fandcm
cf the Genre
Edited by ANTONIA LEVI,
MARK MCHARRY and
DRU PAGLIASSOTTI
Nc!arIand ö Company, Inc., ¡ulIIshers
jeffer·on, Norr| Coro|íno, ond Iondon
©

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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGUING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA
Boys` love manga : essays on the sexual ambiguity and cioss-cultuial
fandom of the genie / edited by Antonia Levi,
Maik McHaiiy and Diu Pagliassotti.
p. cm.
Includes bibliogiaphical iefeiences and index.
ISBN 978-0-7864-493-2
softcovei : 50# alkaline papei
¡. Comic books, stiips, etc.-Histoiy and ciiticism. 2. Homosexuality-Comic
books, stiips, etc. 3. Women caitoonists. 4. Populai cultuie-Japanese inßuences.
I. Levi, Antonia, 947- II. McHaiiy, Maik, 95- III. Pagliassotti, Diu.
PN670.B67 200 74.5' 952-dc22 20000297
Biitish Libiaiy cataloguing data aie available
C2008 Antonia Levi, Maik McHaiiy and Diu Pagliassotti. All iights ieseived
Nc part cf this bcck may be reprcduced cr transmitted in any fcrm
cr by any means, electrcnic cr mechanical, including phctcccpying
cr reccrding, cr by any infcrmaticn stcrage and retrieval system,
withcut permissicn in writing frcm the publisher.
On the covei: Heise, Red Icver, digital illustiation, 8

2" × 11", 2008

Manufactuied in the United States of Ameiica
McFarland o Ccmpany, Inc., Publishers
Bcx õII, }e[erscn, Ncrth Carclina 28õ40
www.mcfarlandpub.ccm
©

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Dedicated to (Yonezawa Yoshihiio) 953-2006,
the co-foundei and piesident of Japan`s Comic Maiket.
Fiom its inception it has piovided a safe place foi fans
to buy and sell djinshi, much of it boys` love.
In its giowth ovei thiity-fve yeais to become one of
Japan`s laigest conventions, it has helped nuituie
BL into a woildwide phenomenon.
©

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Table of Contents
Intrcducticn
ANTONIA LEVI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Part One: Boys' Iove and GIobaI PubIishing
1. Gift Veisus Capitalist Economies: Exchanging Anime and Manga in the U.S.
HOPE DONOVAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2. Fiom BRAVC to Animexx.de to Expoit : Capitalizing on Geiman
Boys` Love Fandom, Cultuially, Socially and Economically
PAUL M. MALONE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
3. Boys` Love Thiives in Conseivative Indonesia
YAMILA ABRAHAM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Part Two: Genre and Readership
4. Bettei Than Romance: Japanese BL Manga and the Subgenie of
Male/Male Romantic Fiction
DRU PAGLIASSOTTI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
5. Yaoi and Slash Fiction: Women Wiiting, Reading, and Getting Off :
MARK JOHN ISOLA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
6. 101 Uses foi Boys: Communing with the Readei in Yaoi and Slash
MARNI STANLEY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
7. °She Should Just Die in a Ditch": Fan Reactions to Female Chaiacteis
in Boys` Love Manga
M. M. BLAIR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
8. Rewiiting Gendei and Sexuality in English-Language Yaoi Fanfction
TAN BEE KEE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Part Three: Boys' Iove and Perceptions of the Queer
9. Utteiing the Absuid, Revaluing the Abject : Femininity and the
Disavowal of Homosexuality in Tiansnational Boys` Love Manga
NEAL K. AKATSUKA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
10. Boys in Love in Boys` Love: Discouises West/East and the Abject in
Subject Foimation
MARK MCHARRY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
11. Queeiing the Quotidian: Yaoi, Naiiative Pleasuies and Readei Response
MARK VICARS and KIM SENIOR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
vii
©

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12. Gay oi Gei: Reading °Realness" in Japanese Yaoi Manga
ALEXIS HALL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
13. Raping Apollo: Sexual Diffeience and the Yaoi Phenomenon
ALAN WILLIAMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
14. Hidden in Stiaight Sight : Tians¯giessing Gendei and Sexuality via BL
ULI MEYER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
Glcssary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
Abcut the Ccntributcrs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
viii Table of Contents
©

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Intioduction
ANTONIA LEVI
Diawn in Japanese manga (comic book) style, the two andiogynous young men on
the bed aie impossibly beautiful. Only theii baie chests indicate theii masculinity. They
aie joined in a passionate embiace, theii naked bodies entwined, theii long haii ßying. One
young man`s wiists aie loosely bound with silken iopes. His paitnei holds him down as
they gaze iaptuiously into one anothei`s eyes. Although theii genitals aie hidden by the
tangled sheets, the eioticism of the scene is palpable. This is not, as many westeineis might
assume, gay eiotica. It is an example of boys` love manga-same-sex male iomances and
eiotica wiitten mostly by and foi women.
In Japan, boys` love is simply one of many genies that make up the aitistic/liteiaiy
foim called manga. Like othei manga genies, boys` love stoiies appeai in piofessional pub-
lications, as well as in self-published (djinshi) foimats which may include chaiacteis boi-
iowed fiom othei authois` manga, anime, video games and othei pioducts. Boys` love iuns
the gamut fiom complex giaphic novels dealing with seiious issues to light-heaited, eiotic
shoit pieces in which neithei plot noi theme play signifcant ioles. Boys` love themes and
conventions aie often found as subplots in othei Japanese cultuial foims.
At the peak of the manga boom in the eaily 990s, Maik McLelland estimated that
manga compiised appioximately 40 peicent of all piint publications in Japan.

That is noth-
ing new in Japan. Antecedents of the genie may be found as long ago as seventh-centuiy
pictuie sciolls (e-makimcnc). Adam Kein tiaces the oiigins of modein manga to illustiated
tales that weie the piedominant liteiatuie duiing the Edo peiiod (603-868 CE), such as
the kibyshi (yellow-covei books) of Sant Kyden (76-86 CE). These texts ßuidly com-
bined images and wiiting and sold moie than 30,000 copies each in Edo-then the woild`s
laigest city.
2
The content of boys` love stoiies is not teiiibly shocking oi even suipiising to the
Japanese audiences foi which they weie oiiginally intended. Male same-sex iomances and
eiotica intended foi a widei, often at least paitially female audience, have a long tiadition
in Japan. Even Lady Muiasaki`s usually heteiosexual heio Genji indulges in a same-sex
affaii in the eleventh-centuiy novel Tale cf Genji. Stoiies of same-sex ielationships between
Buddhist piiests and theii acolytes (chigc) weie common duiing the feudal eia, as weie
stoiies about same-sex ielationships among samuiai. Woodblock piints (ukiyc-e) fuithei
illustiated and celebiated such ielationships. Kabuki theatie was pationized by women as
well as men. The eiotic desiiability of adolescent male actois (wakashugata), as well as male
actois playing female ioles (cnnagata), was desciibed in widely ciiculated theatiical cii-
tiques (hybanki) sold in majoi cities.
3
This advanced the tiadition of same-sex male
iomances and what can only be desciibed as a fascination with andiogyny and the liminal
possibilities of gendei.
In the nineteenth centuiy, the West biought homophobia to Japan, but it nevei com-
1
©

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pletely eclipsed the oldei tiaditions. Kabuki theatei suivived, even though many plays tieat-
ing male-male love weie diopped fiom its iepeitoiie, and in the eaily twentieth centuiy,
the all-female Takaiazuka theatei, with its impossibly beautiful male iole actois (ctckcy-
aku), added anothei layei to the cult of andiogyny and gendei-bending. Boys` illustiated
magazines in the 920s and 930s continued the beautiful boy (bishnen) tiadition, albeit
with only implied same-sex eiotica.
A Shcrt Histcry cf Bcys´ Icve Manga
When manga emeiged in the postwai eia, they biought this tiadition with them, along
with a plethoia of othei aitistic and liteiaiy tiaditions. Some elements weie appaient even
befoie female aitists became dominant in wiiting stoiies, many of them boys` love stoiies,
foi women and giils in the 960s. Tezuka Osamu`s Ribcn nc kishi (Princess Knight; 953),
about a cioss-diessing piincess with a male soul and the male fiiend who falls in love with
hei without iealizing she is female, was not exactly boys` love, but it did intioduce many
of the gendei-bending issues that would become standaid in the boys` love tiadition. Cei-
tainly Ribcn nc kishi was an inßuence on Hagio Moto, whose Tma nc shinz (Heart cf
Thcmas; 974), a tiagic tale of love and suicide in a Geiman boys` school, is often consid-
eied to be one of the founding woiks of the boys` love genie. It was also a favoiite of Ya-
magishi Ryko, who tied boys` love moie fully into Japanese contexts with Hi izuru tckcrc
nc tenshi (Heaven´s Scn cf the Iand cf the Rising Sun; 980), about the same-sex iomances
of Shtoku Taishi, the eighth-centuiy piince who is ciedited with biinging Buddhism to
Japan. In 978, Ccmic }un became one of the fist monthly manga to specialize in boys` love
stoiies, selling, at its peak, 50,000 copies a month.
4
By compaiison, in 2003, BeXBcy and
BeXBcy Gcld, published alteinately each month, had a monthly ciiculation of about 250,000
copies distiibuted thioughout Japan.
Coinciding with the iise of commeicially pioduced boys` love manga was the devel-
opment of fan-cieated and published woiks called °yaoi." The teim was coined as a sai-
donic acionym foi yama-nashi, cchi-nashi, imi-nashi (no climax, no point, no meaning)
by a gioup of fans who titled theii 979 djinshi Rappcri yaci tckush gcu (Rappcri: Spe-
cial Yaoi Issue). They coined the acionym because theii woik was usually compiised of a
collection of scenes and episodes lacking any oveiaiching stiuctuie. Theie weie yaoi pai-
odies of Gundam (Wai Stoiy) in the eaily 980s, but it was the populaiity of Captain Tsu-
basa in 985, a djinshi based on a populai manga about boys` football (soccei), and the
Saint Seiya manga boom of 987 that put the acionym into the Japanese veinaculai.
5
By
then, yaoi, expiessed mostly in djinshi, began showing the chaiacteiistics identifed by
Kazuko Suzuki that gave impetus to the boys` love/yaoi fan movement. They weie () ama-
teui publications that weie outside mass media iestiictions (2) iead by teenageis, who com-
piise the majoiity of boys` love ieadeis and who encouiaged othei teens to cieate yaoi woiks
(3) piemised on widely known chaiacteis and settings, and (4) they featuied chaiacteis depicted
as oidinaiy teenage boys oi men in theii twenties, the same age gioup as many of its fans.
6
Today yaoi and boys` love aie widely iead genies in Japan. Commeicial boys` love
manga aie displayed on the main ßoois of mainstieam bookstoies in laige cities as well
as sold in small-town convenience stoies. The Otome Road distiict of Tokyo has buildings
with billboaids of bishnen-oldei seme and youngei uke-in eiotic embiaces, enticements
to the djinshi sold in the aiea`s book stoies. In August 2007, moie than 550,000 peo-
2 Intioduction
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ple, a majoiity of them young women and teenage giils, attended Tokyo`s Comic Maiket
(Komiket), a twice-yeaily fan-oiganized event held since 975, to buy and/oi sell yaoi-
themed djinshi cieated by small ciicles of fiiends. The sales of boys` love djinshi and othei
BL pioducts at the Comic Maiket may have been moie than $200 million U.S. dollais in
2008. Djinshi maikets also exist in cities such as Osaka and Niigata that attiact tens of
thousands of consumeis, and infoimal fan netwoiks exist whose paiticipants exchange
djinshi via postal mail.
Bcys´ Icve in the \est
Today, boys` love manga aie pait of the populai cultuie landscape in Japan. They aie
an accepted pait of giowing up female and aie less accepted, but nonetheless sought out,
by some young men who iead them, a numbei estimated at ten peicent of ieadeis in 2003,
accoiding to a BeXBcy editoi.
7
That, howevei, was not the case when boys` love manga and
a few animated flms left theii native land and found new audiences among people who
knew little if anything about the tiaditions that had contiibuted to its cieation. As Ien Ang`s
985 pioneeiing study of globalizing populai cultuie, \atching Dallas, ievealed, the
iesponses of audiences viewing mateiial nevei designed foi them can be suipiising.
Yaoi and, subsequently, boys` love ieached Noith Ameiica and Euiope on a laige scale
via the bioadcast on commeicial television of anime that would become canonical foi fans
cieating yaoi woiks. In Noith Ameiica, wateished events included the bioadcast of the
anime seiies Gundam \ing on the Caitoon Netwoik in 2000
8
and the development of the
Woild Wide Web, which had begun its swift tiajectoiy to widespiead adoption about fve
yeais eailiei.
The aiiival of boys` love in the West was affected by two signifcant factois: maiket-
ing and existing fan piactices. Although some boys` love manga appeaied eailiei, the fist
boys` love anime to be distiibuted in Noith Ameiica was Kizuna (Bcnds; 994). The dis-
tiibutoi, Aiiztical, desciibed the anime as °the fist gay male anime to be ieleased on DVD
in the U.S."
9
and maiketed it to a gay male audience.
Anothei majoi factoi was the coteiminous existence of a Westein fan tiadition known
as °slash." The teim is not as violent as it sounds. It iefeis to the foiwaid slash on a key-
boaid, which is used by slash wiiteis to indicate which chaiacteis fiom populai cultuie
they aie iewiiting as a homoeiotic couple, a °paiiing"; the fist such paiiing to be desciibed
as °slashed" was Kiik/Spock (pionounced Kiik-slash-Spock). By the time boys` love aiiived,
slash was well established in the West and undeistood to iefei to homoeiotic wiiting and
aitwoik cieated almost exclusively by women that featuies male chaiacteis fiom populai
media.
0
Unlike slash, howevei, boys` love and yaoi attiacted a suipiising numbei of gay male
fans. That was no doubt paitly caused by eaily maiketing effoits, but maiketing is not the
only ieason. Content also plays a iole. Because yaoi and boys` love woiks oiiginated in a
diffeient histoiical milieu, depictions of gendei and sex in yaoi and boys` love woiks aie
diffeient fiom those in slash stoiies. Given gendei theoiist Judith Butlei`s contention that
ieal-life sex and gendei identities aie inheiently unstable, boys` love pioducts may suggest
diffeient theoietical implications foi cultuial expiessions of sex and gendei than those of
slash.
One signifcant diffeience may well be the gieatei lability of gendei and sex, which has
Intrcducticn (LEVI) 3
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been a topos of Japanese liteiatuie since at least the Heian peiiod (794-85 CE) and which
is fully expiessed in boys` love manga and anime. That lability is an accepted pait of Japa-
nese fctional undeistandings and, in boys` love, this often leads to depictions of fctional
woilds in which same-sex ielationships and gendei shifting aie piesented as givens with-
out explanation oi excuses. This is the case, foi example, in Yami nc matsuei (Descendants
cf Darkness) wheie the same-sex piefeiences of most of the chaiacteis aie taken foi gianted
as pait of the fctional woild poitiayed.
Slash, on the othei hand, developed out of Westein concepts of sex and gendei and
contiasts moie diamatically against othei Westein mainstieam cultuial woiks. Westein
populai cultuie has become a bit moie open to poitiaying same-sex ielationships and chal-
lenging the unchanging natuie of sex and gendei, but theie is, as yet, no systematic com-
meicial pioduction of slash oi slash-like iomances oi eiotica, no same-sex Hailequin
iomances. Slash iemains veiy much the domain of amateui fan fction wiiteis, almost all
of them women.
Slash also utilizes mostly chaiacteis diawn fiom live action flms and television seiies
and poitiayed by adult actois. As a iesult, the youthful teen look that so easily tianslates
into andiogyny in boys` love manga, and allows foi so many layeied inteipietations of sex
and gendei, is much haidei foi slash wiiteis to achieve. Despite its subject mattei, slash
tends to be fai moie explicitly heteiosexual in its assumptions and in the woilds it poi-
tiays. This is peihaps best exemplifed in the slash sub-genie known as INGB, which stands
foi °I`m not gay but...." In INGB fanfcs, the chaiacteis assuie one anothei that although
they aie passionately attiacted to each othei, same-sex ielationships aie not the noim foi
them. Such scenaiios aie not unknown in boys` love, but they aie fai fiom being as peiva-
sive as they aie in slash.
It is impoitant, howevei, not to oveistate the diffeiences between boys` love and slash.
Theie aie also similaiities and even connections. Boys` love is often consideied to have devel-
oped independently of slash, and that is to some degiee tiue. Howevei, both genies emeiged
as impoitant tiends in the 970s, a time maiked by a global questioning of gendei and sex.
Moieovei, eaily boys` love cieatois in Japan such as Hagio Moto oi Takemiya Keiko admit
to being inßuenced by Westein woiks, and many slash enthusiasts weie at least awaie of
boys` love manga befoie it became commeicially available in the West. Moie iecently, a
plethoia of Haiiy Pottei-inspiied slash and djinshi have ievealed the extent to which the
two fan subcultuies (yaoi/boys` love and slash) aie inßuencing one anothei.
Cuiiently boys` love and yaoi have an incieasingly visible piesence in the West. Boys`
love began to boom in the U.S. in 2005, aftei the success of populai manga seiies like
Kizuna, FAKE, and Eerie Queerie! Panels about yaoi at mainstieam anime and comic-book
conventions; the enthusiasm of fans at conventions such as Comic-Con Inteinational,
Sakuia-Con, and Yaoi-Con who weie vocal about the need foi impoited and tianslated
titles; the success of the few boys` love seiies alieady licensed and tianslated; and the pio-
fusion of bootleg online scanlations indicated an existing audience hungiy foi moie mate-
iial.
Fan Practices in the \est
When anime and manga ieached the West, they biought with them not only the
fctional pioducts (wiitten and diawn mateiials), but a vaiiety of fan piactices such as hold-
4 Intioduction
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ing conventions devoted to the celebiation and distiibution of anime and manga, and °cos-
play," deiived fiom the English woids °costume" and °play." Cosplay involves diessing up
as a fctional chaiactei oi at least as a peison who exists in a fctional woild. Conventions
and cosplay weie ceitainly not unknown to westein science fction and comic book fans
who iefeiied to them as °cons" and °masqueiades" iespectively. It didn`t take long foi anime
cons and cosplay to become a pait of populai cultuie fandom in the West oi foi the tiadi-
tions to become inteitwined. Science fction fans, foi example, often use °cosplay" instead
of °masqueiade," while anime cosplayeis often piide themselves on iemaining in the chai-
actei whose costume they weai foi the duiation of the convention and inteiacting with
otheis only as that chaiactei, a tiadition that does not obtain in Japan.
Boys` love, howevei, poses a pioblem foi cons and cosplay in the West. Although sci-
ence fction, comic book, and anime cons aie designed to cieate liminal spaces foi intei-
ests that society at laige fnds odd oi shocking, boy`s love and slash fans still often stand
out, especially when in costume and iole-playing. As anime became moie mainstieam,
boys` love fans` cioss-diessing and acting out of same-sex sexual fantasies and scenaiios
found themselves incieasingly iestiicted. At many cons, even scholaily discussions of boys`
love weie often scheduled late at night, sometimes with the added pioviso that all paitic-
ipants must be ovei the age of eighteen. In seveial cases, monitois weie placed at the dooi
to check IDs. At Toionto`s Anime Noith convention in 2007, a sepaiate aiea was set aside
called °Yaoi Noith." °A guy diessed up as Pikachu called me a fieak," complained one boys`
love fan at Seattle`s 2006 Sakuia-Con. °To the mundanes, eveiyone at this con is a fieak,
but we`ie paiiahs even to the othei fieaks."

As a iesult of such expeiiences, boys` love fans in the West have found it necessaiy to
cieate theii own spaces wheie homophobic and othei attitudes hostile to oi dismissive of
theii inteiests aie eliminated. Moie and moie, they have begun to hold theii own cons,
sepaiate events wheie they can feel fiee fiom the disappioval of otheis. The laigest of these
is Yaoi-Con, held annually in oi neai San Fiancisco. Although most of the attendees aie
female (as fai as anyone can tell, given the cosplay going on), between ffteen and twenty
peicent aie male. Many aie costumed as bishnen, the beautiful, andiogynous boys who
aie the embodiment of the boys` love genie. Theie is even a bishnen auction at which
women bid foi theii favoiite °beautiful boy."
Even Yaoi-Con is not quite fiee fiom mainstieam piessuies, howevei. The con is, of
necessity, limited to those eighteen and oldei. The con oiganizeis must know that many
boys` love fans aie youngei than that. An online suivey I conducted in 2003 ievealed that
ovei one thiid of the boys` love fans who iesponded weie eighteen oi youngei.
2
Foi legal
ieasons, howevei, the con must iemain closed to them.
\hat Dces It All Mean?
In this book, scholais fiom a wide vaiiety of disciplines discuss the topic of boys` love
outside Japan.
In Pait One, thiee authois, Hope Donovan, Paul M. Malone and Yamila Abiaham,
addiess economic, social and cultuial issues ielated to global publishing.
Hope Donovan aigues, in °Gift Veisus Capitalist Economies: Exchanging Anime and
Manga in the U.S.," that boys` love fans and publisheis aie united by a common cultuie
but divided by theii iespective economic piactices. Taking an anthiopological appioach,
Intrcducticn (LEVI) 5
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Donovan analyzes the ways in which boys` love fandom engages in a foim of iitualized gift-
giving that both challenges and is challenged by the capitalist economy of boys` love pub-
lisheis in the U.S.
Paul M. Malone looks at the manga boom in Geimany in °Fiom BRAVC to Animexx.de
to Expoit: Capitalizing on Geiman Boys` Love Fandom, Cultuially, Socially and Econom-
ically." He consideis how mechanisms of giowth, such as the Web site Animexx, which has
been a hub foi the commeicialization of Geiman fandom, and boys` love, which encoui-
ages a passionate level of involvement, have helped tuin fans into pioduceis and independ-
ent entiepieneuis.
Yamila Abiaham`s chaptei °Boys` Love Thiives in Conseivative Indonesia" looks
specifcally at the challenges Indonesian boys` love aitists and ieadeis face in a cultuie that
is becoming incieasingly intoleiant of eiotic woiks and homosexuality. Abiaham, who
commissions boys` love woiks fiom aitists in Indonesia, feais that they will nevei be fiee
to see theii woiks published within theii home countiy.
In Pait Two, Diu Pagliassotti, Maik John Isola, Maini Stanley, M. M. Blaii and Tan
Bee Kee addiess questions of genie, both fiom the point of view of liteiaiy theoiy and fiom
the iesponses of the ieadeiship.
Although yaoi and slash aie often addiessed in academia as substantially diffeient
fiom mainstieam, heteiosexual iomances, Diu Pagliassotti`s chaptei °Bettei Than Romance:
Japanese BL Manga and the Subgenie of Male/Male Romantic Fiction" points out theii
similaiities and aigues that they aie, in most ways, identical in foim and function. Moie-
ovei, while male/male iomances offei some ielief fiom the plot conventions and gendei
steieotypes ciiticized in mainstieam, heteiosexual iomances, they iaise new questions and
potential ciiticisms with iegaid to theii often sexually explicit content and theii pioblem-
atic ielationship to queei politics.
In °Yaoi and Slash Fiction: Women Wiiting, Reading, and Getting Off :" Maik John
Isola examines how yaoi and slash challenge established theoiies of the gaze in complicat-
ing the ciitical ieception of yaoi and slash naiiatives, paiticulaily as they pose a challenge
foi contempoiaiy theoiy iegaiding the naiiative pioduction and consumption of
(homo)sexual naiiatives.
Disagieeing with asseitions that women cieate and enjoy yaoi and slash texts as a foim
of compensation foi social and psychological disempoweiment, Maini Stanley analyzes
authois` diiect comments to the ieadei to show how they addiess the ieadei and sexuality
in playful, celebiatoiy teims. Hei chaptei °0 Uses foi Boys: Communing with the Readei
in Yaoi and Slash" aigues that boys` love texts offei women a chance to subveit the domi-
nant naiiatives of female sexuality and libeiate theii own sexual fantasies.
M. M. Blaii addiesses the cuiious phenomenon of boys` love female ieadeiship expiess-
ing often violent dislike foi the female chaiacteis within the genie in °'She Should Just Die
in a Ditch`: Fan Reactions to Female Chaiacteis in Boys` Love Manga." By analyzing fan com-
ments to BL manga posted in LiveJouinal`s Yaoi Daily community, Blaii shows that this appai-
ent misogyny is not a chaiacteiistic of the ieadei but, instead, a pioduct of the text.
In °Rewiiting Gendei and Sexuality in English-Language Yaoi Fanfction," Tan Bee
Kee also uses fan commentaiy, fction, and ait fiom a LiveJouinal community devoted to
the seiies \eiss Kreuz (Knight Hunters. \eiss Kreuz) to discuss the inteinal contiadictions
iegaiding sex, gendei and sexual oiientation implicit in such woiks. She aigues that despite
such mixed messages, fans ultimately do challenge gendei noims thiough cieating such
woiks and paiticipating in such a community.
6 Intioduction
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The thiid pait contains essays by Neal K. Akatsuka, Maik McHaiiy, Maik Vicais and
Kim Senioi, Alexis Hall, Alan Williams, and Uli Meyei dealing with peiceptions of queei-
ness in the boys` love genie.
In °Utteiing the Absuid, Revaluing the Abject: Femininity and the Disavowal of
Homosexuality in Tiansnational Boys` Love Manga," Neal K. Akatsuka ciitically examines
the ways in which boys` love opens up a space that both subveits and stiengthens heteio-
noimative, patiiaichal discouises. Boys` love`s tiansnational populaiity with, especially,
female ieadeis, he aigues, is due to its affimation of feminine agency; howevei, this affima-
tion is ieached by disengaging homosexuality fiom its ieal social and peisonal consequences.
Using an eaily BL manga, Takemiya Keiko`s Kaze tc ki nc uta, Maik McHaiiy also takes
on the question of the abject in °Boys in Love in Boys` Love: Discouises West/East and the
Abject in Subject Foimation." McHaiiy desciibes discouises in twentieth-centuiy Fiance
that weie inßuential in the foundation of boys` love and discouises in Edo-peiiod Japan
that may be inßuential in boys` love`s elaboiation of the subjectivity of the uke (youngei
paitnei). Looking at Takemiya`s use of boideis and time, he employs the westein psycho-
analytic idea of abject in the foimation of subject to suggest ieasons why Kaze and boys`
love geneially depict adolescent males as eiotic objects and why that can be valuable.
Maik Vicais and Kim Senioi, in °Queeiing the Quotidian: Yaoi, Naiiative Pleasuies
and Readei Response," focus on how yaoi is used by °Westein" ieadeis (a gay man fiom
woiking class United Kingdom and a stiaight woman fiom middle class Austialia) to iesist
and (ie)peifoim heteiogendeied pedagogies in eveiyday life. In theii social, cultuial and
sexual position in ielation to texts they attempt to ie-expeiience unimagined signifcances
and to ie-imagine the effects between °piopei" and °impiopei" ways of being and doing
gendei and sexuality.
Alexis Hall engages many of the same questions using °iealness" iathei than piopii-
ety in °Gay oi Gei: Reading 'Realness` in Japanese Yaoi Manga." Using inteiviews conducted
at Yaoi-Con in Octobei 2006, Hall notes how peiceptions of °iealness" in the iomantic fan-
tasy woilds of boys` love is piimaiily ielated to depictions of gayness and sexuality in ways
that ieveal the basic assumptions of the ieadeis, and often ignoie complexities in how sex-
uality is peiceived and expiessed in both Japan and the U.S.
In °Raping Apollo. Sexual Diffeience and the Yaoi Phenomenon," Alan Williams dis-
cusses competing naiiatives in iecent studies of yaoi, pointing to wheie these naiiatives
ieach theii ethical impasses, in asking whethei yaoi in its cuiient tiansnational foim may
speak to aspects of human desiie that aie beyond a single gendei and cultuie.
Uli Meyei continues that line of questioning in °Hidden in Stiaight Sight: Tians¯giess-
ing Gendei and Sexuality via BL," analyzing boys` love thiough the lens of °cieative tians-
vestitism" and boys` love fans as vaiiations on the concept of the °giilfag." Meyei also offeis
insights into the oiigins of boys` love both in Japan and Euiope and piesents a compelling
aigument foi including yuri (same-sex female iomances) as pait of the same phenomena
that pioduce boys` love.
Nctes
1. Maik McLelland, °Manga," in Encyclcpedia cf Erctic Iiterature, ed. Gaëtan Biulotte and John Phillips
(New Yoik: Routledge, 2006), 849.
2. Adam L. Kein, Manga frcm the Flcating \crld. Ccmicbcck Culture and the Kibyshi cf Edc }apan (Cam-
biidge, MA: Haivaid Univeisity Asia Centei, 2006), 53.
Intrcducticn (LEVI) 7
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3. Giegoiy Plugfeldei, °Stiange Fates: Sex, Gendei, and Sexuality in Toiikaebaya Monogataii," Mcnu-
menta Nippcnica (47) 3 (2000), 58.
4. Heivé Biient, °Une petite histoiie du yaoi," in Manga I0,000 images. Hcmcsexualite et manga. le yaci
(Veisailles, Fiance: Editions H., 2008), 8; McLelland, °Manga," 850.
5. Maik McHaiiy, °Yaoi: Rediawing Male Love," The Guide 23 (2003), http://www.guidemag.com/cont
ent/index.cfm:id·225.
6. Kazuko Suzuki, °Poinogiaphy oi Theiapy: Japanese Giils Cieating the Yaoi Phenomenon," in Millen-
nium Girls. Tcday´s Girls Arcund the \crld, ed. Sheiiie Inness (London: Rowman & Littlefeld, 998), 252.
7. McHaiiy, °Yaoi: Rediawing Male Love."
8. Maik McHaiiy, °Identity Unmooied: Yaoi in the West," Queer Pcpular Culture. Iiterature, Media, Film,
and Televisicn. Ed. Thomas Peele. New Yoik: Palgiave Macmillan, 2007), 93 n. 5.
9. Aiiztical Enteitainment: Building Biidges. http://www.aiiztical.com/coipoiate/about.html.
10. Camilla Decainin, °Slash Fiction," in Encyclcpedia cf Erctic Iiterature, 233.
11. Inteiview by Antonia Levi, Seattle, WA, Maich 25, 2006.
12. Antonia Levi, °Noith Ameiican Reactions to Yaoi," in The }apanifcaticn cf Children´s Pcpular Culture.
Frcm Gcdzilla tc Miyazaki, ed. Maik I. West (Lanham, MD: Scaieciow, 2009), 53.
Biblicgraphy
Aiiztical Enteitainment. °About Us." http://www.aiiztical.com/coipoiate/about.html.
Biient, Heivé. °Une petite histoiie du yaoi." In Manga I0,000 images. Hcmcsexualite et manga. le yaci. Vei-
sailles, Fiance: Editions H., 2008.
Decainin, C.M. °Slash Fiction." In Encyclcpedia cf Erctic Iiterature, edited by Gaëtan Biulotte and John
Phillips, 233-35. New Yoik: Routledge, 2006.
Kein, Adam. Manga frcm the Flcating \crld. Ccmicbcck Culture and the Kibyshi cf Edc }apan. Cambiidge,
MA: Haivaid Univeisity Asia Centei, 2006.
Levi, Antonia. °Noith Ameiican Reactions to Yaoi." In The }apanifcaticn cf Children´s Pcpular Culture. Frcm
Gcdzilla tc Miyazaki, edited by Maik West, 47-73. Lanham, MD: Scaieciow, 2009.
McHaiiy, Maik. °Yaoi: Rediawing Male Love." The Guide (2003). http://www.guidemag.com/temp/yaoi/
a/mchaiiy_yaoi.html.
_____. °Identity Unmooied: Yaoi in the West." In Queer Pcpular Culture. Iiterature, Media, Film, and Tele-
visicn, edited by Thomas Peele, 83-95. New Yoik: Palgiave Macmillan, 2007.
McLelland, Maik. °Manga." In Encyclcpedia cf Erctic Iiterature, edited by Gaëtan Biulotte and John Phillips,
849-5. New Yoik: Routledge, 2006.
Plugfeldei, Giegoiy. °Stiange Fates: Sex, Gendei, and Sexuality in Toiikaebaya Monogataii." Mcnumenta
Nippcnica 47 (2000): 347-68.
Suzuki, Kazuko. °Poinogiaphy oi Theiapy: Japanese Giils Cieating the Yaci Phenomenon." In Millennium
Girls. Tcday´s Girls Arcund the \crld, edited by Sheiiie Inness, 243-67. London: Rowman & Littlefeld,
998.
8 Intioduction
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PART ONE
Bcys´ Icve and
Glcbal Publishing
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Gift Veisus Capitalist Economies

Exchanging Anime and Manga in the U.S.
HOPE DONOVAN
In a panel titled °Fansubs: The Death of Anime" at Anime Expo 2008, industiy and
fan iepiesentatives met to discuss the elephant in the ioom. Industiy iepiesentatives fiom
FUNimation, Right Stuf, the Society foi the Piomotion of Japanese Animation, Anime
News Netwoik, and Bandai spent the bettei pait of an houi ensconced in a discussion that
got at the heait of anime distiibution in Ameiica-the claim that fansubs and scanlations
eat away industiy piofts, leading to °the death of anime."
The panel was timely. In 2008, the piofts of anime and manga licensing companies
diopped while attendance at conventions skyiocketed. That yeai saw the bankiuptcy of Iiis
Piint and Bioccoli Books, a fieeze on some oi all ieleases at Diama Queen, BLU and Yaoi
Piess, and lay-offs at otheis-while majoi U.S. conventions such as Anime Expo, Otakon,
and Sakuia-Con iepoited no decline in attendance, and in the case of some, iecoid atten-
dance. Yaoi-Con, the majoi boys` love convention, saw stable attendance.

Neithei the anime and manga industiy noi its fandom in the United States is veiy old.
Foi that mattei, neithei aie theii Japanese counteipaits-Shnen }ump magazine celebiated
its foitieth anniveisaiy in 2008. Anime fandom in the U.S. giew fiom a few inteiested sci-
ence fction fans in the 970s to a full-ßedged fandom community of its own, able to sup-
poit hundieds of iegional conventions by 2008. Anime and manga companies giew fiom
a cottage industiy in the 990s to a multimillion-dollai-a-yeai industiy by 2008. With the
industiy`s infancy behind it, consumeis and piovideis now seek to deal with the old bone
of contention between them. The afoiementioned bone is content distiibution, in paitic-
ulai the topic of discussion at the °Death of Anime" panel: fansubs and scanlations. To
anime and manga companies, these acts aie illegal; to fans, they aie a laboi of love.
Fiom foiums on company sites to industiy membeis cosplaying at conventions, the
boideis between fandom and industiy have nevei been distinct. My own positions as a
manga editoi foi TOKYOPOP and as a BL fan have allowed me to tiaveise the social land-
scapes of both cultuies. I can assuie you that they aie one community, united by a cultuial
commons. Howevei, one of the cential souices of the conßict in this commons lies in the
iespective economic piactices of industiy veisus fan community. Anthiopologically speak-
ing, anime and manga companies opeiate on capitalist teims, which clashes with anime
and manga fans` longstanding paiticipation in a gift-giving economy.
Crigins
The economic fiamewoik of fiee, gift-based exchange has been a hallmaik of manga
and anime`s development foi some time. °Boiiowing" each cultuie`s aesthetics took place
11
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as eaily as the 800s, when Fiench and Dutch Impiessionists coveted Japanese woodblock
piints. Sometimes making theii way to the West as packing mateiial, the inßuence of Japan`s
°whimsical pictuies" can be seen in the ßat coloi planes of Fauvist woiks such as Matisse`s
The }cy cf Iife (905). Duiing the same peiiod, Japanese aitists weie exposed to Ameiican,
Fiench, and Biitish caitoons and found themselves inspiied by the publications ieleased
by these eaily colonists.
Japanese caitoonists continued to be inßuenced by Westeineis into the twenties, boi-
iowing woid balloons and the ait of sequential stiips. In Japanese stiips, woids weie wiit-
ten hoiizontally, iathei than the classic Japanese veitical, to ft into Westein-style balloons.
Round heads, windowshade eyes, and anthiopomoiphic chaiacteis came iight out of West-
ein comics. Attention to the °eight lengths" Gieek piopoitions of the human body was
obseived. Even into the eia of moving pictuies, Japan`s comics absoibed Westein aesthet-
ics. Legendaiy aitist Osamu Tezuka °found that a Caucasian look, with dewey saucei-
shaped eyes, was extiemely populai among ieadeis."
2
Because manga fiequently seives as
anime souice mateiial, the stylistic aesthetics of comics developed ovei the fist centuiy of
cultuial exchange between the West and East fed diiectly into anime. °By the mid-960s
the industiy had assumed its piesent confguiation," states Schodt in Manga! Manga! °Tele-
vision and comics weie fimly inteitwined in a symbiotic ielationship."
3
Anime
Also in the 960s, the fist anime began to tiickle ovei to the U.S. The veiy eaily titles,
like Astrc Bcy and Speed Racer, gained populaiity and weie commeicially ieleased as ie-
dubbed, localized TV shows. In the 970s, Space Battlecruiser Yamatc came ovei as Star Blaz-
ers. In the 980s, Rcbctech inspiied a new geneiation of fans. And in the 990s, Pckemcn
snatched the youth imagination, while Caitoon Netwoik chiistened Toonami -a two-houi
all-anime block foi teens. Thioughout the 2000s, Caitoon Netwoik continued to aii anime
piogiamming, as did Sci-Fi. Anime Netwoik, the fist all-anime television netwoik,
launched on selected piovideis.
In exchange foi whatevei edits the TV stations made to localize anime, vieweis ieceived
fiee anime. Some of these vieweis became fans. But obtaining moie mateiial was no easy
task befoie the Inteinet. As Star Blazers fan and futuie EDC (Eaith Defense Command)
membei Dave Meiill put it, °I would have joined the Masons, a clown college oi the Com-
munist Paity if they`d piomised me Star Blazers fandom."
4
Joining an EDC oi Caitoon/Fan-
tasy Oiganization fanclub was a good idea-not only was piocuiing new mateiials without
fanclub connections diffcult, it was expensive. Figuies fiom a 984 Books Nippon Catalog
ieveal how piohibitive it was foi an individual to get souice mateiial: it cost $70 foi a
VHS copy of the fist Space Battlecruiser Yamatc movie-oi foi Urusei yatsura. Cnly Ycu-
also $70. In fact, fans had to pay ovei $00 foi just about anything, even ffty-seven min-
utes of Ultraman.
5
Being an anime fan in the 970s and 980s meant being a °Tiekkie with an extia hobby,"
obseived manga cieatoi Tavisha Wolfgaith-Simons.
6
Anime viewing began popping up at
science-fction conventions. Fandom ethnogiaphei Camille Bacon-Smith ielates hei expo-
suie to viewing iooms at Moie Easteily Con in 985: °Fiiday night, I followed the diiec-
tions posted on the convention bulletin boaid to a ioom wheie about twenty fans, mostly
women, weie watching Biitish television. One woman had biought a PAL system and she
12 Pait One: Boys` Love and Global Publishing
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played tapes that she had ieceived in tiade fiom Austialia."
7
Although the video mateiial
in question was a live-action TV diama, the same held tiue foi anime. Distiibution at lim-
ited viewings at cons was the only way foi some fans to see a show, oi at least a decent-
quality iepioduction of the show. The eailiest anime fan gioups boiiowed this semi-foimal
distiibution system. In his compiehensive histoiy of fansub distiibution, °Piogiess Against
the Law: Fan Distiibution, Copyiight, and the Explosive Giowth of Japanese Animation,"
Sean Leonaid iepoits, °staiting in 980, ¦the Gamelans] would show anime piogiams in
one of theii hotel iooms at science fction conventions. ¦They] put out ßieis thioughout
these conventions, ieading, 'If you want to see Japanese animation come up to ioom XYZ,`
and, 'We`ie going to be showing it all night long.` "
8
A few fanclubs came to be extiemely well-known among fans, including the afoiemen-
tioned Caitoon/Fantasy Oiganization. °These clubs all had chapteis in a numbei of cities;
the theoiy behind them was that they could piomote anime much moie effciently, and could
get moie anime foi the chapteis in diffeient cities to watch, if the chapteis united thiough
a cential oiganization," Leonaid wiites.
9
The C/FO fanclub, with its numeious chapteis,
iequiied membeis to pay dues. In exchange, fans gained access to the C/FO libiaiy, fiom
which they could iequest mateiials. But despite mimicking a capitalist system of exchange,
the fans` dues weien`t enough to keep the fanclub system aßoat.
The head of the C/FO, Fied Patten, stepped down in 989, leaving a powei vacuum.
Meanwhile, the distiibution system began to collapse, with the cential command in San
Antonio sluggishly iesponding to iequests foi mateiial, eventually abandoning that coie
duty fully. By July 989, the C/FO splinteied into individual chapteis. Though no longei
centialized, fanclubs continued to be an impoitant distiibution system thiough the
nineties.
0
Anime goods continued to be available in the specialty stoies of metiopolitan
aieas, such as Nipponmachi in San Fiancisco oi Little Tokyo in Los Angeles.

The explosion of the Inteinet into homes duiing the 990s foievei changed the distii-
bution of anime. It was also in the 990s when boys` love began to ieach a laigei audience.
Fans could diiectly connect to otheis with the same passion, iathei than obtaining anime
thiough a club wheie a wide iange of tastes had to be taken into account. Editoi Gaby
Maya iealized that °the Inteinet helped all the Fujoshi ¦female fans] to come out of the
'Boys` love closet`" and make waimly communal what befoie had been °mouth to mouth."
2
Fledgling distiibutois took note. As the video maiket expanded, and peisonal home view-
ing became possible, BL titles such as FAKE weie distiibuted. The stoiies and ait styles so
fascinating to fans gained giound in the maiket.
What had once been a fan inteiest demonstiated the potential to geneiate an indus-
tiy.
Manga
Manga did not enjoy so iich a distiibution histoiy. Unlike a flm, which can be viewed
by as many as the scieening ioom will accommodate, a tankbcn (collected edition
of manga, oi °giaphic novel" in the West) cannot be iead by many at once. Noi was theie
a dedicated gioup of existing science-fction comic-book fans to pioselytize and tianslate
it.
Tavisha Wolfgaith-Simons, cieatoi of the manga ShutterBcx with husband Rikki
Simons, enteied manga fandom at an eaily age. Living in Southein Califoinia, she had
-Gif t Versus Capitalist Eccncmies (DONOVAN) 13
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access to Japanese bookstoies and manga, something most fans did not. But as fai as con-
ventions went, in 985, °If you found manga it was only one dealei and it wasn`t tians-
lated."
3
The late 980s saw the beginning of licensed manga`s debut. Viz was the biggest playei
on the block, ieleasing some of the fist titles that would be associated with the manga pie-
millennium boom. Mai the Psychic Girl (987) and Akira (988, ieleased by Maivel`s impiint
Epic Comics) succeeded eaily. Viz also began tianslating Rumiko Takahashi`s woiks, with
Ium¯Urusei Yatsura (989), Ranma /2 (993), Maiscn Ikkcku (994) and Return cf Ium
(995).
°They used the Ameiican comic foimat which was pamphlet 8 × 0 size and they
'ßipped the pages,`" iecalls Wolfgaith-Simons of these eaily ieleases.
4
At the time, the log-
ical place foi manga to be sold was comic book shops and othei such specialty stoies. Aftei
the comics distiibution consolidation of 996, wheie Diamond Distiibutois gained a
monopoly on comics distiibution foi Maivel, DC, Daik Hoise and all mainstieam U.S.
comics, manga was distiibuted mostly to comic book ietaileis. They weie piinted as ßoppies
(thiity-two page comics, tiaditionally ieleased monthly) and occasionally tankbcn. Flop-
pies peisisted into the new millennium but weie not as economically viable as tankbcn.
Howevei, giound zeio of the manga boom was not the comic book stoies, but ietail
bookstoies. Some tankbcn, like Viz`s Battle Angel Alita and TOKYOPOP`s Sailcr Mccn,
made theii way into the big ietail chains Baines & Noble and Boideis. Aided at the tuin of
the millennium by the piesence of Sailcr Mccn, Gundam \ing, Tenchi Muyc and Drag-
cnball Z on the Caitoon Netwoik, Japanese anime style was gaining iecognition. And thanks
to the standaidization pioneeied by TOKYOPOP in 2002, the unßipped, 5 × 7.5", $9.99
foimat pioved a hit. TOKYOPOP`s pioduction fguies began to steeply inciease, fiom an
estimated 85 new volumes ieleased in 2002, to 230 new volumes ieleased in 2003, to 449
volumes ieleased in 2004. As geneial manga sales iose, so too lifted BL manga sales.
Boys` love has always been a iobust manga genie in the U.S. foi industiy distiibutois.
Paitially this was due to the delayed commeicial ielease of BL in the U.S., as compaied to
othei genies. Not only did a moie matuie maiket situation exist as compaied to Viz`s eaily
titles, fans often weie awaie of a seiies pie-ielease. Anothei factoi was the mass of mate-
iial available in Japan fiom which to select quality titles. Japan expeiienced a BL boom
in the eaily 990s, when male-male love, which began in the heait of the illegal maiket as
djinshi at Comiket, became commeicialized. In 994, nine magazines sold boys` love.
Just foui yeais latei, the numbei was up to thiity manga anthologies, ieleasing thiity
tankbcn a month. By 2003, the numbei of anthologies had not iisen, but the monthly out-
put had iisen to ninety volumes.
5
If those thiity volumes in 2003 had been ieleased by
TOKYOPOP instead, they would have iepiesented appioximately one thiid of all the pub-
lishei`s books.
Ameiican fans iecognized the glut of BL in Japan veisus its ielative scaicity in the U.S.
and helped each othei to the suiplus. In 2003, the fist BL scanlation gioups weie foiming.
Scanlation gioups did exist befoie 2003, of couise. A scanlatoi who wished to iemain
anonymous at Nakama, a gioup founded in 2003, identifed in an instant-messaging con-
veisation at least fve BL scanlation gioups alieady in existence at that time.
6
The yeais 2004-2008 saw a iise and fall of BL publisheis in the U.S., theii pattein mii-
ioiing the geneial tiend of manga publishing. Yaoi Piess, DMP`s June and 80 lines, Deux,
Diama Queen, and BLU all aiose duiing this peiiod. Each of these lines enjoyed success
on pai with mainstieam U.S. manga publisheis. In Yaoi Piess`s case, theii oiiginal English-
14 Pait One: Boys` Love and Global Publishing
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language books suipassed the success of othei oiiginal English-language manga, such as
TOKYOPOP`s ßoundeiing effoit. Still, BL companies weie hit haid by the economic down-
tuin in 2008, and like the iest of the industiy, sought suivival.
Capitalist vs. Gift Eccncmies
U.S. anime and manga companies developed out of a communal histoiy of exchange
between Japan and the U.S., exchange between fans and, eventually, between fans and indus-
tiy. This last ielationship developed as fans puichased anime and manga fiom ietaileis. But
theii inteiests having achieved commeicial °success," fans iefused to fade into the back-
giound and become tiaditional consumeis. Instead, anime fans negotiated theii gift-based
economy with the industiy`s capitalist system, in a mannei consistent with the compio-
mises between othei closely ielated capitalist and gift-based economies.
Fiench ethnogiaphei Mauiice Godeliei wiites, °Human society diew on two souices
foi its emeigence: contiactual exchange on the one hand, and non-contiactual tiansmis-
sion on the othei. And it continues to advance on these two legs, to iest on these two bases,
both of which aie equally necessaiy and exist only by means of one anothei."
7
Though a
cultuie may piactice the capitalist exchange of money foi goods-°contiactual exchange"-
at the same time, anothei foim of exchange may exist within that cultuie-gift-giving.
Capitalism, in which money is exchanged foi goods and seivices, is familiai to West-
eineis. But in the absence of capitalist exchange, as in pie-capitalist societies, a ßow of gifts
ensuies the distiibution of wealth. A numbei of scholais have chionicled gift-giving cul-
tuies aiound the woild, fiom the kula exchange in New Guinea to the potlatch of the Kwak-
iutl of the Ameiican Noithwest. These collected ethnogiaphies aie not a complete catalogue
of the woild`s vaiious gift-giving piactices. Although Godeliei`s objects of study weie pie-
capitalist cultuies in Austialia, Afiica, Indonesia and Ameiica, neaily all cultuies piactice
gift economies even into the piesent day. Foi example, in the United States, Chiistmas and
biithdays centei aiound the exchange of gifts. Similaily, in Japan, on Valentine`s Day, giils
gift chocolate to boys they like. The boy accepts oi iejects hei chocolate and ietuins a
countei-gift of equal oi gieatei value on White Day.
In a like mannei, fandom, although engaged with capitalism, is also stiuctuied aiound
a pie-capitalist, gift-giving economy, especially diiven by fansubbeis and scanlatois.
Although many anime and manga fandoms opeiate in this fashion, boys` love fandom pio-
vides a paiticulaily ielevant case because of the tight focus of its fans and its ielatively new
intioduction to the U.S.
Cccperative Exchange
Maicel Mauss desciibes two types of gift-giving in his landmaik ethnogiaphy of the
gift, °Essai sui le don" (922); foims which I will teim coopeiative gift-giving and com-
petitive gift-giving.
Coopeiative exchange is the most pievalent foim in the West. In coopeiative exchange,
a gift is given fieely and without iespect to compensation. Though the gift necessaiily
enhances the social status of the givei, agonistic gift giving doesn`t attempt to ciush the
ieceivei with indebtedness. Instead, gift-giving stiengthens the bonds between the paitic-
-Gif t Versus Capitalist Eccncmies (DONOVAN) 15
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ipants. The eventual iecipiocity between the givei and the ieceivei foiges theii bond. It`s
haid to see fiee gift-giving molding a cultuie, but °¦i]ecipiocity is a foim of exchange,"
wiites scholai Maivin Haiiis, °that is piimaiily adapted to conditions in which the stim-
ulation of intensive extia pioductive effoit would have an adveise effect upon gioup sui-
vival."
8
In othei woids, giving gifts balances society. It keeps a society functioning by
pieventing the build-up of wealth, a soit of boostei shot against the hoaiding endemic of
capitalism. Instead, wealth is always in ßux, woven thiough a community`s peisonal iela-
tionships. One of the ieasons continual gifting is assuied is because a gift, if kept, impiis-
ons the ieceivei with a debt. In a capitalist society, money can be given to iepay this debt.
In a pie-capitalist society, the debt is instead passed along, but along with it, the wealth of
the gift itself.
Oppoitunities foi coopeiative exchange aiise constantly in fan communities. Ameii-
can fans of BL in paiticulai foim thiiving Inteinet communities based aiound communi-
cation and fiee exchange. One populai exchange centei is the Web site Aaiinfantasy. This
massive hub with 60,000 membeis houses djinshi, games, manga, anime and anything
downloadable and ielated to BL. The exchange of mateiials is situated in the site`s foiums,
wheie fans can upload theii mateiials diiectly to the foium oi link off-site foi otheis to
download. The off-site links aie paiticulaily communal. Fans in possession of souice mate-
iial have the option of uploading it to a maximum numbei of fle-hosting sites (such as
Megaupload, YouSendIt, oi many otheis). Fans who download this fist souice fle have
the option to upload the fle to yet anothei fle-hosting site and adveitising the new down-
load iight alongside the oiiginal. In this mannei, fans aie °giving back" the gift that they`ve
been given.
Although seemingly pointless, this ie-gifting enhances social bonds. As obseived by
Godeliei, °the neaily immediate iecipiocation of the object given is peihaps the cleaiest
illustiation of the implicit logic of gifts which cieate debts that aie not cancelled by a
countei-gift. Foi the object which ietuins to its oiiginal ownei is nct 'given back´ but 'given
again.´°
9
Oi, as Lewis Hyde wiites of a Maoii hunting iitual in his book on gift-giving,
The Gift: °the foiest gives to the hunteis, the hunteis to the piiests and the piiests to the
foiest. At the end, the gift moves back fiom the thiid paity back to the fist."
20
In each exchange of the cycle, a gift is given without iegaid to ieceiving anything back;
yet, since a gift was given, one is assuied of ieceiving something back so long as the ciicle
of exchange iemains unbioken. That exchange of thiee is expanded to millions when applied
to a community. A ßuiiy of gifts is exchanged in the foim of fanfction, fanzines, fanait -
all fiee gifts to othei membeis of the community. On Aaiinfantasy, fans have the option to
°thank" the postei by clicking a °Thanks" button in the post. On the suiface, this looks like
a way foi consumeis to cancel theii debt. Theii useiname even becomes attached to the
post in a list of useis who °Say Thank You." But theie aie thiee paits to a iecipiocal
exchange: giving, acknowledgement/acceptance, and ietuining the gift. In the example of
Japanese Valentine`s Day, that`s the giving of the chocolate, the acceptance oi iejection of
it, and the ietuin gift made on White Day. But the thiid stage is not necessaiily a diiect
ietuin to the givei. Foi fans who don`t ie-upload the same mateiial to a new host, the even-
tual ietuin gift goes to the community in the foim of othei fan labois.
Aaiinfantasy`s Web site offeis seveial aieas foi fans to give back-whethei this is shai-
ing fanait in the Membei`s Galleiy oi offeiing suppoit, discussion oi inteiaction in the gen-
eial foiums. These gifts stiengthen the communal bonds. °¦A] gift establishes a feeling-bond
between two people," states Hyde.
2
Evidence of a moie iecipiocal foim of exchange and
16 Pait One: Boys` Love and Global Publishing
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bonding in the media fan ciicles is desciibed by Camille Bacon-Smith in Enterprising
\cmen: ¨Each ciicle has a coie of two to foui membeis. A typical gioup will include an
editoi oi editoiial team, seveial wiiteis, a giaphic aitist, a video aitist, one oi two photo-
copyists and one oi moie specialists in linking with souices of mateiials, including infoi-
mation and the pioducts of othei gioups."
22
She cites the ideal numbei at no moie than
ffteen. Of these individuals, nct cne is a puie consumei. Whethei wiiting fanfcs, doing
manual laboi of photocopying oi maintaining communications, eveiy membei of the media
fan ciicle is both a consumei and pioducei-an active paiticipant in an economy. And they
aie involved in each otheis` lives, too. She wiites, °¦T]he fan women tiavel extensively to
visit with one anothei in small gioups. They maintain long-teim intense fiiendships,"
23
concluding some of these fans °fnd in the community of enteipiising women theii only
souice of social ielationships and communal suppoit."
24
Besides Aaiinfantasy, othei Web hubs cuiiently piovide laige-scale shaiing of BL
woiks, with a gieatei emphasis on fan paiticipation than distiibution. Y!Galleiy, a site ded-
icated to shaiing oiiginal woiks, Fanfction.net, wheie BL fction wiiteis can post theii sto-
iies, and the Web sites LiveJouinal and DeviantAit, whose customizable spaces encouiage
the development of niche communities-all have been colonized by BL fandom commu-
nities. Of paiticulai inteiest is the site LiveJouinal, wheie fans can cieate in miniatuie much
the same hub as Aaiinfantasy, but tailoied to theii paiticulai fandom oi paiiing. Role-
playing, wheie fans can act out adventuies as theii favoiite chaiacteis, can also be located
on LiveJouinal. Lastly, theie aie scanlation Web sites, the homes and oiiginal distiibution
centeis of tianslated scans. These sites function less like a maiketplace than Aaiinfantasy,
although they piovide the pioducts to be exchanged.
Lewis Hyde suggested that an object must keep ciiculating to be a gift. °¦A] gift must
always be used up, consumed, eaten. The gift is piopeity that peiishes."
25
Peei-to-peei fle
shaiing ensuies that even though one peison °consumes" a copy, they aie also passing it to
anothei. The ciiculation of fan cieations invigoiates the fandom into both consuming and
cieating fuithei. Hyde notes, °¦W]hen a pait of the self is given away, the community
appeais."
26
In othei woids, the °debt" incuiied when fans °invest" in theii woik is passed
along when the woik is consumed. By continually distiibuting the woik, the debt, and
wealth, is also passed along.
Ccmpetitive Exchange
Though less familiai to the West, an extieme foim of gift-giving exists in economies
based aiound competitive exchange. The Kwakiutl of the Ameiican Noithwest offei a clas-
sic example of competitive exchange. The wealthy tiibes of the sea coast developed an
extieme foim of competitive gift-giving called the potlatch. Impoitant chiefs thiew pot-
latches to cement theii status, liteially thiowing away theii iiches to establish theii wealth.
Duiing an impiessive feast, the chief gave away untold iiches. Blankets and foodstuffs weie
distiibuted to the guests, and in some potlatches, the chief even buined his house down to
shed his mateiial possessions. By cieating such a laige debt foi the benefciaiies of his chai-
ity, the ostentatious chief maintained his status. Though he lost many mateiial possessions
in the gift-giving, he gained piestige and with it his wealth ietuined. Until anothei chief
gave away even moie, the givei held the highest status.
The same status-oiiented, competitive-exchange mindset can be said to be at woik
-Gif t Versus Capitalist Eccncmies (DONOVAN) 17
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among the eaily fans whose connections in Japan, oi whose Japanese language skills, gave
them moie access to the mateiial. On the suiface, the eaily fan laboieis who botheied with
postage to get tapes fiom oveiseas, oi who painstakingly tianslated movies oi episodes and
distiibuted photocopies at cons foi a few dollais, weie magnanimous souls. But below the
suiface, as fan histoiian Leonaid wiites, °Authois of these booklets weie inteiested in moie
than the $3 a book: they wanted the piestige within the anime fan community of publish-
ing something that all Ameiican fans would want."
27
By the mid-990s, both anime and manga had biithed ßedging industiies in the U.S. Fans
founded and staffed the companies; foi example, scanlatoi Alexis Kiisch became TOKYOPOP`s
acquisitions editoi, and Toien V. Smith, an eaily tianslatoi, founded Studio Pioteus. Fai fiom
being a peculiai phenomenon in anime, Camille Bacon-Smith obseives of science fction cul-
tuie: °with the exception of two oi thiee people who began ieading in college, all those I intei-
viewed foi this book, including eveiy industiy woikei ... weie ieading science fction avidly
by the time they weie fouiteen."
28
Foi many eaily anime fans, this was a iealization of theii
dieam to distiibute anime to the woild. That goal was still fist and foiemost in theii minds-
but iunning a successful business was haidly secondaiy. It could be said that these fans had
tiaded in fan piestige and gift-giving economies to move into a capitalist system.
The fact is, howevei, that although foi some a fan hobby matuied into a job, the intei-
nal hieiaichy of the fan community itself did not change. Fans did not seek to become pio-
fessionals in oidei to give back, oi to gain piestige, even while adopting the new system of
buying anime at Best Buy and manga at Boideis. The idea of giving back became encapsu-
lated in the concept of °piomotion." In the eaily days of the fandom, piomotion consisted
of exposing as many people as possible to anime. Eaily fan distiibutoi James Renault iecalls
of the 980s, °Back then, the motivation was just to get anime to the masses."
29
The C/FO,
too, wanted mass distiibution: °C/FO chapteis only sent mateiial to people who ieally
wanted anime and who would shaie it with othei close fiiends.... Show it to all of youi
fiiends in oidei to piomote Japanese animation."
30
The Society foi the Piomotion of Japanese Animation, the council that opeiates Anime
Expo, explicitly states °piomotion" in its name and fuithei explicates the non-pioft natuie
of the boaid and the council`s goals in theii mission statement: °The Society foi the Pio-
motion of Japanese Animation (SPJA) is a non-pioft oiganization with a mission to pop-
ulaiize and educate the Ameiican public about anime and manga, as well as piovide a
foium to facilitate communication between piofessionals and fans."
3
Scanlation sites tout the ihetoiic of °piomotion" as well. Considei the intioductions
of these BL scanlation sites:
Oui main puipose is to piomote manga to the English speaking community that doesn`t
have access to them.-Aku Tenshi
32
Oui aim in pioviding these scanlations is to intioduce you to the authoi`s woik and
hopefully inteiest you.-Obsession
33
We`ie only scanlating manga to piomote them and to make them moie known.-Game
Ovei oi Continue
34
Sakura-Crisis is a non-pioft scanlation site dedicated to biinging lessei-known manga
to the attention of the English speaking community.-Sakuia-Ciisis
35
We aie a gioup dedicated to intioducing woiks in Japanese women`s oiiented adult
comics to the English speaking community in the foim of tianslations set into hand-
edited scans.... ¦U]ltimately oui piojects will encouiage visitois to suppoit the mangaka
by buying theii own copies of theii woiks.-Shi-Ran
36
18 Pait One: Boys` Love and Global Publishing
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Thiough the unique and vaiied inteiests of oui talented staff, we hope oui choices
continue to expose the English-speaking Yaoi Fan Community to new, piovocative and
haid-to-fnd unlicensed woik.-Nakama
37
Oui goal is to biing attention and manga that otheiwise would go unknown to the
English-speaking woild.-Beautiful Soup
38
Although enthusiasm suiiounds these pioclamations of piomotion, the coie may have
moie to do with self-piomotion. Each consumei of the gioup`s waies ends up in theii debt.
Like the Kwakiutl chiefs, the distiibutois of anime, manga and scanlations give away gifts
that the iecipients aie incapable, oi iaiely capable, of iepaying. Without similai tiansla-
tion oi mateiial-gatheiing abilities, the consumeis cannot oveicome theii lowei status. An
example of an unpaid debt can be seen in Papua New Guinea.
The people of the Madang coast exhibit a seemingly bizaiie behavioi. Yeai aftei yeai,
decade aftei decade, they wait foi caigo planes to aiiive. The aiistiip is built, but ship-
ments of food, clothing and modein amenities have yet to aiiive. In his book Ccws, Pigs,
\ars and \itches, Maivin Haiiis aigues that this behavioi is a coiiuption of the gift-giv-
ing system. In Papua New Guinea, the natives weie enslaved by waves of conquest -Rus-
sian, Geiman, Austialian-who sought to keep the natives they enslaved docile with gifts.
The island`s people woiked haid and expected to be iewaided. They aie waiting this day
foi the caigo planes to biing them theii iewaid.
Just as the Papua New Guinea natives considei themselves owed a debt, fansubbeis
also considei a debt to be owed to them. They believe they laboied piomoting anime
and deseive °caigo." Hcwever, they dcn´t ever want the cargc tc arrive. If fansubbeis` gifts
weie to be iecipiocated, and the debt to them cancelled, it would mean the end of theii
status and piestige. If an unpaid debt is a sign of gieat piestige, as it is in the case of the
Kwakuitl chieftains, then the best way to maintain status is to keep otheis indebted. This
is wheie the economics of fans clash with the economics of industiy, because industiy is
ietuining the gift. It has taken °piomotion" to such a level that it is achieving the wide-
spiead conveision of new fans. The foimei giveis aie being placed in the position of con-
sumei.
Fans who do not want to acknowledge theii gift of manga iepaid by industiy fnd fault
with the pioducts the industiy piovides. Foi example, among the many possible faults in
manga iepioduction-pooi image iepioduction, sub-pai papei oi binding quality, shoddy
copyediting-the tiait that fans most often taiget is °authenticity." In 2002, TOKYOPOP
began stamping all theii books with °00% Authentic Manga." In this way, it seveied ties
to the companies in the past that °butcheied" anime, lending itself legitimacy. But it left
itself open to fan ciiticisms about tianslations and ovei-ieaching adaptations. One °inau-
thentic" piactice is name Anglicization. Foi example, Rcbctech`s Misa Hayase became Lisa
Hayes, and Hikaiu Ichijyo became Rick Huntei. In anothei example, TOKYOPOP caught
ßak fiom fans in 2002 foi Anglicizing the names of Initial D chaiacteis, geneiating a fan
fasco and subsequent coipoiate lettei of explanation in defense.
39
Anothei piactice is lan-
guage adaptations that catei too closely to Westein tastes, in paiticulai those that evoke
Westein pop cultuie. Though many U.S. fans cannot iead Japanese, it takes only cuisoiy
knowledge to iealize Japanese teenageis aien`t likely to shop at populai Ameiican stoies
and eat typical Ameiican foods. Such blatant edits no longei exist, foi the most pait, and
so fans concentiate on smallei infiactions, such as oveily slangy speech. Foi puiists, anime
and manga must be fiee of these localization techniques to be °authentic."
-Gif t Versus Capitalist Eccncmies (DONOVAN) 19
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Reciprccity
Despite this common ciiticism, duiing the °Fansubs: Death of Anime" panel, the con-
cept of °authenticity" was piimaiily absent fiom the discussion. Instead, the industiy and
fan iepiesentatives cited lag time between an episode`s ielease in Japan and its ielease in
the U.S. as the majoi engine poweiing fansubs. In the case of manga, some scanlation gioups
have ietouched and uploaded chapteis fiom Shnen }ump the same day the mateiial went
on sale. It was possible in 2008 to have neai-instantaneous access to Japan`s fiesh content.
Industiy iepiesentatives weien`t quite piepaied to absolve theii debt to fan piomot-
eis, but theii woids weie less than supplicating. °Back when theie weie, you know, when
nothing was out heie, it spiead the woid," said Lance Heiskell of FUNimation. °Gioups
would piomo anime, but now the fansubbeis have become moie of a status pioject. It had
a use in the 80s, but that use has pietty much ian its couise." Adds Justin Sevakis of Anime
News Netwoik, °Fiom an industiy standpoint, fansubs have not been useful since the VHS
days."
40
Begiudgingly oi not, fans and industiy aie adapting to today`s paiticipatoiy and multi-
platfoim media cultuie. Foi instance, two million signed up the fist yeai when Viz iolled
out theii affoidable download-to-own piogiam in 2008. FUNimation and Bandai also
began stieaming and download-to-own piogiams, which have met with success. °I think
kids geneially wanna obey the law," states Axis Enteitainment`s Jeff Connei.
4
The fact that
legal distiibution systems in the U.S. have gained a foothold at all is the best evidence
towaids this asseition. In countiies like Koiea in the 990s, manga libiaiies seiiously eioded
piofts, to the degiee that manga cieatois entieated ieadeis in theii authoi`s notes to
puichase books iathei than boiiow them. And in 980s, °if ¦anime] went to China, it
was moie often than not on a 'piiate ship` oi thiough a tape dungeon" wiites Leonaid.
42
Despite the availability of fiee anime and manga, Ameiicans still buy what they can, heed-
ing to the tiue spiiit of the fansubbeis` disclaimei, °Cease distiibution when licensed in
youi aiea."
Thanks to technology, the landscape of distiibution has changed gieatly since the fist
days of fandom. To boiiow a teim fiom Heniy Jenkins, fans today live in a °conveigence
cultuie." Episodes of new populai anime can be viewed on Hulu, company Web sites,
YouTube channels, iTunes, Xbox and television. Manga is on cell phones. Fans can fnd
and paiticipate in communities with a few clicks of a mouse. Industiy`s cuiient challenge
is to pinpoint and catch the attention of °migiatoiy media audiences who will go almost
anywheie in seaich of the kinds of enteitainment expeiiences they want," as Jenkins wiites.
43
Technology is fnally catching up to the point wheie devices can suppoit the web of intei-
activity that anime and manga fans have long piacticed. Foi boys` love fans, specifcally, the
giowth of Inteinet hubs like Aaiinfantasy ensuies that boys` love fans aie still on the cut-
ting edge of negotiating the limits of paiticipatoiy cultuie. As options foi expiessions
inciease thiough technology, the passion foi piomotion and continued gifting long exem-
plifed by anime and manga fans will only giow along with it.
Nctes
1. °Histoiy," Sakuia-Con, http://www.sakuiacon.oig/aboutus/histoiy.php; °Histoiy: Stats," Otakon,
http://www.otakon.com/histoiy_stats.asp; °FAQ," Anime-Expo, http://www.anime-expo.oig/geneial-info
imation/faq/; °Yaoi-Con," Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.oig/wiki/Yaoi-Con.
20 Pait One: Boys` Love and Global Publishing
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2. Fiedeiik Schodt, Manga! Manga! The \crld cf }apanese Ccmics (Japan: Kodansha, 983), 6.
3. Ibid., 67.
4. Dave Meiill, °Stai Blazeis Chionicles: Anime Fandom Texas Style. The Histoiy of the EDC," The
Offcial Website of the Stai Blazeis Animated Seiies, http://www.staiblazeis.com/html.php:page_id·235.
5. Dave Meiill, °Let`s Buy Anime Stuff -80s Style!" Let`s Anime, http://letsanime.blogspot.com/.
6. Tavisha Wolfgaith-Simons, email message to authoi, Novembei 2, 2008.
7. Camille Bacon-Smith, Enterprising \cmen (Philadelphia: Univeisity of Pennsylvania Piess, 992), 6.
8. Sean Leonaid, °Piogiess Against the Law: Fan Distiibution, Copyiight and the Explosive Giowth of
Japanese Animation," http://mit.edu/seantek/www/papeis/, 8.
9. Ibid., 0.
10. Ibid., 7.
11. Ibid., 4.
12. Wolfgaith-Simons, email message to authoi, Novembei 6, 2008.
13. Wolfgaith-Simons, email message to authoi, Novembei 9, 2008.
14. Ibid.
15. Mizoguchi Akiko, °Male-male Romance by and foi Women in Japan: A Histoiy and the Subgenies of
Yaoi Fictions," U.S.-}apan \cmen´s }curnal 25 (2003): 57.
16. Nakama Manga, instant-messaging coiiespondence, Novembei 3, 2008.
17. Mauiice Godeliei, The Enigma cf the Gift (Gieat Biitain: Univeisity of Chicago Piess, 999), 36.
18. Maivin Haiiis, Ccws, Pigs, \ars and \itches. The Riddles cf Culture (New Yoik: Vintage Books, 989), 26.
19. Godeliei, The Enigma, p. 44.
20. Lewis Hyde, The Gift. Imaginaticn and the Erctic Iife cf Prcperty (New Yoik: Vintage Books, 983), 8.
21. Ibid., 56.
22. Bacon-Smith, Enterprising \cmen, 27.
23. Ibid., 284.
24. Ibid., 285.
25. Hyde, The Gift, 8.
26. Ibid., 92.
27. Leonaid, Prcgress Against the Iaw, .
28. Camille Bacon-Smith, Science Ficticn Culture (Philadelphia: Univeisity of Philadelphia Piess, 2000).
29. Leonaid, Prcgress Against the Iaw, 5.
30. Ibid., 6.
31. °About," Society foi the Piomotion of Japanese Animation, http://www.spja.oig/about/.
32. °Aku Tenshi FAQ," Aku Tenshi, http://www.aku-tenshi.com/faq.php.
33. °Fiequently Asked Questions," Obsession, http://ob-session.blogspot.com/2005/08/fiequent-asked-
questions-what-aie.html.
34. °Disclaimei," Game Ovei oi Continue, http://gooc.susanne-wenzel.de/index2.php:site·disclaimei.
35. Sakuia-Ciisis homepage, http://sakuiaciisis.ukepile.com/.
36. °Mission Statement," Shi-Ran, http://shi-ian.cjb.net/.
37. Nakama homepage, http://nakamanga.com/.
38. °Infoimation," Beautiful Soup, http://soup.umi-soia.com/:page_id·94.
39. °Tokyopop Open Lettei iegaiding Initial D," Anime News Netwoik, http://www.animenewsnet
woik.com/news/2002-07-3/tokyopop-open-lettei-iegaiding-initial-d.
40. °Fansubs: Death of Anime." Panel at Anime Expo, July 2008. http://www.animenewsnetwoik.com/con-
vention/2008/anime-expo/industiy-ioundtable-fansubs-the-death-of-anime.
41. °Fansubs: Death of Anime."
42. Leonaid, Prcgress Against the Iaw, 26.
43. Heniy Jenkins, Ccnvergence Culture. \here Cld and New Media Ccllide (New Yoik: New Yoik Univei-
sity Piess, 2008), 2.
Biblicgraphy
°About." Society foi the Piomotion of Japanese Animation. http://www.spja.oig/about/ (accessed Nov. 3,
2008).
°Aku Tenshi FAQ." Aku Tenshi. http://www.aku-tenshi.com/faq.php (accessed Nov. 4, 2008).
Bacon-Smith, Camille. Enterprising \cmen. Philadelphia: Univeisity of Pennsylvania Piess. 992.
_____. Science Ficticn Culture. Philadelphia: Univeisity of Philadelphia Piess. 2000.
-Gif t Versus Capitalist Eccncmies (DONOVAN) 21
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°Fansubs: Death of Anime." Panel at Anime Expo, July 2008. http://www.animenewsnetwoik.com/conventi
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Godeliei, Mauiice. The Enigma cf the Gift. Gieat Biitain: Univeisity of Chicago Piess, 999.
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°Infoimation." Beautiful Soup. http://soup.umi-soia.com/:page_id·94 (accessed Nov. 4, 2008).
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nese Animation." http://mit.edu/seantek/www/papeis/ (accessed Aug. 2, 2008).
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_____. °Stai Blazeis Chionicles: Anime Fandom Texas Style. The Histoiy of the EDC." The Cffcial \ebsite
cf the Star Blazers Animated Series. http://www.staiblazeis.com/html.php:page_id·235 (accessed Nov. 0,
2008).
°Mission Statement." Shi-Ran. http://shi-ian.cjb.net/ (accessed Nov. 4, 2008).
Mizoguchi, Akiko. °Male-male iomance by and foi women in Japan: a histoiy and the subgenies of Yaoi
fctions." U.S.-}apan \cmen´s }curnal 25 (2003): 49-75.
Nakama homepage. http://nakamanga.com/ (accessed Nov. 4, 2008).
Sakuia-Ciisis homepage. http://sakuiaciisis.ukepile.com/ (accessed Nov. 4, 2008).
Schodt, Fiedeiik. Manga! Manga! The \crld cf }apanese Ccmics. Japan: Kodansha. 983.
°Tokyopop Open lettei iegaiding Initial D." Anime News Netwoik. http://www.animenewsnetwoik.
com/news/2002-07-3/tokyopop-open-lettei-iegaiding-initial-d (Accessed Octobei 2, 2008).
°Yaoi-Con." Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.oig/wiki/Yaoi-Con (accessed June 29, 2009).
22 Pait One: Boys` Love and Global Publishing
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Fiom BRAVC to
Animexx.de to Expoit
Capitalizing cn German Bcys´ Icve Fandcm,
Culturally, Sccially and Eccncmically
PAUL M. MALONE
The woildwide ciaze foi manga came late to Geimany. Tianslated manga fist appeaied
in Geiman in the 980s-one volume of Nakazawa Keiji`s Barefcct Gen (oiiginally Hadashi
nc Gen) appeaied as Barefcct thrcugh Hircshima. A Picture-Stcry Against \ar, and Ishi-
nomoii Shtai`s }apan, Inc. (Manga Nihcn keizai nymcn) was also tianslated

-but they
weie published foi theii political oi economic messages by piesses with little oi no con-
nection to Geimany`s small comics industiy oi its audience, and they failed to make much
of an impiession. The appeaiance of the fist volume of tomo Katsuhiio`s Akira also ini-
tially failed to attiact a laige Geiman ieadeiship, although the publishei, comics-oiiented
Cailsen Veilag, at least continued to publish succeeding volumes of the seiies until sales
impioved. Duiing this same peiiod, by compaiison, othei Euiopean countiies, such as
Fiance, Italy and Spain, weie alieady impoiting and tianslating manga and giving biith to
lively fan communities.
2
Only in the late 990s did the Geiman maiket fnally open up to manga, thanks to two
concuiient developments: fist, the aiiival of piivate, commeicial television netwoiks in
Geimany, with piogiamming houis to fll and adveitising time to sell -as opposed to the
pieviously established non-commeicial, state-iun bioadcasteis-led to a huge inßux of iel-
atively cheaply impoited foieign piogiamming, including dubbed veisions of Japanese
anime caitoon seiies, which quickly became populai with young vieweis. As had pievi-
ously happened in othei countiies, these seiies weie often linked to collateial meichandise
in the foim of toys, costumes, games, collectibles-and ultimately the manga comics that
had inspiied the television seiies in the fist place. On this basis, manga now enteied Gei-
man cultuial consciousness as a categoiy distinct fiom Westein-style comics, with its own
aesthetic expectations, and °manga" was adopted into the Geiman language as a loan-woid.
3
Thus the RTL 2 netwoik`s acquisition of the seiies Sailcr Mccn and Dragcn Ball, which
began aiiing in spiing of 997 and late 998 iespectively to become iunaway hits, led in
tuin to the success of the licensed veisions of the oiiginal manga seiies, Naoko Takeuchi`s
Sailcr Mccn and Akiia Toiiyama`s Dragcn Ball-the lattei of which was also the fist
impoited manga to be piinted in Japanese-style, iight-to-left ieading oidei, which quickly
became the noim as a sign of manga authenticity.
4
So, too, despite the fact that Cailsen`s
Akira had appeaied as laigei-size papeibacks similai to Ameiican giaphic novels oi Fiench
bande dessinee albums, the usual foimat of publication iapidly settled on a small papeiback
digest foimat similai to the Japanese tankbcn.
23
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The second impoitant development at the end of the 990s was the viitual collapse of
the Geiman domestic comics maiket: ovei-iapid expansion and maiket glut, combined with
the lingeiing iecession in a post-ieunifcation Geimany and the small, aging (and ovei-
whelmingly male) ieadeiship of tiaditional Westein comics, led to a sudden downtuin in
sales that bankiupted seveial smallei publisheis and left the suiviving laigei fims stiug-
gling foi lifelines.
5
The only giowth aiea in the maiket was manga, which diew a geneially
youngei demogiaphic and appealed to giils as much as to boys; and so the iemaining pub-
lisheis, chießy the °big thiee," Cailsen Veilag, Egmont Ehapa Veilag and Panini Veilag,
6
capitalized heavily on this new teiiitoiy to cieate a Geiman manga boom that quickly giew
into millions of euio in sales pei yeai.
Manga. Fcundaticn cf a New Indigencus Ccmics Scene
In oidei to keep the industiy aßoat, it would have been suffcient in the shoit teim,
and ceitainly cheapei, meiely to license and impoit Japanese manga. Howevei, a signifcant
weakness of the Geiman comics industiy had always been its histoiical dependence on
piopeities fiom abioad; theie had nevei been a ciitical mass of successful indigenous comics
aitists, and thus the Geiman publisheis had a long tiadition of licensing mateiial fiom the
U.S. (fist Disney, and latei supeiheio comics) and fiom othei Euiopean countiies (pii-
maiily Fianco-Belgian comics, but also including Italian and Spanish piopeities), with lit-
tle oi no ability to expoit Geiman comics in ietuin.
7
Seeing an oppoitunity to iediess this
imbalance, the majoi publisheis that have the most stake in the long-teim health of the
Geiman comics industiy, Egmont and Cailsen-and, since 2004, the Geiman bianch of
TOKYOPOP
8
-have invested in theii futuie by capitalizing on the stiongly paiticipatoiy
natuie of manga fandom: using contests and inteinships, they began nuituiing local Gei-
man manga aitists and offeiing them oppoitunities to publish theii woik piofessionally.
(The Italian-owned Panini Veilag, in contiast, has instead concentiated on impoited mate-
iial alone undei its Planet Manga impiint, and on its Ameiican licenses foi the DC and
Maivel supeiheioes, as well as The Simpscns.)
The fist home-giown Geiman manga aitists weie men, such as Juigen Seebeck, Robeit
Labs, and Sascha Nils Maix; howevei, foi a vaiiety of ieasons, neithei Seebeck`s two-vol-
ume Blccdy Circus, Labs`s two piematuiely canceled seiies Dragic Master and Crewman 3,
noi Maix`s single completed volume of Naglaya´s Heart, sciipted by Stefan Voss, weie able
to captuie theii intended shnen ieadeiship. Seebeck`s woik, despite the pedigiee of being
pieviously published in Japan, was too diffeient fiom what was seen as authentic Japanese
manga, while Labs`s and Maix`s seiies, ovei and above theii inability to maintain consis-
tent quality while meeting deadlines, weie too deiivative of the laige numbei of impoited
shnen manga, which made the diffeience in quality that much moie appaient.
9
The Geiman publisheis then tuined to embiace the giowing new female ieadeiship
that manga had attiacted, and began fosteiing young women aitists. As a iesult, the majoi-
ity of the small gioup of Geiman manga aitists now consists of women in theii late teens
oi eaily twenties, most of whom follow the conventions of populai shjc manga.
0
This
stiategy has thus led to a miniatuie home-giown shjc boom: though it may be small iel-
ative to the amount of impoited Japanese manga, the iesult is that theie aie now moie
female Geiman comics aitists in piint than evei befoie in histoiy. A side-effect has been
the piomotion as aitists of fist- and second-geneiation immigiants to Geimany, mostly
24 Pait One: Boys` Love and Global Publishing
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of eithei Asian oi Eastein Euiopean backgiound, and so home-giown Geiman manga have
become an even moie conspicuously multicultuial pioduct.

The unpiecedented economic

and cultuial impoitance of this small gioup of aitists is undeilined by a statement by Mai-
tin Juigeit, cuiatoi of an exhibition on Geiman comics histoiy at the Wilhelm Busch
Museum in Hannovei: °These aitists, with theii sales and the choid they`ve stiuck among
ieadeis, have the best economic conditions that the coming geneiation of comics in Gei-
many have evei had."
2
The coiollaiy of this impoitance, howevei, is that despite the
immense populaiity of a small gioup of impoited shnen manga, the Geiman comics indus-
tiy is cuiiently dependent specifcally upon shjc manga, whethei impoited oi home-giown,
to a degiee viitually unique in the West.
Bcys´ Icve, Yaci and the Fantasy cf Egalitarian Rcmance
One conventional aspect of the shjc manga phenomenon that aiiived in the wake of
this manga boom is the small but impoitant subgenie vaiiously desciibed as °boys` love,"
°BL," yaoi, oi shnen-ai (the last two being the most commonly used teims in Geimany):
the depiction of homoeiotic ielationships between andiogynous bishnen oi °beautiful
boys," who-paiticulaily in theii contempoiaiy Japanese cultuial context -combine tia-
ditionally male social fieedoms with a steieotypically feminine appeaiance and sensitivity.
This subgenie had aiisen in Japan in the 970s, when a newly emeiging geneiation of female
manga aitists (including Hagio Moto, Ikeda Riyoko, Takemiya Keiko) tuined to such depic-
tions in oidei to peimit female authois and ieadeis alike to pioject themselves into the
ioles of the stoiies` male piotagonists, thus shaiing a fantasy of °peifect iomance," sup-
posedly unclouded by the powei diffeiential between men and women in ieal Japanese soci-
ety.
3
Nonetheless, the homosexual ielationships in boys` love manga, as well as those in
the latei and moie explicit yaoi manga, aie seldom if evei entiiely even-handed, thanks to
the complex stiuctuie of Japanese society and its social notions of powei diffeientials based
on age as well as gendei.
Yaoi developed among Japan`s djinshi, oi amateui comics, ciicles in the late 970s,
when boys` love had lost its novelty. Djinshi often appiopiiate chaiacteis fiom established
manga to paiodic ends, and yaoi paiodied the iomantic and idealized natuie of boys` love
by concentiating on homosexual sex at the expense of plot; hence its name, a contiaction
of the Japanese yama nashi, cchi nashi, imi nashi (°No climax, no iesolution, no mean-
ing").
4
By cutting the chaiactei constellation of boys` love down to its baie essentials, yaoi
emphasized the fact that within these couples, °the idea that sex is necessaiily something
that the dominant paitnei 'does` to the submissive paitnei is caiiied ovei fiom depictions
of sex between men and women oi senioi and junioi men in mainstieam and gay media";
this ielationship is codifed by iefeiiing to the oldei and moie aggiessive paitnei as the
seme (deiived fiom a veib meaning °to attack") and the youngei, moie submissive paitnei
as the uke (liteially, the °ieceivei").
5
Geneially, in the West, including Geimany, yaoi is
now iegulaily used to distinguish moie sexually explicit iepiesentations of homoeioticism
fiom shnen-ai, which focuses moie on iomance, iegaidless of the mateiial`s status as fan-
pioduced oi piofessional; both teims aie now somewhat outdated in Japanese usage.
6
Yaoi in its oiiginal, paiodic foim beais obvious similaiities to the eiotic fan-fction
pioduced by Westeineis known as °slash" (fiom the maik that both sepaiates and binds,
foi instance, °Kiik/Spock"), in which alieady established fctional woilds such as those of
-Frcm BRAVO tc Animexx.de tc Expcrt (MALONE) 25
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Star Trek, Starsky and Hutch, oi Haiiy Pottei seive as the backdiop foi theii chaiacteis to
play out scenaiios of open homoeioticism.
7
Indeed, the majoi diffeience between slash and
yaoi, as both Matthew Thoin and Andiea Wood have pointed out, lies less in theii condi-
tions of pioduction and consumption-both tend to be cieated and iead piimaiily by
women-than iathei in the fact that while the foimei iemains geneially both legally and
cultuially maiginalized in the West, the lattei has evolved into a commeicially published
mainstieam mass cultuial foim in Japan.
8
This diffeience aside, it haidly seems unwai-
ianted to conclude that despite steieotypes of Japan as a moie hidebound and iepiessive
society than the West in teims of gendei ielations, many young women, Westeineis and
Japanese alike, shaie a stiong sense of °discontent with the standaids of femininity to which
they aie expected to adheie," and even °despaii of evei achieving equal ielationships with
men in a sexist society."
9
These feelings, among otheis, help motivate them to cieate and
consume mateiial featuiing idealized men in ielatively egalitaiian homosexual ielation-
ships.
20
BRAVO, Sexual ¨Enlightenment,° and
Rcmanticized Hcmcsexuality
It would be suipiising if young women in Geimany weie to be exceptional in teims
of theii expeiience of the social gendei dynamic, and indeed a 997 study by Maieike Hei-
imann found that °Geiman giils suffei similaily, if not moie, fiom unequal, disciimina-
toiy tieatment in schools and widespiead low self-esteem as do Ameiican giils," and aie
well awaie that they aie undei constant social °piessuie to 'do the iight thing`" in teims of
behavioi (ideally, °good") and achievement (usually, mediocie and infeiioi to that of boys).
2
Unlike Ameiican giils, howevei, Geiman giils had foi yeais had access to an outlet in the
media that peifoimed some, though ciucially not all, of the functions of boys` love oi yaoi
manga: the giils` magazine BRAVC.
BRAVC, founded in August 956 as a weekly devoted to flm and television news, soon
expanded its focus to populai music, which eventually came to dominate its enteitainment
pages and fll half the magazine. Although BRAVC thus came supeifcially to iesemble
Ameiican magazines such as Tiger Beat (founded in 965), the Geiman magazine is in fact
°unique in its content and, moie impoitant, in its long histoiy and the immense populai-
ity it continues to enjoy among teenageis, especially giils."
22
This is because fiom 96 on,
BRAVC devoted evei moie space to advice columns and questions of Auf klürung (liteially,
°enlightenment," but often used in Geiman as a synonym foi °sex education"), becoming
incieasingly fiank in its discussion of sexuality. Despite BRAVC`s obvious status as a main-
stieam media pioduct and its essential conseivatism in espousing tiaditional gendei ioles
and noims of heteiosexual iomance, its sexual explicitness has made it contioveisial foi
much of its existence; and foi many ieadeis, including Heiimann heiself as a giil, ieading
BRAVC iepiesented and still iepiesents °a subveisive stiategy of iebellion against ... pai-
ents (and othei authoiity fguies)."
23
At the same time, the magazine`s coveiage of the pop-
ulai music scene has often allowed ieadeis °to expeiience powei vicaiiously thiough famous
pop stais" in a mannei that °might also explain why giils piefei andiogynous types of men
oi boys: it is easiei foi them to identify with boys who beai feminine chaiacteiistics than
with those who exhibit theii sexual diffeience thiough a moie manly appeaiance."
24
Kimbeily S. Giegson, desciibing Ameiican giils who aie fans of shjc anime, similaily
26 Pait One: Boys` Love and Global Publishing
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obseives, °Male pop stais, especially those with feminine featuies, can seive as piactice love
objects as young giils begin to think about being in a iomantic ielationship"; she then diaws
a diiect connection between these giils` attiaction to pop stais and theii inteiest in the
bishnen of shjc anime.
25
Paiticulaily in the case of the lattei topic, Giegson`s subjects pai-
ley theii accumulation of knowledge about cultuial backgiound, plots and favoiite chai-
acteis into °cultuial capital" within anime fandom (heie Giegson makes use of concepts
developed by John Fiske), and putting that capital °on display" in the foim of theii Web
sites.
26
Note, howevei, that the giils in Giegson`s study-all twenty-one oi youngei, and
thus slightly oldei than the Geiman BRAVC`s taiget ieadeiship-aie poitiayed as exclu-
sively °inteiested in iomance, not sex," and °giossed out" by the meie thought of sexually
explicit mateiial, which is only iefeiied to in teims of °poinogiaphy" oi the Japanese equiv-
alents, hentai oi ecchi.
27
The sex education mateiial in BRAVC, by contiast, ovei thiee decades ago began
including illustiative photogiaphs of °half-naked young people in love-making poses"
which iegulaily depict paitial oi full female (but not male) nudity.
28
As the magazine`s
ieadeiship ciystallized mainly to include giils between the ages of ten and seventeen, many
young Geiman giils came to look to BRAVC foi most oi even all of theii sexual education,
whethei against theii paients` will oi with theii tacit agieement -although nominally aimed
at all young people, in fact BRAVC is geneially iead by boys only suiieptitiously, and usu-
ally with somewhat diffeient motivations.
29
These facts would seem to indicate that at the
tuin of the twenty-fist centuiy, theie may have been a signifcant diffeience, on aveiage,
between the tastes, expeiience and expectations of young Ameiican female ieadeis and
those of theii Geiman counteipaits.
This diffeience is equally, but slightly diffeiently, evident in teims of mateiial dealing
with homosexuality. In Giegson`s study, bishnen aie desciibed solely in the context of theii
heteiosexual iomantic ielationships with theii iespective anime seiies` heioines, and with
the equally heteiosexual dynamic of the Ameiican fans` inteiest in the boy chaiacteis, which
incidentally seems to fai outweigh any identifcation on the fans` pait with the °kind, sweet"
giil piotagonists.
30
Homosexuality is passed ovei in complete silence; though the themes
of iape and incest that undeilie some shjc anime, such as Revcluticnary Girl Utena, aie
mentioned as being both peiceived and openly discussed among fans, neithei Giegson noi
hei infoimants evidence any awaieness of boys` love themes (unless they aie silently sub-
sumed undei the concept of hentai).
3
In contiast, BRAVC has indeed dealt with male homosexuality, if ielatively iaiely-
lesbianism, meanwhile, is viitually absent as a subject of °enlightenment." The magazine
has nonetheless tended to be compaiatively ieticent in its tieatment: instead of softcoie
depictions of lovemaking, which aie common in the magazine`s poitiayal of heteiosexual
ielationships, the ieadei is shown pictuies of kissing and cuddling, °making use of and evok-
ing the feminine codes of iomance" in a fashion °meant to appeal to a female ieadeiship"
while still ieinfoicing heteiosexual noims.
32
This idealized, affectionate and egalitaiian iep-
iesentation of homosexual ielationships, howevei, not only anticipates aspects of the ioman-
ticized powei dynamic in boys` love manga, but-in conjunction with the manufactuied
accessibility of the andiogynous, °sensitive" pop stais whose images aie offeied thiough-
out the magazine-also stands in maiked contiast to the cynical messages that BRAVC
sends iegaiding heteiosexual love in both its fctional stoiies and advice columns, °wheie
giils aie often advised to make themselves attiactive and available foi men to pievent them
fiom philandeiing; it is implied that it is theii fault if this should happen."
33
-Frcm BRAVO tc Animexx.de tc Expcrt (MALONE) 27
©

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BRAVO´s Failure. Escapism Instead cf Activism
Wheie BRAVC fails its ieadeis most, howevei, in Heiimann`s aigument, is in its appai-
ently piogiammatic °lack of involvement in the development of its ieadeis` talents and
inteiests;" they aie allowed to °expeiience powei vicaiiously" by ieading about pop stais,
but they aie not themselves empoweied theieby.
34
Remembeiing hei own youthful expe-
iience as an avid ieadei of BRAVC (which was foibidden in hei household due to its °boui-
geois consumei ideology" and °poinogiaphic content"), Heiimann iecalls the magazine
as °a companion that helped me escape into a woild of fantasy":
Although this was ultimately a lonely woild, my fascination with it was a shaied one,
connecting me with giilfiiends who also collected clippings and posteis of favoiite stais,
aiianged them in sciapbooks, and hung them on the walls of theii iooms. Just as
BRAVC alienated us fiom aspects of each othei`s iealities, it also connected us on the
level of fantasy.
35
Heiimann`s °loneliness" spiings in pait fiom the ielative isolation of hei activities:
although BRAVC gave hei the oppoitunity to engage in what Fiske calls °semiotic pioduc-
tivity" (the ieception and peisonal ieinteipietation of populai cultuie), and she deiived
some sense of community fiom being able to engage in °enunciative pioductivity" (face-
to-face discussion of such cultuie), Heiimann had-oi peiceived-no oppoitunity to
move beyond an extiemely localized fan community by engaging in °textual pioductivity,"
oi the pioduction of texts that appiopiiate elements of populai cultuie in a mannei that emu-
lates the aitistic (oi scholaily) pioductions of °offcial cultuie" and theii dissemination.
36
The diffeience between the young Maieike Heiimann`s expeiience of being a fan and
that of the young giils studied by Kimbeily Giegson is not explained simply by the fact that
in Heiimann`s youth, theie was no Woild Wide Web that would have allowed hei to dis-
play hei cultuial capital beyond the walls of hei ioom. Though BRAVC has its own Web
site nowadays, to a gieat extent it functions as though the Inteinet had nevei been invented
37
;
its ieadeis aie offeied populai cultuie infoimation, but they aie not piompted to leveiage
this infoimation into cultuial capital by means of the kind of active °textual pioductivity"
exemplifed by the Web sites of Giegson`s Ameiican giils.
38
They aie addiessed as fans but
given little motivation to paiticipate actively in a fandom, which in Fiske`s defnition °offeis
ways of flling cultuial lack and piovides the social piestige and self-esteem that go with
cultuial capital."
39
Only the sexual infoimation that they aie given in abundance is meant
to be implemented; and that only in oidei to appeal to men, who aie poitiayed as the ieally
active and pioductive membeis of society, and to stave off othei women who might com-
pete foi attention.
40
As a iesult, in questioning hei piesent-day infoimants, Heiimann
found that they weie geneially completely nonplussed and alienated by the question, °What
aie you good at:" In a mannei that Heiimann iecognized fiom hei own childhood, these
giils had almost nevei been encouiaged, eithei by the adults aiound them oi by °theii" pop-
ulai cultuie magazine, to cultivate hobbies oi inteiests foi theii own pleasuie and satisfac-
tion, oi to imagine futuie caieeis outside a naiiow spectium of tiaditionally °feminine"
and self-saciifcing occupations. This was paiticulaily tiue of woiking-class giils in tiade-
oiiented high school piogiams; middle-class students fiom Gymnasien (academic high
schools) had slightly bioadei and moie optimistic-though in some ways, also moie naïve-
outlooks.
4
Nonetheless, Heiimann aigues, many young Geiman women continue to take pleas-
uie in ieading BRAVC as an escape fiom a dieaiy ieality. And in many iespects, given its
28 Pait One: Boys` Love and Global Publishing
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focus on andiogynous pop stais and its dieamy iomanticization of homosexuality, it seems
quite possible that Geimany`s most populai teen magazine-at its height of populaiity in
the mid-990s, duiing Heiimann`s study, with sales of .26 million issues a week and issues
usually swapped among seveial ieadeis aftei sale, BRAVC`s ciiculation exceeded that of Gei-
many`s leading newsmagazine Der Spiegel
42
-may inadveitently have played a signifcant
iole in °piiming" a laige Geiman female ieadeiship foi the acceptance of the themes of
boys` love and yaoi manga to a degiee unthinkable in the Anglophone countiies.
¨Frcm Tckyc with Icve°. Early Reacticns
tc Bcys´ Icve in Germany
The fact that such a ieceptive audience did exist in Geimany became evident veiy
quickly: as eaily as July 2002-even as Geiman comics publisheis weie just beginning to
ieciuit local manga aitists-the libeial-leaning Der Spiegel, in a covei stoiy in its cultuial
supplement KulturSpiegel, diew its ieadeis` attention to the fact that manga had become
extiemely populai among young women and giils. Moieovei, the aiticle emphasized that
Japanese comics could be extiemely diiect in theii poitiayal of violence and sex (°The spec-
tium iuns fiom lifted skiits thiough to S/M," as one headline put it
43
), and paiticulaily of
homoeiotic themes. It would be extiemely naïve, of couise, to believe that comics in the
West, and especially in Euiope, had nevei shown violence, sex oi homosexuality; the shock-
ing element was appaiently the new ieadeiship, as implied by one of the aiticle`s iathei plain-
tive opening sentences: °Comics weie always men`s business (Münnersache)."
44
This sense
of shock may explain why, although the aiticle itself does make an attempt to contextual-
ize manga faiily, to explain the cultuial ioots of theii fiankness, and to diaw attention to
theii fiequent psychological and philosophical complexity, the issue`s covei nonetheless
scieams: °Liebesgiuss aus Tokio: Deutsche Mädchen sind ganz wild auf japanische Sex-
Comics" (°Fiom Tokyo with Love: Geiman Giils aie Totally Wild foi Japanese Sex
Comics"); while the illustiations, taken out of context and unciedited fiom seveial manga,
emphasize heteiosexual making out and female nudity in a mannei that would haidly be
out of place in BRAVC.
Boys` love had cleaily alieady begun to penetiate the Geiman maiket; the KulturSpiegel
aiticle mentions by name Ozaki Minami`s Zetsuai, the fist shnen-ai manga to appeai
offcially in Geiman tianslation, thanks to Cailsen; and competitoi Panini had eventually
followed suit with Ragawa Maiimo`s New Ycrk New Ycrk. Egmont would soon publish
kami Mineko`s Gekka kajin, as Iumen Iunae.
45
Despite the somewhat alaimist tone of
the KulturSpiegel iepoit, howevei, it would be a giave oveistatement to suggest that the
majoi publisheis weie iushing headlong into publishing boys` love stoiies. Even as late as
spiing 2006, in an inteiview with the fan Web site animePRO, Egmont`s managing editoi
Geoig Tempel admitted that until iecently, boys` love had not been a majoi focus of eithei
his own oi his competitois` publishing stiategies-in pait because Japanese shnen-ai manga
aie usually put out by smallei piesses that aie haidei to tiack down and negotiate with,
and in pait because comics publisheis, who geneially also pioduce books aimed at chil-
dien, have to be ciicumspect in dealing with eiotic mateiial, and it was diffcult fnding
boys` love manga that weie not too °haid-coie": °Whethei it`s Mickey Mouse at Egmont
oi Haiiy Pottei at Cailsen, it`s always unpleasant if a publishei that puts out pioducts foi
childien lands in the headlines on account of poinogiaphy."
46
-Frcm BRAVO tc Animexx.de tc Expcrt (MALONE) 29
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Nonetheless, all of the majoi publisheis weie incieasing theii small output of boys`
love manga, peihaps spuiied by the iecent aiiival on the scene of fuithei competition, in
the foim of the Geiman bianch of TOKYOPOP, which had been founded in 2004 well-
aimed with connections to Japanese publisheis and theii licenses. Relatively unfetteied by
any pie-existing image as a puiveyoi of childien`s liteiatuie, TOKYOPOP had alieady begun
both ieciuiting local Geiman manga aitists and publishing Japanese shnen-ai, staiting
with Takanaga Hinako`s Iittle Butterfy.
47
Fiom 2005 on, all foui majoi Geiman publish-
eis have thus steadily maintained a stable of boys` love piopeities-though Panini has
diopped to a distant fouith in teims of the size of its manga catalog, iegaidless of genie,
leaving the feld laigely to Cailsen, TOKYOPOP and Egmont, in ioughly that oidei. At the
same time, howevei, unlike theii Ameiican counteipaits, Geiman manga publisheis have
haidly attempted to cultivate ieadeiship among boys` love fans by setting up sepaiate
impiints compaiable to Cential Paik Manga`s °Be Beautiful" line in the U.S.,
48
oi by maik-
ing categoiies that would appeal to such an audience, othei than the moie geneiic °iomance"
oi °adult"-though both Cailsen and Egmont have a sepaiate heading on theii manga Web
sites foi °shnen-ai" oi °boys` love" (Cailsen uses the English teim), allowing an easy
oveiview of theii offeiings.
49
If foi the last few yeais the Geiman ieadeiship of manga, including the genie of boys`
love, have nonetheless been ielatively well seived by the majois as consumeis, the same can-
not be said foi home-giown cieatois of boys` love manga, whose oppoitunities to publish
with the laigei publisheis have so fai been few and fai between. Among Geiman-pioduced
manga, boy`s love was initially conspicuous by its absence, which was made even moie
obvious by stiategies such as explicit exclusion: Koiean-Geiman Judith Paik`s shjc ioman-
tic comedy Y Square, foi example, featuies a gay male piotagonist, Yagate, who admits to
fnding his schoolmate Yoshitaka attiactive. Paik, howevei, inseits a note in the same panel:
°Nonetheless, Y Square isn`t going to become a shcnen-ai!"
50
And suie enough, since Yoshi-
taka is stiaight but oafsh, Yagate selßessly pitches in to help him woo a young woman, Ju-
Jin.
Boy`s love was also played foi laughs, as in Lenka Buschova`s Freaky Angel, whose pio-
tagonist is Hikaii, a iathei scatteibiained angel chaiged with helping people who have
iomantic pioblems. Hei fist case is the neidy Satoshi, whose iomantic fxation on °Mi.
Sciubbei," the bioom he uses to clean his school classioom, is ievealed to be a sublima-
tion of his ciush on a female classmate named Ren. When Ren is unmasked as a boy in
diag, Satoshi is unpeituibed; but theii embiace piompts Hikaii to vomit, complaining,
°Does this have to be so kitschy:"
5
In the case of both stiategies, it is cleai that ieadeis aie
expected alieady to possess the necessaiy cultuial capital to know what shnen-ai means
and what its conventions aie, whethei those conventions aie about to be ignoied oi paio-
died.
Egmont Ehapa Veilag was ultimately the fist to publish a seiious oiiginal Geiman sh-
nen-ai, Chinese-boin Cheng Ying Zhou`s Shanghai Passicn, in 2005. In contiast -if not in
iesponse-to Paik`s declaiation in Y Square, which had appeaied only thiee months eai-
liei, the chaiacteis of Shanghai Passicn openly acknowledge that they aie living out a sh-
nen-ai manga; an anachionistically tongue-in-cheek comment, since the plot is set in 930s
China.
52
It took almost a yeai, howevei, befoie iival TOKYOPOP iesponded with its own
local talent, In the End by Pink Psycho, a team of two young men individually named Heath
and Nheiia.
53
The two publisheis have since then taken tuins: Diana Liesaus`s tale of Cam-
biidge students in love, Muscuka-the fist ongoing Geiman boys` love manga-began
30 Pait One: Boys` Love and Global Publishing
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appeaiing as an Egmont manga almost a yeai latei again, and the second continuing tale,
Anna Hollmann`s Stupid Stcry, was published by TOKYOPOP anothei six months aftei
that.
54
Cailsen, meanwhile, laigest of the majoi publisheis, has yet to ielease a home-giown
boys` love manga, though its Web site has announced Fianziska Steffen and Tina Lind-
hoist`s Chcuchin and two othei titles foi Febiuaiy 2009.
55
Animexx, the German Veiein Traditicn and Sccial Capital
This does not mean, howevei, that aspiiing Geiman manga aitists, paiticulaily those
who aie inteiested in boys` love, lack outlets foi theii cieativity. On the contiaiy: as Gieg-
son has pointed out in connection with the Ameiican shjc fans she desciibes, °The Web
makes it possible foi ... fans to be pait of the biggei and suppoitive online fan base."
56
And
in Geimany, a majoi online locus of both manga and anime fandom is Animexx, the Asso-
ciation of Fiiends of Anime and Manga (Verein der Anime- und Mangafreunde e.V.). Ani-
mexx was established in Januaiy 2000 as an eingetragener Verein (pluial Vereine), oi
iegisteied voluntaiy association, undei Geiman law in oidei to piomote Japanese populai
cultuie, in paiticulai manga and anime.
57
The association thus builds on a tiadition of Geiman populai cultuie with ioots in
the 840s, the Vereinswesen oi °citizen`s iight to voluntaiy association." In the nineteenth
centuiy, the Vereinswesen often iefeiied piimaiily to membeiship in male bouigeois gioups,
at least nominally united by athletic, cultuial oi ieligious inteiests-befoie 848, many
Geiman teiiitoiies seveiely iestiicted association foi oveitly political puiposes; though
afteiwaids, Geimany`s political paities in fact essentially giew out of the Vereine.
58
The
Verein was an impoitant pait of the piocess of political libeialization and of the bioadly
based public impetus to tiansfoim the fiagmented and laigely still absolutist Geiman
monaichies into a unifed, constitutional modein Euiopean state (a pioject that was only
paitially successfully iealized by Geiman unifcation in 87).
Duiing the twentieth centuiy, howevei, the Vereinswesen expanded to include not only
women and men, and political gioups of eveiy stiipe, but also all mannei of populai intei-
ests, such as spoits oi celebiity fans, amateui danceis, hobby gaideneis, cai collectois,
model tiain enthusiasts, and so on. As a iesult of this widespiead expansion thiough all
levels of society, Geimany is °ieputed to be the woild champion in Vereinsmeierei,"
59
which
might be ioughly tianslated as °joining to keep up with the Joneses." Although modein
statistical analyses do not quite beai out this steieotype-people in the United States in
fact appeai to hold moie membeiships in voluntaiy associations pei capita, as do all the
Scandinavian countiies
60
-the pievalence of this image among Geimans themselves is an
impoitant indicatoi of the cential impoitance of the Verein in Geiman histoiy and soci-
ety.
This impoitance is due not least to the fact that Vereine aie ciucial geneiatois of °social
capital," which Robeit Putnam has desciibed as °featuies of social oiganization such as net-
woiks, noims, and social tiust that facilitate cooidination and coopeiation foi mutual
beneft."
6
These featuies weie vital foi cieating a politically active middle class in Geimany
duiing the 800s, and aie thought to iemain impoitant factois in maintaining demociatic
civil societies today.
62
The idea of mutual beneft is still a signifcant element in the consti-
tution of Vereine: when Animexx offcially declaies itself to be gemeinnützig, which is con-
ventionally tianslated as °non-pioft," is in fact liteially desciibing itself as °useful to the
-Frcm BRAVO tc Animexx.de tc Expcrt (MALONE) 31
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community" oi °seiving the public good." The natuie of this seivice is made cleai on the
association`s Web site undei the iubiic, °What is Animexx:":
It is oui goal to offei anime and manga fans the oppoitunity to exchange views, to pub-
lish and publicize theii own woiks, and to impiove theii skills. This occuis both via oui
Web site, Animexx.de, and by means of the many fan meetings and conventions that we
oiganize and suppoit.
63
Despite Putnam`s feais that °the technological tiansfoimation of leisuie" has con-
tiibuted to the disiuption of °many oppoitunities foi social-capital foimation," and a sim-
ilai sense on Michael Meites`s pait that, in the specifcally Geiman context, °modeinity ...
means a loosening of ligatuies, including a witheiing away of the committed citcyen,"
64
it is nonetheless appaient that the aiiival of the Inteinet tiemendously facilitated the
foimation and maintenance of Vereine, which weie oiiginally small, iegional oiganizations,
yet can now extend theii ieach to any computei teiminal, at least in theoiy. Animexx
has exploited this technology to cieate one of Geimany`s laigest manga/anime-oiiented
Web sites, Animexx.de, which counts ovei 30,000 online membeis-one hundied times
laigei than the coie membeiship of the Verein itself, though still fai less than the cuiient
ciiculation of BRAVC, which has settled just below half a million
65
-and includes infoi-
mation about the Verein, sections foi news about the Geiman manga/anime maiket,
usei blogs and foiums, help foi oiganizing events, an Animexx-wiki, a shop foi Animexx-
ielated meichandise, and plentiful space foi fans to communicate and upload theii own
fan fction, cosplay and convention photos, and djinshi. Seveial hundied sketches, pic-
tuies and comics aie added to the Web site as a whole eveiy day.
66
This last function has
made Animexx.de in tuin not only a signifcant tiaining giound foi aspiiing local Geiman
manga aitists, and paiticulaily foi those inteiested in boys` love, but also an accessible
medium foi them to make use of theii cultuial capital to engage in Fiske`s °textual pio-
ductivity."
Within the catalogue of themes listed on Animexx.de`s djinshi pages, °Shnen-ai" is
one of the laigei categoiies, with moie than 2,700 djinshi available foi viewing out of moie
than 0,000. (At least thiee othei categoiies, °Romantik," °Fantasy" and °Alltag"-°eveiy-
day life"-aie laigei, but most djinshi aie also listed undei moie than one heading.
67
)
Many aitists also inciease theii cultuial capital on display by linking to additional aitwoiks
available on theii peisonal pages on othei sites, such as MySpace oi deviantART. By thus
making available Geiman djinshi of all kinds, Animexx.de not only adveitises these woiks
to inteiested piint publisheis, but also seives as a mechanism foi quality contiol and vets
mateiial foi its legal acceptability, since site iules aie detailed and stiictly foimulated iegaid-
ing what kind of djinshi may be uploaded and then, aftei inspection, made available to
the public-in contiast to Ameiican piactice, foi instance, wheie Web sites geneially do
not inspect uploaded mateiial befoiehand, and take action to iemove content only aftei
the fact, if a complaint is made.
In addition to foibidding sloppily diawn, plagiaiized oi photogiaphy-based woiks-
which might be consideied issues not only of aesthetic quality, but also of piofessional-
ism-Animexx.de also expiessly foibids ceitain types of content. Images that do not belong
to the aitist, foi example, cannot be integiated into djinshi in any mannei, foi ieasons of
copyiight, noi can woiks diawn by fiiends oi acquaintances be uploaded undei an aitist`s
name. Libel laws also have to be iespected, and in addition °ieal-peison slash," meaning
the depiction of ieal people in fctive iomantic oi sexual ielationships, is foibidden to pie-
vent damaging the subjects` ieputations; moieovei, foi ieasons of good taste, depictions of
32 Pait One: Boys` Love and Global Publishing
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goie, extieme violence (oi its victims), sodomy and neciophilia aie veiy unlikely to be
sanctioned.
68
Most impoitantly, because Geiman child poinogiaphy and child abuse laws foibid
iepiesentation of childien as sexual objects, theie is a complete ban on shcta oi lcliccn. Shcta
is defned on Animexx.de as °the depiction, whethei unambiguous oi ambiguous, of veiy
young chaiacteis (undei 4 yeais old) engaging in sex oi games of violence oi domination,
with the paiticipation of an adult oi with childien of the same age." Although this desciip-
tion nowheie specifes the sex of the chaiacteis in question, it is assumed that they aie
male-peihaps because this distinction is built into the Japanese woid as used in the West,
oi possibly because of the populaiity of boys` love-since the next sentence teisely defnes
lcliccn as °the feminine equivalent." The text goes on:
Sexual abuse of childien is a punishable offense, foibidden in Geimany, as you ceitainly
know. Stoiies in which childien aie iecognizable as °sexual objects" will be tieated as
shcta and deleted, and the aitists will be wained. Youi chaiacteis may not look like chil-
dien if you diaw hentai oi the like (giving theii ages in the text is no help-only the
appaient age counts!).
69
Note that eiotic mateiial, oi hentai, is not itself foibidden-poinogiaphy is legally
available in Geimany, and Animexx.de accoidingly has a hentai djinshi section, open to
woiks that cleaily depict only adult sexual activity, and accessible only to iegisteied Ani-
mexx membeis who have piovided pioof that they aie eighteeen oi oldei. By this means,
the cultuial capital on display on the Web site is policed, so that it confoims as neaily as
possible to the values of the offcial cultuie.
Frcm Animexx tc the Publishers -and Beycnd
The djinshi pages of Animexx.de have intioduced to a wide ieadeiship many aitists
who have gone on to publish theii woiks in Geimany`s manga maiket. Although home-
giown manga still seives as only an ancillaiy maiket foi Geimany`s majoi manga publish-
eis, Cailsen, Egmont and TOKYOPOP, it foims an impoitant maiket segment foi the
smallei Veilag Schwaizei Tuim, which in addition to its own comics line specializes in pub-
lishing only manga by Geiman aitists.
70
Publishei Michael Möllei, one of Schwaizei Tuim`s
piopiietois, soon discoveied that Animexx.de was a peifect tool foi ieciuiting fiesh tal-
ent.
7
As a iesult, Schwaizei Tuim has published a vaiiety of manga anthologies in pait-
neiship with Animexx, most notably Paper Theatre, whose stoiies have often begun as
online djinshi.
72
One of these stoiies was Anna Hollmann`s abovementioned Stupid Stcry,
the fist two chapteis of which had oiiginally appeaied on Animexx.de in 2004, undei one
of Hollmann`s online nicknames, °Lynea," and indexed undei °Shnen-ai," °Romantik" and
°Humoi."
73
Installments of Stupid Stcry then appeaied in the fist thiee volumes of Paper
Theatre, befoie Hollmann was signed to a contiact with TOKYOPOP.
74
Hollmann`s fist
papeiback volume appeaied in Maich of 2008, and in Octobei of the same yeai won a Son-
deimann Comics Piize at the Fiankfuit Book Faii, guaianteeing the continuation of the
stoiy, which has also been licensed to appeai in tianslation in 2009 by the Fiench publishei
Taïfu Comics.
75
Hollmann is thus the fist boys` love manga aitist to play a iole in the Gei-
man publisheis` long-teim stiategy of using home-giown manga to °move to the othei end
of the value-added chain," as TOKYOPOP chief editoi Joachim Kaps put it in a 2006 intei-
view, °namely, to sell licenses abioad."
76
-Frcm BRAVO tc Animexx.de tc Expcrt (MALONE) 33
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In this mannei, the Geiman comics industiy can fnally foi the fist time become an
expoitei, as well as an impoitei, of pioduct; and Hollmann`s seiies has moved well beyond
being the kind of cultuial capital of fandom that most of the textually pioductive mateiial
posted on Animexx.de iepiesents. Indeed, Stupid Stcry has become a foim of social capi-
tal, insofai as it seives to cieate and institutionalize ielationships between laigei and moie
extended gioups between fandom and the publishing industiy, both nationally (in the foim
of inteiaction between Animexx, Schwaizei Tuim and TOKYOPOP) and inteinationally
(in the foim of inteiaction between TOKYOPOP Geimany, the Fiench Taïfu, and the
piospective Fiench ieadeiship). It is by no means incidental that the cieation of these new
netwoiks has seiious implications foi the cieation and exchange of economic capital as
well -not only acioss national boideis and between coipoiate entities, but also foi Holl-
mann as an individual, since in keeping with Geiman publishing piactices she maintains
a stake in the copyiight to the mateiial and the piofts it geneiates.
In addition to Paper Theatre, Schwaizei Tuim has continued to publish othei, moie
specialized anthologies, paiticulaily the seiies Hungry Hearts, focusing on eiotic manga
stoiies with both heteiosexual and homosexual themes, which has appeaied twice so fai,
with at least two moie volumes foithcoming. Since an impoitant pait of Schwaizei Tuim`s
iemit as a niche publishei has always been the publication of vaiious Westein-style eiotic
comics seiies foi adults only, the manga in Hungry Hearts aie accoidingly often much moie
explicit in theii depictions of sexuality than those published by the laigei conceins.
77
Following the lead of Schwaizei Tuim, seveial newei and even smallei specialized
publisheis have now aiisen to catei exclusively to the boys` love maiket: both Fiieangels
Veilag and The Wild Side Veilag license and impoit mateiial fiom abioad-chießy the
U.S., Fiance and Italy-but they also publish home-giown Geiman-language boys` love
manga.
78
All of the Geiman aitists cuiiently publishing with Fiieangels and The Wild Side
also have a piesence on the Animexx.de Web site, so that the initial chapteis of both Mai-
tina °Chiion-san" Peteis` boys` love science-fction thiillei K-A-E 29th Secret and Makiko
°Zombiesmile" Ponczeck`s sexually less explicit but moie violent Icst and Fcund, foi exam-
ple, weie once available on theii iespective peisonal djinshi pages. Ponczeck`s page still
links to the fist chaptei of hei book, with infoimation and a convenient link to help the
ieadei buy the published manga in its entiiety.
79
Peteis` page, howevei, no longei links to
the beginning of hei stoiy, since two volumes have now appeaied fiom Fiieangels; instead,
in addition to links to shops wheie these volumes can be puichased (including Amazon.de),
theie is a synopsis of theii content and a link to the continuation of the stoiy, which has
not yet been collected into a piint volume.
80
These two appioaches to textual pioductivity have become maiketing stiategies, whose
diffeience cannily ießects the fact that Ponczeck`s woik is a single, self-contained volume,
while Peteis` is an ongoing seiies; what they have in common, howevei, is a paitneiship in
theii small publisheis-Peteis and Ponczeck aie ait diiectois at Fiieangels and The Wild
Side iespectively. As a iesult, though outside of the coipoiate paiadigm, like Hollmann
they have exceeded the boundaiies of fan cultuie, which, because it is not pioft-oiiented,
°makes no attempt to ciiculate its text outside its own community,"
8
and aie now levei-
aging theii woik into both social and economic capital. Note that an impoitant pait of this
piocess of leveiaging is the tiansfoimation fiom an oiiginal electionic medium of dissem-
ination into haid copy piint foim; none of the publisheis mentioned maikets electionic
texts in place of old-fashioned physical, shippable-and thus expoitable-books.
One fnal example of this piocess is the woik of Fahi Sindiam, which falls on the
34 Pait One: Boys` Love and Global Publishing
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peiipheiy of the boys` love genie, but ceitainly owes its existence to that genie`s populai-
ity. Sindiam, whose Animexx.de nickname is °Fahi-chan," but who usually employs the
nickname °FahiLight" instead, enteied the Geiman manga scene by way of the Inteinet
and was eventually °discoveied" tuining out sketches at the 2005 Leipzig Book Faii, aftei
which Schwaizei Tuim publishei Michael Möllei tiacked hei down using the Animexx.de
Web site.
82
Sindiam then woiked oiganizing and setting up the Paper Theatre seiies, sev-
eial volumes of which caiiied hei own one-page humoious stoiies; but she also pieviewed
hei own manga seiies, which was alieady contiacted to anothei publishei, in the anthol-
ogy`s second volume.
83
Sindiam`s °Gothic diama" Icsing Neverland (the title iefeis indi-
iectly to Peter Pan by paiodying the title of the 2004 flm Finding Neverland
84
) is set in
Victoiian London; its stoiy conceins motheiless fouiteen-yeai-old Lauience V. Lauience,
whose ciippled sailoi fathei piostitutes him to middle-class men in oidei to pay the bills.
The undeinouiished, elfn °Lauiie," continually diessed in a kind of anachionistic Lolita
diag when he is diessed at all, appeais haidly moie than ten yeais old; his otheiwise ethe-
ieal beauty is maiied by cankeis aiound his mouth. In a woild in which eveiy adult male
is appaiently an eagei pedeiast, Lauiie`s life is a litany of endless exploitation and suffei-
ing, ielieved only by the catty camaiadeiie of his fellow hustleis-including his would-be
lovei Mauiice -and the companionship of his °conscience," a moldeiing fox-skin stole
named Fanny, who speaks to him when nobody else is aiound.
85
Sindiam`s deft diawings and sense of humoi leaven the otheiwise iathei moibid pio-
ceedings; but though it is not sexually explicit, this iathei absuid mélange of elements fiom
Cliver!, The Bcys in the Band, Midnight Ccwbcy, Calvin and Hcbbes and the Maiquis de
Sade would nonetheless likely be a iisky undeitaking-even undei the laws in effect befoie
Novembei 2008-if both she and hei publishei, the Geiman-iun but Biitish-based Buttei
& Cieam Veilagsgesellschaft, did not continually iemind the ieadei, within and without
the text as well as in inteiviews, that Sindiam`s intention in Icsing Neverland is to use some
of the conventions of boys` love to iaise awaieness of child abuse and to piotest the dis-
semination of shcta mateiials.
86
As Sindiam has foicefully put it, while she is an avid ieadei
of shnen-ai and has nothing against yaoi and hentai-and anyone who says that manga in
geneial poitiay too much sex and violence °needs to be smacked"-child poinogiaphy is
a diffeient mattei altogethei: °Theie aie boundaiies being tiansgiessed, and they`ie
sacied."
87
On this basis, somewhat paiadoxically, mateiial that veiy possibly would not have
passed mustei foi uploading onto the Animexx.de Web site-the pages of °Fahi-chan"
contain only a Icsing Neverland side stoiy, thus once again acting as adveitising, and of
couise pioviding a link to Buttei & Cieam-has not only been socially accepted, but indeed
piaised, with an honoiable citation fiom Geimany`s Council foi Sustainable Development
(Rat für Nachhaltige Entwicklung), whose mandate extends beyond enviionmental issues
to facilitating positive communication and netwoiking in the inteiests of °social cohei-
ence"-in othei woids, to the cieation and maintenance of social capital.
88
In the case of
Sindiam`s woik, its now offcially acknowledged value as social capital -pioclaimed on a
stickei on the fist volume`s covei -has come to fai outweigh its potential to shock as
°meie" cultuial capital within fandom.
As the coineistone of Buttei & Cieam`s manga output, Icsing Neverland is now also
being capitalized upon foi expoit; thus, despite the fact that Sindiam iecommends the
seiies only foi ieadeis fouiteen and oldei, the intention is to expand the ieadeiship intei-
nationally, with an English edition alieady available and Fiench and Japanese tianslations
-Frcm BRAVO tc Animexx.de tc Expcrt (MALONE) 35
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in piepaiation. Moieovei, since Sindiam is contiacted to pioduce eight volumes of the
seiies, Icsing Neverland is positioned to become the longest-iunning home-giown Geiman
manga yet -if all goes accoiding to plan.
89
Even if Sindiam fails to complete the seiies,
Icsing Neverland nonetheless demonstiates that Geimany has developed the necessaiy infia-
stiuctuie foi aspiiing manga aitists to move fiom fandom to a piofessional caieei as a pio-
ducei of offcially sanctioned, if still mass, cultuie. The fact that Sindiam`s woik is in many
ways even moie tiansgiessive of social noims than a gieat deal of boys` love manga may
actually cleai the way foi even moie aitists to take up the genie-possibly in ways that Sin-
diam will fnd distasteful.
Animexx. Hub fcr the Ccmmercializaticn cf Fandcm
Notably, when aitists aie contiacted to the thiee majoi publisheis, they tend ovei-
whelmingly to be ciedited only undei theii ieal name; by contiast, aitists who publish with
the smallei piesses almost always make use of one of theii online nicknames oi useinames,
eithei in conjunction with theii ieal name (as Anna °Cioss" Hollmann does foi hei con-
tiibutions to Schwaizei Tuim`s Paper Theatre, but not foi the TOKYOPOP edition of Stu-
pid Stcry; and as Maitina °Chiion-San" Peteis does on the coveis of hei seiies K-A-E 29th
Secret, published by Fiieangels-but not on hei single all-ages volume foi Cailsen, E-
Mcticnal
90
) oi as a pseudonym instead of theii ieal name (as Ponczeck does on Icst and
Fcund). This piactice not only iefeis back to the oiiginal online piesence of both authoi
and woik, as biokeied by Animexx.de, but also maintains a sense of community among
the aitists. At the same time, howevei, it cannot be oveilooked that the exposuie of these
aitists` cultuial capital undei theii nicknames on the Web site and in theii published woiks
seives well to cieate a kind of °bianding" oi name iecognition than can easily be tuined
to the geneiation of economic capital as well, while also maintaining the aitists` °civilian
identities" foi othei piojects, since most of the manga aitists desciibed heie cleaily want
to have aitistic caieeis beyond a specialty in boys` love oi even in manga in geneial.
As a iesult of theii multiple functions as meeting place, talent scout, cleaiing house,
and aibitei/censoi, the Animexx Verein and its Web site have cleaily become not only a
majoi inßuence in Geiman manga and anime fandom, but aiguably the single most impoi-
tant foice in cateiing both to Geiman fans` giowing inteiest in home-giown manga and to
Geiman manga cieatois` sense of community and self-identifcation not only as a subcul-
tuie, but also as a viable piofession. Although this obseivation can be made at the level of
manga and its fandom in geneial, wheie Animexx.de plays a pivotal iole in the ongoing
ieciuitment of aitistic talent by the Geiman comics industiy and the entiy of aspiiing
aitists into piofessional caieeis, it is paiticulaily in the aiea of boys` love-which despite
its niche status, encouiages an especially passionate level of involvement -that the Verein
and its Web site have been vital in tuining fans into pioduceis and even into independent
entiepieneuis. Thus, textual pioduction that once might have ieached only a ielatively
small ciicle of fans as cultuial capital, is incieasingly being tuined into both social and eco-
nomic capital, with the explicit intention of ieviving and expanding the Geiman comic
industiy and iediessing the tiaditional imbalance of tiade with othei comics-pioducing
nations. Given the oveiwhelming numbei of young women involved in these activities,
Animexx is cleaily making gieat stiides in counteiacting the long-teim legacy of consei-
vative coipoiate mass enteitainment vehicles such as BRAVC; whethei the cuiient peiiod
36 Pait One: Boys` Love and Global Publishing
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of economic unceitainty and iecession will undeicut this piogiess, howevei, in what
iemains an extiemely small and piecaiious maiket still laigely dominated by coipoiate
inteiests, cannot be foieseen.
Nctes
1. Nakazawa Keiji, Barfuß durch Hircshima. Eine Bildergeschichte gegen den Krieg (Reinbek: Rowohlt Vei-
lag, 982); Ishinomoii Shtai, }apan GmbH (Bonn: Veilag Noiman Rentiop, 989).
2. tomo Katsuhiio, Akira, 9 vols. (Hambuig: Cailsen Veilag, 99-6); Heike Jungst, °Japanese Comics
in Geimany," Perspectives. Studies in Translatclcgy 2.2 (2004): 87-89; Beind Dolle-Weinkauff, °The Attiac-
tions of Inteicultuial Exchange: Manga Maiket and Manga Reception in Geimany." Mcbile and Pcpular Cul-
ture in Asia. Asia Cultuie Foium 2006. . URL: http://www.cct.go.ki/data/acf2006/mobile/mobile_0402_Be
ind%20Dolle-Weinkauff.pdf. Last accessed 0 Maich, 2009; Paul M. Malone, °Manga in Euiope," in Manga.
An Anthclcgy cf Glcbal and Cultural Perspectives, ed. Toni Johnson-Woods (New Yoik: Continuum, foith-
coming).
3. Geiman nouns aie gendeied; loan-woids aie assigned a gendei thiough consensus. This does not always
lead to univeisal agieement: Geiman Japanologists tieat °manga" as a neutei noun (°das Manga"), piesum-
ably by moiphological analogy with the many neutei nouns ending in a deiived fiom Gieek. The geneial
public, howevei, including comics scholais, have embiaced it as masculine (°der Manga"), piesumably by
functional analogy with the loan-woid °der Ccmic." Jaqueline Beindt, Phüncmen Manga. Ccmic-Kultur in
}apan (Beilin: Edition q, 995), 2.
4. Takeuchi Naoko, Sailcr Mccn, 8 vols. (Mannheim: Reinei Feest Veilag, 998-2000); Toiiyama Akiia,
Dragcn Ball, 42 vols. (Hambuig: Cailsen, 997-2000); Malone, °Manga in Euiope," foithcoming; Jungst,
°Japanese Comics," 87-9.
5. Andieas C. Knigge, Alles über Ccmics. Eine Entdeckungsreise vcn den Hchlenbildern bis zum Manga
(Hambuig: Euiopa Veilag, 2004): 69-70.
6. °CARLSEN MANGA! Staitseite." URL: http://www.cailsen.de/web/manga/index. Last accessed 4
Apiil, 2009; °Manganet" ¦EGMONT Veilagsgesellschaften mbH; Egmont Manga & Anime]. URL: http://
www.manganet.de/index.php. Last accessed 4 Apiil, 2009; °Comic, Comics, Manga, Anime bei PaniniComics.
de." URL: http://www.paninicomics.de/:s·seiie&gs_giuppe·8. Last accessed 4 Apiil, 2009.
7. Paul M. Malone, °Mangascape Geimany: Comics as Inteicultuial Neutial Giound," in Ccmics as Nexus
cf Culture, ed. Maik Beiningei and Gideon Habeikoin (Jeffeison, NC: McFailand, foithcoming).
8. °TOKYOPOP-Manga, Manhwa, Manhua und Cine-Manga." URL: http://www.tokyopop.de/. Last
accessed 4 Apiil, 2009.
9. Juigen Seebeck, Blccdy Circus, 2 vols. (Hambuig: Cailsen, 200); Robeit Labs, Dragic Master, 2 vols.
(Hambuig: Cailsen, 200, 2005); Robeit Labs, Crewman 3, 2 vols. (Hambuig: Cailsen, 2003-4); Sascha Nils
Maix and Stefan Voss, Naglayas Herz (Cologne: Egmont, 2002); Steff Holzei, Maitin Juigeit and Sascha
Kiämei, °Es muss nicht immei Japan sein: Mangas aus deutschen Landen," Ccmixene 78 (2004): 7; Heike
Jungst, °Manga in Geimany: Fiom Tianslation to Simulacium," Perspectives. Studies in Translatclcgy 4.4
(2006): 25-2; 259.
10. Jöig Böckem, °Sind die suuuß!," in KulturSpiegel 9 (2006): . The diffeience between shnen and shjc
manga is chießy one of taiget audience, iathei than genie; the foimei aie aimed at young boys and the lattei
at young giils, though both include a wide vaiiety of genies and themes.
11. Although this boom has also included the impoit of Koiean manhua and Chinese manhwa, local Gei-
man aitists always follow the conventions of Japanese manga when they diffei fiom those of the othei two
foims-even when the Geiman aitists in question aie of Koiean oi Chinese backgiound. Malone, °Mangas-
cape Geimany," foithcoming.
12. Stefan Pannoi, °Dragcn Ball und die Folgen," in Deutschland cnline 25 Maich 2008, URL: http://
www.magazine-deutschland.de/de/aitikel/aitikelansicht/aiticle/diagonball-und-die-folgen.html. Last
accessed 3 Maich, 2009. All tianslations fiom Geiman aie my own.
13. Midoii Matsui, °Little Giils weie Little Boys: Displaced Femininity in the Repiesentation of Homo-
sexuality in Japanese Giils` Comics," in Feminism and the Pclitics cf Difference, ed. Sneja Gunew and Anna
Yeatman (Bouldei, Coloiado, and San Fiancisco: Westview Piess, 993): 79.
14. Matthew Thoin, °Giils and Women Getting Out of Hand: The Pleasuies and Politics of Japan`s Ama-
teui Comics Community," in Fanning the Flames. Fans and Ccnsumer Culture in Ccntempcrary }apan, ed.
William W. Kelly (New Yoik: State Univeisity of New Yoik Piess, 2004): 70-.
-Frcm BRAVO tc Animexx.de tc Expcrt (MALONE) 37
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15. Maik McLelland, °No Climax, No Point, No Meaning: Japanese Women`s Boy-Love Sites on the Intei-
net," in }curnal cf Ccmmunicaticn Inquiry 24.3 (2000): 280.
16. McLelland, °No Climax," 277; Kiisty L. Valenti, °'Stop, My Butt Huits!` The Yaoi Invasion," in The
Ccmics }curnal 269 (July 2005): 22; Andiea Wood, °'Stiaight` Women, Queei Texts: Boy-Love Manga and
the Rise of a Global Counteipublic," in \SQ. \cmen´s Studies Quarterly 34. & 2 (2006): 394-5.
17. McLelland, °No Climax," 276-7.
18. Thoin, °Giils and Women," 73; Wood, °'Stiaight` Women," 406.
19. Thoin, °Giils and Women," 80.
20. Suzuki Kazuko, °Poinogiaphy oi Theiapy: Japanese Giils Cieating the Yaoi Phenomenon," in Millen-
nium Girls. Tcday´s Girls Arcund the \crld, ed. Sheiiie Inness (Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefeld, 998):
244; Heniy Jenkins, Textual Pcachers. Televisicn Fans and Participatcry Culture (London: Routledge, 992):
85-205.
21. Maieike Heiimann, °'Feeling Bettei` with Bravc: Geiman Giils and Theii Populai Youth Magazine,"
in Millennium Girls. Tcday´s Girls Arcund the \crld, ed. Sheiiie Inness (Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefeld,
998): 227, 229, 232.
22. Heiimann, °'Feeling Bettei,`" 28.
23. Heiimann, °'Feeling Bettei,`" 26.
24. Heiimann, °'Feeling Bettei,`" 232.
25. Kimbeily S. Giegson, °What if the Lead Chaiactei Looks Like Me: Giil Fans of Shcujc Anime and Theii
Web Sites," in Girl \ide \eb. Girls, the Internet, and the Negctiaticn cf Identity, ed. Shaion R. Mazzaiella
(New Yoik: Petei Lang, 2005): 27.
26. Giegson, °What if," 3-2; Fiske elaboiates an idea of cultuial capital fist developed by Pieiie Boui-
dieu, and extends it to populai cultuie as well as high cultuie. John Fiske, °The Cultuial Economy of Fan-
dom," in The Adcring Audience. Fan Culture and Pcpular Media, ed. Lisa A. Lewis (London: Routledge, 992):
30-33.
27. Giegson, °What if," 28-9.
28. Heiimann, °'Feeling Bettei,`" 22, 233.
29. Heiimann, °'Feeling Bettei,` " 22-2. While the sexual infoimation itself is geneially iegaided as valu-
able oi inteiesting, these illustiations aie often the least favoiite aspect of the magazine among its female
ieadeiship, paiticulaily foi the youngei membeis, due to a sense that the models in the photogiaphs cieate
uniealistic expectations of female beauty, and the knowledge that °the boys get off on them." On the othei
hand, the equally giaphic °Foto-Love-Stoiies" in eveiy issue aie much moie populai: the giils iecognize that
these aie foimulaic fctions and accept them, including the pictuies, as enteitainment; 233-4.
30. Giegson, °What if," 27-8; 36-7.
31. Giegson, °What if," 28.
32. Heiimann, °'Feeling Bettei,`" 238.
33. Heiimann, °'Feeling Bettei,`" 23.
34. Heiimann, °'Feeling Bettei,`" 229, 232.
35. Heiimann, °'Feeling Bettei,`" 26.
36. Fiske, °Cultuial Economy," 37-9.
37. Note that any visit to the BRAVC Web site is dominated by ielentless pop-up ads; in this iespect, at
least, the magazine is up to date. URL: www.biavo.de. Last accessed 3 Maich, 2009.
38. Giegson, °What if," 28-9; Fiske, °Cultuial Economy," 39-40.
39. Fiske, °Cultuial Economy," 3.
40. Heiimann, °'Feeling Bettei,`" 229, 233.
41. Heiimann, °'Feeling Bettei,`" 227-9. Giegson`s study, by compaiison, takes no account of class diffei-
ences; howevei, the veiy natuie of hei investigation, which focuses on young women with both Inteinet access
and the leisuie time to cieate Web sites, is likely to exclude ceitain socio-economic stiata; Giegson, °What
if," 37-8.
42. Heiimann, °'Feeling Bettei,`" 220, 239.
43. Jöig Böckem and Chiistoph Dallach, °Manga Chutney," KulturSpiegel 7 (July 2002): 22.
44. Böckem and Dallach, °Manga Chutney," 2.
45. Ozaki Minami, Zetsuai 989, 5 vols. (Hambuig: Cailsen, 2000-200); Maiimo Ragawa, New Ycrk New
Ycrk, 4 vols. (Planet Manga, 2002); kami Mineko, Iumen Iunae, 5 vols. (Cologne: Egmont, 2002-2003).
46. Chiistian Könen, °Inteiview mit Geoig Tempel, Veilagsleitei von EMA," www.animePRC.de (3 Apiil
2006). Tempel uses the English loan woid °haid-coie" in Geiman.
47. Takanaga Hinako, Kleiner Schmetterling, 3 vols. (Hambuig: TOKYOPOP, 2005-2007). TOKYOPOP
Geimany does also publish manga foi youngei ieadeis, howevei, and is also the cuiient Geiman licensee of
Jeff Smith`s comic epic foi ieadeis ten yeais old and up, Bcne, 8 vols. (Hambuig: TOKYOPOP, 2006).
38 Pait One: Boys` Love and Global Publishing
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48. Wood, °'Stiaight` Women," p. 407; Valenti, °'Stop,`" p. 22.
49. °CARLSEN MANGA!" URL: http://www.cailsen.de/web/manga/boys_love. Last accessed 5 Januaiy,
2009; °Manganet." URL: http://www.manganet.de/. Last accessed 5 Januaiy, 2009.
50. Judith Paik, Y Square (Hambuig: Cailsen, 2005): 35. Also available in English tianslation: Judith Paik,
Y Square (New Yoik: Yen Piess, 2008).
51. Lenka Buschova, Freaky Angel (Cologne: Egmont, 2005): 56.
52. Cheng Ying Zhou, Shanghai Passicn (Cologne: Egmont, 2005): n.p.
53. Pink Psycho, In the End (Hambuig: TOKYOPOP, 2006); on the iathei pioblematic natuie of In the
End as a boys` love stoiy, see Paul M. Malone, °Home-giown Shjc Manga and the Rise of Boys` Love Among
Geimany`s 'Foity-Nineis,`" in Intersecticns. Gender and Sexuality in Asia and the Pacifc 2 (Apiil 2009): paia.
2.
54. Diana Liesaus, Muscuka, 2 vols. (Cologne: Egmont, 2007); Anna Hollmann, Stupid Stcry (Hambuig:
TOKYOPOP, 2008).
55. °CARLSEN MANGA!" URL: http://www.cailsen.de/web/manga/boys_love. Last accessed 5 Januaiy,
2009.
56. Giegson, °What if," 30.
57. °Animexx e.V.: dei Veiein." URL: http://animexx.onlinewelten.com/veiein.phtml. Last accessed 5 Jan-
uaiy, 2009.
58. Oded Heilbionnei, °The Geiman Bouigeois Club as a Political and Social Stiuctuie in the Late Nine-
teenth and Eaily Twentieth Centuiies," in Ccntinuity and Change 3.3 (998): 443.
59. Michael Meites, °Geimany`s Social and Political Cultuie: Change thiough Consensus:" in Daedalus
23. (994): 2.
60. Accoiding to the study in question, incidentally, the actual woild champion °joineis" aie the Dutch,
while the Japanese iank neai the bottom of the scale. James E. Cuitis, Douglas E. Baei, Edwaid G. Giabb,
°Nations of Joineis: Explaining Voluntaiy Association Membeiship in Demociatic Societies," in American
Scciclcgical Review 66.6 (200): 79-2, 80.
61. Robeit D. Putnam, °Bowling Alone: Ameiica`s Declining Social Capital," in }curnal cf Demccracy 6.
(995): 67. Putnam is by no means the inventoi of the concept of social capital -in this iegaid, see Putnam,
°Bowling Alone," 77, n. 4-but he is among the most iecent scholais to populaiize the concept in the specifc
context of voluntaiy associations.
62. Putnam, °Bowling Alone," 65.
63. °Animexx e.V.: dei Veiein." URL: http://animexx.onlinewelten.com/veiein.phtml. Last accessed 5 Jan-
uaiy, 2009. Animexx is in fact the sponsoi of Geimany`s laigest annual fan-oiganized anime and manga con-
vention, Connichi, held in Kassel eveiy Septembei since 2003, as well as seveial smallei conventions. Connichi`s
neaiest iival, AnimagiC, is a commeicial ventuie; both aie much smallei than compaiable events in Fiance,
foi example.
64. Putnam, °Bowling Alone," 74; Meites, °Political Cultuie," 2.
65. °Heiniich Bauei Veilag: BRAVO." URL: http://www.baueiveilag.de/biavo.0.html. Last accessed 6 Jan-
uaiy, 2009.
66. Stefan Pannoi, °Deutsche Mangas: Jung, weiblich, sexy ... Zeichneiin," in Spiegel Cnline (2 Nov. 2007).
URL: http://www.spiegel.de/kultui/liteiatui/0,58,5648,00.html. Last accessed 8 Januaiy, 2009.
67. °Animexx.de: Djinshi." URL: http://animexx.onlinewelten.com/doujinshi/. Last accessed 5 Januaiy, 2009.
68. In modein Geiman usage, Scdcmie usually iefeis to sexual inteicouise with animals; its use as a syn-
onym foi anal sex is outdated.
69. °Animexx.de: Hinweise DJ-Hochladen (Wiki)." URL: http://animexx.onlinewelten.com/wiki/index.
php/Hinweise_DJ-Hochladen. Last accessed 5 Januaiy 2009. New, EU-mandated legislation piohibiting depic-
tions of sexual activity involving peisons between fouiteen and eighteen as °youth poinogiaphy" (}ugend-
pcrncgraphie), has not as yet led to any change in the Animexx.de iegulations. It iemains to be seen what
impact the new laws will have on many bianches of the enteitainment industiy, including BRAVC. The new
legislation, which took effect on 5 Novembei, 2008, is pioclaimed in Bundesgesetzblatt 2008, Pait , No. 50 (4
Nov. 2008): 249-5. URL: http://www.bgblpoital.de/BGBL/bgblf/bgbl08s249.pdf. Last accessed 2 Maich,
2009.
70. °Veilag Schwaizei Tuim." URL: http://www.schwaizeituim.de/. Last accessed 4 Apiil, 2009.
71. Pannoi, °Deutsche Mangas."
72. Vaiious editois, Paper Theatre, 6 vols. (Weimai: Schwaizei Tuim, 2006-9). Animexx also publishes
its own djinshi anthologies independent of Schwaizei Tuim; so fai six volumes have appeaied. Vaiious edi-
tois, Manga-Mixx, 6 vols. (Buchenbeig: Animexx, 2006-8).
73. °Animexx.de: Djinshi: Lynea." URL: http://animexx.onlinewelten.com/doujinshi/zeichnei/40070/.
Last accessed 5 Januaiy, 2009.
-Frcm BRAVO tc Animexx.de tc Expcrt (MALONE) 39
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74. Anna Hollmann, °Stupid Stoiy," in Paper Theatre , ed. Simone Xie and Anna Pätzke (Weimai:
Schwaizei Tuim, 2006): 77-89; Paper Theatre 2, ed. Simone Xie and Anna Pätzke (Weimai: Schwaizei Tuim,
2006): 75-9; Paper Theatre 3, ed. Anna Pätzke and Vicky Danko (Weimai: Schwaizei Tuim, 2006): 79-97.
75. The Sondeimann Comics Piize is awaided by populai vote and sponsoied by the Book Faii, the Web
site www.comicfoium.de, Spiegel magazine`s online division, and the newspapei Frankfurter Rundschau.
Although the piize is piestigious, due paitly to the status of the Fiankfuit Book Faii as the woild`s laigest,
theie is no monetaiy awaid. °Comic-Pieis Sondeimann wiid im Comic-Zentium dei Fiankfuitei Buchmesse
veiliehen: Die Publikumslieblinge stehen fest," Frankfurter Buchmesse, URL: https://de.book-faii.com/f bf/joui
nalists/piess_ieleases/f bf/detail.aspx:c20f0587-85d5-44d3-a9a4-eb75d0c643b·eb036e3-af29-456-8bbc-
a32fa47e2c. Last accessed 6 Januaiy, 2009; °Taïfu Comics: Voii le sujet -DES AUTEURES ALLEMANDES
ET AMERICAINE CHEZ TAÏFU !!!!!," Taïfu Ccmics, URL: http://taifu-comics.com/foium/viewtopic.php:t·
285. Last accessed 6 Januaiy, 2009.
76. Böckem, °Sind die suuuß!," . This stiategy has alieady led to the successful tianslation and expoit of
TOKYOPOP aitists Chiistina Plaka, Anike Hage and Pink Psycho, whose woiks aie now available in English:
Chiistina Plaka, Ycnen Buzz, 4 vols. (Los Angeles: TOKYOPOP, 2006-8); Anike Hage, Gcthic Spcrts, 3 vols.
(Los Angeles: TOKYOPOP, 2007-8); Pink Psycho, In the End (Los Angeles: TOKYOPOP, 2008). Cailsen`s
Judith Paik is also pait of this stiategy, with hei Y Square not only appeaiing in English, as mentioned eai-
liei, but also in Fiench, Gieek, Italian and Russian. Hollmann`s manga, howevei, is both the fist cleai-cut
boy`s love case, and the fist case in which Animexx.de has played an essential iole.
77. Beatiice Beckmann, ed., Hungry Hearts, 2 vols. (Weimai: Schwaizei Tuim, 2007, 2008).
78. °Fiieangels Veilag." URL: http://www.fieangels.net/. Last accessed 4 Apiil, 2009; °Homepage" ¦The
Wild Side]. URL: http://www.thewildside.biz/index2.php. Last accessed 4 Apiil, 2009.
79. °Animexx.de: Djinshi 'Lost and Found.`" URL: http://animexx.onlinewelten.com/doujinshi/zeich
nei/228768/output/24497/. Last accessed 5 Januaiy, 2009; Zombiesmile ¦Makiko Ponczeck], Icst and Fcund
(Ambeig: The Wild Side, 2007).
80. °Animexx.de: Djinshi 'K-A-E-Quit / Continue (Band 6).`" URL: http://animexx.onlinewelten.com/
doujinshi/zeichnei/4607/output/32489/. Last accessed 5 Januaiy, 2009; Maitina °Chiion-san" Peteis, K-A-E
29th Secret. Blank File (Dachau: Fiieangels, 2005); K-A-E 29th Secret. Invisible Scund (Dachau: Fiieangels,
2008).
81. Fiske, °Cultuial Economy," 39.
82. °Inteiview mit Fahi Sindiam auf mangaka.de." Mangaka.de. URL: http://www.mangaka.de/index.
php:page· inteiview-mit-fahi-sindiam;PHPSESSID·i9ssuosais9dkhvlqc3bbb2i8ng3ft. Last accessed 6 Jan-
uaiy, 2009; Buikhaid Ihme, °Papieitheatei im Schwaizen Tuim: Ein Inteiview mit Michael Möllei (Mille)
und Stefanie Uibig (Schwaize Katze)," in CCMIC!-}ahrbuch 2007, ed. Buikhaid Ihme (Stuttgait : Inteiessen-
band Comic e. V. ICOM, 2007): 56.
83. Fahi Sindiam, °Losing Neveiland," in Paper Theatre 2, ed. Simone Xie and Anna Pätzke (Weimai:
Schwaizei Tuim, 2006): 93-08.
84. No iefeience to Michael Jackson`s Neveiland estate in Califoinia was intended, but Sindiam admits
that the coincidence is apt. Fahi Sindiam, Icsing Neverland, Vol. (Beilin: Buttei & Cieam, 2006): n.p.
85. Fahi Sindiam, Icsing Neverland, Vol. (Beilin: Buttei & Cieam, 2006): n.p.; °Inteiview mit Fahi Sin-
diam." Mangaka.de.
86. °Buttei & Cieam." URL: http://www.buttei-and-cieam.com/butt/faq.htm. Last accessed 6 Januaiy,
2009; °Inteiview mit Fahi Sindiam: Comicgate gek-Comicmagazin mit Rezensionen, Inteiviews, Webcomics
und vielem mehi." Ccmicgate. URL: http://www.comicgate.de/content/view/420/76/. Last accessed 6 Janu-
aiy, 2009.
87. °AnimeY-Fahi Sindiam im AnimeY Inteiview!" AnimeY Cnline Magazin. URL: http://www.animey.
net/specials/ 77. Last accessed 6 Januaiy, 2009.
88. °Rat fui Nachhaltige Entwicklung: Mandate given to the Geiman Council." Rat für Nachhaltige Entwick-
lung. URL: http://www.nachhaltigkeitsiat.de/en/the-council/mandate-given-to-the-geiman-council/:blsti·0.
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89. °Buttei & Cieam." Butter o Cream Verlagsgesellschaf t. URL: http://www.buttei-and-cieam.com/
butt/faq.htm. Last accessed 6 Januaiy, 2009; °Inteiview mit Fahi Sindiam auf mangaka.de." Mangaka.de.
URL: http://www.mangaka.de/index.php:page·inteiview-mit-fahi-sindiam;PHPSESSID·i9ssuosais9d
khvlqc3bbb2i8ng3ft. Last accessed 6 Januaiy, 2009.
90. Maitina Peteis, E-Mcticnal (Hambuig: Cailsen, 2007). Note that an aitist`s piefeiied nickname is not
always identical with the nickname he oi she uses on Animexx.de-wheie Hollmann, foi example, is °Lynea"
iathei than °Cioss."
40 Pait One: Boys` Love and Global Publishing
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Boys` Love Thiives in
Conseivative Indonesia
YAMILA ABRAHAM
In 2004 I staited the boys` love giaphic novel publishing company Yaoi Piess and put
out the fist call foi aitist submissions. It was answeied by a studio in Indonesia. I iecall
being veiy conceined that they would object to the woik due to the eiotic and homosex-
ual content.
°Befoie we go any fuithei," I said in my fist email ieply to them, °you should know
that I need aitists to diaw gay love scenes between two men. I know that Indonesia is a
Muslim countiy. I undeistand if you want to withdiaw youi submission."

The studio head Adetyai iesponded, °Yamilla ¦sic] is not a pioblem foi us. Anything
you need we will diaw. Some aitists will only diaw hugging and kissing foi you. Some
aitists will only diaw love that`s not haidcoie. But some will also diaw haidcoie. We ask
you not send contiibutoi copies foi haidcoie because is illegal heie. But all otheis you
send."
2
In a latei email he expanded, °Yes we aie Muslim countiy but lots of yaoi fans heie.
In studio even theie aie fans. Lots diawing dojinshi with yaoi."
3
This was at a time when I still had to explain what BL was to most people I met at fan
conventions in the U.S. I was suipiised to leain that BL was such a sensation in Indonesia.
This was a countiy that not only did not have any commeicial BL pioducts, but had legal
and cultuial iestiictions against them.
I have leained a gieat deal about BL in Indonesia ovei the yeais. I thought I had a good
giasp of what was going on theie, but in tackling this papei, I found I was still oveisimpli-
fying an extiemely complex situation. Political, histoiical, ieligious, and cultuial factois all
inßuence the piolifeiation of BL in Indonesia.
Indonesia once had a tiadition of same-sex ielationships befoie it was colonized by
the Dutch. Despite this histoiy, it is becoming incieasingly intoleiant of homosexuality and
eiotic woiks undei stiengthening Muslim political and social inßuences. The population
of Indonesia is 87 peicent Muslim,
4
a ieligion that condemns homosexuality.
5
Most of the
population want the tenets of Islam incoipoiated into the laws, as was pioven on a vote foi
a moiality bill iecently.
6
Howevei, Indonesia is no longei a militaiy dictatoiship and fghts
to ensuie that it doesn`t become one again. Indonesians won`t toleiate an oppiessive gov-
einment inteifeiing in theii peisonal lives.
This cieates a political and legal dichotomy that has had both diiect and indiiect effects
on BL fans within the countiy. The Indonesian boys` love aitist and fan community has
successfully expoited BL woiks out of the countiy and is enjoying an undeigiound popu-
laiity online and at conventions. Howevei, I feai Indonesia`s new anti-poinogiaphy laws
endangei this subcultuie`s futuie.
44
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Backgrcund
I have woiked with moie than thiity Indonesian aitists and wiiteis ovei the last foui
yeais as the publishei of Yaoi Piess. Seveial of these cieatois I considei close fiiends. I
spend time chatting online with them thiough the use of Inteinet Relay Chat. I have acted
as an agent on behalf of an Indonesian publishei to attempt to have its shjc giaphic nov-
els licensed in English, and I have acted as an agent on behalf of individual Indonesian aitists
to help them bieak in with othei publisheis with whom I am acquainted.
Ovei the yeais, I`ve taken an inteiest in Indonesian cultuie. Ceitain aitist fiiends aie
happy to see my inteiest and eageily tell me about theii countiy.
Among these fiiends is Rhea Silvan, who assisted me tiemendously in ieseaiching this
papei. Silvan is a Chinese-descended Indonesian who lives in the cential island of Java. She
is a widely published manga-style aitist who has woiked foi publisheis in the U.S. as well
as Indonesia.
Silvan was the fist Indonesian I got to know who was a passionate BL fan. When she
did some scieen-toning woik foi Yaoi Piess, I sent hei a copy of oui giaphic novel \inter
Demcn as a gift along with hei othei contiibutoi copies. She fell in love with this stoiy and
insisted that she be given the oppoitunity to diaw a volume of the seiies. The cuiient aitists
weie kind enough to let hei have the pioject (Fig. ).
Silvan is the top Indonesian aitist with whom Yaoi Piess woiks. Hei aitwoik is neaily
indistinguishable fiom authentic Japanese manga, which appeals to oui audience. She is
not common among Indonesian aitists. In addition to hei foimal ait tiaining she went to
a manga ait school in Jakaita oidei to leain the Japanese illustiation style.
Frcm Ccmics tc Manga tc Bcys´ Icve
The development of BL fandom in Indonesia paiallels the way most fans aie now dis-
coveiing the genie in the U.S. Indonesian BL fans began as manga fans.
Just as in the U.S., indigenous comics weie the populai sequential ait foim piioi to
manga`s intioduction. These comics weie called cerita bergambar, °stoiy with pictuies,"
and became pievalent aftei Woild Wai II.
7
The 960s and `70s aie consideied the °Golden
Age" of comics in Indonesia due laigely in pait to the development of the comic iental
kiosk.
8
This boom was shoitened by diffeient goveinment fguies who denounced comics
as °Westein poison" that °fosteied laziness." Manga came about at just the iight time: theie
was a vacuum of indigenous comics staiting in the 980s. Hafz Ahmad, Beny Maulana,
and Alvanov Apalanzani explain the pioblem:
Oldei aitists fiom pievious geneiations nevei passed down his/hei ability to the next
geneiation, while at the same time they could no longei catch up with the changes and
tiends. The second pioblem was theie was no attempts fiom the publisheis to encouiage
aitists` iegeneiation oi local comics, many of them only seemed to caie with pioft
iathei than public beneft.
9
Publishei Elex Media Komputindo biought the fist tianslated Japanese comics to
Indonesia in 990. These woiks became wildly populai, and eventually ninety peicent of
all comic impoits weie coming fiom Japan.
0
The comic iental kiosks still exist as seveial fianchises acioss Indonesia. Aitist W. Tony
-Bcys´ Icve Thrives in Ccnservative Indcnesia (ABRAHAM) 45
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46 Pait One: Boys` Love and Global Publishing
Figure . By Rhea SiIvan. Vínter Demon 4, Copyright · 2008 Yaoi Press IIC.
©

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explained to me duiing an Inteinet chat session in Maich 22, 2009, that the shelves aie
flled with manga now.
°It`s veiy easy to iead manga in Java," Tony typed, iefeiiing to Indonesia`s laigest
island, wheie half the total population lives. °You have eveiywheie to buy if you want, oi
you can still ient and iead all you want at the Staißy lounges. The cost is aiound ip.2000
($.07) to buy a manga giaphic novel, oi ip.2000 ($.7) to ient."
Manga has been established in Indonesia foi ovei a decade. Television netwoiks staited
aiiing anime in eainest in 996 with Rurcuni Kenshin on SCTV.

This biings us to the cui-

ient state of Indonesia, wheie the likes of Narutc, Cne Piece, and Death Ncte have giown
into a national obsession among youngei people. The indigenous sequential ait is now
manga-style. Manga ait schools aie opening on Indonesia`s main island.
2
BL fans weie ceitainly begotten fiom manga fans. Howevei, no commeicial BL is dis-
tiibuted in the countiy. In a Novembei 6, 2008, email, Silvan desciibed a situation wheie
a publishei °accidentally" put out Ghcst, a manga that`s consideied to be °shnen-ai," hav-
ing a veiy tame iomance between two male chaiacteis.
It was seiialized in few volumes, and had high appieciation fiom fans. It was only
shonen-ai iated, but the editoi once said that she often get mail complaints fiom moth-
eis that weie afiaid about the contents of a manga wheie a boy is falling in love with
anothei boy. Even though that wasn`t depicted too cleai in the stoiy.
The most that big Indonesian publishei is willing to piint is only any books that can
be consideied safe, such as: Yami nc matsuei by Matsushita Yoko oi X by CLAMP.
3
Manga publisheis in Indonesia face a dilemma. They aie awaie of the demand foi BL
but aie unable to tiead even lightly in that diiection without an outciy fiom paients. Pub-
lishei Elex Media Komputindo puts out manga-style woiks by Indonesians. Silvan explained
in the same email that these woiks aie wheie one sees the most hints of shnen-ai: °Even
though the chaiacteis don`t kiss, you know theie`s something going on because of how they
speak and ieact to each othei. It`s maybe something a paient wouldn`t assume is gay, but
fans of yaoi know what the aitist is tiying to say."
Iiberal Demccracy/Ccnservative Religicus State
The fact that Indonesia is an Asian countiy with an extensive tiade histoiy with Japan
facilitated the successful intioduction of manga. The piimaiy ieason theie aie BL fans in
Indonesia is because commeicial manga and anime is populai theie.
It is veiy telling of Indonesia that fiivolous and seculai iecieational items aie tolei-
ated in theii populai cultuie. This is not the same in neighboiing Malaysia, foi instance,
wheie the Haiiy Pottei novels aie banned foi theii depictions of °magic, soiceiy, wizaidiy,
witchciaft, Satanism, occult, and sheei evil."
4
Do not piesume, howevei, that this means that conseivative Muslim politicians have
not scoied signifcant wins in the Indonesian Pailiament. They have enjoyed gieat success,
along with libeial demociats. Indonesia has a unique histoiy in which the conseivative ieli-
gious paity and the libeial demociat paity weie iecently fghting on the same side. Accoid-
ing to Nathaniel Myeis,
Both opposed the suiviving elements of Suhaito`s goveinment, distiusted the militaiy`s
intentions, and sought to tackle the woist legacies of the old iegime, like iampant coi-
iuption, a bloated buieauciacy, and a politically poweiful militaiy.
5
-Bcys´ Icve Thrives in Ccnservative Indcnesia (ABRAHAM) 47
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Demociacy took ioot in Indonesia with tiemendous speed aftei the fist tiuly demo-
ciatic elections in 2006. U.S. Secietaiy of State Condoleezza Rice piaised Indonesia foi its
°vibiant demociacy" and its °deseived ieputation foi toleiance and inclusion and foi the
celebiation of diveisity ¦which] is indeed an inspiiation to the entiie woild"; at the same
time that Rice visited, howevei, Indonesia peifoimed iuthless ciackdowns on adulteiy,
public displays of affection, and public diinking.
6
Indonesia is a tiue demociacy, not a theociacy. Howevei, demociacy is not the same
as libeialism, as Myeis points out: °The aspiiations of Indonesia`s libeials and ieligious con-
seivatives aie inheiently competing, and ultimately Indonesians will have to make a
choice."
7
Foi example, sexuality of any kind is seen as a dangei foi unwed youths. A non-gov-
einment oiganization called Yayasan Pelita Ilmu distiibutes a monthly magazine to school-
aged youths.
8
One issue showed the fate of a piegnant, unwed giil. Hei options weie to
have a dangeious illegal aboition and continue hei studies oi get maiiied at a veiy young
age and piesumably give them up. Unwed women have no access to family planning oi
iepioductive health seivices. Still, this was moie favoiable than the scenaiio the magazine
gave foi a homosexual boy, desciibed by Biigitte M. Holznei and Dede Oetomo:
The aiticle iepoits the stoiy of a 7-yeai-old boy with homosexual inteiests who was
invited aftei a cybei chat to a Gay and Lesbian Room, wheie he met a 25-yeai-old man
who said he would intioduce him to the gay woild. He was taken to an apaitment wheie
he was iaped by two men, who tied his feet and coveied his mouth with tape. The boy
suffocated and died. The peipetiatois cut up his body, put the paits in a suitcase and left
it in fiont of a post offce.
9
Foi now, Indonesia`s new demociacy pioves to be toleiant of fiivolous seculai divei-
sions so long as they aie not poinogiaphic in natuie. It is similai to the USA in that the
same standaids do not apply to violence: goiy battles and giaphic beheadings aie common
in Indonesian media.
Iaw
Vague, long-standing laws have indiiectly stißed BL in Indonesia. Sections 28 and 282
of the KUHP
20
iestiict piuiient mateiials. Section 28 piohibits the distiibution of any-
thing that might aiouse a teenagei`s sexual uiges, and Section 282 states that anyone who
distiibutes text oi images that violate the °ethical noim" may be punished foi up to nine
months.
These laws weie applied in the banning of Playbcy magazine fiom Indonesia in 2006.
2
Two poweiful Muslim ieligious oiganizations act as lobbyists in Indonesia: the FPI (Fiont
Pembela Islam oi Fiont Defense Islam) and the MUI (Majelis Ulama Indonesia oi Ulama
Assembly of Indonesia), with the FPI being the moie militant of the two.
In an email on Novembei 6, 2008, Rhea Silvan wiote, °These ieligious oiganizations
aie the fist heaid when theie`s piinted mateiial with poinogiaphic aspects. When theie
was news of Playboy going to be published in Indonesia, the leadei of MUI, Din Syamsud-
din, was one of the most vocal in asking the goveinment to stop Playboy distiibuting theii
issues. The FPI piotest also. The FPI membeis attacked the Playboy offce and thiew stones
at the woikeis."
The Playbcy ban occuiied despite the fact that the Indonesian veision was not going
48 Pait One: Boys` Love and Global Publishing
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to include nude pictuies and made °¦a] piomise to iespect local values and to limit distii-
bution to avoid sale to minois."
22
The Indonesian pailiament debated foi ten yeais about updating the oldei laws with
a bioadei anti-poinogiaphy bill. One of the paities that pushed foi the change was the PKS
(Paitai Keadilan Sejahteia oi the °Piospeious Justice Paity"), which is based on the pie-
cepts of Islam. A new bill was fnally passed on Octobei 30, 2008 that moie cleaily defned
what would be illegal. Petei Gelling of the Inteinational Heiald Tiibune desciibed the bill:
The bill outlaws poinogiaphic acts and images, bioadly defning poinogiaphy as °man-
made sexual mateiials in the foim of diawings, sketches, illustiations, photogiaphs,
text, voice, sound, moving pictuies, animation, caitoons, poetiy, conveisations and ges-
tuies." It also makes illegal public peifoimances which could °incite sexual desiie."
23
The piotiacted battle ovei the bill shows the deep concein many Indonesians had ovei
Islam dictating state policy.
24
This haikens back to the libeial/conseivative tensions iefei-
enced eailiei. In this most iecent instance, the conseivative ieligious paities weie cleaily
victoiious.
A foim of °fieedom of speech" piotection does exist in Indonesia thiough the Undang-
Undang Dasai 45 (The Constitution of Indonesia) in section 28: °Fieedom foi gatheiing
and socializing, pouiing out youi thoughts in the foim of wiiting and speech, is piotected
by law." Howevei, °of couise this does not piotect you if you violate ethical noims," Sil-
van wiote in hei Novembei 2008 email. °It nevei would apply to poinogiaphic wiitings
and speech." She fuithei expanded on the situation:
Indonesia is a countiy with high iestiiction of poinogiaphic contents, but at the same
time the iestiiction is not stiong enough since theie aie some paits which can be ovei-
looked. The ieason is eithei the cops get biibed enough to let the issue go, oi they have
diffculties to keep these iestiicted mateiial distiibutions at bay. Foi example, poin
videos still exist in the maiket. Illegal mangas aie also distiibuted fiee heie in Indonesia.
Some of it was tianslated Japanese yaoi mangas. They took the scans diiectly fiom vaii-
ous scanning sites in inteinet, tianslating it pooily to Indonesian language and piinted
it out with low quality. I don`t know why, but goveinment doesn`t seem to have theii
eyes focused in these illegal mangas. Maybe they`ie too busy with anything else. The
only thing I know though, these yaoi mangas sold much in highei numbei than othei
genies.
Culture and Religicn
One of the common Westein assumptions about Muslim countiies is that women liv-
ing in them have fewei iights than men. Indonesia, howevei, has suipassed the U.S. in the
piotection of women`s iights. It has built gendei equality into its constitution. In addition,
Indonesia signed the Convention on the Elimination of All Foims of Disciimination Against
Women (CEDAW) in 980 and iatifed it in 984. CEDAW was a convention established by
the UN Geneial Assembly in 979. Ratifying the convention foimalized Indonesia`s com-
mitment to ending all foims of disciimination against women, undei whatevei giounds
and ieasons.
25
The countiy elected a female vice piesident in 999 who latei won the pies-
idency in 200.
Fuitheimoie, theie is no equivalent to Iian`s °Moiality Police"
26
in Indonesia. Women
in Indonesia feel fiee to puisue theii BL inteiest both in piivate and at public fan conven-
tions. Yet, despite the laige numbei of women fieely pioducing and enjoying BL,
most homosexuals in the countiy iemain closeted. Theie is nothing to show a coiielation
-Bcys´ Icve Thrives in Ccnservative Indcnesia (ABRAHAM) 49
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between the iise in BL`s populaiity and the level of acceptance of homosexuality in Indone-
sia.
Homosexuality was histoiically accepted in Indonesia until Piotestant Dutch settleis
came and stigmatized it; same-sex customs still exist in iemote Sulewesi villages as
the iemnants of an ancient, widespiead Indonesian tiadition, accoiding to Richaid
Ammon:
A °waiok" is a chaiismatic conductoi of ceiemonies who has one oi seveial young male
appientices called °gemblaks." Being a gemblak was consideied a piivilege since it con-
veys status as well as the boys` families ieceiving a dowiy. The duties include caiing foi
the waiok in his household as well as assisting him in ceiemonies, which sometimes
iequiie the appientice to diess as women, in costumes and masks. Sexual intimacy is
usually assumed to be pait of the aiiangement, but not always. Aftei about 7 yeais of
age the boys give up theii positions in the esteemed household and eventually go on to
maiiiage-well tiained in conjugal matteis.
27
This histoiy does not affect the offcial modein stance on homosexuality. All Islamic
schools of thought and juiispiudence considei gay acts to be illegal. The penalties diffei
between two schools of thought : The Hanafte school, which is followed in Indonesia,
teaches that no physical punishment is waiianted. The Hanabalites (who aie widely fol-
lowed in the Aiab woild) teach that seveie punishment is waiianted.
28
Homosexuality is
consideied a bad way of life in Indonesia, akin to piostitution, but gays and lesbians aie
not bashed. Ammon fuithei expanded in the same essay:
Being gay is now felt to be a cuise by young gays fist coming out. As they age, they hide
theii fiiendships and undeigiound affaiis, going off to meet and ciuise anonymously at
malls oi paiks. If they can affoid it, many go to the incieasing numbei of bais, clubs
and discos on designated nights to socialize with othei gay fiiends in the safety of the
dimly lit bai aiea oi the ßashing stiobes of the dance ßooi.
Silvan has a numbei of gay fiiends and gave hei desciiption of the situation in a
Novembei 2008 online chat session:
Gays have theii own magazine, theii own community at public place oi inteinets. They
like to gathei togethei at ceitain cafes in mall, and weai specifc thing to let othei know
that they`ie gay. Like a iing in pinky fngei. Gays heie aie not as open like in US, they
don`t get as much fieedom like it would be theie.
Silvan fuithei explained that ielatively few gay men iead BL: °Two of my gay fiiends
like to iead yaoi manga. Not many gays heie know what that phiase meant since yaoi dis-
tiibutions aie limited, except if you`ie a manga and anime loveis of couise."
When asked if gay men biowsed the BL djinshi tables at anime conventions, Silvan
typed, °Of couise not." She had diffculty compiehending a situation wheie someone could
be openly gay outside of a piivate setting.
°If they aie looking at gay manga eveiyone will know they aie gay. Not just othei gays,
all the people aiound them," she typed. I explained to hei that it was veiy common in the
U.S. foi gay men to biowse BL pioducts at anime conventions.
°It`s piesumed that the people selling at the booth and the othei women biowsing the
booth aie toleiant because we all love gay iomance stoiies," I wiote to hei.
°If a man goes to a booth of someone selling yaoi dojinshi the giil might think he`s a
peiveit fist, who is maybe ßiiting with hei because she diew something diity," Silvan
ieplied. °If they show they aie gay and like the dojinshi the giil will still be embaiiassed.
It`s embaiiassing foi a man to look at such intimate things. She can be comfoitable with
50 Pait One: Boys` Love and Global Publishing
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othei women, but this was not intended foi men to see, even if gay. Not unless they aie a
fiiend they know fiom befoie."
It seems cleai that in Indonesia it`s a gay man`s sex, iathei than his sexual oiientation,
that inhibits him fiom biowsing thiough BL booths.
Rhea Silvan was biought to the United States as a guest by Anime Cential, a conven-
tion in Chicago, in May 2009. She had no tiouble ielating to Ameiican fans. Theie was veiy
little cultuie shock foi hei. One notable incident occuiied, howevei, when she sat in on
the Yaoi Piess industiy panel and two cosplayeis volunteeied to give a passionate male/male
kiss in fiont of the ciowd. It was the fist time she`d seen two men kiss. °That`s something
you would nevei see in Indonesia," she said.
The Internet
The Inteinet is the most impoitant contiibutoi to BL populaiity in Indonesia. Although
theie is some goveinment censoiship, such as blocking all poin sites on the Inteinet seiv-
ice the goveinment piovides fiee to schools and libiaiies, access to the Inteinet iemains
mostly uniestiicted. Most Indonesians on the main island of Java have Inteinet access,
whethei in theii homes, as with Rhea Silvan, oi accessed thiough Wainet Inteinet cafes oi
thiough a fiee wiieless connection in public places.
Most Indonesian fans discovei BL online. The discoveiy piocess is not much diffei-
ent theie than anywheie else. °Fiist you fnd some anime oi manga you like," Silvan typed
duiing oui Novembei 2008 online chat, °then you go online to fnd moie about it. Maybe
some pictuies foi you to piint oi foiums to discuss it. When you seaich foi youi anime oi
manga you stait fnding sites with yaoi. You get cuiious about what these sites aie about.
Then you leain, and usually you get to love yaoi like eveiyone else. It makes youi show like
Death Note even moie fun. It`s something foi women that we have all to ouiselves to enjoy."
Accoiding to Silvan, the Indonesian Yaoi Fiont is the laigest online foium foi BL fans
in Indonesia. The site links to ovei 75 membei sites, which aie usually shiines devoted to
a paiticulai BL couple. The site also defnes BL, tells membeis wheie to fnd it, and iec-
ommends individual titles.
Indonesians also take advantage of seveial online institutions such as the deviantART
galleiy site, LiveJouinal, oi MySpace to shaie BL content. Silvan told me that download-
ing anime oi manga tianslated to Indonesian is not too pievalent due to the inexpensive
ientals fans can access. Rental kiosks that lend comic books, DVDs, and giaphic novels aie
pievalent thioughout Indonesia. °Of couise we will download Anime and manga that is
not available, like most yaoi," she added duiing the chat session.
Anime Ccnventicns and Djinshi
Of couise, fans found ways to conveige long befoie the Inteinet was pievalent. Comic
book and othei conventions giew in eainest duiing the late 990s in Indonesia. Seveial
thioughout the main island of Java celebiate manga and anime.
In oui Novembei chat session, Silvan wiote:
Theie aie many Anime, manga conventions being held in Indonesia. I`ve been to some
of them. The only one that gave deepest impiession to me is Animonstei Sound 2006,
-Bcys´ Icve Thrives in Ccnservative Indcnesia (ABRAHAM) 51
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since that convention has the biggest doujinshis selling booth. Most of the conventions
aie only about cosplay competitions and some diawing contests, oi about Japanese cul-
tuie, shows like °Taiko."
Silvan added that a close fiiend of heis iepoited that Animonstei Sound saw between
2,000 and 3,000 attendees.
Many of the conventions have an °aitist alley" oi °fan maiket" wheie amateui aitists
and djinshika can sell theii cieations.
°The comic/doujinshi booths aie always dominated with yaoi-ielated woik," Silvan
typed. °Some of it has high iatings (adult), some aie only shonen ai." An example of ama-
teui Indonesian woik can be seen in Figuie 2.
Silvan desciibed a scene in which the typical Indonesian iules towaid poinogiaphy
aie ielaxed: °The convention committee usually nevei state what the highest iating the
aitists can make, but they did make suie that a high iating woiks should be wiapped tightly
in plastic covei and had a cleai sign of waining on the fiont covei."
Anime conventions in Indonesia appeai to piovide an open and fiee enviionment foi
BL fans. °Indonesian yaoi aitists get some ieally good feedbacks fiom fans when they`ie
selling theii woiks at convention," Silvan wiote. °Most who come aie only inteiested in
yaoi ielated things. Eveiyone knows that if you want to make some independent piinted
mateiials and sell it at convention you bettei make something with yaoi hints."
Ccnclusicn
Indonesia is a nation despeiate to be fiee of the militaiy oppiession it once suffeied.
Howevei, its population is devout. Its citizens want theii beliefs to mattei in the political
landscape. Right now theie is gieat diffculty tiying to fnesse a balance between peisonal
fieedom and ieligious belief; if someone is caught with poinogiaphy, that peison eithei pays
a biibe and goes completely fiee oi is condemned to seveie punishment. Theie is no mid-
dle giound. As a iesult, Indonesia seems to be moving towaid evei-moie-iestiictive poinog-
iaphy laws, as demonstiated by the iecent anti-poinogiaphy bill that was passed. It looks
as though Rhea Silvan will nevei see hei BL woik published in hei home countiy. This is
a lamentable situation.
I look at the BL situation in Indonesia fiom seveial peispectives. Fiist, as a publishei,
I wish that Indonesia weie moie open to eiotic woiks. Theie is a laige demand foi BL in
Indonesia that can not legitimately be met. I know that if the countiy weie open to such
woiks, theie would be a thiiving commeicial BL maiket theie. Yaoi Piess titles would be
licensed in the Indonesian language foi sale the way they aie in Geiman. This would be
fantastic foi us, since 40 peicent of oui aitists aie Indonesian.
Second, as a fan of BL, I think theie should be oiiginal Indonesian-language BL poui-
ing out of this countiy. By limiting cieatois to djinshi tables at conventions the govein-
ment is stißing a potential caieei avenue foi hundieds of people. Theii BL manga can be
tiansmitted via Inteinet to U.S. publisheis. I know fisthand of the immense talent you can
fnd in Indonesia. This is what many fans want to cieate and what they want to buy.
Finally, as a fiiend of Rhea Silvan and W. Tony, I feai they will get caught and penal-
ized foi pioducing eiotic woik foi Yaoi Piess. They ieassuie me that the dangei is not
signifcant, but I still woiiy eveiy time they upload fles to oui seivei and each time I mail
them contiibutoi copies of theii books.
52 Pait One: Boys` Love and Global Publishing
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-Bcys´ Icve Thrives in Ccnservative Indcnesia (ABRAHAM) 53
Figure 2. By Good Chaser. Prínce of Tennís Djinshi, Copyright · 2007.
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In one iespect I fnd my attitude towaid Indonesia to be similai to that of my fiiends
living theie. I am in love with this countiy. I tiy to focus on the good and ignoie the bad.
Fiom what I`ve leained it seems that the moie negative aspects usually can be ignoied. As
foi the positive, I fnd Indonesia to be a nation wheie the people aie kind and welcoming.
The BL fans seem to be the same passionate gleeful young people I meet at fan conventions
in the U.S.
I still expect BL to be judged in the haishest mannei by Indonesian conseivatives. I
have little doubt that if fans weie enjoying BL at the wiong time oi in the wiong place theie
could be devastating consequences. Neveitheless, I hope that someday BL can become a
legitimate pait of Indonesia cultuie.
Nctes
1. Yamila Abiaham, °Re: we aie aitists foi you," email message fiom authoi, May 3, 2004.
2. Adetyai Doe, °Re: we aie aitists foi you," email message to authoi, May 4, 2004.
3. Adetyai Doe, °ie: Westein Union Sent!," email message to authoi, July , 2004.
4. William H. Fiedeiick and Robeit Woiden, Indcnesia. A Ccuntry Study (GPO foi the Libiaiy of Con-
giess. Washington. 993).
5. °Islam and Homosexuality." Mission Islam, 6 Nov 2007. http://www.missionislam.com/knowledge/
homosexualit.
6. Olivia Rondonuwu, °Indonesia`s pailiament passes anti-smut bill," Internaticnal Herald Tribune, 30
Oct 2008, http://www.iht.com/aiticles/ieuteis/2008/0/30/asi.
7. Laine Beiman, °LAINE BERMAN sheds a teai foi the late gieat Indonesian comic," Inside Indcnesia,
998, http://insideindonesia.oig/content/view/76/29/.
8. Andiea Tejokusumo, °'Manga` wields stiong inßuence ovei local comics," The }akarta Pcst, 4 Aug 2008,
sec. Supplement.
9. Hafz Ahmad, Beny Maulana, and Alvanov Apalanzani, Histeria! Kcmikita. (Indonesia: Elex Media
Komputindo. 2006), 74-75.
10. Jill Foishee, Culture and Custcms cf Indcnesia (Culture and Custcms cf Asia), (Westpoit, CT: Gieen-
wood Piess, 2006).
11. °Anime News in Indonesia (^ ^)," Anihabaia, 6 Aug 2003, http://east.sakuia.ne.jp/aniba/aninews/
id.htm.
12. Fadli Chan, °The Populaiity of Manga Cultuie," Dunia Perspektif, 22 Feb 2009, http://fadlinx.blogspot.
com/2009/02/populaiity-of-manga-cultuie.html.
13. Rhea Silvan, °heie you go, questionnaiie," email message to authoi, Nov. 6, 2008.
14. Spiegali. °Banned, Buined, Censoied," Listal. 26 Api 2009. http://www.listal.com/list/banned-buined-
censoied.
15. Nathaniel Myeis, °In Indonesia, Fieedom to Diffei," Internaticnal Herald Tribune, 26 Mai 2006,
http://www.iht.com/aiticles/2006/03/28/opinion/edm.
16. Ibid., .
17. Ibid., .
18. Biigitte M. Holznei and Dede Oetomo, °Youth, Sexuality and Sex Education Messages in Indonesia:
Issues of Desiie and Contiol," Reprcductive Health Matters 2, no. 23 (2004): 40-49.
19. Ibid., 44.
20. Kitab Undang-undang Hukum Perdata (Indonesia: Indonesian Goveinment, 945).
21. Gueiin, Bill. °No Playmates foi Indonesian Playboys," Asian Times, 0 Feb 2006, sec. Southeast Asia
section.
22. Ibid., .
23. Petei Gelling, °Indonesia Passes Bioad Anti-Poinogiaphy Bill," Internaticnal Herald Tribune, 30 Oct
2008, http://www.iht.com/aiticles/2008/0/30/asia/indo.php
24. Pam Allen, °Challenging Diveisity:: Indonesia`s Anti-Poinogiaphy Bill," Asian Studies Review 3 (June
2007): 0-5.
25. Lily Z. Munii, °Gendei equality in a new demociacy," The }akarta Pcst, 29 Decembei 2006, http://www.
thejakaitapost.com/Outlook/pol03b.asp.
26. Ali Akbai Daieini, °Iian`s Vicious Diesstapo Hits Unveiled Gals with Baibaiic 'Banishment,`" New
54 Pait One: Boys` Love and Global Publishing
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Ycrk Pcst (Apiil 25, 2007), http://www.nypost.com/seven/04252007/news/woildnews/ iians_vicious_diess
tapo_hits_unveiled_gals_with_baibaiic_banishment_woildnews_ali_akbai_daieini__ap_and_post_
wiie_seivices.htm:page·.
27. Richaid Ammon, °Gay Indonesia-Jakaita," global gayz, May 2008, http://www.globalgayz.com/coun
tiy/Indonesia/view/IDN/gay-indonesia-jakaita.
28. °Islam and Homosexuality," Mission Islam, Apiil 2008, http://www.missionislam.com/knowledge/
homosexuality.htm.
Biblicgraphy
Ahmad, Hafz, Beny Maulana and Alvanov Apalanzani. Histeria! Kcmikita. Indonesia: Elex Media Kom-
putindo. 2006.
Allen, Pam. °Challenging Diveisity:: Indonesia`s Anti-Poinogiaphy Bill." Asian Studies Review 3 (June 2007):
0-5.
Ammon, Richaid. °Gay Indonesia-Jakaita." global gayz. May 2008. http://www.globalgayz.com/countiy/
Indonesia/view/IDN/gay-indonesia-jakaita (accessed Jun 28, 2009).
°Anime News in Indcnesia (^ ^)." Anihabaia. 6 Aug 2003. http://east.sakuia.ne.jp/aniba/aninews/id.htm
(accessed Feb 7, 2009).
Beiman, Laine. °LAINE BERMAN sheds a teai foi the late gieat Indonesian comic." Inside Indcnesia. 998.
http://insideindonesia.oig/content/view/76/29/ (accessed Nov 0, 2008).
Chan, Fadli . °The Populaiity of Manga Cultuie." Dunia Perspektif. 22 Feb 2009. http://fadlinx.blogspot.
com/2009/02/populaiity-of-manga-cultuie.html (accessed Api 4, 2009).
Daieini, Ali Akbai, °Iian`s Vicious Diesstapo Hits Unveiled Gals with Baibaiic 'Banishment.`" New Ycrk Pcst
(Apiil 25, 2007), http://www.nypost.com/seven/04252007/news/woildnews/ iians_vicious_diesstapo_hits_
unveiled_gals_with_baibaiic_banishment_woildnews_ali_akbai_ daieini__ap_and_post_wiie_seivices.
htm:page· (Accessed Novembei 5, 2008).
Foishee, Jill. Culture and Custcms cf Indcnesia (Culture and Custcms cf Asia). Westpoit. 2006.
Fiedeiick, William H. and Robeit Woiden. Indcnesia. A Ccuntry Study. GPO foi the Libiaiy of Congiess.
Washington. 993.
Gelling, Petei. °Indonesia Passes Bioad Anti-Poinogiaphy Bill." Internaticnal Herald Tribune. 30 Oct 2008.
http://www.iht.com/aiticles/2008/0/30/asia/indo.php (Accessed Octobei 30th, 2008).
Gueiin, Bill. °No Playmates foi Indonesian Playboys." Asian Times, 0 Feb 2006, sec. Southeast Asia section.
Holznei, Biigitte M., and Oetomo, Dede. °Youth, Sexuality and Sex Education Messages in Indonesia: Issues
of Desiie and Contiol." Reprcductive Health Matters 2, no. 23 (2004): 40-49.
°Islam and Homosexuality." Mission Islam. 6 Nov 2007. http://www.missionislam.com/knowledge/homosex
uality.htm (accessed Mai 22, 2009).
°Islam and Homosexuality." Mission Islam. Apiil 2008. http://www.missionislam.com/knowledge/homosex
uality.htm (accessed Apiil 4, 2009).
Kitab Undang-undang Hukum Perdata. Indonesia: Indonesian Goveinment. 945.
Myeis, Nathaniel. °In Indonesia, Fieedom to Diffei." Internaticnal Herald Tribune. 26 Mai 2006. http://www.
iht.com/aiticles/2006/03/28/opinion/edm (accessed Nov 4, 2008).
Rondonuwu, Olivia. °Indcnesia´s parliament passes anti-smut bill." Internaticnal Herald Tribune. 30 Oct 2008.
http://www.iht.com/aiticles/ieuteis/2008/0/30/asi (accessed Nov 6, 2008).
Spiegali. °Banned, Buined, Censoied." Listal. 26 Api 2009. http://www.listal.com/list/banned-buined-
censoied (accessed Feb 4, 2009).
Tejokusumo, Andiea. °'Manga` wields stiong inßuence ovei local comics." The }akarta Pcst, 4 Aug 2008, sec.
Supplement.
Munii, Lily Z. °Gendei equality in a new demociacy," The }akarta Pcst. 29 Decembei 2006. http://www.the
jakaitapost.com/Outlook/pol03b.asp (Accessed Novembei 2, 2008).
-Bcys´ Icve Thrives in Ccnservative Indcnesia (ABRAHAM) 55
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PART TWO
Genre and Readership
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Bettei Than Romance:
}apanese BI Manga and the Subgenre
cf Male/Male Rcmantic Ficticn
DRU PAGLIASSOTTI
The iomantic stoiyline within boys` love manga is impoitant to its ieadeis. In my 2005
suivey of such ieadeis,

the laigest gioup of iespondents iepoited that the single most

impoitant element of BL manga was °slowly but consistently developing love between the
couple," and that they iead it because °I think it`s sweet to see same-sex couples in love."
Aiound a thiid of the suivey`s iespondents agieed with the statement °I wish I had a iomance
like the ones in boy`s love manga."
Indeed, in theii qualitative comments, seveial iespondents situated BL manga diiectly
within the iomance genie. Foi example, theii qualitative comments included,
I see BL manga as an offshoot of shoujo manga and iomance novels (both of which I
like). Chick lit. And it`s been disiespected by most academics just like they disiespect
Romance novels (annoyed °feminist" tangent : no one, howevei, evei disiespects oigan-
ized spoits as °iepetitive opiate of the masses" oi staits pathologizing its fans oi what-
evei).
Like women befoie us that got a thiill out of ieading papeiback iomances, a good stoiy
can leave youi woiiies behind, if only foi a while. Foi the most pait, it`s just the gendei
that`s changed. Also, it can be a lot wildei than those old Hailequin novels, and it allows
us to confiont some alteinative/off the wall activities that might be haid to beai in ieal
life. Sometimes it`s a thiill, sometimes it`s hilaiious. In the end, I love men, and don`t
mind seeing them love each othei sometimes.
Yet, at the same time, othei BL manga ieadeis expiessed theii dissatisfaction with het-
eiosexual populai iomance novels and aigued that BL manga weie, in some way, °bettei."
A numbei of the aiguments piesented in favoi of BL manga aie similai to those that
have alieady been piesented foi slash; that is, suivey iespondents say that they enjoy
BL`s giaphic depictions of sexual activities, andiogynous piotagonists, shifting point
of view/multiple identifcations, and egalitaiian love ielationships.
2
Howevei, BL manga
aie not identical to eithei slash oi the mainstieam Westein iomance; theii ioots in
Japanese cultuie and theii giaphic-novel foimat diffeientiate them in seveial notewoithy
ways.
This chaptei seeks to fimly situate Japanese BL manga
3
within the iomance genie by
compaiing them with studies of the Westein mainstieam iomance, i.e., studies of com-
meicially published iomance novels that featuie a heteiosexual couple and aie maiketed
to a piedominately female demogiaphic. It will also addiess some of the diffeiences between
BL manga, mainstieam Westein iomances, and slash by desciibing thematic, cultuial,
and foimat vaiiations. The chaptei will, fnally, aigue that male/male iomance, as a bioad
categoiy, should be consideied a disciete subgenie of the populai iomance including
59
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not only BL woiks but also slash and Westein mainstieam novels that have hitheito avoided
categoiization and analysis, as well as °gay" iomances wiitten by women.
Shared Interests
The fact that female-authoied fction about male/male love is iomantic has been men-
tioned numeious times in discussions of slash fction but seldom addiessed diiectly oi ana-
lyzed in depth. Catheiine Salmon and Donald Symons obseive, °in a iush to show that slash,
and by extension its fans, aie 'diffeient,` academic theoiists have seiiously undeiestimated
the similaiities between slash and mainstieam iomances."
4
The use of °similaiities" is an
undeistatement -slash is, essentially, a subgenie of the Westein populai iomance. Slash
and BL manga aie not identical, howevei, and togethei they woik to extend and bioaden
the iomantic foimula.
In the West, BL manga is sometimes subdivided by ieadeis into two categoiies: the
teim yaci is often used to iefei to haidei, moie sexually explicit boy`s love stoiies, and
shnen-ai foi softei, less explicit stoiies. Ninety-thiee peicent of the BL manga suivey
iespondents iepoited ieading both yaoi and shnen-ai. BL manga ieadeis also enjoy iead-
ing othei genies: seventy-two peicent of the iespondents iepoited ieading same-sex
iomances, sixty-eight peicent iepoited ieading slash, and ffty-fve peicent iepoited iead-
ing heteiosexual iomances; in othei woids, a majoiity of BL manga ieadeis enjoy othei
foims of iomantic fction, as well.
In addition, ffty-nine peicent of the BL manga suivey iespondents iepoited ieading
same-sex eiotica, while thiity-two peicent iepoited ieading heteiosexual eiotica. The sta-
tistics on ieading poinogiaphy will be addiessed latei. Fewei iespondents iepoited iead-
ing othei types of homoeiotic oi puiely eiotic manga; twenty-foui peicent iepoited ieading
shjc-ai, and fouiteen peicent iepoited ieading yuri, the female/female equivalents of
shnen-ai and yaoi, iespectively.
Many BL manga ieadeis enjoy iomantic and eiotic woiks of vaiious types, theie is
consideiable ciossovei in the ieadeiship of such genies, and the sex of the piotagonists
doesn`t seem to make a gieat deal of diffeience, although, not suipiisingly, theie`s an ovei-
all piefeience among BL manga ieadeis foi woiks about same-sex couples.
Types cf Rcmance
The defning chaiacteiistic of the iomance, John Cawelti aigues, is °love tiiumphant
and peimanent, oveicoming all obstacles and diffculties."
5
The iomantic foimula can be
soited into six oveilapping types, accoiding to Kay Mussell: the seiies iomance, the eiotic
iomance, the gothic iomance, the iomantic suspense, the iomantic biogiaphy, and the his-
toiical iomance.
6
BL manga fall into many, if not all, of these categoiies.
Series rcmances focus °on the ielationship between two loveis with viitually all sus-
pense deiiving fiom that one aspect of the stoiy,"
7
the complications being piimaiily intei-
nal, iathei than exteinal, to the chaiacteis. This categoiy embiaces the mannei of
publication as much as the plot of the novels itself; classic Hailequin iomances aie consid-
eied the quintessential seiies iomances, and seiies iomances became populai in Japan in
the eaily 980s.
8
An example of BL manga that may ft this categoiy is Cnly the Ring Fin-
60 Pait Two: Genie and Readeiship
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ger Kncws (Scnc yubi dake ga shitteiru)-a manga and seiies of novels by Kannagi Satoiu
and Odagiii Hotaiu.
9
This seiies is longei than the stand-alone novels moie typical of the
Westein seiies iomance, but the pioblems facing high school students Wataiu Fujii and
Yuichi Kazuki aie piimaiily inteipeisonal and linked to theii own behavioi oi ieactions,
such as lies, gossip, and jealousy, iathei than caused by exteinal events.
Erctic rcmances put sexuality at the centei of the stoiy and °covei a wide iange of sit-
uations linked by a peimissive attitude towaid piemaiital sex and by a willingness to exam-
ine subjects pieviously excluded fiom iomances, such as iape and infdelity,"
0
although
theii heioines aie not piomiscuous as a iule. Readeis unfamiliai with the iomantic genie
seem unawaie of how many iomances include sexual content, although Maiiead Owen
notes that iomances °aie the most available souices of eioticism foi women,"

and this eiotic

content is a signifcant factoi in theii populaiity, as Caiol Thuiston shows in The Rcmance
Revcluticn.
2
A signifcant amount of °haid" BL manga falls into the eiotic iomance categoiy, such
as, foi example, My Parancid Next Dccr Neighbcr (Tcnari nc heya nc parancia) by Minami
Kazuka,
3
in which the iomantic ielationship that develops between Hokuto and Yukito is
endangeied by schoolmates who seek to smeai Hokuto`s chaiactei and make Yukito bieak
up with him; sex between the two main chaiacteis occuis in seveial giaphically illustiated
scenes and plays a signifcant and iecuiiing iole in the manga as the chaiacteis` ielation-
ship develops.
Although mainstieam iomance novels seldom fall into the °poin without plot" oi
°plot: what plot:" categoiy-commeicial novels that emphasize sex ovei stoiy aie likely to
be categoiized as °eiotica" oi °adult fction" iathei than iomance-BL manga aie moie likely
to ft this desciiption. Foi example, Ievel-C (Keiraku nc hcuteishiki level-C) by Futaba Aoi
and Mitsuba Kuienai
4
has ielatively little plot; the male fashion model Mizuki is seduced
by a stiangei, Kazuomi, to diaw him into a commeicial campaign, and the bulk of the fist
volume, which was initially ieleased as a djinshi, oi self-published woik, is dedicated to
scenes of sex between them. Should it, theiefoie, be consideied an °eiotic iomance," oi
PWP fction: Publisheis in the U.S. haven`t tiied to diffeientiate between the two, although
English-language scanlation ciicles often use labels such as PWP to give piospective iead-
eis an idea of what to expect fiom a woik.
Gcthic rcmances aie set °in an enclosed domestic setting, fiequently an old mansion
with an extended family in iesidence. The souice of dangei lies within a small gioup of
tightly linked chaiacteis."
5
In these stoiies, heioines aie typically wives who fnd them-
selves in suspicious maiiiages, goveinesses, oi adopted oiphans.
Gothic iomances seem to be ielatively unusual in BL manga. Two of the eailiest woiks
of BL manga contain gothic elements but don`t entiiely satisfy expectations foi a populai
iomance. Foi example, the shjc called Heart cf Thcmas (Tma nc shinz) by Hagio Moto
is set in a Geiman boaiding school, and the stoiy includes spuined love, suicide, illegiti-
mate childien, sexual abuse, and othei seciets existing between and among the school`s ies-
idents. The chaiacteis, howevei, end the stoiy iomantically unieconciled. Anothei eaily
BL shjc, Scng cf \ind and Trees (Kaze tc ki nc uta) by Takemiya Keiko may ft the bill bet-
tei; it also contains a boaiding-school-based gothic setting, and two of the chaiacteis end
up togethei, although its violent, tiagic ending may leave Westein iomance ieadeis
unsatisfed.
6
Few of the Japanese BL manga licensed in the U.S. ft Mussell`s defnition of the gothic
iomance. A numbei involve individuals living with an eccentiic pation in a manoi-like
-Better Than Rcmance? (PAGLIASSOTTI) 61
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setting, such as pianist Kenzo Shinozuka living with pation Loienzo Cailucci in Ogasawaia
Uki`s Virtucsc di Amcre (Netsujcu nc virtucsc bangai scushuuhen), oi poitiait aitist Lou,
who discoveis that his biooding pation Sein is a vampiie in Vampire´s Pcrtrait Vcl.
(Kyuuketsuki nc shcuzcu) by Kusumoto Hiioki, but neithei of these stoiies includes an
extended family whose seciets and iiiegulaiities thieaten the piotagonist`s life oi fieedom.
Othei manoi-based stoiies, such as that of the °maid" Midoii Ichii who takes his giand-
mothei`s place in Shimada Hisami`s Maid in Heaven (Meidc in heaven), aie comedies iathei
than diamas. The long BL manga seiies Icve Mcde by Shimizu Yuki, which is piimaiily set
within the gay host club Blue Boy and ievolves aiound the hosts` ielationships and the Aoe
family`s tensions, possesses some gothic elements, but its ensemble cast and open setting
aie pooi fts foi the iest of the gothic foimula.
7
Rcmantic suspense novels combine iomance with an adventuie in which °the heioine
acts decisively to solve a mysteiy, a piesent ciime oi a past puzzle. She may have help fiom
othei chaiacteis-most notably the heio-but hei own actions aie integial to the solu-
tion."
8
BL manga include a numbei of iomantic suspense stoiies, ianging fiom fantasy (e.g.,
Black Knight [Kurc nc kishi] by Tsuiugi Kai) to science fction (Steal Mccn by Makoto
Tateno) to police diama (FAKE by Matoh Sanami) and so foith.
9
They diffei fiom Mus-
sell`s defnition of iomantic suspense in seveial ways, howevei.
Fiist, it can be diffcult to tell which of the male chaiacteis is the °heioine" of a BL
manga, because both chaiacteis may paiticipate equally in the stoiy and be equally inte-
gial to the solution of the mysteiy. BL manga aie often naiiated fiom the uke`s (the usu-
ally less-expeiienced male`s) point of view, but this iule is by no means stiict, and chapteis
may shift fiom one chaiactei`s POV to anothei`s ovei the couise of an extended seiies.
Second, and of moie inteiest, Mussell aigues that °the peifoimance of the heioine in
solving the mysteiy is a 'fantasy of competence,` a pioof, howevei oblique, that the con-
ventional values of women`s lives ... do not pieclude action and adventuie."
20
In BL, wheie
both iomantic piotagonists aie male, the ideological goal of iedeeming women`s values
and activities becomes iiielevant. Tiue, the uke is often chaiacteiized as °feminine"-
smallei, weakei, less confdent, and moie emotional than his paitnei-but this is not always
the case (e.g., the uke Yagihashi Koju is the tallei chaiactei in Misasagi Fuhii`s Idcl Plea-
sures
2
¦Hazamaniaru scrane]), and ultimately the uke still enjoys the fieedoms and piivi-
leges of being male in a patiiaichal society. By contiast, in BL manga, female chaiacteis
aie often demonized, iathei than valoiized, by both the mangaka and the ieadeis, as M.
M. Blaii desciibes.
22
This pioblematizes any asseition one might want to make that BL
manga, as texts, affim women`s lives and competencies.
Rcmantic bicgraphies °fctionalize the stoiies of actual women in histoiy,"
23
a populai
foim of Westein mainstieam iomance. Howevei, fctionalizing the lives of histoiical male
fguies isn`t as common in BL manga, at least as licensed and tianslated into English. One
example is Iudwig II by Higuii You,
24
a manga about King Ludwig II of Bavaiia that pio-
poses a iomance between him and his stable boy.
Histcrical rcmances, iomances set in the past, aie fai moie common in BL manga; foi
example, Yoshinaga Fumi`s Gerard o }acques (Gerard tc jacques) set on the cusp of the
Fiench Revolution; Ogasawaia Uki`s Black Sun (Black sun. Dcrei cu), set in the Middle East
duiing the Ciusades; Minami Megumu`s shoit stoiies in Pleasure Dcme (Kanrakukyuu),
which aie set in a vaiiety of histoiical peiiods and places; and Kodaka Kazuma`s Midare-
scmenishi. A Iegend cf Samurai Icve (Midare scmenishi), to name a few.
25
The cential dif-
62 Pait Two: Genie and Readeiship
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feience between histoiical iomances and iomantic biogiaphies is the foimei`s use of fctional
chaiacteis iathei than fctionalized veisions of ieal people.
Elements cf Rcmance
Given the close ft of BL manga into standaid categoiies of Westein iomance novels,
it should come as no suipiise to fnd that theii stoiies aie, also, stiuctuied like populai
iomances. The fact that both chaiacteis aie male leads to minoi diffeiences in how plot
elements aie developed, but the oveiall pattein iemains much the same.
Pamela Regis identifed eight essential elements of the Westein iomance novel:
1. Scciety Defned: Scenes that desciibe the social context within which the stoiy
will take place.
2. The Meeting: Scenes that desciibe the meeting between the iomantic piotago-
nists, occuiiing in the beginning of the novel oi desciibed in ßashback.
3. The Barrier: Scenes that piesent exteinal oi inteinal ieasons why the iomantic
piotagonists cannot become betiothed (in contempoiaiy iomantic novels, this
can be undeistood as committed to a monogamous ielationship with each othei).
4. The Attracticn: Scenes that develop the ieasons why the iomantic piotagonists
should maiiy.
5. The Declaraticn: A scene oi scenes in which one of the iomantic piotagonists
declaies love foi the othei.
6. Pcint cf Ritual Death: A moment in which the union between the iomantic pio-
tagonists seems impossible; the point at which the happy ending is in jeopaidy.
7. The Reccgniticn: A scene oi scenes in which the baiiieis aie iemoved, usually
thiough the iecognition of new infoimation.
8. The Betrcthal: A scene oi scenes in which one of the iomantic piotagonists asks
the othei to maiiy; in contempoiaiy iomance novels, a maiiiage pioposal may
be ieplaced by a veibal assumption that the iomantic piotagonists will end up
togethei.
26
Most populai BL manga contain these essential elements, although some exceptions
and cuitailments exist. Foi example, BL manga may stait with an alieady-established cou-
ple facing a baiiiei to theii ielationship, and the stoiy goal is to oveicome The Barrier iathei
than to ieach The Betrcthal; by contiast, staiting with an alieady-established paii of pio-
tagonists is unusual in Westein iomance novels. In othei BL manga, especially shoitei
woiks, the stoiy may end with The Declaraticn, eithei admitted to oneself oi confessed to
the othei. And, fnally, some BL manga end at the Pcint cf Ritual Death, with the iejection,
betiayal, oi physical demise of a piotagonist.
The Scciety Defned in BL manga is typically Japanese and contempoiaiy, often a boy`s
school oi woikplace. The panels and dialog often convey the location and time peiiod in
details of diess (e.g., Japanese school unifoims, yukatas, kimonos), signage (often left
untianslated), honoiifcs (-san, -kun), food (uden, yakitcri, sake), and actions (e.g., piac-
ticing maitial aits, piaying at a temple) and so foith. Howevei, like mainstieam iomances,
BL manga may also be set in diffeient histoiical peiiods, diffeient countiies, and in entiiely
fantastic oi extiateiiestiial locales.
One °society" peculiai to BL manga depicts men possessing the eais and tails of ani-
-Better Than Rcmance? (PAGLIASSOTTI) 63
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mals but otheiwise, usually, diessing and acting like humans. In this °society," the iomance
occuis with oi between such kemcncmimi: foi example, with the tiansfoiming dog in
Takashima Kazusa`s Man´s Best Friend (Inu mc arukeba); with the ieincainated dog of
Kiiishima Tamaki`s Ruff Icve (Shiba tc isshc); and between the human/animal hybiids in
Amagi Reno`s Part-Time Pets (Kemcmimi shcuji). These aie not quite paianoimal iomances,
which might featuie iomances with shapeshifting spiiits, vampiies, and the like;
kemcncmimi iomances have no mainstieam Westein equivalent.
27
The Meeting may be desciibed ovei the couise of the naiiative oi, quite commonly,
especially in BL manga that ievolve aiound an alieady-established couple, in a ßashback.
The Attracticn is often the iealization by the viewpoint chaiactei that he is becoming emo-
tionally involved with anothei man-oi is the subject of anothei man`s attiaction-which
often leads diiectly to confused piotests of °but, we`ie both male!"
The Barrier, accoiding to Regis, is cential to the iomance novel and °establishes foi the
ieadei the ieasons that this heioine and heio cannot maiiy."
28
In BL, which often acknowl-
edges social piohibitions against same-sex maiiiage, the baiiiei may be chaiacteiized instead
as establishing the ieasons why the two chaiacteis cannot settle down into a long-teim, mutu-
ally committed ielationship. Baiiieis may be inteinal oi exteinal to the piotagonist.
In BL manga, a common inteinal baiiiei is the piotagonist`s denial of his attiaction
to anothei man, often because he iejects the possibility of a gay identity. This iecuiiing
motif has led ciitics to question whethei BL manga can be consideied ideologically queei
oi gay-affimative.
29
As a liteiaiy device, howevei, the denial of attiaction seives to make
the couple`s eventual acceptance of theii mutual but societally maiginalized love that much
moie iomantic, as desciibed by Regis:
Removal of the baiiiei usually involves the heioine`s fieedom fiom societal, civic, oi
even ieligious stiictuies that pievented the union between hei and the heio. This ielease
is an impoitant souice of the happiness in the iomance novel`s happy ending. The bai-
iiei`s fall is a libeiation foi the heioine. It is a moment of iejoicing foi the ieadei, whose
iesponse to the heioine`s fieedom is joy.
30
Othei BL baiiieis may include doubts that one piotagonist shaies the othei`s ioman-
tic feelings, vaiious types of iivaliy, the existence of a pievious iomantic ielationship, the
necessity of keeping the ielationship seciet in a society piejudiced against gay couples, oi
one chaiactei`s iape of anothei. Exteinal baiiieis often include fnding time foi the iela-
tionship amid conßicting school, club, family, business, oi even ciiminal obligations.
Cawelti notes that many iomances include adventuie, since °dangeis function as a
means of challenging and then cementing the love ielationship."
3
Similaily, many BL manga
aie simultaneously mysteiy, fantasy, hoiioi, oi science fction adventuies, in which case
exteinal baiiieis may include ciimes to be solved, killeis/monsteis/aliens to be defeated,
cuises to be oveicome, and the like.
Finally, Mussell asseits that the coie challenge of the iomance is the °domestic test,"
which can be viewed as a soit of meta-baiiiei:
only women who pass a domestic test by confoiming to a set of expectations in values
and activities may eain the iewaid of being chosen by Mi. Right. ¦...] Its seveial aspects
confoim to the thiee tiaditional and inteiielated ioles of female socialization: wife,
mothei, and homemakei. Heioines must pass the test in all thiee aieas, but diffeient
foimulas tieat the patteins in chaiacteiistic ways oi emphasize one aiea ovei otheis.
32
The heio`s acknowledgement of the heioine`s success in these thiee aieas signifes that the
heioine is fully matuie and adult, and thus woithy of the heio`s love.
64 Pait Two: Genie and Readeiship
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Although BL featuies two men, in many cases they, too, must pass the domestic test.
That is, ovei the couise of the stoiy, one oi both BL chaiacteis must piove capable of com-
mitting to a long-teim, monogamous ielationship (a °wife" iole); of nuituiing and com-
foiting each othei and/oi childien, pets, oi suboidinates (a °mothei" iole); and of
maintaining a household eithei thiough theii physical woik oi fnancial suppoit (a °home-
makei" iole). Note that the impoitance of the lattei depends on the chaiacteis` ages;
although BL scenaiios that ieveal a chaiactei`s competence at cooking, cleaning, oi main-
taining an apaitment oi house aie common when the chaiacteis aie living alone, high-
school-age chaiacteis aie less likely to demonstiate such competencies if they aie still living
with theii families.
Aftei the baiiiei has been bieached, a declaiation of love is made. The Declaraticn may,
in some BL manga, simply be the inteinal admission by the piotagonist that he loves anothei
man; moie often it`s a veibal confession of love and/oi the chaiactei`s willing paiticipation
in kissing oi sex-willing is impoitant, because nonconsensual sex is a much moie com-
mon plot element in BL manga than in populai iomance novels.
The Pcint cf Ritual Death puts the happy ending in peiil; it is often an emotionally
chaiged aigument between the two piotagonists based on some soit of misundeistanding
oi conßict of obligations, although in BL manga an aiianged maiiiage to a woman, kid-
napping, cuises, and actual death may also seive as iitual deaths. Some BL manga will, in
fact, end at this point, meshing iomance with tiagedy. When such a sad ending occuis,
howevei, it usually fts Cawelti`s obseivation that the death of a piotagonist in iomance is
piesented °in such a way as to suggest that the love ielation has been of lasting and pei-
manent impact."
33
Moie commonly, howevei, even death may be oveicome as the beloved
tiansfoims into a ghost, vampiie, oi othei supeinatuial cieatuie oi is ieboin into anothei
body; such plot developments piopel the stoiy into the categoiy of paianoimal iomance.
The Reccgniticn iesolves the misundeistanding oi conßict oi otheiwise oveicomes the
pioblem of iitual death, leading to The Betrcthal, which, as mentioned, in BL implies the
establishment of a monogamous, mutually committed long-teim ielationship-in othei
woids, a happy ending.
Happy endings aie impoitant in the West; in 984, Janice Radway found that the most
impoitant ingiedient in a iomance was a happy ending, with the second °a slowly but con-
sistently developing love between heio and heioine" and °some detail about the heioine
and the heio aftei they have fnally gotten togethei."
34
Even today, the national oiganiza-
tion Romance Wiiteis of Ameiica defnes the iomance genie as possessing two basic ele-
ments: °a cential love stoiy and an emotionally-satisfying and optimistic ending"
35
; in othei
woids, the Westein piefeience foi iomances that have a happy ending hasn`t faded ovei the
last two decades.
Howevei, iespondents to the BL manga suivey did nct choose a happy ending as the
most impoitant element of a BL iomance. Instead, the laigest gioup, foity-two peicent,
chose °slowly but consistently developing love between the couple" as the single most essen-
tial element -this was the second choice of Radway`s suiveyed ieadeis. The second laigest
gioup of BL ieadeis (not counting those who chose °othei"), making up ffteen peicent of
the suivey`s iespondents, chose °scenes about the couple aftei they have fnally gotten
togethei" as the second most impoitant featuie of BL manga. The thiid most impoitant
featuie, chosen by eleven peicent of the iespondents, was °explicit sexual illustiations."
Compaie that to Radway`s suivey, in which °lots of scenes with explicit sexual desciiption"
wasn`t chosen by any of hei iomance suivey iespondents. On the othei hand, Radway`s
-Better Than Rcmance? (PAGLIASSOTTI) 65
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fnding was contiadicted by Thuiston`s suiveys of iomance ieadeis, which weie caiiied out
at about the same time, in 982 and 985, in which °detailed sexual desciiption" and love
scenes made the top fve °most-liked stoiy and chaiactei attiibutes"
36
in iomances. Cleaily,
BL manga ieadeis aie less united in theii opinion of what is °most impoitant" in BL than
aie iomance ieadeis, although the love stoiy iemains cential.
But as fai as happy endings go, °happy ending" was the least populai choice among
the suiveyed BL manga ieadeis, consideied °most impoitant" by only six peicent of the
iespondents. This suggests that BL manga ieadeis, unlike ieadeis of Westein mainstieam
iomances, aie fai moie open to the possibility of iomantic fction that contains sadness,
tiagedy, and violence.
Sadness, Tragedy, and Viclence
In the context of hei 980-8 suivey of iomance ieadeis, Radway aigues that °in those
iomances wheie the potential consequences of male-female ielations aie too convincingly
imagined oi peimitted to contiol the tenoi of the book by obscuiing the developing love
stoiy, the ait foim`s iole as safe display is violated."
37
Romances aie delibeiately idealized
fantasies, functioning as a comfoiting haven foi ieadeis who want to escape the pioblems
of theii ieal lives. As Caiol Rickei-Wilson notes, °once ieadeis ventuie out of the foimu-
laic iomance genie, fction is a wild caid and identifcation with female piotagonists an
emotional iisk"
38
; that is, women in othei genies may be steieotyped oi victimized in ways
offensive oi distuibing to a female ieadei. Given the comfoiting function of the iomantic
genie, it`s not suipiising that it usually shuns tiagedy and violence. And, in fact, Radway`s
ieadeis identifed iape as the most objectionable element in a iomance, with a sad ending
the iunnei-up.
BL manga ieadeis, howevei, did not agiee.
Sad endings aie not unknown in iomance; foi example, Cawelti noted that classic
Westein iomances such as Rcmec and }uliet oi Tristan and Isclde end in death, although,
as mentioned eailiei, such sad endings aie not necessaiily unhappy endings; that is, the
existence of a tiue and enduiing love between the chaiacteis is nevei cast in doubt.
39
How-
evei, sad endings aie no longei expected oi desiied by contempoiaiy Westein iomance
ieadeis.
Japanese iomance ieadeis, on the othei hand, do not seem to have iejected sad end-
ings as thoioughly; Janet S. Shibamoto Smith notes that Japanese iomance novels fiom the
970s to 2000 can be categoiized as °() hypeiseiious novels, ending in hiren (blighted
love) and (2) novels lightei in oveiall tone with a happii-endc (happy ending)."
40
This seems
to ft the Japanese sensibility of mcnc nc aware, which can be oveisimplifed as an aesthetic
appieciation foi sadness and melancholy.
¦A]s sensitivity to beauty incieases and the aesthetic expeiience becomes iichei, a kind
of phenomenological ießection upon the fiagility of beauty and its mutability sponta-
neously takes place, fusing with the essential intuition of beauty itself. A special aes-
thetic feeling of sadness oi melancholy will come to foim a kind of nimbus to all
beauty.
4
Although discussions of mcnc nc aware tend to occui in the context of poetiy and
seiious liteiatuie, populai Japanese manga and anime, whethei iomantic oi not, often
include melancholy imageiy and tiagic elements to a much gieatei extent than is found in
66 Pait Two: Genie and Readeiship
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populai Westein comic books oi animations; foi example, manga and anime often featuie
lost loved ones, teiminal illnesses, and even the ultimate death of the piotagonist. Thus it
follows that BL manga may not end happily, eithei. In fact, some of the eailiest BL-themed
manga included tiagedy oi sad endings, such as Hagio`s Heart cf Thcmas, which begins with
a suicide, oi Takemiya`s Scng cf \ind and Trees, which ends with a violent death.
42
One ieason why the BL manga suivey iespondents might not have piioiitized a happy
ending could be that they weie alieady familiai with the potential foi sadness and tiagedy
found in othei foims of manga and anime, and theiefoie had leained to accept the same
potential in BL. It`s woith noting, howevei, that the vast majoiity of the BL manga that
have been licensed, tianslated, and published in the U.S. featuie upbeat endings.
43
One of
the handful of exceptions is Kodaka`s BL manga Midarescmenishi, licensed and published
by Be Beautiful. With a plot that includes kidnapping, gang iape, pedophilia, incest, mui-
dei, and suicide, and an ending in which the angst-flled main chaiactei Shiiou continues
to ßee his puisuing iapist-tuined-lovei Sougetsu, the stoiy most ceitainly doesn`t ft the
usual Westein foimula foi a populai iomance. The seiialized BL novel Ai nc kusabi. The
Space Between (Ai nc kusabi) by Yoshihaia Rieko, licensed and published by Juné, also fea-
tuies scenes of sexual slaveiy and violence and ends with a piotagonist`s death.
44
These aie
unusual cases, howevei.
Scanlation gioups have been moie willing than commeicial publisheis to offei BL with
sad endings, peihaps because they aien`t conceined with making money and thus don`t feel
as much piessuie to appeal to a mass audience. These gioups have, foi example, scanlated
such manga as Yuki Kaoii`s Bcys Next Dccr (Shnen zanzcu), which featuies a seiial killei
who kills his male-piostitute lovei and latei commits suicide, and Kunieda Saika`s °The
Sleeping Man" (fiom the volume Natsujikan), in which a ghost ietuins long enough to con-
fess his hitheito unacknowledged love foi a fiiend.
45
In addition to being moie likely to include sad endings, BL manga aie also moie likely
than mainstieam Westein iomances to include scenes of sexual violence.
This isn`t to imply that mainstieam iomances have nevei included sexual assault; the
populaiity of eiotic iomances giew in the 970s with the iise of the °bodice-iippei," which
featuied heioines foiced into sex by impassioned heioes. As bodice-iippeis became moie
common in iomance publishing, the likelihood of nonconsensual sex foiming pait of a
iomance novel`s stoiyline incieased. But as Linda J. Lee points out, bodice-iippeis weie
usually histoiical iomances, and °¦t]he distance cieated by the iemote histoiical setting
allowed women to 'enjoy` the iape fantasy fiom a safe distance without evei confusing the
eioticized fantasy iape with a biutal, dangeious, ieal-life iape." In bodice-iippeis, she
notes, iape functioned as a liteiaiy device that allowed the authoi to involve a °good" heio-
ine in a piemaiital sexual encountei. Howevei, Lee adds, by the 980s, in iesponse to fem-
inism and the sexual ievolution, °the iape fantasy was iejected"; it is seldom found in
mainstieam Westein iomance novels today.
46
In BL manga, by contiast, nonconsensual sex scenes (°non-con") aie ielatively com-
mon, and many ieadeis enjoy them. As was suggested foi sad endings, some of the iespon-
dents` acceptance of non-con could be due to theii familiaiity with the conventions of
hentai, sexually explicit heteiosexual manga and anime, much of which contains images of
bondage and iape.
47
In the BL manga ieadei suivey, of the 39 iespondents to answei the
question, ffty peicent thought that iape, explicit sex, sad endings, physical toituie, oidi-
naiiness, bed-hopping, ciuel heioes, and weak heioes weie all acceptable in BL manga. Of
the iemaindei, twelve peicent said that iape should nevei be included in BL, eight peicent
-Better Than Rcmance? (PAGLIASSOTTI) 67
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said physical toituie, fve peicent said bed-hopping, and two peicent said a weak heio. Foui-
teen peicent of iespondents wiote in answeis that included objections to pedophilia, bes-
tiality, and seme/uke (aggiessoi/iecipient) steieotypes, none of which aie likely to be found
in mainstieam Westein iomance novels.
Non-con scenes in BL manga may involve sex piedicated by one chaiactei`s use, inten-
tionally oi not, of alcohol oi diugs; sex demanded as the iesult of a bet oi othei negotia-
tion between the chaiacteis; the foicing of unwanted sexual acts on one chaiactei by anothei
in the couise of an ongoing sexual ielationship; and othei foims of sexual assault. In such
scenes, the attackei typically accompanies his actions with comments about the victim`s
eiect nipples and penis and/oi his tiembling sensitivity to being touched. Although such
dialog is also typical in consensual sex scenes, in the context of non-con, it seives to sug-
gest that although the victim may veibally piotest, he secietly oi unconsciously consents
to the act -his body`s ieaction signifes his consent. This implication is stiengthened when
the victim inevitably falls in love with his attackei. Non-con stoiylines between the ioman-
tic piotagonists may, theiefoie, be consideied extieme extensions of the huit/comfoit theme
common in slash; sexual assault seives as an emotional baiiiei oi point of iitual death and,
at the same time, an oppoitunity foi the coeicei to comfoit and declaie his love to the
coeiced.
Non-con may also occui between one of the piotagonists and a secondaiy chaiactei.
In these cases, the scenes may look the same, but the iape`s function within the stoiy dif-
feis; the assault seives as a plot baiiiei that piovides a iescue, ievenge, and/oi nuituiing
oppoitunity foi the othei iomantic lead.
Rape may also seive seveial othei plot functions within a BL iomance. It may, much
as it did in bodice-iippeis, piovide an excuse foi a °good" (and, like as not, supposedly
heteiosexual) man to engage in a sexual encountei with anothei man. It may seive as a
naiiative means by which the victim becomes ascendant ovei the iapist, whose iesoit to
sexual violence indicates his inability to contiol his desiie.
48
It may act as a °iedemptive
iape," in which an unlikable chaiactei, aftei being iaped oi thieatened with iape, is tians-
foimed into a sympathetic chaiactei.
49
It may add to BL`s poinogiaphic titillation, which
will be discussed at gieatei length latei, by undeilining the piotagonist`s helpless immei-
sion in physical pleasuie.
50
It may offei ieadeis an excuse to enjoy iape fantasies without
guilt, since text and diawings peimit moie emotional distance than photos oi video of ieal
people.
5
Finally, Kazuko Suzuki aigues that women wiite iape scenes into BL manga as a
foim of iesisting the social stigmatization of a iape victim by poitiaying °male piotago-
nists, loved by the veiy paitneis who iape them, as imbued with innocence,"
52
in which
case it may seive to alleviate a BL-ieading iape victim`s sense of guilt oi shame.
}apanese Rcmances
Analyzing Japanese BL manga within the fiamewoik of Westein mainstieam iomances
iaises questions of cultuial compaiison; howevei, Westein liteiatuie has had a stiong pies-
ence in Japan since the nineteenth centuiy, when it was impoited duiing the Meiji eia in
the hope of speeding Japan`s entiance into modeinity.
53
Accoiding to Chieko Iiie Mulh-
ein, contempoiaiy populai iomantic fction in Japan was oiiginally tianslated fiom West-
ein souices; Hailequin iomances enteied Japan in 979, and by 985 °neaily two thousand
Westein iomances had been tianslated into Japanese."
54
Mulhein fnds that Japanese-wiit-
68 Pait Two: Genie and Readeiship
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ten populai iomances in the late eighties geneially followed Westein categoiies and foi-
mulae. The same can be said of Japanese iomances in the 990s, accoiding to Shibamoto
Smith.
55
Thus, it seems ieasonable to compaie BL manga to Westein iomances, as BL`s
mangaka weie likely inßuenced by decades of stoiylines diawn fiom Westein oi Westein-
inßuenced iomantic novels. Neveitheless, a few diffeiences between Japanese and Westein
populai iomances have been desciibed.
Foi example, Mulhein notes that although Westein iomances often isolate the heio-
ine, which incieases hei vulneiability, Japanese iomances aie moie likely to piovide the
heioine with female fiiends and family membeis who piovide suppoit, although, being
°eithei maiiied, in love with someone, oi else ielated by blood to the heio,"
56
these sup-
poit chaiacteis avoid posing a iomantic thieat to the budding ielationship. The same is
tiue in BL manga. Although the families of BL`s piotagonists tend to be invisible, the pio-
tagonists often have male fiiends-e.g., schoolmates oi cowoikeis-who may seive the
same plot puipose as a heioine`s family and fiiends. Moieovei, it`s not unusual, in BL
manga, foi the piotagonist`s male fiiends to discovei and suppoit -oi at least choose not
to inteifeie with-the chaiactei`s ielationship with anothei man; because these fiiends aie
usually heteiosexual oi in a same-sex ielationship of theii own, they similaily offei no
thieat to the budding iomance.
Mulhein also notes that a Japanese iomantic heioine does not believe °that hei iela-
tionship with a man is the sole souice of hei status, desiiability, afßuence, oi iight to
iespect -a cultuial assumption that is taken foi gianted and only questioned aftei a tiau-
matic event by most Westein iomance heioines."
57
This obseivation takes an inteiestingly
diffeient shape in BL. Although BL`s piotagonists also do not usually believe that theii iela-
tionship with anothei man is the souice of theii status and desiiability, in stoiies in which
piotagonists do not self-identify as bisexual oi gay, they may woiiy about theii attiaction
to anothei man defning them as gay, which could indeed affect theii status, desiiability,
afßuence, and iight to iespect. In BL manga, the °tiauma" that leads the ieluctant piotag-
onist to question his inteinalized heteiosexism is likely to be eithei a non-con sexual
encountei oi an abiupt awaieness of his own physical and emotional ieaction to anothei
man`s piesence.
Mulhein noted that few heioines in Japanese-wiitten populai iomances aie found
in °a piedominantly male domain such as law, fnance, medicine, oi highei education."
58
By contiast, these aie all veiy common settings foi BL manga, piobably because in Japan
they are piedominantly male domains and theiefoie natuial settings foi a BL stoiy. When
a BL chaiactei engages in a moie steieotypically °feminine" caieei, such as a chef, haii styl-
ist, oi fashion model, he is somewhat moie likely to be the uke in the ielationship, although
a chaiactei`s caieei is a less impoitant signifei of seme/uke status than his physical build
and peisonality.
Finally, Mulhein notes that heioines in Japanese populai iomances often °manage to
faint fiom anemia, low blood piessuie, cold, fatigue, shock, feai, and hungei, only to be
nuised tendeily by a contiite oi piotective heio"; moieovei, they °aie extiemely suscepti-
ble to accidents and violent ciimes."
59
This is also common in BL manga, with the uke usu-
ally suffeiing some soit of ailment oi wound that allows the seme to feed and/oi take caie
of him, although the ieveise isn`t uncommon, eithei. Such huit/comfoit themes allow a
male chaiactei to demonstiate the tendeiness and piotectiveness that both iomance-novel
and BL ieadeis say they fnd desiiable in the iomantic heio, as will be discussed fuithei
below.
-Better Than Rcmance? (PAGLIASSOTTI) 69
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Reader Preferences
Radway asked why women choose to iead mainstieam iomantic fction; the majoiity
of hei iespondents said °foi simple ielaxation" and °because ieading is just foi me; it is my
time," leading hei to conclude that the genie is valued because °the expeiience itself is dif-
ferent fiom oidinaiy existence"
60
; that is, ieading iomances offeis women ielaxing, peisonal
time and an escape fiom the day-to-day demands of hei life.
The BL manga suivey listed similai choices to Radway`s, as well as otheis, such as °I
think ieading boy`s love manga suppoits gay iights" and °I like the idea of soulmate love
beyond sex oi gendei." Respondents could choose moie than one ieason why they iead BL.
The most populai ieason BL manga ieadeis chose foi enjoying BL was °I think it`s
sexy to see same-sex couples making love" (eighty-one peicent of iespondents), with °I
like looking at pictuies of pietty boys" (seventy-nine peicent), °I think it`s sweet to see
same-sex couples in love" (seventy-six peicent), and °I like the idea of soulmate love beyond
sex oi gendei" (seventy-two peicent) as close iunneis-up. Reading BL foi ielaxation was
chosen by foity-eight peicent of the iespondents.
Many feminist ieseaicheis have asked why women would want to iead iomance nov-
els, which they chaiacteiize as uniealistic and patiiaichal, and a numbei of BL ieseaicheis
(and bemused bystandeis) have asked why women would want to iead BL manga, which
they ciiticize along similai lines. In fact, they fnd BL manga even moie puzzling than main-
stieam iomances; aftei all, while it might be undeistandable that women would enjoy iden-
tifying with the heioine of a heteiosexual iomance, what is the point of theii identifying
with the heio of a homosexual iomance:
6
A numbei of explanations have been ventuied. Seveial suggest that BL`s pietty boys
signify giils. Foi example, Matsui Midoii suggests that they aie °the giils` displaced selves
¦...] they signifed the possession of the phallus as opposed to the feminine 'lack.`"
62
Sim-
ilaily, Shaion Kinsella suggested that the chaiacteis aie essentially gendeiless, though female
ieadeis will often identify with °the slightly moie effeminate male of a couple."
63
Anothei
explanation is that setting a iomance between two boys allows women in patiiaichal soci-
eties to moie easily imagine a ielationship based on gendei equality. Foi example, Suzuki
concluded that °male homosexual love stoiies, which aie iead by many giils and young
women in developed countiies, giow out of theii despaii of evei achieving equal ielation-
ships with men in a sexist society and theii quest foi ideal human ielationships."
64
Along
these lines, manga aitists cited by Mizoguchi Akiko comment that giils aie expected to iden-
tify with the andiogynous chaiacteis, who seek an ideal, completely iecipiocal ielation-
ship.
65
What the question ignoies is that even women who piefei mainstieam, heteiosexual
iomances enjoy ieading about the ielationship fiom the heio`s point of view and appieci-
ate its inclusion in iomance fction.
66
Foi example, Thuiston`s 985 suivey of iomance iead-
eis showed that ovei seventy peicent wanted the heio`s point of view included in the novel;
it was the numbei-one most-liked stoiy attiibute. Romance wiitei Lauia Kinsale aigued
in hei 992 essay that women enjoy identifying with the iomantic heio as much, if not
moie, than the heioine: °If one can biing oneself to admit that a female ieadei might fnd
it moie diffcult to be this fctitious heioine than to be this fctitious man-not because she
is a pitiful, victimized woman but because within the ieadei theie aie masculine elements
that can and need to be iealized-then ieading a iomance is fai fiom inteinally alienat-
ing." In othei woids, iomance ieadeis enjoy shaiing the viewpoint of a chaiactei who is
70 Pait Two: Genie and Readeiship
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falling in love; whethei that chaiactei is male oi female is ielatively unimpoitant. Salmon
and Symons suppoited this asseition in 200 with theii fnding that seventy-eight peicent
of a gioup of female ieadeis who enjoyed mainstieam iomances and had nevei iead a
male/male iomance befoie said that they enjoyed the m/m iomance novel The Catch Trap
at least as much as they enjoyed heteiosexual iomance.
67
BL offeis a few diffeiences fiom mainstieam iomances, howevei. Salmon & Symons
found that slash ieadeis appieciate slash`s shifting point of view/multiple identifcations,
andiogynous piotagonists, egalitaiian love ielationships, and giaphic depictions of sexual
activities. This list is essentially identical to the answeis piovided by BL manga suivey
iespondents to a question asking why they enjoy ieading yaoi and shnen-ai.
Shifting point of view/muItipIe identincations
Some BL manga ieadeis said they enjoyed the fieedom BL offeis them to identify with
eithei the seme oi uke, oi to avoid the emotional tuimoil that may associated with identi-
fying with a female chaiactei. The fieedom to choose a chaiactei with whom to identify
is, veiy likely, anothei ieason why non-con sex scenes aie consideied moie acceptable in
BL manga than in heteiosexual iomances; the female ieadei doesn`t feel compelled to iden-
tify with the victim by viitue of hei gendei. Foi example, suivey iespondents wiote,
I think it is easiei to ielate to a chaiactei. In heteio manga I automatically ielate to the
female because I am a woman. In yaoi oi boys love I can ielate to eithei chaiactei moie
easily.
I can ielate to eithei chaiactei in BL. No iole is assigned; many people see a seme and a
uke and believe they iepiesent the male and the female. This may be tiue in oui place-
ment of gendei ioles and behavioi, but they aie still both men, so I can chose to ielate
the seme oi the uke, oi both.
When I iead a BL manga oi watch an anime, somehow, I feel I am fiee to enjoy it with-
out being foiced to accept a iole. It gives me a stiange sense of fieedom and almost lux-
uiy-I feel that this is something that has been made specifcally foi me as a woman,
but it does not come with any demands oi iestiictions on me as a woman.
I associate sexual ielationships with powei ielations/issues of domination stiongly and
since women aie conventionally the suppiessed paity, ieading BL manga takes these
issues away and allows me to ielate (iionically) to the chaiacteis fiom a comfoitable dis-
tance (because of the gendei °baiiiei"/diffeience).
The usual pioblems between m/f ielationships don`t ieally apply in m/m situations. Foi
example, a male paitnei cannot get piegnant.
Androgynous protagonists
Some BL manga ieadeis objected to what they saw as steieotypes of women in heteio-
sexual iomances, paiticulaily in manga and anime, and said they enjoyed BL because it
avoided such steieotypes. Foi example, theii comments included,
Giils in manga aie often annoying oi oveibeaiing, especially in iomance manga wheie
it`s often lots of guys falling foi one giil (like Miaka in Fushigi Yuugi). So, get iid of the
giils and focus on the boys. and you`ll have double my attention ¦peiiod aftei bcys in
oiiginal].
It isn`t that I`m tuined off by heteiosexual ielationships; iathei, I am often tuined off by
anime/manga leading females, who aie often somewhat naive, aiiheaded, oi otheiwise
unappealing. Two males togethei incieases the chance that I will fnd both halves of a
ielationship attiactive, physically and otheiwise.
-Better Than Rcmance? (PAGLIASSOTTI) 71
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Yet the depictions of men in BL often emphasize theii °feminine" side. Fifty-thiee pei-
cent of the suivey`s iespondents agieed that °I like ieading about men dealing with emo-
tions and situations that women usually deal with." Some added,
In the soit of BL I`m most fond of, the men don`t act like women but often they don`t
ieally act like °men" eithei, not in the usual sense of obseiving all the societal expecta-
tions/hang ups. (Oi, if they`ie not hang-up-fiee, they get ovei it in humoious oi intei-
esting ways.) Rathei they seem to occupy a middle giound wheie they can simply
behave like °people." Like a nice, liminal fantasy woild.
Male/male ielationships seem to have an element of tension in them. It`s easiei to imag-
ine spaiks ßying between two males-whethei it involves fghting, stiong attiaction, oi
iough sex-than between two females, oi a male and a female. In ieal life I piefei
women ovei men, but because of this tension, I tend to favoi BL woiks ovei stiaight oi
lesbian ones.
Because it allows access into a space that I know in ieality I can nevei bieach-
male-male emotional inteiaction even if it is an idealised fantasy.
EgaIitarian Iove reIationships
Many of the BL ieadeis who iesponded to the suivey cited a delight in gendei-fiee
iomantic ioles as a ieason to like BL. Seventy-two peicent agieed °I like the idea of soul-
mate love beyond sex and gendei." Repiesentative iemaiks in the qualitative section
included,
As a feminist, I fnd that boy`s love manga is moie likely to contain ielationships that
seem fiee fiom constiaints of sexual ioles...
I guess it`s mostly just the iomantic notion that two ¯people¯ can be in love, iegaidless
of sex/gendei ... the connection between two peisonalities, even, not necesaiily ¦sic]
souls ... though that`s quite lovely in itself....
Aftei studying the social aspects of the genie, what I like best about it is that on it`s
most basic level, it`s an oppoitunity foi Japanese woman to see a stoiy in which the
individuals involved in these ielationships aie equals and have the iomance of a stiaight
ielationship, and yet have the fieedom to move thiough society that the male body gives
them.
Howevei, BL manga does not always escape the ideology of gendeied ielations because
it often depicts chaiacteis in a seme/uke ielationship, in which the uke beais many steieo-
typically feminine signifeis. To be suie, both men in the typical boy`s love text tend to be
°feminized" in the sense that both aie depicted as slendei and beautiful, usually with iel-
atively long haii and delicate featuies, and they often engage in impassioned emotional dis-
couise. The uke, howevei, usually beais othei °feminine" signifeis, such as being moie often
the iecipient of sexual oveituies and possessive gazes and of being moie emotional and
unceitain than the seme:
The sexual iole of the uke is accompanied by a seiies of social ioles that aie typically
those of a steieotypically tiaditional woman: the uke is feminine in his ieluctance and
timidity, and in being piotected and defended (oi abused) by his paitnei in his life
eveiy day. The uke weeps, is fiagile, is sweet, would like to iemain embiaced by his
companion all night, making himself available but not insisting if the seme ignoies his
offei.
68
Westein ieadeis evince mixed ieactions to the Japanese seme/uke convention. Asked
whethei they identifed moie with the uke oi seme, the iespondents to the BL manga iead-
eis suivey weie almost evenly split between °uke," °seme," and °neithei" (thiity-nine pei-
72 Pait Two: Genie and Readeiship
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cent, twenty-seven peicent, and thiity-foui peicent, iespectively). In the qualitative
iesponses, a few iespondents volunteeied the seme/uke categoiizations as a ieason foi lik-
ing BL manga:
i like to see the dominate ¦sic] male chaiactei taking the shy oi weak smallei male.
sometimes i would like to be that male that gets dominated.
On the uke seme question I identify with the seme which is the top/aggiessoi.
As a lesbian with many gay male fiiends, I fnd stuff like °seme/uke" and such utteily
silly-but it`s a fun silly.
It is also a game to deteimine who would be seme and who would be uke.
Othei iespondents didn`t like the seme/uke convention:
the ultia weak ciying uke and the supei dominant seme make me puke....
I ieally wish that theie wasn`t always a seme and an uke in BL manga.
I usually want to iead stoiies about masculine men bonding and depending on
eachothei ¦sic] in life and death situations, iathei then constantly seeing the uke saved
by the seme.
I hate the °Seme" and °Uke" steieotypes. It`s theie in yaoi, and you can`t get away fiom
it, but ieal life doesn`t always put an uke and a seme togethei. Noi do I evei ieally fnd
any uke oi seme types ... bottoms and tops, maybe, but iaiely a °male" and °female"
iole.
Radway asked hei iomance ieadeis to choose the tiaits they thought weie most impoi-
tant in the heio and heioine; hei lists of tiaits weie combined in the BL manga suivey and
asked about both the seme and uke.
Radway`s ieadeis found intelligence, tendeiness, and a sense of humoi impoitant
tiaits foi a heio
69
; BL manga ieadeis chose intelligence, piotectiveness, and beauty/hand-
someness as the top thiee most impoitant tiaits in a seme (eighty-one peicent chose intel-
ligence, seventy-two peicent chose piotectiveness, and seventy-one peicent chose
handsomeness).
Radway`s ieadeis chose intelligence, a sense of humoi, and independence as the top
thiee tiaits in a heioine
70
; BL manga ieadeis chose intelligence and beauty/handsomeness
as the top two tiaits in a uke, aftei which ffty-seven peicent of the iespondents chose
°sense of humoi" and ffty-two peicent chose °shyness." All othei tiaits foi the uke weie
chosen by less than half of the iespondents.
The least populai tiait chosen by the suiveyed BL manga ieadeis foi the seme was °vii-
ginity" (fve peicent) and, foi the uke, °lots of sexual expeiience" (seven peicent). This is
in keeping with the seme/uke convention and also ießects the heteiosexual iomance`s
heio/heioine convention, in which the heio is usually moie sexually expeiienced than the
heioine.
Although wiite-in choices weie geneially in accoid with steieotypes foi the seme (e.g.,
bad bcy, dcminance, ccnfdence), the wiite-in iesponses foi the uke included a few stiong
iejections of the uke steieotype, including the uke´s peiceived °femininity," e.g., ieadeis
wiote °uke · the bcttcm, NCT mcre feminine" and said desiiable uke tiaits weie °nct the
sterectypical 'weepy uke´ type"; °ackncwledgement that he isn´t a girl with a penis"; °nct being
a uke? I really dislike ukes generally"; and °nct being a 5 year-cld girl always helps." This
iejection of the uke`s tendency to be assigned steieotypically feminine qualities seems to
ft in with Westein BL manga ieadeis` iesponse that they appieciate the subgenie`s fieedom
fiom gendei steieotypes.
-Better Than Rcmance? (PAGLIASSOTTI) 73
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Graphic depictions of sexuaI activities
As Thuiston pointed out, and Salmon and Symons coiioboiated, sexually explicit
scenes aie populai among many female iomance ieadeis.
7
Eiotic iomance novels iely heav-
ily on euphemisms iathei than explicit anatomical iefeiences and make the heioine an
active and eagei paiticipant in, iathei than a passive iecipient of, sex. They build up the
sexual tension between the two chaiacteis ovei time and emphasize foieplay and the chai-
acteis` emotional iesponses to aiousal. Slash does the same, although Salmon and Symons
add that °the aveiage slash stoiy is no doubt moie sexually giaphic than the aveiage iomance
novel."
72
They note, howevei, that giaphic sex isn`t necessaiy in slash and that the focus of
the stoiy is on the chaiacteis` emotional iathei than physical ieactions to the ielationship.
This is, as fai as it goes, also tiue of BL manga-not all BL manga include sex, and
even when they do, the chaiacteis` emotional ieactions aie impoitant. Howevei, BL manga
notably diffeis fiom the Westein iomance novel and slash stoiy in its dependence upon
imageiy to caiiy its naiiative. Although iomance novels usually come with coloiful cov-
eis and slash may take the foim of an illustiation, in neithei is the aitwoik an essential pait
of the naiiative. In this aspect, then, sexually explicit BL manga may moie closely iesem-
ble Westein poinogiaphy
73
than it does Westein iomance oi eiotica.
Some, although not a majoiity, of the suiveyed BL manga ieadeis iepoited enjoying
poinogiaphy. Of the 39 who iesponded to the question, thiity-fve peicent iepoited iead-
ing same-sex poinogiaphy and ffteen peicent iepoited ieading heteiosexual poinogiaphy.
Twenty-one peicent iepoited ieading hentai, which is haid-coie poinogiaphic manga typ-
ically depicting heteiosexual encounteis. Unfoitunately, no question was asked in the sui-
vey about bara, the gay male subset of hentai. Neveitheless, it is cleai that a signifcant
numbei of BL manga ieadeis enjoy othei foims of sexually explicit woik, as well.
Poinogiaphy vaiies in its level of explicit imageiy, and so does BL. Foi many yeais,
Japanese indecency laws caused manga and anime pioduceis to avoid the giaphic depic-
tion of sexual oigans and pubic haii, cieating a foim of visual euphemism akin to that used
by Westein mainstieam iomances. Shaion Kinsella desciibes how Japanese aitists woiked
aiound the indecency laws:
Stylistic devises such as diawing objects, such as snakes oi fiuit, which symbolize oi
vaguely iesemble sexual paits, diawing sexual paits as shadows oi silhouettes, oi simply
poitiaying sex scenes thiough contoited facial expiessions, peispiiation, nose bleeds,
and suggestive bulges and cieases in chaiactei`s ¦sic] clothing, had iendeied the pievious
defnition of °indecency" ielatively ineffectual.
74
Accoidingly, many Japanese BL manga contain scenes in which hands giip blank spaces that
spuit liquids oi one chaiactei penetiates anothei with emptiness, biinging a whole new
meaning to the concept of the absent phallus. Howevei, as inteipietation of indecency laws
giew moie lenient, BL manga became moie giaphic, and it`s no longei diffcult to fnd BL
manga that cleaily depict eiect, veined penises and/oi pubic haii.
What this shift in style suggests is that the use of visual euphemism isn`t as necessaiy
in BL manga as the use of veibal euphemism is in mainstieam iomance novels. It`s not the
image of a penis that dismays iomance ieadeis, but the clinical natuie of the woid °penis."
Diawing an eiect penis allows the authoi to sidestep the challenge of choosing a woid to
desciibe it that won`t bieak the mood of the naiiative.
In fact, its explicit sexual imageiy is an impoitant pait of BL manga`s populaiity. As
mentioned eailiei, the top two ieasons suiveyed BL ieadeis said they iead BL weie °I think
74 Pait Two: Genie and Readeiship
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it`s sexy to see same-sex couples making love" and °I like looking at pictuies of pietty
boys." Longei comments included,
I like BL manga because it gives women the iaie oppoitunity to see men piesented as
the piimaiy object of sexual inteiest. Unlike many BL fans I also enjoy ieal life depic-
tions of sex between men and gay poin. The one aspect of BL manga that does not
always appeal to me is the oveiblown iomanticism.
BL is a gieat way to be enteitained by sexually exciting mateiial without having to deal
with the poin that`s made foi boys. I love seeing beautiful boys get it on. Non-con is
GREAT. Wheie else can you iead oi see non-con and have it be ok:
I think that the boy`s love phenomenon is how women today aie taking theii libidos into
theii own hands withoui ¦sic] feeling like outcasts oi social misfts. It`s veiy nice to
know that you aien`t weiid because you like to look at naked men and touch youiself.
It`s foi women. We don`t have much out theie foi us that allows us to be in chaige of
oui sexuality. I`ve seen the studies that °piove" women aie not visually excited by
giaphic sexual images, but those aie images made by men foi men. They concentiate on
the pietty woman and the man half the time is not even attiactive. What woman wants
to see that: Women don`t want to watch women having sex.
Does this mean that BL manga function as °women`s poinogiaphy": Salmon and
Symons aigue that one of the diffeiences between poinogiaphy, typically geaied towaid men,
and slash, typically geaied towaid women, is the function that sex plays within the plot:
The essence of male-oiiented poin is not ieally the giaphic illustiation of sex (theie is,
aftei all, soft-coie poin), but, iathei, the depiction of sex as an end in itself. No foim of
women`s eiotica depicts sex that way, but in the mainstieam iomance novel sexual
attiaction and, usually, sexual behavioi aie integial to establishing the bond between
heio and heioine. In slash, howevei, the bond of fiiendship is fimly in place long befoie
sex ieais its head.
75
The pieexistence of a fiiendship-oi some soit of ielationship, since slashed chaiacteis may
be iivals oi enemies-between the chaiacteis befoie theii sexual attiaction makes sense in
slash because it is fan fction and usually set duiing some logical inteistice within the couise
of the canonical naiiative. This same soit of piioi ielationship between chaiacteis exists
in yaoi djinshi, which aie akin to slash in being based on a pieexisting text. In both cases,
sex seives to deepen oi pioblematize a ielationship that alieady exists between the chaiac-
teis.
Howevei, when BL woiks aie oiiginal, as in the case of commeicially published BL
manga, theie`s no need to assume that the chaiacteis like oi even know each othei befoie
sex is initiated. Indeed, as noted eailiei, ielationships in BL manga may stait with stiangei
iape, such as between men who meet at a club oi paity, oi between students oi salaiymen
who have baiely exchanged two woids befoie theii sexual encountei. In addition to coeiced
sex, consensual bondage and S&M situations aie also moie common in BL manga than in
mainstieam heteiosexual iomances.
Steven Maicus`s chaiacteiization of the Victoiian °poinotopia" points out othei qual-
itative diffeiences between poinogiaphic and eiotic oi iomantic wiiting. Poinotopia, he
aigues, exists in °no place"; the locale, when named at all, is iiielevant to the plot. Simi-
laily, it exists in °no time"; the signifcant time elements in the stoiy aie only how long a
sex act oi seiies of sex acts last. Chaiacteiization is unimpoitant; chaiacteis exist only to
aid in the desciiption of sexual positions and combinations. Plot is moie oi less nonexist-
ent, the naiiative consisting of a seiies of physical climaxes but with no stoiy climax oi
oveiaiching goal foi the chaiacteis to attain. Maicus wiites,
-Better Than Rcmance? (PAGLIASSOTTI) 75
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All men in it aie always and infnitely potent; all women fecundate with lust and ßow
inexhaustibly with sap oi juice oi both. Eveiyone is always ieady foi anything, and
eveiyone is infnitely geneious with his substance. It is always summeitime in
poinotopia, and it is a summeitime of the emotions as well -no one is evei jealous,
possessive, oi ieally angiy.
76
Sexually explicit BL manga possess some of these attiibutes, and some woiks possess
moie than otheis. Foi example, locale and time peiiod aie often of little impoitance within
the stoiies-the stoiy could as easily take place in a high school, an offce, a shop, a ciim-
inal oiganization, oi a host club; the details don`t mattei. The time is of ten a geneiic
°the piesent," and when it isn`t, as in the case of histoiical BL manga, the ieal events of
that histoiical peiiod seldom make any diffeience to the stoiy-line. In some of the least
oiiginal BL manga, chaiacteis slip into undiffeientiated steieotypes: the seme, the uke; the
salaiyman, the student, the teachei, the doctoi, the host. In such cookie-cuttei, PWP BL
manga, the goal of the stoiy is simply to biing the chaiacteis togethei foi athletic, diip-
ping sex.
It seems, then, that theie may be little diffeience between some foims of sexually
explicit BL manga and poinogiaphy, and that BL manga may lend itself moie to depictions
of a context-fiee poinotopia than slash. Slash, by defnition, cannot be context-fiee; it is
based on alieady-existing chaiacteis and iefeis to a iich stoiywoild and chaiactei histoiy.
Even when slash stoiies aie little moie than desciiptions of sexual encounteis, those encoun-
teis take place within a laigei stoiy context that is familiai to the fans who iead it. Oiigi-
nal BL manga, on the othei hand, iequiie no such iefeients.
Despite this, the majoiity of sexually explicit BL manga use sex in the same way as
slash oi heteiosexual iomance; sex emphasizes the chaiacteis` deepening ielationship and
mutual pleasuie and-sometimes-cieates plot baiiieis foi the chaiacteis to oveicome.
Moieovei, in contiast to Maicus` poinotopia, BL manga`s piotagonists may suffei impo-
tence oi not be in the mood; they aie, as often as not, likely to giow jealous, possessive, oi
angiy; they seek ielational quality iathei than quantity (at least, eventually); and quite
often they have othei goals and ambitions that they seek to iealize while they aie woiking
thiough theii iomantic challenges. BL manga ieadeis may enjoy the sex, but they also enjoy
well-plotted, emotionally deep stoiies. Repiesentative comments about this included,
Well, if it`s nicely diawn, and the stoiy is good, I`ll like it, but I`m not one foi PWP
(poin without plot) so ... it`s gotta have a ieason. I`m not ieally one foi iape/pain with-
out a ieason ... but I`ll keep ieading aftei it if the stoiy is good enough.
Poin sans plot is boiing. I don`t caie how pietty the ait is-if the stoiy is utteiy ¦sic]
lame, uninteiesting, oi absent, foiget it.
Theie aie many misconceptions about what boy`s love manga is. What is it to me: It can
be sexually explicit, it can be stoiy-diiven, it can be completely eye candy, it can be a
ieally gieat stoiy. Peisonally, I won`t iead a pooily wiitten stoiy, even if the aitwoik is
nice.
Maicus`s chaiacteiization of poinotopia was diawn fiom studying Victoiian male-
oiiented poinogiaphy. Ann Snitow aigues by contiast that what is °poinogiaphic" in female-
oiiented iomance novels is the heioine`s helplessness in the face of a sexually chaiged
atmospheie: °In poinogiaphy all things tend in one diiection, a total immeision in
one`s own sense expeiience..." which, because immeision iequiies the suboidination of
thought to sensation, emphasizes °the univeisal infant desiie foi complete, immediate
giatifcation, to iule the woild out of the veiy coie of passive helplessness."
77
Poinogiaphy
76 Pait Two: Genie and Readeiship
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foi women, Snitow aigues, wiaps sex in the emotionalism of iomance. If one piefeis Sni-
tow`s defnition ovei Maicus`s, theie can be no doubt that many BL manga aie, indeed,
°poinogiaphy foi women."
Women's space
Romance novels and BL manga have both been chaiacteiized as cieating a female-
centeied space that iesists patiiaichal piessuies oi demands. Foi example, Radway desciibed
how hei sample population of iomance ieadeis °see the act of ieading as combative and
compensatoiy,"
78
as pioviding a space in which they can iesist cultuial demands placed on
them because of theii gendei and ministei to peisonal needs usually unfulflled by theii
family and society. Some BL manga ieadeis feel the same way. Foi example, suivey iespon-
dents wiote,
One thing that isn`t exactly °why," but that I like about BL manga/fandom/anime ... it`s
a chick thing. Yes, technically one could say it`s about gay men, but BL manga is usually
as much about gay iealism as much as the °lesbian" poin guys watch. Online and with
fiiends and at cons, it`s ieally a female space (like iomance novels). Though the occa-
sional guy is moie than welcome to join us, they`ie going to be in the minoiity ... and
that`s kinda nice. It`s by women foi women.
The main ieason I love boys` love manga is because I know it was made by a woman foi
me, anothei woman. It`s a way to celebiate female sexual desiies out of the confnes of
heteiosexual ielationship defnitions. It`s a veiy empoweiing genie.
I think Boys` Love is extiemely impoitant as a means of puiely female sexual expiession.
I think Boys` Love fandom is a veiy impoitant look at how women enjoy talking about
sexuality and sexual topics with othei women in a gioup setting. It is not like stiaight
poin-men sitting alone watching movies/viewing magazines. Boys` Love is a veiy com-
munity diiven foim of sexual expiession, empoweiing and envigoiating ¦sic] foi
women.
Howevei, as noted eailiei, it`s diffcult to aigue that BL manga, as texts, aie female-
affimative when, fist, women aie laigely absent fiom the stoiies and, second, when they
appeai, it`s usually in an antagonistic iole. BL manga may open a space foi women`s cie-
ativity and sexual pleasuie, but they seem to do so at the piice of devaluing oi eiasing
women as positive piesences within the naiiative.
Male/Male Rcmance
Foi the most pait, Japanese boys` love manga follow the pattein of the populai iomance
in typology and plot foimula, with minoi vaiiations attiibutable to theii featuiing two
male piotagonists and oiiginating in a cultuie with slightly diffeient expectations foi a
iomance novel. Howevei, suiveyed ieadeis of boys` love manga do not shaie all the same
values and expectations as suiveyed ieadeis of populai iomances-BL ieadeis aie moie
likely to accept tiagedy and sexual violence within a naiiative and aie moie likely to chai-
acteiize boys` love as avoiding the steieotyping and gendei inequality that they peiceive in
heteiosexual iomances. In addition, BL manga`s ieliance on illustiations and occasional
lack of signifcant plot give it some commonalities with poinogiaphy that aie not usually
found in text-based iomantic novels and slash.
BL manga and slash, although usually analyzed as sepaiate entities, can be said to both
belong to a laigei subgenie of male/male rcmance, which might be defned as any narra-
-Better Than Rcmance? (PAGLIASSOTTI) 77
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tive that ccntains as a central plct element the rcmantic relaticnship between twc cr mcre male
characters and is marketed primarily tc a female audience.
79
Identifying m/m iomances as a disciete subgenie of iomantic fction peimits compai-
isons between woiks that have enjoyed a gieat deal of scholaily analysis, such as slash and
BL, and woiks that shaie similai chaiacteiistics but have, foi the most pait, been ignoied
by scholais, such as The Catch Trap by Maiion Zimmei Biadley, The Iast Herald-Mage
seiies by Meicedes Lackey, Swcrdspcint by Ellen Kushnei, and the numeious m/m iomance
novels wiitten by women such as Lynn Loienz, Lee Rowan, Eiastes, and many otheis that
weie not specifcally intended foi a gay male audience.
80
°Maiketed piimaiily to a female audience" was chosen as a defning chaiacteiistic
instead of °wiitten by a woman" because men can wiite BL, just as men can wiite main-
stieam iomance novels (and, alteinatively, just as women can wiite gay male iomance nov-
els). What is essential to these genies is not the gendei of the authoi but the conventions
of content and foim that aie called upon within the text to position its ieadei within a pai-
ticulai engendeied space. The implied ieadei of the mainstieam iomance is female; and so
is the implied ieadei of BL, even though about ten peicent of BL manga and populai
iomance ieadeis aie male.
8
By contiast, the implied ieadei of the gay male iomance is
male, although one can assume that a numbei of women iead gay male iomances, as well.
Addiessing male/male iomance as a specifc subgenie of populai iomance also pei-
mits fuithei analysis and iefnement of the defnition. Foi example, should books like Anne
Rice`s Vampiie Chionicles novels, the Nightiunnei seiies by Lynn Flewelling, and vaiious
novels by Stoim Constantine, Saiah Monette, Ginn Hale and similai wiiteis be consideied
m/m iomances, oi is theii iomantic element too peiipheial to theii cential plot to waiiant
such categoiization: To what extent do gay iomances pioblematize the above defnition of
the male/male iomance-do they, in fact, position theii implied ieadei diffeiently fiom
the male/male iomance: How: In image-oiiented male/male iomances, such as manga and
flm, what does the piesumption of a female audience suggest with iegaid to theoiies of
cinematic spectatoiship: To poinogiaphic consumption: Aie the women who piimaiily cie-
ate and consume male/male iomances exploiting oi abetting the stiuggle foi gay iights: To
what extent is the male/male iomance a queei subgenie: The giowing populaiity of the
male/male iomance, in the foim of slash, boys` love, and oiiginal fction, iequiies fuithei
consideiation and analysis.
Nctes
1. I put an English-language suivey of BL (iefeiied to in the suivey as yaoi and shnen-ai) manga ieadeis
online fiom June 28 to Novembei 2, 2005, that attiacted a total of 478 iespondents, the majoiity fiom English-
speaking countiies. Some of the iesults fiom this suivey have been pieviously published in Diu Pagliassotti,
°Reading Boys` Love in the West," Participaticns 5, no. 2 (2008), http://www.paiticipations.oig/Volume%
205/Issue%202/5_02_pagliassotti.htm (accessed July 6, 2009).
2. I have appiopiiated the phiasing piesented in Catheiine Salmon & Donald Symons, \arricr Icvers.
Erctic Ficticn, Evcluticn and Female Sexuality (New Haven: Yale Univeisity Piess, 2003), 83-86, foi ease of
compaiison.
3. I`m limiting myself to commeicially pioduced BL manga fiom Japan, which means laigely excluding
boys` love anime, novels, games, movies, djinshi, and fan fction, and boys` love texts cieated outside of
Japan. Howevei, in many cases, ieadeis may safely extiapolate my geneializations to those texts, as well.
Within BL manga, I have chosen not to addiess shcta, which featuies love with oi between boys undei the
age of consent; I`m compaiatively unfamiliai with it, and it is so likely to be pioblematic foi Westein iead-
eis that it would iequiie a sepaiate analysis of its own. Finally, a numbei of my aiguments will specifcally
78 Pait Two: Genie and Readeiship
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ielate to BL as a female-authoied text iead piimaiily by women; I acknowledge and iespect the fact that an
incieasing numbei of men aie pioducing and ieading BL, and in such cases, I undeistand that some of my
obseivations may not apply.
4. Salmon & Symons, \arricr Icvers, 82.
5. John G. Cawelti, Adventure, Mystery, and Rcmance. Fcrmula Stcries as Art and Pcpular Culture (Chicago:
The Univeisity of Chicago Piess, 976), 4-42.
6. Kay Mussell, Fantasy and Reccnciliaticn. Ccntempcrary Fcrmulas cf \cmen´s Rcmance Ficticn (West-
poit, CT: Gieenwood Piess, 984).
7. Ibid, 37.
8. Mulhein, Chieko Iiie, °Japanese Hailequin Romances as Tianscultuial Woman`s Fiction," The }curnal
cf Asian Studies 48, no. (989): 50-70.
9. Kannagi Satoiu & Odagiii Hotaiu, Cnly the Ring Finger Kncws (Caison, CA: Digital Manga Publish-
ing, 2004).
10. Mussell, Fantasy, 42.
11. Maiiead Owen, °Re-Inventing Romance: Reading Populai Romantic Fiction," \cmen´s Studies Inter-
naticnal Fcrum 20, no. 4 (997): 544.
12. Caiol Thuiston, The Rcmance Revcluticn. Erctic Ncvels fcr \cmen and the Quest fcr a New Sexual Iden-
tity (Uibana: Univeisity of Illinois Piess, 987).
13. Minami Kazuka, My Parancid Next Dccr Neighbcr (Gaidena, CA: 80 Media, 2007).
14. Futaba Aoi & Mitsuba Kuienai, Ievel-C, Vol. . (New Yoik: Kitty Piess, 2005).
15. Mussell, Fantasy, 43.
16. Hagio Moto, Tcma nc shinzc (The Heait of Thomas) (Tokyo: Shgakukan, 974). Takemiya Keiko,
Kaze tc Ki nc Uta (Song of Wind and Tiees). 0 vols. (Tokyo: Shgakukan, 976-84).
17. Ogasawaia Uki, Virtucsc di Amcre (n.p.: DiamaQueen, 2006); Kusumoto Hiioki, Vampire´s Pcrtrait.
Vol. (Gaidena, CA: Juné, 2008); Shimada Hisami, Maid in Heaven (Toiiance, CA: Deux Piess, 2008); Shimizu
Yuki, Icve Mcde. Vols. (Los Angeles, CA: BLU, 2005-2008). On the othei hand, Yamila Abiaham`s oiigi-
nal, English-language BL manga Dark Prince seems to ft the gothic-iomance pattein ielatively well, desciib-
ing a ioyal family full of daik seciets and incestuous ielationships that thieaten the young peasant boy Aeon
who is biought into the palace: Yamila Abiaham, Dark Prince. 3 Vols. (Las Vegas, NV: Yaoi Piess, 2007-2008).
18. Mussell, Fantasy, 48.
19. Tsuiugi Kai, Black Knight. 4 Vols. (Los Angeles, CA: BLU, 2006-2009); Tateno Makoto, Steal Mccn.
Vols. -2. (Gaidena, CA: Juné, 2008-2009); Matoh Sanami, Fake. 7 Vols. (Los Angeles, CA: TOKYOPOP,
2003-2004).
20. Mussell, Fantasy, 49.
21. Misasagi Fuhii, Idcl Pleasures (Toiiance, CA: Deux Piess, 2009).
22. M. Blaii, °She Should Just Die in a Ditch," Chaptei 7 in this volume. This pioblem will be addiessed
again latei in hei chaptei.
23. Mussell, Fantasy, 49.
24. Higuii You, Iudwig II. Vol. . (Gaidena, CA: Juné, 2009).
25. Yoshinaga Fumi, Gerard o }acques. 2 Vols. (Los Angeles, CA: BLU, 2006); Ogasawaia Uki, Black Sun
(Gaidena, CA: 80 Media, 2008); Minami Megumu, Pleasure Dcme (New Yoik: Kitty Piess, 2007); Kodaka
Kazuma, Midarescmenishi. A Iegend cf Samurai Icve (New Yoik: Be Beautiful, 2006).
26. Pamela Regis, A Natural Histcry cf the Rcmance Ncvel (Philadelphia: Univeisity of Pennsylvania Piess,
2003): 30-38. The defnitions of each element have been modifed to avoid giving the iomantic piotagonists
a gendei.
27. Takashima Kazusa, Man´s Best Friend. Inu Mc Arukeba (Los Angeles, CA: BLU, 2006); Kiiishima
Tamaki, Ruff Icve (Toiiance, CA: Deux Piess, 2008); Amagi Reno, Part-Time Pets (Toiiance, CA: Deux Piess,
2009). Kemcncmimi aie veiy populai in manga and anime besides BL; they piobably migiated into BL as a
iesult of that pie-existing populaiity. The closest Westein equivalent to kemcncmimi is the °fuiiy," oi anthio-
pomoiphic animal, but fuiiies aie diawn as humanoid animals-foi example, the anthiopomoiphic-fox Robin
Hood in the 973 animated Disney movie-iathei than as iegulai humans spoiting eais and a tail (and/oi,
moie iaiely, paws). Moieovei, fuiiies do not enjoy the populaiity in Westein iomance novels that kemcncmimi
enjoy in BL manga; they aie still piimaiily found in childien`s comics and small-piess publications.
28. Regis, Natural Histcry, 32.
29. Foi moie on this, see Neal Akatsuka`s °Utteiing the Absuid, Revaluing the Abject," Chaptei 9 in this
volume.
30. Regis, Natural Histcry, 33.
31. Cawelti, Adventure, 4.
32. Mussell, Fantasy, 89.
-Better Than Rcmance? (PAGLIASSOTTI) 79
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33. Cawelti, Adventure, 42.
34. Janice A. Radway, Reading the Rcmance. \cmen, Patriarchy, and Pcpular Iiterature (Chapel Hill: The
Univeisity of Noith Caiolina Piess, 984): 66.
35. Romance Wiiteis of Ameiica, °The Romance Genie Oveiview," http://www.iwanational.oig/cs/the_
iomance_genie (accessed July 6, 2009).
36. Thuiston, Rcmance Revcluticn, 29.
37. Radway, Reading the Rcmance, 72, italics in oiiginal.
38. Caiol Rickei-Wilson, °Busting Textual Bodices: Gendei, Reading, and the Populai Romance," The
English }curnal 88, no. 3 (999): 58.
39. Cawelti, Adventure, 42.
40. Janet S. Shibamoto Smith, °Changing Lovestyles: Fictional Repiesentations of Contempoiaiy Japanese
Men in Love," pcsiticns 6, no. 2 (2008): 362.
41. Fiancis Mathy, °Mono no Awaie," Cccasicnal Papers. Center fcr }apanese Studies (969): 47-48.
42. Hagio Moto, Tcma nc shinzc; Takemiya, Kaze tc Ki nc Uta. The 988 movie Grave cf the Firefies by
Isao Takahata may be a familiai example of tiagic anime foi U.S. ieadeis.
43. When the suivey fiom which this data was diawn was given in 2005, most iespondents iepoited obtain-
ing most of theii BL online, which may have familiaiized them with titles that have tiagic endings. It would
be inteiesting to see whethei English-ieading BL fans who piimaiily depend on licensed and tianslated woiks
give moie piioiity to happy endings, oi whethei as piesumptive anime/manga fans they aie also satisfed with
sad endings-a compaiison with slash ieadeis would also be useful.
44. Kodaka, Midarescmenishi, Yoshihaia Rieko, Ai Nc Kusabi. The Space Between. 6 Vols. (Gaidena, CA:
Juné, 2007-2009).
45. Yuki Kaoii, Bcys Next Dccr. Scanlated by Sakuia Ciisis. http://sakuiaciisis.ukepile.com/piojects/
complete/boys-next-dooi/ (Accessed July , 2009); Kunieda Saika, The Sleeping Man. Scanlated by Piesence
Deai. http://piesencedeai.com/2008/2/3/the-sleeping-man/ (Accessed July , 2009). Foi moie discussion of
BL manga themes Westein publisheis choose to biing into the U.S. oi to avoid, see Diu Pagliassotti, °GloB-
Lisation and Hybiidisation: Publisheis` Stiategies foi Biinging Boys` Love to the United States," Intersecticns.
Gender and Sexuality in Asia and the Pacifc 20 (Apiil 2009), http://inteisections.anu.edu.au/issue20/paglias
sotti.htm (accessed July 6, 2009).
46. Linda J. Lee, °Guilty Pleasuies: Reading Romance Novels as Rewoiked Faiiy Tales," Marvels o Tales.
}curnal cf Fairy-Tale Studies 22, no. (2008): 55; Ibid.
47. Joel Powell Dahlquist & Lee Gaith Vigilant, °Way Bettei Than Real: Manga Sex to Tentacle Hentai,"
in net.seXXX, ed. Dennis D. Waskul (New Yoik: Petei Lang Publishing, 2004), 9-03.
48. See discussion of this inteipietation of iape in a heteiosexual context in Stephanie Waidiop, °The
Heioine is Being Beaten: Fieud, Sadomasochism, and Reading the Romance," Style 29 (Fall 995): 459-473.
49. See Maiy Buhl Dutta, °Taming the Victim: Rape in Soap Opeia," }curnal cf Pcpular Film and Televi-
sicn 27, no. (999): 34-39.
50. Ann Snitow, °Mass Maiket Romance: Poinogiaphy foi Women is Diffeient," in \cman and Rcmance.
A Reader, ed. Susan Ostiav Weissei (New Yoik: New Yoik Univeisity Piess, 200): 36. Fiist published 979
in Radical Histcry Review, 20, 4-6.
51. Dahlquist & Vigilant, °Way Bettei Than Real," 00.
52. Suzuki, Kazuko, °Poinogiaphy oi Theiapy: Japanese Giils Cieating the Yaoi Phenomenon," in Millen-
nium Girls. Tcday´s Girls Arcund the \crld, ed. Sheiiie A. Inness (Lanham. MD: Rowman & Littlefeld, 998):
258.
53. Giaham Law & Noiimasa Moiita, °Japan and the Inteinationalization of the Seiial Fiction Maiket,"
Bcck Histcry 6 (2003): 2.
54. Mulhein, °Japanese Hailequin Romances," 5.
55. Shibamoto Smith, °Changing Lovestyles," 375.
56. Mulhein, °Japanese Hailequin Romances," 60.
57. Ibid, 60. This chaiacteiization of the iomantic heioine seems dated, howevei; many heioines
in contempoiaiy iomances aie confdent in theii abilities, often to the point wheie one of the cential plot
baiiieis to the iomance is the heioine`s own iejection of maiiiage-she dieads losing hei independence to a
man.
58. Ibid.
59. Ibid., 63
60. Radway, Reading the Rcmance, 6, italics in oiiginal.
61. Although, foi a diffeient peispective on the subject, Stephanie Builey points out that °female homo-
eiotic desiie peimeates populai iomance." If one accepts this peispective, then peihaps heteiosexual female
ieadeis feel comfoitable with BL because it fiees them fiom the discomfoit of theii peiceived attiaction to
80 Pait Two: Genie and Readeiship
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the heioine; Stephanie Builey, °What`s a Nice Giil Like You Doing in a Book Like This: Homoeiotic Read-
ing and Populai Romance," in Dcubled Plcts. Rcmance and Histcry, ed. Susan Stiehle & Maiy Paniccia Cai-
den (Jackson, MI: Univeisity Piess of Mississippi, 2003): 29.
62. Matsui Midoii, °Little Giils Weie Little Boys: Displaced Femininity in the Repiesentation of Homo-
sexuality in Japanese Giils` Comics," in Feminism and the Pclitics cf Difference, ed. Sneja Gunew & Anna Yeat-
man (Bouldei CO: Westview, 993): 78.
63. Shaion Kinsella, Adult Manga. Culture and Pcwer in Ccntempcrary }apanese Scciety (Honolulu: Uni-
veisity of Hawai`i Piess, 2000): 7.
64. Suzuki, °Poinogiaphy oi Theiapy:," 244
65. Mizoguchi Akiko, °Male-Male Romance by and foi Women in Japan: A Histoiy and the Subgenies of
Yaoi Fictions," U.S.-}apan \cmen´s }curnal 25 (2003): 53.
66. The suipiise evinced by so many wiiteis about a woman identifying with a male chaiactei in BL ignoies
the populaiity among women of othei books featuiing male cential chaiacteis-male piotagonists aie still
the majoiity in genies such as mysteiies, thiilleis, fantasy, and science fction, all of which have a laige shaie
of female ieadeis.
The inteiaction a ieadei has with a fctional chaiactei can be complex and multifaceted. Cohen usefully
diffeientiates between identifying with a chaiactei; engaging in paiasocial inteiaction with a chaiactei; lik-
ing oi feeling similaiity with oi affnity foi a chaiactei; and imitating a chaiactei. Identifcation, he says, °is
an imaginative piocess thiough which an audience membei assumes the identity, goals, and peispective of a
chaiactei" (26) while engaged with the text; the identifcation ends °when the audience membei is made awaie
of him- oi heiself " (252) again. Fuithei, he identifes a numbei of factois that may affect ieadei identifcation
with a chaiactei -foi example, the technology of the text, the level of its naiiativity, the duiation of famil-
iaiity with the chaiacteis, the peiceived iealism of the chaiacteis, and similaiity between chaiactei and ieadei,
°based on a multitude of factois othei than demogiaphic similaiity of age, gendei, oi iace" (259). Cleaily,
assuming that female ieadeis can`t oi wouldn`t want to identif y with male chaiacteis-and male ieadeis with
female chaiacteis-iequiies taking a veiy limited view of the ieadei`s powei to imagine and the text`s powei
to evoke. Jonathan Cohen, °Defning Identifcation: A Theoietical Look at the Identifcation of Audiences with
Media Chaiacteis," Mass Ccmmunicaticn o Scciety 4, no. 3 (200): 245-264.
67. Thuiston, Rcmance Revcluticn, 28; Lauia Kinsale, °The Andiogynous Readei: Point of View in the
Romance," in Dangercus Men o Adventurcus \cmen, ed. Jayne Ann Kientz (Philadelphia: Univeisity of Penn-
sylvania Piess, 992): 38-39; Salmon & Symons, \arricr Icvers, 79. Salmon and Symons found that women
who enjoy BL tend to be youngei, less homophobic, and consideied °tomboys" in theii youth, and tend to
enjoy buddy, action, science-fction and hoiioi movies (79-80). See also the iepoit of this ieseaich in The
}curnal cf Sex Research: Catheiine Salmon & Don Symons, °Slash Fiction and Human Mating Psychology,"
The }curnal cf Sex Research 4, no. (Febiuaiy 2004): 94-00.
68. Veiuska Sabucco, Shcnen Ai. Il nucvc immaginaric ercticc femminile tra Criente e Cccidente (Roma:
Castelvecchi, 2000), 47. Passage tianslated fiom Italian by authoi.
69. Radway, Reading the Rcmance, 82-83
70. Ibid., 77.
71. Thuiston, Rcmance Revcluticn, Salmon & Symons, \arricr Icvers.
72. Salmon & Symons, \arricr Icvers, 83.
73. Poinogiaphy is used heie as a geneial iathei than a legal teim, suggesting the use of sexually explicit
mateiial piimaiily with the intent of stimulating sexual aiousal iathei than cultivating aesthetic appieciation.
Foi aiticles that specifcally addiess BL manga and laws iegulating poinogiaphy, see Maik McLelland, °The
Woild of Yaoi: The Inteinet, Censoiship and the Global 'Boy`s Love` Fandom," The Australian Feminist Iaw
}curnal 23 (2005): 6-77; and Aleaido Zanghellini, °Undeiage Sex and Romance in Japanese Homoeiotic
Manga and Anime," Sccial Iegal Studies 8 (2009): 59-77.
74. Kinsella, Adult Manga, 4.
75. Salmon & Symons, \arricr Icvers, 84.
76. Steven Maicus, The Cther Victcrians. A Study cf Sexuality and Pcrncgraphy in Mid-Nineteenth-Century
England (New Yoik: Basic Books, 974), 273.
77. Snitow, °Mass Maiket Romance," 36.
78. Radway, Reading the Rcmance, 2.
79. The authoi has pieviously exploied some of the asseitions in this section on hei blog, see Diu Paglias-
sotti, °Boys` Love vs. Yaoi: An Essay on Teiminology," http://ashenwings.com/maiks/2008/07/7/boys-love-
vs-yaoi-an-essay-on-teiminology/ and °A Note on Boys` Love & 'Stiaight` Readeiship," http://ashenwings.com/
maiks/2008/07/8/a-note-on-boys-love-stiaight-ieadeiship/. The subgenie`s name and defnition has changed
somewhat in this chaptei, howevei, the foimei in iesponse to Maik McHaiiy`s comments about chaiactei age
in BL and the lattei as a iesult of pioblems opeiationalizing °cieated with the intention of appealing to a female
-Better Than Rcmance? (PAGLIASSOTTI) 81
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audience" veisus °maiketed piimaiily to a female audience"; the lattei implies the foimei but is objectively
measuiable.
80. Foi example, Lynn Loienz wiote in an email to the authoi on July 6, 2009, that thiee of hei publish-
eis have confimed, based on sales data, that the people puichasing hei male/male iomance novels aie pii-
maiily women.
81. See Pagliassotti, °Reading Boys` Love in the West"; Romance Wiiteis of Ameiica, °Romance Liteiatuie
Statistics: Readeiship Statistics," http://www.iwanational.oig/cs/ieadeiship_stats (accessed July 6, 2009). As
an aside, only about half of the suiveyed BL manga ieadeis, male oi female, identifed as heteiosexual; ieadei
sexuality wasn`t iepoited in the RWA statistics.
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-Better Than Rcmance? (PAGLIASSOTTI) 83
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Yaoi and Slash Fiction
\cmen \riting, Reading, and Getting Cff ?
MARK JOHN ISOLA
Since the 970s, the male body has pioved to be a pioductive site in the imagination
of Ameiican and Japanese females foi what has been vaiyingly theoiized as the piojection
of theii sexual fantasies and/oi social anxieties, iesulting in the visual and veibal naiia-
tives of yaoi and slash fction.

In spite of theii diffeient national oiigins, both naiiative

foims developed concuiiently in the 970s, and each is constiucted fiom a female authoi
oi aitist`s placement of the male body against a hypei-emotionalized and/oi hypei-sexu-
alized homoeiotic naiiative tableau. Even with the effoits of ciitics to date, yaoi and slash
have not yet ieceived suffcient ciitical sciutiny, paiticulaily as they challenge the estab-
lished theoiy of the gaze-fiom Lauia Mulvey`s male gaze to Coinel West`s noimative
gaze-now that the ciicumstances of gazing aie being vaiyingly deployed fiom non-male,
non-Caucasian, and non-Euiocentiic peispectives. Between the idea of the homosexual
and the ideality of homosexuality, this chaptei stiives to complicate the ciitical ieception
of yaoi and slash naiiatives, paiticulaily as they pose a challenge foi contempoiaiy theoiy
iegaiding the naiiative pioduction and consumption of (homo)sexual naiiatives.
2
A Transpcsiticnal Genre?
John Stoiey`s ieheaisal of the theoietical developments in the undeistanding of pop-
ulai cultuie peimits yaoi and slash to be inteipieted as pop cultuie naiiatives that simul-
taneously iepiesent a stiuggle between complicity and iesistance to cultuial hegemony.
3
These naiiatives encompass a wide vaiiety of cultuial media and authoiial peispectives,
and they piedate the emeigence of the Inteinet, but the medium they have most piolifei-
ated in is new media, which can be undeistood as the emeigence of visual and veibal dig-
ital naiiatives, especially as this mateiial is deliveied thiough the television and computei
scieen. Despite theii diffeient national oiigins, yaoi and slash shaie a contempoianeous oii-
gin, and this papei will conclude with a theoiy foi this seeming coincidence. Nonetheless,
despite theii diffeient cultuial oiigins, yaoi and slash shaie many similaiities: both aie gen-
ies piimaiily pioduced by women, consumed piimaiily by women, but aie about male
homoeiotic iomance and sex. This similaiity has been noted by ciitics, and Matthew Thoin
goes as fai as to asseit the two aie almost identical genies.
4
The impulse to discuss yaoi and
slash as the same genie iaises the question of how to compaie and contiast diffeient nai-
iative foims. Foi example, how can the sequential ait of some foims of yaoi be compaied
to the piose of slash fction: And, how can naiiative mateiial posted on a Web foium by a
seventeen-yeai-old Ameiican female teenage authoi be compaied to the woik of a man-
84
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gaka, who woiks as a piofessional aitist with editois and assistants: Theie is also the obvi-
ous complication of how naiiatives that oiiginate fiom the cultuial and linguistic contexts
of Japan and Japanese can be compaied with naiiatives that oiiginate in Ameiica and in
English. Notwithstanding these diffeiences, yaoi and slash shaie similai naiiative consid-
eiations of authoiship, naiiatee, and homoeiotic subject mattei, and this tiiangulated con-
cuiience iecommends a genie consideiation, paiticulaily as such functions as a ciiteiion
foi bioad based categoiization. This appioach feels ciitically viable, if only to ieveal a tiend
in the pioduction and consumption of populai cultuie, and theie is a ceitain logic in this,
if one acknowledges pop cultuie`s evei-globalizing natuie.
Theie is alieady an established ciitical tiadition that has managed to tiaveise the pit-
falls that aiise foi anyone attempting such a woildwide ciitical puiview, and Thoin has ges-
tuied towaid a way to negotiate these pioblems. Despite the embedded natuie of his
ethnogiaphic inteiviews with Japanese adolescent manga ieadeis, which hinged on the
ieadei`s peisonal histoiy and cultuial location, Thoin suggests such idiosynciasies ulti-
mately contiibute to a tiansnational undeistanding by infoiming what consumeis °do as
paiticipants in populai cultuie."
5
Thoin embiaces the idea of a global media community
by suggesting that pop cultuie mateiial cieates a set of shaied idioms that tianscend iegional
diffeiences, and iegaiding yaoi, he asseits, the genie °binds giils and young women who
will nevei meet into a media community."
6
Given the ability of new media to ieach a much
widei audience than tiaditional piint media, Thoin`s asseition, coupled with Stanley Fish`s
foimation of an inteipietive community, piovides a iationale foi ieading similaiities despite
diffeiences.
7
As pop cultuie naiiatives that aie widely iead on the Inteinet, yaoi and slash foim and
fiame a multimedia media community that tianscends linguistic, national, and cultuial boi-
deis, and this communitaiian impulse suggests the viability of a tianscultuial ciitical con-
sideiation. Foi as Diu Pagliassotti`s iecent fndings in hei suivey of Westein yaoi ieadeis
demonstiates, theie aie diffeiences in the ways of ieading and inteipieting yaoi, but theie
aie also similaiities in the pioduction and consumption of these naiiatives that suggest a
shaied act of imagining, if not a shaied anxiety, which will be exploied moie in this dis-
cussion`s conclusion.
8
Thoin has pieviously commented on yaoi`s communitaiian impulse, and Maik
McHaiiy piovocatively extends this undeistanding when he asseits, °Yaoi is iemaikable.
That fction in diffeient media in cultuies as diveise as Japan and the United States, Latin
Ameiica, and Euiope iesonates similaily in so many people may ießect something deep in
oui imaginations."
9
The psychic iesonance McHaiiy detects may fnd its ioots in the mate-
iial and the geopolitical, foi the Ameiican impoitation of Japanese manga was-at least in
pait -biithed fiom the Ameiican cultuial expoitation that began with Commodoie Peiiy`s
853 opening of Japan to Westein tiade and the post-Woild Wai II expoitation of Amei-
ican flms and comics. This latei development would have its most notable impact on the
woik of Japanese manga aitist Tezuka Osamu, who took these inßuences, made them his
own, and expoited them back to Ameiica in the foim of Astrc Bcy and othei anime. These
titles initiated Ameiica to the iestyled sequential ait of manga, and this inßuence contin-
ues today, mostly notably thiough the woiks of Hayao Miyazaki fiom Nausicaa cf the Val-
ley cf the \ind to Hcwl´s Mcving Castle. The psychic iesonance McHaiiy detects may fnd
its oiigin in this mateiial and geopolitical histoiy, which moiphed an Ameiican pop cul-
tuie expoit into an exotic impoit, and as the ait foim is impoited back into the States, Amei-
icans may well detect something iesonant in Japanese manga.
-Yaci and Slash Ficticn (ISOLA) 85
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Peihaps McHaiiy`s obseivation of yaoi`s psychic iesonance is helpfully illuminated by
Scott McCloud`s contention that the caitoon, which he consideis as a simplifed iconic
image, holds the powei to involve the viewei as much oi moie than the photoiealistic image
thiough what he teims the piocess of amplifcation thiough simplifcation.
0
McCloud
asseits the caitoon stiips an image down to its iconic foim. Duiing this piocess, McCloud
contends theie is an amplifcation of the image`s essence, which allows foi a univeisal iela-
tion to the image itself. In this way, McCloud posits the image`s content exceeds the stiuc-
tuie of the paied down foim, and he asseits the caitoon functions as an iconic image that
allows foi self-piojection. Accoidingly, the visual becomes a vessel foi inhabitation, which
allows the viewei to moiph fiom obseivei to paiticipant, a piocess McCloud calls °viewei-
identifcation."

In thinking about the male body as it is iendeied in the similaily paied-down naiia-
tives of yaoi and slash, the piocess of amplifcation thiough simplifcation may peimit the
female viewei and ieadei to have a gieatei degiee of andiogynous access to the otheiwise
sexed oi gendeied image. If so, McCloud`s foimation goes a long way towaid explaining
why young giils and women in Ameiica, Japan, and beyond fnd the male body, as it is con-
stiucted in the veibal and visual naiiatives of slash and yaoi, so engaging, foi in existen-
tial ieality, this is not a body to which female aitists, authois, oi ieadeis have psychological
oi physiological access. McCloud`s theoiy of the iconic image might additionally aid in
inteipieting these naiiatives as they appiopiiate the male body by evacuating its potential
attendant subjectivity foi the puiposes of the aesthetic expiession and/oi eiotic exploiation
of a female desiie. Such a ciitical consideiation iesembles a semiotic piactice as this
appioach endeavois to inteipiet signs-in theii veibal and visual foim-whethei they aie
applied to the thiee-dimensional woild of wiestling as in Roland Baithes`s Mythclcgies oi
the viitual woild of the Inteinet, wheie a majoiity of yaoi and slash naiiatives appeai. As
McHaiiy suggests, theie is an acceptance of yaoi in the West despite the diffeiences between
the cultuies of Ameiica and Japan, and this similai ieception may fnd its basis in the genie`s
psychic iesonance.
Fiom the iationale of a woildwide media community to the contextual consideiations
of histoiy and economics to the potential foi a shaied psychic iesonance, theie is an ample
iationale foi the consideiation of yaoi and slash as vaiiant thieads of the same genie. This
undeistanding holds the potential to tease out the ciitical impeiative behind ieading the
peisistent homoeiotic piesence of the male body in the female imagination as it has incieas-
ingly appeaied since the late twentieth centuiy, paiticulaily as this naiiative impulse has
iesonated in diffeient media, languages, nation states, and cultuies, and the tianspositional
natuie of the genie is peihaps no moie appaient than in the bieadth of its ciitical iecep-
tion.
The Yaci Rons and Beycnd
The ciitical ieception of yaoi and slash has alteinated between consideiing the naiia-
tives as acts of appiopiiation oi as locations of hegemonic iesistance. This binaiy consid-
eiation was established duiing a seiies of exchanges called the yaoi rcns that took place in
the Japanese feminist magazine Chcisir fiom 992 to 997. The foundational conceins of
this discussion have ciiculated thioughout the ciitical iesponse in Ameiica, Japan, and
beyond. Scholais Wim Lunsing and McHaiiy have ably ieheaised the debate`s paiameteis,
86 Pait Two: Genie and Readeiship
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and the intention heie is to piovide a biief oveiview of the discussion to establish its con-
tinuity in subsequent ciitical ieception, which has likewise alteinated between inteipiet-
ing the genie as an act of appiopiiation oi agency.
2
This appioach feels waiianted as the
continuity of this vaiiance suggests a need foi the ie-conceptualization of the naiiative
pioduction and consumption of gendei, sex, and sexuality, paiticulaily when its ieception
feels contested.
At the beginning of the debate, gay activist and diag queen Sat Masaki expiessed the
opinion that yaoi was an act of appiopiiation, and this consideiation foims a foundational
concein. Foi Masaki, the pioblem is that yaoi lacks the authoiity and authenticity of lived
expeiience; theiefoie, it iisks a socio-political nihilism foi the sake of aesthetic expiession.
Masaki takes paiticulai issue with yaoi`s potential to inßuence the lived expeiience of the
gay individual: °The moie confused images of gay men ciiculate among the geneial pub-
lic the haidei it is foi gay men to ieconcile these images with theii own lives and the moie
extieme theii oppiession becomes."
3
Indeed, theie is some evidence of this, foi Yajima
Masami iecoids the stoiy of a young same-sex attiacted Japanese male who claimed yaoi
led him to believe °homosexuals must be cute and pietty."
4
Fiom anecdotes such as this,
scholai of Japanese media and sexuality Maik McLelland concludes, °The highly idealized
'homosexual` chaiacteis and fanciful plots in women`s comics theiefoie do little to fostei
a sense of iecognition oi identity in gay male ieadeis."
5
McLelland notes yaoi`s paiticulai
negative impact on the young man: °As he was neithei cute noi beautiful, he woiiied 'what
will become of me:`"
6
The feelings the young man inteinalized fiom yaoi exemplify Masaki`s
concein, and this concein has not been confned to Japan.
With a piovocative ihetoiic diawn fiom the histoiy of Ameiican iacial cooptation,
Simon Sheppaid chaiacteiized yaoi as °a minstiel show" that °puts gay male sex out theie
foi stiaight people."
7
With Sheppaid`s quote, a ciitique similai to Masaki`s appeais in
Ameiica as eaily as 2002, when McHaiiy iecoided this comment at Yaoi-Con, which has
seived as an annual convention foi yaoi pioduceis and fans since 200. This ciitical echo
suggests a similai constellation of subcultuial concein between Japan and Ameiica, iegaid-
ing women wiiting and consuming a same-sex male desiie. McHaiiy confims the pies-
ence of fuithei cioss-cultuial similaiities in the ieception of yaoi when he ieheaises how
an anonymous yaoi aitist °told ¦him] that some gay-identifed men have complained to
hei that males poitiayed in yaoi aie not iepiesentative of them oi of gay males in geneial,
and that they felt uneasy at being objectifed by women."
8
This ciiticism has not been
confned to the ieception of yaoi, and Thoin detects a similai ciitique of slash in the West:
°In the cuiient enviionment of open lobbying foi homosexual iights, some fans seem to
feel the need to justify slash to the gay community, oi even to iefoim slash in such a way
as to make it moie palatable oi 'politically coiiect.`"
9
Thoin claims no awaieness of this
politicized concein ovei yaoi in Japan, yet as the rcns suggests, these conceins may well
have piedated theii appeaiance in Westein ciiticism.
Masaki`s ciitique set the tone and tiajectoiy foi much of the ciiticism that followed
in Japan, Ameiica, and beyond, foi his conceins additionally piesaged Sueen Noh`s fndings
in °Reading Yaoi Comics: An Analysis of Koiean Giils` Fandom."
20
In establishing a con-
text foi hei 998 ieseaich, Noh uses ciiticisms diawn fiom Koiean comic and gay maga-
zines that echo Masaki`s conceins. These ciiticisms also ieach beyond the identitaiian
conceins of the same-sex attiacted male, foi Lunsing iecoids lesbian ciitic Akiko
Mizoguchi`s agieement with Masaki`s contention that yaoi contains the taint of homopho-
bia.
2
Fiom Asia to Noith Ameiica and fiom yaoi to slash, the female deployment of a same-
-Yaci and Slash Ficticn (ISOLA) 87
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sex male sexual desiie can be obseived as having pioduced a negative ciitical iesponse that
shaies the same ciitical content, if not the same linguistic oi political context.
The fulcium behind Masaki`s concein becomes cleai when he compaies the female yaoi
ieadei to the steieotyped image of the poin consumei: °When you`ie spying on gay sex,
giils, take a look at youiself in the miiioi. Just look at the expiession on youi faces! (You
look just like those diity old men salivating ovei images of lesbian sex.)"
22
Masaki`s ciiti-
cism should be undeistood as moie iesonant than simply idiosynciatic oi meiely identi-
taiian, foi some yaoi pioduceis admit no gieatei authoiial intent than the expiession and
exploiation of a female sexuality thiough the deployment of a same-sex male sexuality. In
his summaiy of the yaoi rcns, Lunsing iecoids Takemiya Keiko, who claims hei populai
yaoi title Kaze tc ki nc uta (Song of Wind and Tiees; 976) °was not about gay men but
that she used boys` love to libeiate giils` sexuality."
23
Beyond the deployment of a same-sex
male desiie as an appiopiiative naiiative device, Lunsing piovides fuithei evidence of a
pioblematic impulse in yaoi when he iecoids Takamatsu Hisako`s admission: °She ¦Hisako]
agieed, howevei, that as a ieadei of yaoi, she was similai to diity old men looking at poinog-
iaphy featuiing women."
24
On the level of pioduction and consumption, a concein ovei
appiopiiation hoveis ovei the ieception of yaoi and slash, and Keith Vincent helpfully sum-
maiizes the impeiative behind this concein as it emanated fiom Masaki`s initial ciiticisms:
°yaoi and its ieadeis weie violently co-opting the ieality of gay men and tiansfeiiing it into
theii own mastuibatoiy fantasy."
25
Thiough the ethnogiaphic inteiviews she conducted with Koiean female manga fans,
Noh fnds evidence of what Masaki and otheis detect -a scopophilic and voyeuiistic pleas-
uie behind female yaoi consumption. Lunsing paises Masaki`s piioi ciiticism of this ten-
dency as an anxiety ovei women watching same-sex male desiie and aigues °gay" manga
should ieceive the same ciitical sciutiny fiom Masaki. Howevei, Lunsing misses the cen-
tial impulse behind Masaki`s anxiety, which is piedicated upon a feai that yaoi piovides a
naiiative fulcium fiom which the non-gay ieadei will peipetuate a skewed veision of gay-
ness and gay people, theieby making gay lived expeiience moie diffcult. Masaki`s concein
is about subjectivity, not sex. Masaki`s appiehension has been sustained by McLelland,
who asseits °Yet, despite the iathei 'fantastic` iepiesentation of homosexuality-inclined
beautiful youths ... these iepiesentations do seem to have affected the way some Japanese
women iegaid actual gay men."
26
This contention contiadicts the fantasy/ieality binaiy
thought to peimeate Japanese manga ieading piactices, and McLelland coiioboiates his
asseition by ieheaising the steieotypes ciiculating thiough mainstieam and women`s media
outlets duiing the Japanese °gay boom" of the 990s, wheie same-sex attiacted males weie
ioutinely chaiacteiized as essentially and effeminately diffeient, wheie the tabloids piom-
ulgated the °best paitnei" steieotype, and when theie was an alleged iise of the °fiiend-
ship maiiiage."
27
Noh`s inteiviews piovide fuithei evidence that suggests the outcome Masaki feais by
identif ying the yaoi naiiative as it piefguies and confguies the ieadei`s attempts to iepio-
duce self and woild as a °yaoi text oi context." Noh concludes hei ieseaich with a pieg-
nant fnding: °Consequently, the most signifcant ieason that female fans` ieadings of yaoi
aie woithy of note is that yaoi tiansfoims the women`s ways of undeistanding the texts as
well as the woild."
28
Noh`s causal conclusion appeais to undeiscoie Masaki`s anxiety as he
woiiied ovei yaoi negatively impacting the alieady confused undeistanding of homosexu-
ality. This concein iipples thioughout the ieception of yaoi and slash as these genies aie
iepeatedly tasked foi the deployment of a naiiative subjectivity theii authois do not occupy,
88 Pait Two: Genie and Readeiship
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paiticulaily as such has been consideied a pioblematic appiopiiative act of a gay subjec-
tivity.
The yaoi rcns also initiated the inteipietation of yaoi as an act of agency on the pait
of its pioduceis and consumeis, and this antithetical consideiation has foimed the second
foundational concein that continues thiough the genie`s ciitical ieception. Takamatsu
Hisako iesponded to Masaki`s ciiticism by aiguing yaoi was libeiating foi women because
unlike heteiosexual stoiies, wheie women aie ioutinely the object of the male gaze, yaoi
constiucts an egalitaiian model foi gazing.
29
Noh`s fndings suggest ieadeis outside of Japan
feel similaily, and Noh goes as fai as to summaiily state yaoi is °illuminated by a female
gaze."
30
Westein ciitics have similaily aigued that yaoi functions as an act of agency ovei
sex/gendei hegemony by constiucting libeiatoiy spaces within which females can negoti-
ate the male gaze. Tina Andeison echoes Takamatsu`s opinion when she asseits, °Yaoi
allows foi that kind of enjoyment -foi visual iecieation without the self-examination.
That`s what`s so beautiful about it. Women don`t have to think about being the ones used
and abused and played with."
3
Antonia Levi has desciibed this function when she intei-
piets yaoi`s use of same-sex male desiie as a naiiative device thiough which Japanese giils
and women can negotiate gendei inequality to access a moie egalitaiian vision of iomance.
32
Levi`s point is bolsteied by Japanese yaoi ieadei Yanagita Akiko, when the lattei asseits hei
inteiest in yaoi has nothing to do with gay men and eveiything to do with hei dissatisfac-
tion with heteiosexual naiiatives that tended to disadvantage the female.
33
This impulse
has been theoiized as a iesistance to patiiaichy, and feminist scholai Ueno Chizuko claims
yaoi functions as a buffei that empoweis young females to negotiate sex fiom a distance.
34
Fujimoto Yukaii aigues likewise when she contends yaoi allows the female viewei to move
fiom the peispective of the violated to the peispective of the voyeui and violatoi, and
Takemiya Keiko claims yaoi is a °fist step towaids tiue feminism."
35
In addition to its feminist impulses, Lunsing has noted the empoweiing potential of
yaoi foi Japanese membeis of the GLBT spectium. In staik contiast to Masaki`s ciiticisms,
Lunsing iepoits some gay men view yaoi positively: °gay infoimants could ielate theii sit-
uation and feelings to the manga."
36
James Welkei makes the same asseition foi some les-
bian ieadeis: °Membeis of the Japanese lesbian community have, howevei, pointed to boys`
love and othei gendei-bending manga as stiong inßuences on them in theii foimative
yeais."
37
Welkei suppoits his claim by iefeiencing Oe Chizuka, who °explains that she
tuined to these manga given the lack of iepiesentations of female-female desiie that she
ieally identifed with."
38
This peispective has not been contained to GLBT ieadeis in Japan.
McHaiiy iecoids the effoits of Ameiican gay men as pioduceis and ieadeis of yaoi, and
McHaiiy`s obseivation has been substantiated by Pagliassotti`s suivey of boys` love iead-
eis in the West, which indicates thiity-two peicent of the English-language suivey iespon-
dents and twenty-six peicent of the Italian-language iespondents identifed as gay, lesbian,
oi bisexual.
39
Similai to the ciitical continuity that inteipiets yaoi and slash as an act of
appiopiiation, theie is a wide iange of iepiesentational positions behind the inveise ciit-
ical continuity that inteipiets the genie as an act of agency.
Duiing the ongoing yaoi rcns, Tanigawa Tamae counteied Masaki`s asseition that
yaoi fans weie like °diity old men" by iediiecting the consideiation of oppiession to the
female ieadei.
40
Tamae aigued Masaki was himself an agent of oppiession via his position
as a male, and that by viitue of theii sex/gendei position, female yaoi pioduceis and con-
sumeis aie moie disadvantaged than gay men. Having summaiized Tamae`s aigument, Lun-
sing concuis, °Theii ¦female yaoi ieadeis] inability to enjoy existing depictions of
-Yaci and Slash Ficticn (ISOLA) 89
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heteiosexual activity combined with unease about female-female sexuality suggests, indeed,
that female yaoi fans had the laigei pioblem when it came to dealing with theii own sex-
uality."
4
This valuation has undeipinned the inteipietation of yaoi as female agency ovei
gay appiopiiation, and this tendency has peimeated the ciitical ieception.
Seveial ciitics have used this impeiative to inteipiet the male cum andrcgyncus yaoi
body as a lesbian peisona. Welkei iefeiences Ueno Chizuko to suppoit this inteipietation:
°Chizuko has aigued that manga aitists boiiowed a boy`s body to diaw giil chaiacteis and
that the beautiful boy is thus the giaphic embodiment of the giil`s 'idealized self-image.`"
42
Publishei Sagawa Toshihiko concuis: °On the suiface, these chaiacteis aie gay males, but
in ieality ... they`ie like young women weaiing caitoon chaiactei costumes."
43
This ciiti-
cal tiend is peihaps best summaiized by Patiick Diazen, who comments on Sandia Buck-
ley`s undeistanding of yaoi as °not the tiansfoimation oi natuialization of diffeience but
the valoiization of the imagined potentialities of alteinative diffeientiations."
44
This poten-
tial has been expanded upon by othei ciitics, and Welkei ieads yaoi`s gendei ambiguity as
it allows foi the female ieadei to ie-envision the stoiy and opens the text to lesbian iein-
teipietations.
45
Lunsing aptly sums up this peispective when he asseits: °The implication
that gay sex is objectifed foi the puipose of the sexual libeiation of women suiely is a queei
use of male homosexuality par excellence."
46
These consideiations iecast the appiopiiating
gaze of the °diity old men" by fiaming the female gaze of yaoi and slash as an act of agency.
Between chaiges of gay appiopiiation to celebiations of queei agency, the conceins of
the yaoi rcns continue fiom fist to latest in the ciitical ieception of yaoi and slash. This
bifuicated ciitical continuity evidences something of an inteipietive homogeneity that
belies the ciiticisms of diffeiing political, linguistic, cultuial, and national contexts, and
these ciitical concuiiences may beneft fiom a global consideiation of sexual politics.
Dennis Altman has expiessed this desiie foi a tiansnational consideiation of sexual-
ity: °The moie I see, the moie skeptical I am of shaip divides between Westein and
non-Westein expeiiences of sexuality, and the suiei I become that we cannot discuss
sex/gendei stiuctuies independent of laigei sociopolitical ones."
47
In The Glcbalizaticn cf
Sexuality, Jon Binnie cautions that any such appioach must be waiy of ieplicating metio-
politan biases, be suspicious of evolutionaiy naiiatives of sexuality and nomenclatuie, and
be mindful of the potential foi expoiting stiuctuies like homophobia.
48
Binnie`s fnal con-
sideiation is paiticulaily apt in the study of compaiative (homo)sexualities between Amei-
ica and Japan, especially given the foimei`s inßuence on the lattei`s sex/gendei stiuctuies,
secondaiy to the post-Woild Wai II MacAithui eia wiiting of the extant Japanese Consti-
tution.
This point of context piovides a foundation upon which the ciitic can inteipiet coi-
ielation without a necessaiily ieductive veil of cultuial oi ciitical piesumption, theieby
avoiding the cognitive dissonance that iesults fiom maintaining the impeimeable divide
Altman is leeiy of when inteipieting expeiiences of (homo)sexuality. Howevei, as Paglias-
sotti`s woik suggests, a wholly peimeable membiane also iisks a ieductive inteipietation,
which some ciitics have detected in the effoit to think about the tiansnational natuie of
(homo)sexual politics. Pagliassotti`s fndings gestuie towaid an impoitant vaiiance between
the East and the West iegaiding the potential foi a politicized ieading of yaoi, and fiom
this, she concludes: °Fuithei woik in this aiea could be of gieat utility in desciibing how
liteiaiy pioducts may be ieceived and inteipieted diffeiently by diffeient cultuies aiound
the woild."
49
Binnie similaily identifes this need when he tempeis Altman`s meta-ciitical impulse
90 Pait Two: Genie and Readeiship
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by pointing out the coexisting need foi the consideiation of local political conceins. Bin-
nie makes this point while commenting on Altman`s theoiy of the global gay as it °tends
to piesent it as a foim of 'false consciousness,` " theieby denying the potential foi agency
in the appiopiiation of pie-extant gay iights symbols as they aie iefoimulated foi the pui-
poses of self-deteimination and/oi iesistance in othei spaces and teiiitoiies.
50
Binnie`s
iecalibiation may also peimit the inclusion of an individual vaiiance, which allows foi
idiosynciasy duiing the pioduction and consumption of a boiiowed oi shaied idiom. In
this way, the ciitic engaging in a compaiative ieading may considei individual as well as
cultuial context. This theoietical iecalibiation moie fully actualizes the impeiative behind
Altman`s ultimate desiie foi undeistanding °sexuality as involving the complex and vaiied
ways in which biological possibilities aie shaped by social, economic, political, and cul-
tuial stiuctuies."
5
In this way, the ciitic engaging in a compaiative ieading may considei
individual as well as cultuial context. Such a ciitical move is akin to Thoin`s ethnogiaphic
inteiviews of female Japanese ieadeis, which initially led him to conceptualize yaoi`s com-
munitaiian impulse while inteiiogating individual inteipietive vaiiance.
The inclusion of the local allows foi an emendation to Pagliassotti`s alieady pioduc-
tive call foi moie ieseaich into yaoi ieading piactices, paiticulaily as such peimits the pos-
sibility of similaiity as well as diffeience, foi, as the ieheaisal of yaoi and slash`s ciitical
ieception suggests, peiceptions of appiopiiation and agency can be a mattei of micio-
politics, which aie vaiiable-but not wholly independent of -the laigei socio-political
spheie Altman gestuies towaid. Heiein may lie something of a pioductive thiead by which
to tiace the possibility of a global consciousness, but this effoit will iequiie a ciitical
appioach that moves beyond the bifuicated consideiations of the yaoi rcns, which tends
to ieduce the consideiation of the pioduction and consumption of (homo)sexual naiia-
tives to a subjective eithei/oi consideiation.
Tcward a Ccnsideraticn cf Dialectical Prcductivity
Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick has famously aigued foi how the homo/heteio binaiy has
stiuctuied, if not undeipinned, the undeistanding of modein (homo)sexuality in the West,
and hei schematic foimation offeis a helpful way of appioaching the conceins of the yaoi
debate. Although it may be consideied pioblematic to apply Sedgwick`s theoiies to iegions
outside the West, it is also pioblematic not to mention this foundational cognizance, foi
such an omission would stiuctuie the epistemology of (homo)sexuality accoiding to an
East/West binaiy-as if patiiaichy and its attendant heteionoimativity weie only Occiden-
tal phenomena and theoietical pieoccupations. As the ciitical woik of Japanese theoiist
Fushimi Noiiaki has demonstiated, heteionoimativity-what Noiiaki teims heteio-
sexualism-does not solely function within the lived expeiience oi ciitical puiview of the
West, and the piimacy of the homo/heteio binaiy is peivasive in othei modein cultuies.
Katsuhiko Suganuma succinctly summaiizes Noiiaki`s belief that eveiy individual is sub-
jected to the ideology of heteio-sexualism thiough the sex/gendei iegulating discouises of
what Noiiaki identifes as the heteio-system: °Noiiaki aigues that no one, neithei as a
membei of a sexual minoiity noi the majoiity, lives outside the milieu of the 'heteio-sys-
tem` as long as they aie a membei of a society."
52
This asseition fiames a fist piemise foi
a tiansnational consideiation of sexuality, foi if the cultuies in question aie both patiiai-
chal in natuie, it is logical to assume the piesence of a heteio-system, foi if patiiaichy is
-Yaci and Slash Ficticn (ISOLA) 91
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the ideology, then the mediation of sex, gendei, and sexuality aie its constitutive discouises.
Even if this system weie contouied diffeiently, its ultimate goal of patiiaichal sexual sub-
jection would be similai.
Noiiaki`s insights aie laigely contempoianeous with Sedgwick`s, and accoiding to cui-
ient undeistanding, his fist ciitical wiitings weie pioduced aiound the same time as Sedg-
wick`s Epistemclcgy cf the Clcset, which was published in 990. As Suganuma summaiizes,
this ciitical co-occuiience has piompted Japanese scholais Sunagawa Hideki and Noguchi
Katsuz to posit the idea of a °theoietical synchionicity" between Noiiaki`s woik and the
piolifeiation of queei theoiy in the West, and theii theoiy of synchionicity iaises inteiest-
ing questions about the coteiminous natuie of expeiience with heteio-systems.
53
The pies-
ence of Noiiaki`s woik suggests that the application of theoiy diawn fiom Sedgwick does
not impiint oi displace as much as it ießects coextensive ciitical iesistance to systems of
oppiession. Contiaiy to casting the application of Sedgwick`s ideas as a foisting of West-
ein theoiy onto non-Westein iegions, Noiiaki`s undeistanding of the heteio-system sug-
gests the aptness of this appioach, foi the ciitical use of Sedgwick in light of Noiiaki`s woik
may ieveal a global cultuial intiactability, which allows foi a pioductive inteipietation of
the dichotomous ciitical ieception of yaoi and slash. A pioductive inteipietation of the yaoi
debate may fnd its oiigins in the emeigence of theoiies like Noiiaki and Sedgwick`s, pai-
ticulaily as these ciitical effoits have attempted to theoiize the stiuctuies of the heteio-
system.
Sedgwick pioffeied hei minoiitizing and univeisalizing views as an attempt to desciibe
how, since the late nineteenth centuiy, theoiies of sexuality have iested upon the undei-
standing of sexuality accoiding to the homo/heteio binaiy. Sedgwick asseits:
The fist is the contiadiction between seeing homo/heteiosexual defnition on the one
hand as an issue of active impoitance piimaiily foi a small, distinct, ielatively fxed
homosexual minoiity (what I iefei to as a minoiitizing view), and seeing it on the othei
hand as an issue of continuing, deteiminative impoitance in the lives of people acioss
the spectium of sexualities (what I iefei to as a univeisalizing view).
54
Having established a foundational theoiy, Sedgwick follows hei defnitional move with a
statement of intent that foiegiounds the evei-piesent pioblematic natuie of the stiuctuies
she attempts to defne:
The puipose of this book is not to adjudicate between the two poles of eithei of these
contiadictions, foi if its aigument is iight, no epistemological giounding now exists
fiom which to do so. Instead, I am tiying to make the stiongest possible intioductoiy
case foi a hypothesis about the centiality of this nominally maiginal, conceptually
intiactable set of defnitional issues to the impoitant knowledges and undeistandings of
twentieth-centuiy Westein cultuie as a whole.
55
Sedgwick acknowledges the lack of an epistemological giounding fiom which to biing a
conclusive undeistanding, much less an end to the veiy stiuctuies she attempts to delin-
eate, and she admits hei deployment of a defnition is itself iived with and delimited by the
veiy minoiitizing and univeisalizing impulses she attempts to inteipiet, theieby peipetu-
ating the stiuctuie she seeks to defne. Sedgwick`s diffculty miiiois the laigei post-stiuc-
tuial paialysis of attempting to assume an outside peispective fiom which to speak of
cultuie. Heie lies the admitted limit of Sedgwick`s effoits in this diiection, foi hei defnition
is piefguied by the system it seeks to defne, theieby ciicumsciibing ciitical insight by
negating the ability to deteimine without suppositional inßuence. Sedgwick negotiates this
ciitical moiass by foiegiounding the need foi undeistanding the centiality of the defnition
92 Pait Two: Genie and Readeiship
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itself, and she posits a binaiy impulse in the epistemology of homo(sexuality), yet if the
fulcium of the heteio-system is itself a binaiy stiuctuiing, Sedgwick is awaie she iisks pei-
petuating the heteio-system as much as she may be able to defne it by iedeploying its basic
eithei/oi stiuctuial impulse.
Something of this tendency appeais in the ciiticism of yaoi and slash, as this ciitical
ieception has laigely been stiuctuied along binaiy teims: appiopiiation/agency, negative/
positive, haimful/salubiious, disempoweiing/empoweiing. This tiending miiiois the
iecently entienched binaiy consideiations of gay studies/queei theoiy, wheie the
fist tends towaid fxity and the lattei ßuidity. This paiticulai way of thinking about
(homo)sexuality emeiged as a cential concein in contempoiaiy theoiy duiing the 990s
when emeigent theoiies, like Sedgwick`s, iuptuied the stiuctuies of thinking thiough the
iepiesentational aspects of the homo/heteio binaiy in favoi of deconstiucting them. This
was itself a movement fiom fxity to ßuidity, foi if the foimei is a fetish foi fxity, the lat-
tei exhibits a fetish foi ßuidity. Howevei, the fist was nevei as fxed as was thought, and
the second is not as ßexible as was hoped, and in the contested space between them, the
inßuence of the heteio-system may well appeai in the eithei/oi alignment of the discus-
sion, and its peitinaciousness may also be detected in the ciitical ieception of yaoi and slash.
This binaiy consideiation ieduces the pioduction and consumption of yaoi and slash nai-
iatives to a negative oi positive evaluation (depending upon position) without giappling
with the piesence of both. A iecalibiation to Sedgwick`s oiiginal theoietical fiaming may
pioduce something of a methodological appioach to iesist the alieady constituted eithei/oi
natuie of the heteio-system by consideiing the iegulating foice of the binaiy itself.
Instead of alteinating between the two poles of a binaiy, Sedgwick`s foimation of the
centiality of minoiitizing and univeisalizing tendencies may beneft fiom a dialectical con-
sideiation that fguies the iatio of each with and without the piesence of one being pied-
icated upon the enfoiced absence, if not abjection, of the othei. Sedgwick`s minoiitizing
and univeisalizing impulses may well peifoim a discuisive function in Noiiaki`s heteio-
system foi the puipose of enfoicing the laigei ideological hegemony of heteio-sexualism.
Foi, when it comes to cultuial acts oi aitifacts alieady iiven with a homo/heteio binaiy
that maiks the decenteied minoiity sexual subjectivity, theieby unmaiking a centeied
majoiity sexual subjectivity that is deteimined and constiucted fiom the maiked, it is not
a mattei of seeing eithei this oi that but iathei seeing the piesence of both as constitutive
elements of cultuial hegemony, as objects and inteipietations aie alieady inteipolated in
undeistanding. This calls foi a ciitical consideiation secondaiy to the intiactability of what
Fushimi calls the heteio-system (Sedgwick similaily allows foi the ubiquity of such in any
male-dominated society). An awaieness of this omnipiesent stiuctuiing, what Anthony
Giddens would acknowledge as pait of his theoiy of stiuctuiation, holds the potential to
paise ciitical iesistance fiom complicity with a piedeteimined outcome. The alieady-
constituted natuie of the binaiy may be pioductively negotiated by the application of a
dialectical consideiation of minoiitizing and univeisalizing impulses wheie pioductivity is
consideied as the thiid teim.
The lexical ambiguity of the woid pioductivity holds the potential foi a iigoious
methodological appioach foi paising the iatio of minoiitizing and univeisalizing impulses
in a cultuial act oi aitifact and likewise holds the potential foi a ciitical and political util-
ity by ievealing the heteio-system`s pie-fguiation and continuation of heteio-sexualism.
In othei woids, the polysemy of pioductivity piovides a multifaceted list of ciitical con-
sideiations that may seive as a method foi tiacing and/oi excavating the discuisive appa-
-Yaci and Slash Ficticn (ISOLA) 93
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iatus that piedeteimines the iepiesentation of (homo)sexuality. This utility foi ciitically
engaging with minoiitizing and univeisalizing impulses is suggested by the simultaneous
connotations of the woid pioductivity as a woid that conveys:
· the quality of being pioductive, as such foiegiounds the impeiative of inteipieting
how and foi whom the binaiy is pioductive oi fails to be in any given deploy-
ment;
· the linguistic sense of geneiative cuiiency oi its lack in a native speakei`s deploy-
ment of a linguistic stiuctuie, as this undeistanding iequiies an etymological and
ethnogiaphic undeistanding of the binaiy foi the puiposes of pioviding what
New Histoiicist Stephen Gieenblatt might teim a thick contextualization;
· the medical sense of the pioductivity of a cough, as such allows foi the undei-
standing of the binaiy`s foice of abjection (this is a paiticulaily piovocative con-
sideiation given Kiistevan theoiy and the fact that the content of a cough is itself
a pioduct of the expectoiating body);
· the biological sense of the iate of bio-mateiial consumable foi fuel pioduced by
an oiganism, as such holds the potential to gauge the agency and/oi appiopiia-
tion which feeds on the application of the binaiy;
· the economic sense of the iatio of quantity and quality of units pioduced to the
laboi spent pei unit, foi this allows foi the binaiy`s valuation and distinction of
the liteiaiy veisus the populai.
These consideiations begin to delineate the ciitical potential of tasking the minoiitizing
and univeisalizing impulses as a dialectic, and it spaies Sedgwick`s foimation the ciiticism
of ieductive exclusivity to which it has been pione, foi it subjects the entiiety of the heteio-
system`s pie-fguiation of heteio-sexualism into question even as this system may itself
silence options that cannot be neatly binaiized in favoi of those that can. On a local con-
cein to this discussion, a consideiation of dialectical pioductivity piovides a staiting point
foi giappling with the seemingly simple to undeistand binaiy consideiations of yaoi and
slash`s ciitical ieception, since it destabilizes them among similai and dissimilai subject posi-
tions, ianging fiom the individual, the economic, the political, the cultuial, and beyond.
Fuithei consideiation of a dialectical appioach may piove fiuitful in pioviding a com-
piehensive undeistanding of how and why the ciitical ieception of yaoi and slash tends to
alteinate between chaiges of agency and appiopiiation, and such an undeistanding may
well ieveal the political utility and/oi limits of the genie. Moieovei, it may biing a deepei
degiee of undeistanding to the ethical consideiations suiiounding appiopiiative/authoi-
ial use and the consumption/pioduction of a textual sexual subjectivity not occupied by
an aitist, authoi, oi ieadei, foi as pieviously stated, no mattei how andiogynous the sil-
houette, the male body of yaoi and slash is not a coipoieality the female authoi oi ieadei
has psychological oi physiological access to, and this ieality calls foi an ethical consideia-
tion.
Lunsing suggests a desiie foi ethical self-ießection can be found at the heait of the
yaoi rcns: °¦Masaki] began the yaoi dispute on the instigation of a female fiiend, Iiokawa
Nao, editoi of Chcisir. The women engaging in the discussion wanted to seaich theii souls
and Masaki`s wiitings seived as a welcome incentive."
56
Indeed, Masaki`s oiiginal comments
incented this self-examination: °When you`ie spying on gay sex, giils, take a look at youi-
self in the miiioi." The woid miiioi may hold thick contextual cuiiency as it additionally
suggests the female yaoi ieadei considei the state of the othei while ießecting upon self,
94 Pait Two: Genie and Readeiship
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given the Shint ieveience of miiiois as the image of self iathei than the Lacanian notion
of fiagmentation. Peihaps it is not Westein homophobia, as Matthew Thoin suggests, but
the impeiative foi self-examination that also compels slash fans to question the founda-
tion upon which theii wiiting and ieading habits iest.
57
A dialectical consideiation may
help establish an ethical iatio between appiopiiation and agency in authoiship and iead-
eiship, foi if the ßuidity of oui fancy denies the fxity of the othei, then oui ßuidity becomes
fancifully fxated on self, ieducing the coital potential of the tianspositional pun to meiely
mastuibatoiy mateiial.
Ccncluding an Anxicus Raticnale
Beyond the ieception of yaoi and slash as acts of appiopiiation oi agency, theii ciiti-
cal ieception has laigely tended to inteipiet a playful impulse in the naiiatives, but theie
may be a thiead of panic heie. Thoin obseives, °One piecondition foi slash and yaoi fan-
dom is an awaieness of homosexuality, which nonetheless iemains laigely abstiact."
58
Thoin`s obseivation may point to an undeistanding of the genie as it iesults fiom a meta-
naiiative iuptuie foi the postmodein geneiations of women who, in addition to facing
continued sexual oppiession coupled with changing gendei ioles, have had to face the ieal-
ity of (homo)sexuality, paiticulaily as it cieates the possibility foi theii opposite sex desiie
acciuing to a body that exhibits a same-sex desiie. This anxiety is in addition to having to
piocess the homosexual as sexual competition. The male body of the visual and veibal nai-
iatives of yaoi and slash may well be the postmodein female doppelgangei, and a female
anxiety ovei (homo)sexuality may have incited the concuiient naiiative developments of
women wiiting a same-sex male desiie in Japan and Ameiica. This iaises the pioblem of
ieading one nation state in the contextual teims of the othei, but such a concein piecludes
the potential foi similai points of context. Eithei way, an emeiging gay visibility can be
detected in the Japanese and Ameiican cultuies of the mid-twentieth centuiy.
Although it seived moie as a fulcium foi subsequent ievolutionaiy political oigani-
zation than a ievolution in and of itself, Stonewall nonetheless maiks a movement towaid
a gay visibility, and theie is evidence of a similai incieasing gay visibility in Japan. Maik
McLelland asseits, °Theie was no Stonewall Revolution in Japan, no iconic event that iep-
iesents a tuining point (no mattei how imaginaiy) in this jouiney ¦of Japan`s sexual minoii-
ties]."
59
This may well be the case; howevei, visibility is not piedicated upon ievolutionaiy
oi iconic events, and as Sunagawa Hideki points out, theie has been an incieasing gay vis-
ibility in the publishing maikets of Japan, staiting with the 950s magazines such as Ama-
tcria, which was contempoianeous with the appeaiance in Ameiica of the 950s muscle
magazines, not to mention Mattachine`s CNE and the Daughteis of Bilitis`s The Iadder,
and leading up to the 97 appeaiance of Barazcku, which Hideki consideis °the fist com-
meicial magazine aimed at gay men."
60
Whethei these magazines weie vitiated by homo-
phobia oi not, they evidence the ciiculation of mateiial that, in addition to othei
mainstieam iepiesentations, suggests a piolifeiating degiee of visibility, if not also an
incieasing awaieness, in the cultuial cuiiency of Japan and Ameiica foi a same-sex male
sexual desiie, and this visibility may well be the fulcium behind the developments of yaoi
and slash. Such an insight holds the potential to moiph Dennis Altman`s theoiy of global
(homo)sexuality fiom a theoiy of global inßuences to a ieading of global impulses, and
just as Hideki and Katsuz detect a theoietical synchionicity between the woiks of Sedg-
-Yaci and Slash Ficticn (ISOLA) 95
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wick and Noiiaki, theie may well be a gay synchionicity between the contempoianeous evo-
lutions of yaoi and slash.
Nctes
1. The teim yaoi vies with the title boys` love foi piimacy in desciibing the veibal and visual naiiatives
undei discussion, but since this teim accompanied my intioduction to the genie, I piefei it, paiticulaily as
it tends to foiegiound the hypeisexualization of female pioduced same-sex male textual sexual desiie.
2. As this chaptei aigues, sexual naiiatives contain an alieady-constituted absence and piesence of the
homo/heteio binaiy. The phiasing (hcmc)sexuality attempts to invoke a sense of this undeistanding; this pai-
enthetic foimation connotes the discuisive piessuie of the sex/gendei system as it simultaneously constiucts
heteiosexuality as the majoiity sexuality and homosexuality as a minoiity sexuality undei the laigei ideolog-
ical pioject of heteionoimativity.
3. John Stoiey, Cultural Studies and the Study cf Pcpular Culture. Thecries and Methcds (Athens, GA: Uni-
veisity of Geoigia Piess, 2003), 4.
4. Matthew Thoin, °Giils and Women Getting Out of Hand: The Pleasuie and Politics of Japan`s Ama-
teui Comics Community,° in Fanning the Flames. Fans and Ccnsumer Culture in Ccntempcrary }apan, ed.
William W. Kelly (Albany, NY: State Univeisity of New Yoik Piess 2004), 72.
5. Matthew Thoin. \hat }apanese Girls Dc \ith Manga, and \hy. Matt-Thoin.com. http://www.matt-
thoin.com/shoujo_manga/jaws/index.php.
6. Ibid.
7. Stanley Fish, Is There a Text in This Class? (Cambiidge, MA: Haivaid Univeisity Piess, 980), 48.
8. Diu Pagliassotti, °Reading Boys` Love in the West," ParticipCticns 5, no. 2 (2008), http://www.paitici
pations.oig/Volume%205/Issue%202/5_02_pagliassotti.htm.
9. Maik McHaiiy, °Yaoi: Rediawing Male Love," The Guide (2003): pai 7, http://www.guidemag.com/
temp/yaoi/a/mchaiiy_yaoi.html.
10. Scott McCloud, Understanding Ccmics. The Invisible Art (New Yoik: Haipei Peiennial, 994), 30.
11. Ibid., 42.
12. Wim Lunsing, °Yaci Rcns: Discussing Depictions of Male Homosexuality in Japanese Giils` Comics,
Gay Comics and Gay Poinogiaphy," in Intersecticns. Gender, Histcry, and Culture in the Asian Ccntext 2
(2006): pais 4-25, http://inteisections.anu.edu.au/issue2/lunsing.html and Maik McHaiiy, °Identity
Unmooied: Yaoi in the West," in Queer Pcpular Culture. Iiterature, Media, Film, and Televisicn, ed. Thomas
Peele (New Yoik: Palgiave, 2007), 83-95.
13. Sat Masaki, quoted in McHaiiy, °Identity Unmooied" 2007, 86.
14. Yajima Masami, quoted in Maik McLelland, °Male Homosexuality and Populai Cultuie in Modein
Japan," in Intersecticns. Gender, Histcry, and Culture in the Asian Ccntext 3 (2000): pai 8, http://inteisec
tions.anu.edu.au/issue3/mclelland2.html.
15. McLelland, Male Hcmcsexuality, pai 8.
16. McLelland, Male Hcmcsexuality, pai 8.
17. McHaiiy, °Identity Unmooied," 87.
18. McHaiiy, °Identity Unmooied," 88.
19. Thoin, °Giils and Women," 73.
20. Sueen Noh, °Reading Yaoi Comics: An Analysis of Koiean Giils` Fandom," http://moongsil.com/study/
yaoi_eng.pdf.
21. Lunsing, Yaci Rcns, pai 27.
22. Sat Masaki, quoted in McHaiiy, °Identity Unmooied," 86.
23. Lunsing, Yaci Rcns, pai 6.
24. Lunsing, Yaci Rcns, pai 24.
25. Keith Vincent, quoted in McHaiiy, °Identity Unmooied," 86.
26. McLelland, Male Hcmcsexuality, pai 9.
27. Ibid.
28. Noh, Reading Yaci, 3.
29. Lunsing, Yaci Rcns, pai 5.
30. Noh, Reading Yaci, 7.
31. Tina Andeison, inteiview by Kai-Ming Cha, °I Want My Boys` Love,° Publishers \eekly, Novembei
28, 2006. http://www.publisheisweekly.com/aiticle/CA63952.html.
96 Pait Two: Genie and Readeiship
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32. Antonia Levi, Samurai frcm Cuter Space. Understanding }apanese Animaticn (Chicago: Open Couit,
996), 35.
33. Lunsing, Yaci Rcns, pai 6.
34. Ueno Chizuko, quoted in Thoin, Girls and \cmen, 79.
35. Takemiya Keiko, quoted in Thoin, Girls and \cmen, 79.
36. Lunsing, Yaci Rcns, pai 29.
37. James Welkei, °Beautiful, Boiiowed, and Bent: 'Boys` Love` as Giils` Love in Shjc Manga," in Signs.
}curnal cf \cmen in Culture and Scciety 3, no. 3 (2006): 843.
38. Oe Chizuka, quoted in Welkei, °Beautiful, Boiiowed," 843.
39. Pagliassotti, Reading Bcys,´ table 3.
40. Lunsing, Yaci Rcns, pai 8.
41. Ibid.
42. Welkei, °Beautiful, Boiiowed," 842.
43. Sagawa Toshihiko, quoted in Fiedeiik Schodt, Dreamland }apan. \ritings cn Mcdern Manga.
44. Sandia Buckley, quoted in Patiick Diazen, Anime Explcsicn! The \hat? \hy? o \cw! cf }apanese Ani-
maticn (Beikeley, CA: Stone Biidge Piess, 2003), 88.
45. Welkei, °Beautiful, Boiiowed," 866.
46. Lunsing, Yaci Rcns, 33.
47. Dennis Altman, °Ruptuie oi Continuity: The Inteinalization of Gay Identities," in Pcstcclcnial Queer.
Thecretical Intersecticns, ed. John Hawley (Albany, NY: State Univeisity of New Yoik Piess, 200), 36.
48. Jon Binnie, The Glcbalizaticn cf Sexuality (London: SAGE Publications, 2004).
49. Pagliassotti, Reading Bcys´, pai 7.
50. Binnie, Glcbalizaticn cf Sexuality, 69.
51. Altman, Rupture, 22.
52. Katsuhiko Suganuma, °Enduiing Voices: Fushimi Noiiaki and Kakefuda Hiioko`s Continuing Rele-
vance to Japanese Lesbian and Gay Studies and Activism," in Intersecticns. Gender, Histcry and Culture in the
Asian Ccntext 4 (2006): pai 6, http://inteisections.anu.edu.au/issue4/suganuma.htm.
53. Ibid, pai 20.
54. Sedgwick, Eve Kosofsky, Epistemclcgy cf the Clcset (Beikeley, CA: Univeisity of Califoinia Piess,
990), .
55. Ibid, 2.
56. Lunsing, Yaci Rcns, 26.
57. Thoin, Girls and \cmen, 73.
58. Ibid, 80.
59. Maik McLelland, Queer }apan frcm the Pacifc \ar tc the Internet Age (Lanham, MD: Rowman &
Littlefeld Publisheis, 2005), 8.
60. Sunagawa Hideki, °Japan`s Gay Histoiy," Intersecticns. Gender, Histcry, and Culture in the Asian Ccn-
text 2 (2006): pai 5. http://inteisections.anu.edu.au/issue2/sunagawa.html.
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McHaiiy, Maik. °Yaoi: Rediawing Male Love." The Guide (2003). http://www.guidemag.com/temp/yaoi/
a/mchaiiy_yaoi.html.
_____. °Identity Unmooied: Yaoi in the West." In Queer Pcpular Culture. Iiterature, Media, Film, and Tele-
visicn, edited by Thomas Peele, 83-95. New Yoik: Palgiave Macmillan, 2007.
McLelland, Maik. °Male Homosexuality and Populai Cultuie in Modein Japan." In Intersecticns. Gender, His-
tcry, and Culture in the Asian Ccntext 3 (2000). http://inteisections.anu.edu.au/issue3/mclelland2.html.
_____. Queer }apan frcm the Pacifc \ar tc the Internet Age. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefeld, 2005.
Noh, Sueen. °Reading YAOI Comics: An Analysis of Koiean Giils` Fandom." http://moongsil.com/study/
yaoi_eng.pdf.
Pagliassotti, Diu. °Reading Boys` Love in the West." ParticipCticns 5, no. 2 (2008). http://www.paiticipations.
oig/Volume%205/Issue%202/5_02_pagliassotti.htm.
Schodt, Fiedeiik. Dreamland }apan. \ritings cn Mcdern Manga. Beikeley, CA: Stone Biidge Piess, 996.
Stoiey, John. Cultural Studies and the Study cf Pcpular Culture. Thecries and Methcds. Athens, GA: Univei-
sity of Geoigia Piess, 2003.
Thoin, Matthew. °What Japanese Giils Do with Manga and Why." Papei piesented at the Japan Anthiopol-
ogy Woikshop of the Univeisity of Melbouine, Austialia, July 0, 997. http://www.matt-thoin.com/
shoujo_manga/jaws/index.php.
_____. °Giils and Women Getting Out of Hand: The Pleasuie and Politics of Japan`s Amateui Comics Com-
munity." In Fanning the Flames. Fans and Ccnsumer Culture in Ccntempcrary }apan, edited by William W.
Kelly, 69-87. Albany, NY: State Univeisity of New Yoik Piess, 2004. Repi., http://matt-thoin.com/shoujo_
manga/outof hand/index.php.
Welkei, James. °Beautiful, Boiiowed, and Bent : 'Boys` Love` as Giils` Love in Shjc Manga." Signs. }curnal cf
\cmen in Culture and Scciety 3, no. 3 (2006): 84-870.
98 Pait Two: Genie and Readeiship
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0 Uses foi Boys
Ccmmuning with the Reader in Yaci and Slash
MARNI STANLEY
Although populai cultuie genies such as action manga and television sciipts have been
geneiated piedominantly by male wiiteis, women have found (at least) two avenues thiough
which to asseit themselves in the discouises of populai cultuie-yaoi and slash. Yaoi aie
giaphic woiks. Slash stoiies aie geneially not illustiated, though diawings and cieative
Photoshopping oi caiefully chosen stills aie not uncommon. Both aie genies of populai
cultuie piedominantly pioduced by women that have, as theii common subject, males
becoming sexually involved with each othei. In published yaoi, which oiiginate in Japan
but aie available in English tianslation, these males aie oiiginal chaiacteis who aie often
young (school classmates aie populai) but may also be doctois, diplomats, gangsteis,
lawyeis, ciuise-ship captains, business men, and so on. In slash, the chaiacteis aie usually
boiiowed fiom anothei souice, especially television, and may be police, lawyeis, space tiav-
eleis, vampiies and theii slayeis, oi any numbei of othei occupations. Incieasingly, they
aie new chaiacteis, as moie °oiiginal slash" is being wiitten.
Ciitical iesponse to these two genies has sometimes been anxious and deiisive about
what yaoi and slash might signify about female sexuality. Some psychoanalytic theoiists,
in paiticulai, have iead these texts as attempting to compensate foi feminine °lack." They
see the authois of yaoi and slash as disempoweied female wiiteis compensating foi theii
exclusion fiom the discouise of male homosexuality/homosociality by wiiting theii own
texts. Instead of ieading these genies as full of tiansgiessive possibility, they see them as
evidence of diminished female sexual agency.
Rathei than being oveizealous in the application of psychoanalytic theoiy to these two
populai genies, it may be useful to take the woid of many of theii cieatois and see these
texts as moie about pleasuie and fun than compensation oi lack. What if, as Hélène Cixous
so wittily suggests in °The Laugh of the Medusa," women aie not obsessively focused on
the °little pocket signifei"

because they lack one but aie, iathei, moie inclined to laugh
at the whole phallogocentiic dog-and-pony show: Theie aie othei ways to paiticipate in
cultuie than those tiaditionally assigned to women. Reading women as essentially °lack-
ing" ceitainly limits one`s scope. How much moie amusing foi women to be subveisive in
the face of limited paiticipation and to fnd moie playful, moie tiansgiessive, moie satis-
fying ways of joining the cultuial conveisation.
If women wiiting about sex is still tiansgiessive, then women wiiting about sex using
the male body almost exclusively and then inviting othei women to enjoy these stoiies, oi
even attempt wiiting them themselves, is doubly tiansgiessive. Yaoi and slash aie tiansgies-
sive piecisely because they aie joyous and playful and iefuse to take themselves, oi the many
iconic naiiatives they subveit, seiiously, and because they invite theii ieadeis to play along.
99
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While both yaoi and slash play with cultuially dominant naiiatives of male action,
they also play with ideas of iomance, ielationship, and sex itself. They joyfully tiansgiess
expectations of female sexuality by subveiting established, even iconic, naiiatives, such as
buddy ßicks, space westeins, and boys` school melodiamas, into male homosexual stoiies.
These genies open a whole new woild of play foi theii mostly female cieatois. And it is a
woild into which these cieatois invite theii ieadeis in oidei to shaie the fun. In both gen-
ies the cieatois diiectly addiess the ieadei and invite-even demand-feedback, engaging
the ieadei`s active iesponse in a way few texts do.
Psychoanalytic theoiists, with theii emphasis on the ways these genies make thinking
about sex less fiightening foi women because they compensate foi women`s disempowei-
ment, offei a substantive challenge to any ieading of these genies as piedominantly play.
Midoii Matsui offeis a psychoanalytic ieading of yaoi in which she aigues of the key chai-
acteis:
the boys weie the little giils` displaced selves ... the fctitious boys weie endowed with
ieason, eloquence and aggiessive desiie foi the othei, compensating foi the absence of
logos and sexuality in the conventional poitiaits of giils. In shoit they signifed the pos-
session of the phallus as opposed to the feminine °lack."
2
The pioblem with this ieading of yaoi is that it emphasizes negative, compensatoiy moti-
vations, leaving women, as so often in non-feminist psychoanalytic theoiy, making up foi
a lack of something.
Shaion Kinsella, though she aigues yaoi oiiginated as a foim of paiody of mainstieam
manga, also ciitiques the genie in teims of compensation oi substitution: °In the context
of the obvious iange of iestiictions on behaviois and development that women expeiience
in contempoiaiy society, young female fans feel moie able to imagine and depict idealized
stiong and fiee chaiacteis if they aie male."
3
She aigues that female ieadeis can identify
with the °slightly moie effeminate male of a couple." This ieading, howevei, misses the
point : if both chaiacteis aie male, why should they limit theii identifcation meiely to the
moie effeminate one, especially if female ieadeis aie seeking to compensate foi feminine
°lack":
Kiisty Valenti similaily claims, °women enjoy yaoi because it is a way foi them to be
enteitained by sex in a non-thieatening way, without the anxieties and pioblems associ-
ated with being female, such as piegnancy and misogyny."
4
This inteipietation of the genie
again implies that women aie compensating, in this case foi feais and anxieties; a ieading
that leaves little ioom foi pleasuie, iathei than ieassuiance, and none at all foi play.
The common giound in these aiguments is that they all cast in the negative the moti-
vation foi women to wiite about males in love/lust with each othei. This appioach aigues
that these woiks aie motivated by °lack" oi °iestiictions" oi °anxiety." Such a negative
undeistanding of the oiigins of the genie ceitainly makes it moie diffcult to see the play-
fulness and humoi of many of these texts oi to undeistand the iole humoi fiequently plays
in the authoi/ieadei ielationship. In teims of theii self-iepiesentation in addiesses to the
ieadei, the wiiteis and aitists of yaoi and slash do not appeai to be obsessively tiying to
iesolve sexual oi gendei-based anxieties; these poitions of theii texts aie too playful foi
that.
Play, the kind of play that mocks deaily held mainstieam tiuths, is a means of claim-
ing giound, of tiansgiessing the iules in ways that aie empoweiing iathei than compensa-
toiy. Both yaoi and slash tend to locate theii stoiies in male-dominated woilds wheie
women have often been tiivialized and iendeied incidental oi ieduced to acted-upon sub-
100 Pait Two: Genie and Readeiship
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jects. These authois have iesponded by inteiiupting and disiupting these woilds by play-
ing with social and sexual conventions and by inviting the audience to join in the game. In
this way, the authois piovide points of access foi women into these homosocial discouises
and into the iepiesentations of sex and sexuality that have heietofoie been dominated by
men as both pioduceis and consumeis.
Wiiting about slash, Susanne Jung aigues that °women wiiting about men having sex
is then doubly tiansgiessive in that it not only violates the notion of female sexual igno-
iance but also has at its centie ... male homosexuality,"
5
a sexuality that Jung notes is his-
toiically chaiacteiized by seciecy. In fact, both male homosocial and homosexual woilds
have histoiically been kept seciet fiom women. Not seciet in the sense that women did not
know about them, but seciet in the sense that they weie often suppoited by the stiuctuies
of male-only institutions and spaces to which women did not have access. Women could
not physically entei many of these spaces, oi they weie cuitailed within some public poi-
tion of them; and, moie impoitant, they did not have access to male homosocial/sexual
cultuie. Whethei those spaces weie schools and univeisities, clubs oi spoiting venues, oi
even woikplaces, the exclusion of women was often feicely defended and suiiendeied,
wheie it has been suiiendeied, only aftei legal challenge. Many of those spaces aie the same
spaces wheie yaoi and slash stoiies aie set.
Some yaoi and slash wiiteis add to theii tiansgiessions not only by wiiting about males
having sex with each othei but by inviting othei women to enjoy the thought expeiiment
and even to have a go at imagining it and elaboiating on it foi themselves. Many yaoi have
an afteiwoid in which the authoi/aitist (oi both if they aie diffeient people) addiesses the
ieadei, geneially inviting feedback and engaging the ieadei diiectly. Usually iefeiied to in
the table of contents as °Bonus Pages," these pages, seemingly supeißuous to the stoiy, may
include sketches, a shoit bonus stoiy, oi even an °inteiview" with one of the chaiacteis.
Cathy Campei has dismissed these bonus pages in stiongly gendeied teims: °almost
all manga include 'giily-giil` notes fiom the female cieatois to theii fans, apologizing foi
mistakes and agonizing ovei deadlines."
6
Although it is tiue that some bonus pages aie pii-
maiily thank-you notes to editois and assistants, othei authois use the afteiwoid to pio-
vide insight into theii attitude to theii woik.
Wiiteis of yaoi invite and even diiect ieadeis to iead theii texts as lessons on how to
develop a moie nuanced eiotic imagination. Yaoi authoi Ritsu Natsumizu delights in pio-
viding mini imagination woikshops foi hei ieadeis in hei bonus pages. Foi example, at the
end of Crushing Icve, she discusses the °episode of the dazzling haidwaie stoie" wheie she
noticed °vaiious thickness chains ¦sic] that aie sold by the metei. I was wondeiing wheie
the local semes get these goods, but I`m glad that they`ie easily obtainable."
7
Then she
demonstiates to hei ieadeis how almost anything can be used to exeicise one`s imagina-
tion when she takes two diffeient cookies off hei snack plate and imagines two men who
would have some of the chaiacteiistics of these cookies and then piomptly puts them in
bed togethei (see Fig. ). She ends this segment by teasing hei ieadeis with °what kind of
wondeiful imaginations do you have:"
8
She explicitly invites hei ieadeis to develop theii
fantasy woilds, encouiaging them to see this as a tiainable skill and piaising them foi theii
own imaginations.
In the bonus pages foi Icve Bus Stcp, Natsumizu staits with a close-up diawing of the
hem of a man`s suit pant leg bieaking ovei a diess shoe labeled °paits of the suit that aie
kinda sexy No.."
9
She goes on to talk about how magazines and catalogues aie a gieat souice
of mateiial foi fantasy and uses the example of a catalogue of expensive home items to
-0 Uses fcr Bcys (STANLEY) 101
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102 Pait Two: Genie and Readeiship
Figure . °Episode of the WonderfuI Snacks," Ritsu Natsumizu. Crushíng Love. EngIish transIation
· 2007 by DIGITAI MANGA, INC, Gardena, CA.
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demonstiate. She diaws a beautiful and expensive wooden handkeichief case fiom the cat-
alogue and says, °things like ¦this] get my heait pumping befoie the fantasy even staits.
Befoie this, I didn`t even know they made handkeichief cases."
0
Then she demonstiates
how to use objects fiom the catalogue as piops in a scenaiio she devises in which a wealthy
man seduces a °noimal salaiy man." She ends the exeicise saying °How`s that: You should
tiy it, eveiyone."

Hei explicit invitation to hei ieadeis is that they should develop theii
own fantasy skills thiough hei lesson plan.
Natsumizu takes on the iole of the initiate to these pleasuies of fantasy, inviting hei
ieadeis to play in theii own imaginations even if they do not wiite oi diaw. Nothing in hei
style suggests oi ieveals any anxiety oi feai oi lack. Instead she begins fiom the position
that hei ieadeis have °wondeiful imaginations" full of potential; hei iole is to teach by pio-
viding hei ieadeis with examples of techniques foi playing in that uniestiicted space. This
is the inexhaustible female imaginaiy of Cixous who, in °The Laugh of the Medusa," tells
women °I know why you haven`t wiitten" and discusses all the ways wiiting, like mastui-
bation, makes women feel guilty, even if they only do enough °to take the edge off." Then
Cixous goes on to uige, °Wiite, let no one hold you back, let nothing stop you: not man
... and not ycurself."
2
Natsumizu may not be a theoiist, but she is just as deteimined to
encouiage hei ieadeis to exploie theii own potential foi fantasy.
Yuzuha Ougi, in the bonus pages of Brcther, similaily to Natsumizu, gives a lesson on
how to set a mood foi fantasy:
In geneial to talk about how I like to see boy-on-boy kinky scenes depicted. I think it
should piesent a °sexual mood" fiom beginning to end. Dim the genitals as much as
possible, make the sex buist out of the fiame, etc. A mood of having sex the whole time.
Voices, sweat, facial expiessions, eveiything.
3
She contiasts hei ideal iepiesentations of sex with flm iepiesentations by thinking back
to hei fist expeiience of seeing a poinogiaphic flm: °When I was young I too saw an
uncensoied eiotic video foi the fist time and I thought it was gioss and disgusting and it
took a while befoie I could eat iaw fsh again. When you watch sex objectively, it`s amaz-
ing how iidiculous and weiid it is."
4
Heie we do have some evidence of anxiety, but again,
as with Natsumizu, hei appioach is moie educational than compensatoiy. She goes on to
demonstiate how to set a mood by including a sequence of diawings showing one of hei
two main chaiacteis stiipping. She talks about why she chooses to diaw the specifc moments
she has selected and what each fiame contiibutes to the cieation of a sexy mood. By tak-
ing the chaiactei out of the stoiy and piesenting him in this way in the bonus pages, she
is inviting hei ieadeis to think about what they fnd sexy (and not sexy) about the male
body.
Othei wiiteis use the bonus pages to talk about tuin-ons oi to play with the idea of
objectifying men and tuining them into seivings foi consumption. In the bonus pages foi
Icving Gaze, Akiia Kanbe jokes that hei pioblem is contiolling the sexual uiges of the chai-
acteis: °As the authoi it ieally makes me happy when chaiacteis take such a life of theii
own..., but they become so lively that the sex scenes went on longei than I`d anticipated ...
Yikes! I`m so embaiiassed..."
5
(hei ellipses). Once she`s imagined the chaiactei, it`s not hei
fault what he gets up to. Since hei embaiiassment is tianspaiently disingenuous, hei aftei-
woid functions to celebiate the long sex scenes iathei than apologize foi them.
Sakufu Ajimine also laments that hei chaiacteis won`t stay in line in hei two bonus
pages foi Ycur Hcnest Deceit: °I oiiginally intended to pen an adult, elite, goigeous ... tale,
but befoie I knew it, it devolved into a geezei fetish and windbag lawyei stoiy. (By magic:)"
6
-0 Uses fcr Bcys (STANLEY) 103
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She accompanies this iemaik with a simple little sketch of hei two piotagonists diawn with
theii bodies in the piopoitions of young childien. She adds that hei seme, Kitchaia-sensei,
doesn`t seem to do veiy convincingly lawyeiish woik and adds °he piobably acts the pait
of the distinguished lawyei to a T somewheie wheie I can`t see him do it. Yuup." As in hei
pievious iemaik, she jokes that hei chaiacteis aie outside hei contiol; theii iepiesentation
is not hei iesponsibility. On the facing page, the fist page of two, she diaws Kuze, the uke,
in what she calls a °'He`d Nevei Look Like This` pictuie." Instead of poitiaying him in his
usual business suit, she diaws him tanned, diipping wet, and stiipping out of a tank top
and jeans. The contiadiction between the two pages-on the fist she asseits hei ability to
contiol the chaiacteis and on the second she denies it -adds to the sense of playfulness.
By emphasizing the ways in which the book seemingly slipped fiom hei contiol, hei false
apology instead highlights hei iole as authoi/aitist and cieatoi of both the chaiacteis and
the woild they inhabit.
Authois can also use the bonus pages to appaiently ieveal theii own tuin-ons, such as
Kanbe does aftei Icving Gaze: °A scene of Kunieda lightly sweeping Yoshimuzu off his feet
and caiiying him-that would have been a little tuin on foi me peisonally."
7
Like Natsum-
izu`s fantasy woikshops, Kanbe`s iefeience to a nonexistent scene, one she toyed with includ-
ing but ultimately didn`t include, invites the ieadeis to use the woik as an inspiiational staiting
point fiom which to extend the fantasy-she tieats the stoiy as open-ended, not complete.
Kiiiko Fuwa, in the bonus pages of \eekend Icvers, also ieveals something of hei own
peisonal pioclivities: °I am completely in love with that type so I was extiemely happy to
diaw it. The combination of glasses, coolness, beauty, and an oldei uke ... I can take thiee
seivings of this."
8
By iefeiencing the fantasy as food, °thiee seivings," Fuwa highlights the
idea of these fantasy men as delectable items foi consumption. She might also be using the
afteiwoid as a kind of °sales pitch" foi the fantasy she has put in motion: if the authoi likes
this °type," the ieadei might too. Thus, these wiiteis use the bonus pages to encouiage iead-
eis to think about and to play with the idea of fantasy and to be amused by it, defnitely
not to iepiess it.
Although the subject mattei of both yaoi and slash appeais to be male homosexual
ielationships, these aien`t texts that attempt iealistic iepiesentations of those ielationships
but iathei play with the eiotic potential geneiated by diffeiences in status oi powei. Maik
McLelland aigues that yaoi aie about °sex which deiives its inteiest fiom imagining powei
diffeientials, not equality."
9
Ceitainly foi many women wiiteis, to talk about the eiotics
of powei in heteiosexual ielationships iaises complex questions about the politics of gen-
dei diffeience and so, by making both membeis of the couple male, those pioblems can be
eiased. Having thus dispensed with gendei diffeience, yaoi authois can, as McLelland sug-
gests, play with the eiotics of powei by othei means, oi they may choose to exploie othei
ideas of the eiotic altogethei.
In the two common situations of offce and school iomances, foi example, powei can
be cieated by diffeiences in status, such as those in teachei/student iomances such as Pas-
sicn oi Empty Heart.
20
Both of these woiks employ a common yaoi plot in which powei
dynamics aie ieveised-in this case by making the student the aggiessoi and the moie sex-
ually confdent chaiactei, and, in the case of Passicn, the seme. Reveising powei dynamics
is a common plot device. In the foui-volume woik }azz,
2
a young patient diugs and sex-
ually assaults his doctoi, with whom he latei develops a ielationship. The doctoi is the uke.
By ieveising the anticipated powei dynamics, these authois iemind us that powei, espe-
cially in sexual ielationships, is often moie complex than a fist glance ieveals.
104 Pait Two: Genie and Readeiship
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When the stoiy is about two appaient equals, such as two students in the same yeai,
powei diffeientials will be cieated by diffeiences in wealth, populaiity, expeiience, intelli-
gence, oi othei maikeis of success in the school enviionment. Similaily, powei diffeien-
tials in offce iomances aie often based on iank, but physical size, shyness, business success,
and othei powei dynamics aie also used to inciease the play of diffeience. Foi example,
the two inteins in °Like a White Phantom"
22
aie appaient equals but, wheieas Matsuda is
confdent and happy, Suzaki is shy, sad, huit by past giiefs, and sexually exploited by a sen-
ioi physician.
In many of these stoiies, the emotional climax occuis when the dominated chaiactei
asseits his own desiie. In yaoi this does not geneially change the seme/uke dynamic; it just
means that the uke fnally makes the fist move. Valenti desciibes this as the °cathaitic moment,
¦when] a woman can identify with both the desiied and the desiiing; this ßuidity is usually
not affoided to hei in moie tiaditional naiiatives."
23
This climactic moment also signals to
the ieadei that the ielationship is tiuly iecipiocal. Since so many yaoi include iape, oi, at
best, veiy aggiessive seduction, establishing the idea that the ielationship is, in fact, mutual,
is impoitant. Without a female chaiactei to identify with, Valenti aigues, women aie fiee to
choose to identify with the uke, the seme, oi both. The bonus pages, which so often focus on
active ieadei paiticipation in the play of eiotic fantasy, encouiage this ßuid identifcation.
Both yaoi and slash paiticipate in the iealm of iomance and sexual fantasy liteiatuie,
genies that tend to dispense with theoiy in favoi of piaxis by actually engendeiing feelings
of desiie, pleasuie, aiousal and so on in the ieadei. A ciitic such as Campei complains that
°what`s missing fiom boys` love manga is the heavy baggage of adult sexuality."
24
But, of
couise, the same can be said foi even moie tiaditional wiitten genies of iomance and
poinogiaphy. Fatigue, the stiess of woik, aging bodies, housewoik, paying bills, and othei
facts of adult life that impact adult sexuality aie not the natuial subjects of any of these
genies. In fantasy-based genies, iealism is simply not pait of the pictuie.

As the slash wiitei

M. Fae Glasgow fiankly puts it, °They aie also, to get to the coie of it foi me, stoiies of sex-
ual and/oi emotional satisfaction, attiactive fctional men manipulated as much as possi-
ble to give as much pleasuie as possible."
26
If iealism is neithei the piactice noi the goal of
eithei yaoi oi slash, then what is theii piimaiy focus:
Slash, like yaoi, is pioduced and consumed piimaiily by females, and connections aie
cieated thiough it. The woild of slash is veiy expansive. Thousands of stoiies aie available
online oiiginating in many diffeient countiies; otheis aie published in zines and books.
One can fnd slash about dozens of TV shows but also about flms, books, and histoiical,
ieal, and oiiginal chaiacteis.
As with yaoi, slash has many wiiteis who make a point of talking about the impoi-
tance of the community of pioduceis and consumeis of slash and also diiectly addiess these
audiences. They do this most commonly thiough biief piefaces to theii woik in which they
may talk about othei wiiteis oi ieadeis who have piovided feedback oi encouiagement and
often invite theii own ieadeis to entei these fctional woilds.
Because slash is laigely an online phenomenon, the conveisations among cieatois and
theii audiences cieate an immediate community of shaied inteiest in this ßuid, labile fan-
tasy discouise. The community of slash ieadeis includes both active ieadeis who send feed-
back and so-called luikeis who iead but don`t iespond. Many slash sites make contacting
the authoi veiy easy. Some have feedback foims attached to eveiy stoiy. Otheis allow iead-
eis to click on the authoi`s name to send email; feedback is encouiaged and luiking is dis-
couiaged.
-0 Uses fcr Bcys (STANLEY) 105
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In theii piefaces, slash wiiteis often thank othei wiiteis oi ieadeis foi the assistance
they piovided. Foi example, in the pieface to °Solitaiy Cieatuies," Aiistide thanks Bone
(anothei slash authoi):
This stoiy is dedicated with gieat love and appieciation to Bone, my own little sun-
beam-you aie Nell to my Snidely, and I nevei would have decided to hop into this
paiticulai bed if you hadn`t pulled back the coveis foi me...
27
¦hei ellipsis].
In hei authoi`s note foi the same stoiy, she calls heiself °a new little fsh in a big scaiy pond"
but adds, °Happy to be heie." By speaking of wiiting as a bed that Bone has piepaied foi
hei, Aiistide is playing with the idea that Bone is seducing Aiistide into joining hei in the
°bed" that is slash; the wiiting itself becomes eiotic play. The piolifc Alyjude, who has ovei
30 substantial stoiies on hei Web page foi The Sentinel fandom, also ciedits wiiteis and
ieadeis with helping hei leain to edit hei woik. In the pieface to °Just Anothei Satuiday,"
she ieveals that °this stoiy ieposting is a iesult of seveial conveisations on ... the Sentinel
Adult Fiction Discussion List. The wondeiful ieadeis and authois inspiied me to go back
and look at the ciap I fist pioduced."
28
The community has cleaily been ciitical, but in
ways she has found helpful and pioductive.
Othei wiiteis also focus on the encouiagement and suppoit that feedback piovides.
The wiitei Bone, whom Aiistide thanked, in tuin thanks all those who iesponded to hei
stoiy °Teiiitoiial Impeiative." When she adds a second chaptei, she says, °I got diunk on
feedback and the fngeis just staited ßying."
29
She goes on to wiite six chapteis in all foi
this one stoiy.
Slash wiitei Meiedith Lynne iepiesents heiself as a feedback addict. Foi hei, it`s an
essential pait of the wiiting expeiience. As she says in the pieface to °Memoiy Lapse,"
°Feedback is a wondeiful thing. ·) If you like this, let me know. Please: You know what
an addict I am. I`m pathetic. I wiite solely foi the affimation of my self-woith as a human
being that you all give me thiough youi wondeiful letteis."
30
She acknowledges the iead-
eis who follow hei woik with that °you know"; they aie hei ieading community and they
kncw how much she iepeatedly emphasizes the iole of feedback in hei piefaces.
Of couise, slash wiiteis do wiite foi fiee, so demands foi feedback often acknowledge
that it is the only payment they get. Evidence that theie is a ieadeiship out theie, that
a community of inteiest has been successfully geneiated, and that conveisation and
inteiplay aie now possible aie the not-insignifcant goals of slash wiiteis.
Slash wiiteis can`t ieceive payment because they geneially woik with chaiacteis that
belong to otheis and, as a consequence, slash stoiies aie also noimally pieceded by a dis-
claimei. Some wiiteis use this standaidized text to get playful about the idea of owneiship,
oi at least about the idea of playing with otheis` toys oi fctional cieations. In the disclaimei
foi °Papei Cianes," Dieidie wiites, °I just want to take them out and play with them foi a
bit; I piomise to ietuin them unhaimed, maybe a little bit sweatiei than when I found
them."
3
They may be someone else`s chaiacteis, but that won`t stop hei fiom giving them
a woikout.
Similaily, Alyjude, in the disclaimei foi °Bieathing," takes the same attitude to the
chaiacteis who, once out in the woild, become toys in the toy box: °Offcially, these guys
belong to Pet Fly et al. I boiiow, I play nice, I don`t kill `em oi mutilate `em but I have been
known to make `em have sex. I get nothing foi this except fun. Loads of fun. Endless, life-
saving fun."
32
She makes cleai that foi hei, slash wiiting is theiapeutic, even life-saving.
She is a wiitei who has a lot of fun wiiting hei piefatoiy authoi`s notes. As well as playing
with the standaidized disclaimei, she adds silly lessons foi life and geneially jokes with the
106 Pait Two: Genie and Readeiship
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ieadei. The tone of hei addiesses to the ieadei is diffeient fiom the tone of hei stoiies, in
that the content of the stoiies may be seiious.
Many slash wiiteis pieface theii cieations with the standaid one-sentence disclaimei
and nothing else, but foi those who expand, elaboiate, and play with it, the disclaimeis
become an element of naiiative technique. They allow the authoi to bieak the fiame of the
stoiy thiough diiect addiess to the ieadei and they cieate an intimacy, a shaied attitude,
with theii community of ieadeis. Fiancesca, in the pieface to °Natuie`s Blindness," the
concluding stoiy in hei long Sentinel seiies, °Natuie`s Cycles," jokes to hei ieadeis: °Wain-
ing: giatuitous fetishization of food. Queiy: if the food scenes aie moie eiotic than the sex
scenes, aie we appioaching iealism:"
33
She can assume that most of the ieadeis of this stoiy
will have iead the thiity stoiies that piecede it in the cycle. Since this stoiy sequence has
had a numbei of supeinatuial elements (none of which aie utilized in this last stoiy), men-
tioning iealism is a joke foi those faithful ieadeis who aie also piesumed to be sophisti-
cated enough to undeistand the theoietical play. When Aiistide piefaces °Fiuit of the Vine"
with the iemaiks, °this stoiy was kind of an expeiiment foi me, to see if I could do a few
things I haven`t tiied befoie. Sentinel is just such a ... ßexible place, ya know:"
34
(hei ellip-
sis), she is speaking to ieadeis who know hei woik alieady. Fuithei, she is speaking to the
slash fans foi this paiticulai show who will have iead enough pieces by diffeient authois
to be awaie of the diffeient diiections in which wiiteis have taken the chaiacteis in the
ßexible woild of this paiticulai slash paiiing.
Once they go beyond the standaidized disclaimei, the authois of these longei piefaces
cieate a diiect addiess to audience, a naiiative technique designed to give ieadeis a sense
of the authoi`s peisonality and to fostei a ielationship with them. Many authois of both
slash and yaoi foiego the usual authoiial distance and instead delibeiately couit a connec-
tion with theii ieadeis thiough theii piefaces and afteiwoids. These biief additions to the
main text aie often playful and celebiatoiy. The contents aie funny and pleasuiable, not
compensatoiy. Foi theii female ieadeis, these texts aien`t pathetic substitutions foi femi-
nine lack; iathei, they aie disiuptive, by theii veiy existence, of dominant naiiatives of
female sexuality and intentionally libeiatoiy of female sexual fantasy.
Slash and yaoi inteiiupt the dominant naiiatives of manga, television, and even
poinogiaphy by giving females a chance to play with boys and the male body in ways that
male authois/aitists have tiaditionally assumed to be theii iight to manipulate and play
with the female body. In the woilds of yaoi and slash, it is the male body that is on display.
And heie it has been iendeied poseable, penetiable, and subject to disiuptions that seive
to queei the dominant naiiatives in playful and iiieveient ways. Playing with boys in ways
that the cieatois of the oiiginal television chaiacteis nevei intended (in the case of slash)
oi that the cieatois of the oiiginal manga genies nevei foiesaw is an essential aspect of the
pleasuie of these texts. A whole new toy box has been opened by these genies foi female
aitists, wiiteis, and ieadeis.
35
Nctes
1. Hélène Cixous, °The Laugh of the Medusa," in Feminist Iiterary Thecry and Criticism, ed. Sandia Gilbeit
and Susan Gubai (NY: W.W. Noiton, 2007), 426.
2. Midoii Matsui, °Little Giils Weie Little Boys: Displaced Femininity in the Repiesentation of Homosex-
uality in Japanese Giils` Comics," in Feminism and the Pclitics cf Difference, ed. Sneja Gunew and Anna Yeat-
man (Halifax, NS: Feinwood Publishing, 993), 78.
-0 Uses fcr Bcys (STANLEY) 107
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3. Shaion Kinsella, °Japanese Subcultuie in the 990s: Otaku and the Amateui Manga Movement," }cur-
nal cf }apanese Studies 24, no. 2 (summei, 998): 302, http://www.jstoi.oig (accessed Septembei 24, 2008).
4. Kiisty Valenti, °'Stop, My Butt Huits!` The Yaoi Invasion," The Ccmics }curnal 269, http://www.tcj.com/
269/e_yaoi.html (accessed Septembei 24, 2008).
5. Susanne Jung, °Queeiing Populai Cultuie: Female Spectatois and the Appeal of Wiiting Slash Fan Fic-
tion," Gender Fcrum. Gender Queeries 8 (2004), http://www.gendeifoium.uni-koeln.de/queei/jung.html
(accessed August 24, 2008).
6. Cathy Campei, °Yaoi 0: Giils Love 'Boys` Love,` " \cmen´s Review cf Bccks 23, no 3 (May June 2006):
26.
7. Ritsu Natsumizu, Crushing Icve (Gaidena, CA: Digital Manga Publishing, 2007), 96-97.
8. Natsumizu, Crushing Icve, 200.
9. Ritsu Natsumizu, Icve Bus Stcp (Gaidena, CA: Digital Manga Publishing, 2007), 7.
10. Natsumizu, Icve Bus Stcp, 74.
11. Natsumizu, Icve Bus Stcp, 75.
12. Cixous, °The Laugh of the Medusa," 45.
13. Yuzuha Ougi, Brcther (Houston: Diama Queen, 2007), 76.
14. Ougi, Brcther, 76.
15. Akiia Kanbe, Icving Gaze (Gaidena, CA: Digital Manga Publishing, 2008), 69.
16. Sakufu Ajimine, Ycur Hcnest Deceit (Houston: Diama Queen, 2007), 95.
17. Kanbe, Icving Gaze, 70.
18. Kiiiko Fuwa, \eekend Icvers (Gaidena, CA: 80 Media Inc., 2008), np.
19. Maik McLelland, °The Woild of Yaoi: The Inteinet, Censoiship and the Global 'Boys` Love` Fandom,"
Faculty of Aits Papeis Univeisity of Wollongong (2005), http://io.uow.edu/aitspapeis/47 (accessed August
24, 2008).
20. Shinobu Gotoh, Passicn (New Yoik: Diamond Comic Distiibutois, 2004); Masaia Minase, Empty Heart
(Houston: Diama Queen, 2006).
21. Tamatsu Takamuie, }azz Volume (New Yoik, Diamond Comic Distiibutois, 2005).
22. Akiia Honma, °Like a White Phantom," in The }udged (Houston: Diama Queen, 2006).
23. Valenti, °'Stop, My Butt Huits!,`" 3.
24. Campei, °Yaoi 0," 26.
25. The following ieadings paiticipate in the discussion of iomance and iealism: Sally Goade, Empcwer-
ment versus Cpressicn. Twenty First Century Views cf Pcpular Rcmance Ncvels (Newcastle: Cambiidge Schol-
ais Publishing, 2007); Tania Modleski, Icving with a Vengeance. Mass-Prcduced Fantasies fcr \cmen (New
Yoik: Routledge, 982); Janice Radway, Reading the Rcmance. \cmen, Patriarchy, and Pcpular Iiterature
(Chapel Hill: Univeisity of Noith Caiolina Piess, 99); Catheiine Salmon and Donald Symons, \arricr Icvers.
Erctic Ficticn, Evcluticn and Female Sexuality (New Haven, CT: Yale Univeisity Piess, 2003). Salmon and
Symons`s book deals with slash stoiies.
26. M. Fae Glasgow, quoted in Shoshonna Gieen, Cynthia Jenkins, and Heniy Jenkins, °Noimal Female
Inteiest in Men Bonking," in Fans, Blcggers and Gamers. Explcring Participatcry Culture, Heniy Jenkins (New
Yoik: New Yoik Univeisity Piess, 2006), 83.
27. Aiistide, °Solitaiy Cieatuies," 852 Prcspect, http://www.852piospect.oig/aichive/aichive/fists/solit
aiycieatuies.html (accessed Maich 26, 2008).
28. Alyjude, °Just Anothei Satuiday," 852 Prcspect, http://www.852piospect.oig/aichive/aichive/-2000-
humoi/justanothei.html (accessed Maich 26, 2008).
29. Bone, °Teiiitoiial Impeiative 2," Slash Fan Fiction by Bone, http://www.miks.oig/~bone/sentinel/tei
iitoiial/ti_2.html (accessed Apiil 3, 2008).
30. Meiedith Lynne, °Memoiy Lapse," 852 Prcspect, http://www.852piospect.oig/aichive/aichive/
fists2/memoiylapse.html (accessed June 24, 2008).
31. Dieidie, °Papei Cianes," 852 Prcspect, http://www.852piospect.oig/aichive/aichive/diama3/papei
cianes.html (accessed Maich 29, 2008).
32. Alyjude, °Bieathing," 852 Prcspect, http://www.852piospect.oig/aichive/aichive/-2000-fists/bieathi
ng.html (accessed Octobei 29, 2008).
33. Fiancesca, °Natuie`s Blindness," Fiancesca`s Sentinel Fiction, http://www.tiickstei.oig/fiancesca/Nat
Blind.html (accessed May 2, 2008).
34. Aiistide, °Fiuit of the Vine," http://www.852piospect.oig/aichive/aichive/fists2/fiuitof.html (accessed
Maich 6, 2008).
35. My thanks to Kathiyn Bainwell foi hei skilled and geneious beta-ing of this essay.
108 Pait Two: Genie and Readeiship
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Biblicgraphy
Ajimine, Sakufu. Ycur Hcnest Deceit. Houston: Diama Queen, 2007.
Alyjude. °Bieathing," 852 Prcspect. http://www.852piospect.oig/aichive/aichive/-2000-fists/bieathing.html.
_____. °Just Anothei Satuiday," 852 Prcspect. http://www.852piospect.oig/aichive/aichive/-2000-
fists/bieathing.html.
Aiistide. °Fiuit of the Vine," 852 Prcspect. http://www.852piospect.oig/aichive/aichive/-2000-fists2/fiuitof.
html.
_____. °Solitaiy Cieatuies," 852 Prcspect. http://www.852piospect.oig/aichive/aichive/fists/solitaiyciea
tuies.html.
Bone. °Teiiitoiial Impeiative 2," Slash Fan fcticn by Bcne. http://www.miks.oig/~bone/sentinel/teiiitoiial/
ti_2.html.
Campei, Cathy. °Yaoi 0: Giils Love 'Boys` Love,` " \cmen´s Review cf Bccks 23, no. 3 (May June 2006), 24-
26.
Cixous, Hélène. °The Laugh of the Medusa," in Feminist Iiterary Thecry and Criticism, edited by Sandia
Gilbeit and Susan Gubai. New Yoik: W.W. Noiton, 2007.
Dieidie. °Papei Cianes," 852 Prcspect. http://www.852piospect.oig/aichive/aichive/diama3/papeicianes.html.
Fiancesca. °Natuie`s Blindness," Francesca´s Sentinel Ficticn. http://www.tiickstei.oig/fiancesca/NatBlind.html.
Fuwa, Kiiiko. \eekend Icvers. Gaidena, CA: Digital Manga Publishing, 2008.
Glasgow, M. Fae. Quoted in Shoshonna Gieen, Cynthia Jenkins, and Heniy Jenkins, °Noimal Female Intei-
est in Men Bonking," in Fans, Blcggers and Gamers. Explcring Participatcry Culture, edited by Heniy Jenk-
ins. New Yoik: New Yoik Univeisity Piess, 2006, 83.
Goade, Sally. Empcwerment versus Cppressicn. Twenty First Century Views cf Pcpular Rcmance Ncvels. New-
castle: Cambiidge Scholais Publishing, 2007.
Gotoh, Shinobu. Passicn. New Yoik: Diamond Comic Distiibutois, 2004.
Honma, Akiia. °Like a White Phantom," in The }udged. Houston: Diama Queen, 2006.
Jung, Susanne. °Queeiing Populai Cultuie: Female Spectatois and the Appeal of Wiiting Slash Fan Fiction,"
Gender Fcrum. Gender Queeries 8 (2004). http://www.gendeifoium.unikoeln.de/queei/jung.html.
Kanbe, Akiia. Icving Gaze. Gaidena, CA: Digital Manga Publishing, 2008.
Kinsella, Shaion. °Japanese Subcultuie in the 990s: Otaku and the Amateui Manga Movement," }curnal cf
}apanese Studies 24, no. 2 (Summei 998): 289-36, http://jstoi.oig.
Matsui, Midoii. °Little Giils Weie Little Boys: Displaced Femininity in the Repiesentation of Homosexual-
ity in Japanese Giils` Comics," in Feminism and the Pclitics cf Difference, edited by Sneja Gunew and Anna
Yeatman. Halifax, N.S.: Feinwood Publishing, 993.
McLelland, Maik. °The Woild of Yaoi: The Inteinet, Censoiship and the Global 'Boys` Love` Fandom," Fac-
ulty Cf Arts Papers University cf \cllcngcng (2005). http://io.uow.edu/aitspapeis/47.
_____. °Why aie Japanese Giils` Comics Full of Boys Bonking:" Intensities. The }curnal cf Cult Media.
http://www.cult-media.com/issue/CMRmcle.htm.
Meiedith Lynne. °Memoiy Lapse," 852 Prcspect. http://www.852piospect.oig/aichive/aichive/fists2/memo
iylapse.html
Minase, Masaia. Empty Heart. Houston: Diama Queen, 2006.
Modleski, Tania. Icving \ith a Vengeance. Mass-Prcduced Fantasies fcr \cmen. New Yoik: Routledge, 982.
Natsumizu, Ritsu. Crushing Icve. Gaidena, CA: Digital Manga Publishing, 2007.
_____. Icve Bus Stcp. Gaidena, CA: Digital Manga Publishing, 2007.
Ouigi, Yuzuha. Brcther. Houston: Diama Queen, 2007.
Radway, Janice. Reading the Rcmance. \cmen, Patriarchy, and Pcpular Iiterature. Chapel Hill: Univeisity of
Noith Caiolina Piess, 99.
Salmon, Catheiine and Donald Symons. \arricr Icvers. Erctic Ficticn, Evcluticn and Female Sexuality. New
Haven, CT: Yale Univeisity Piess, 2003.
Takamuie, Tamatsu. }azz Volume . New Yoik: Diamond Comic Distiibutois, 2005.
Valenti, Kiisty. °'Stop, My Butt Huits!` The Yaoi Invasion." The Ccmics }curnal 269. http://www.tcj.com/269/
e_yaoi.html.
-0 Uses fcr Bcys (STANLEY) 109
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°She Should Just Die in a Ditch"
Fan Reacticns tc Female Characters
in Bcys´ Icve Manga
M. M. BLAIR
English-language BL ieadeis fiequently comment on online postings of BL manga.
Most of these aie ieaction comments, such as °squee" posts, in which the commenteis

meiely expiess how happy they aie about the stoiyline, ait, sex scene, etc. Theie aie, how-
evei, some comments that aie maikedly diffeient in tone. Comments about the female
chaiacteis in manga aie fiequently veiy negative and occasionally viiulently, even violently,
misogynistic. Even the smallest of female ioles can evoke a disgusted ieaction fiom iead-
eis, and the comments inciease in both numbei and antipathy when the chaiactei in ques-
tion could have a negative impact on the ielationship between the stoiy`s main couple.
These misogynistic comments aie especially distuibing because the BL genie is wiitten by
women and taigeted to a female audience; although the audience is not entiiely composed
of women, it is oveiwhelmingly female. This means that most, if not all, of the commenteis
who ieact so negatively to the female chaiacteis aie themselves female. Why do female
ieadeis ieact so negatively towaid theii own gendei: Aie these ieactions exclusive to BL
woiks,
2
oi is it likely that the ieadeis caiiy these ieactions acioss genies within manga and
even outside manga to mainstieam fction: In this papei, I intend to exploie these ques-
tions and piopose possible answeis to them. I will examine the comments to posts on the
Yaoi Daily community, and I will also discuss the iesults of a suivey that I conducted of
BL ieadeis` ieactions to female chaiacteis in BL manga.
3
The online English-language boys` love manga fandom is huge and is highly paitici-
patoiy. Not only aie theie many scanlation gioups, but theie aie also many communities
and foiums (many iun by scanlation gioups) which have laige membeiships and aie, in
geneial, highly active. One of the moie active communities is the Yaoi Daily community
on LiveJouinal.
4
This community is dedicated to the posting of BL manga scans. As theii
community piofle states, °yaoi_daily is an eye candy (image posting) community devoted
to the shaiing and piomotion of yaoi manga, dcujinshi, and ait in a positive enviionment,
fiee fiom ciiticism foi youi tastes. Fiom BDSM to shta, we gathei heie to bask in its gloiy,
piaise beautiful ait, and/oi get hot `n botheied."
5
Posts to this community must follow
explicit iules. The two most impoitant aie that all posts must contain images fiom a BL
woik and that the woik must not be licensed foi distiibution in the United States.
6
Mem-
beis of the community aie encouiaged to comment on individual posts and the commu-
nity is a veiy paiticipatoiy one, although few seiious discussions aie conducted in the
comments, which aie in the main limited to emotional ieactions to the manga posted.
These include both the °squee" comments and the misogynistic comments mentioned
above.
110
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7
One of the fist things that should be done, in oidei to undeistand why these highly
negative ieactions to female chaiacteis in BL occui, is to tiy to undeistand why ieadeis
choose to follow this genie. Many papeis deal, at least in pait, with this issue, although
most of them do so by theoiizing iathei than by asking ieadeis foi theii ieasons. Both of
these methods aie impoitant in oidei to tiuly undeistand the appeal of BL. Some theoiists
believe that BL is populai because women aie unable to achieve an equal ielationship with
men, due to innate powei diffeientials encoded in Japanese society, and so women tuin to
stoiies that featuie a ielationship between two men in oidei to visualize and vicaiiously
expeiience a tiuly equal ielationship.
7
In a slightly diffeient take on the mattei, othei the-
oiies state that the BL genie is attiactive because it gives women access to the phallus,
8
oi
because it helps to fulfll scoptophilic desiie which Fieud posited as an innate pait of female
sexuality.
9
Othei theoiies, most often found in discussions of slash fanfction, suggest that
what ieadeis fnd appealing in these genies is the way that the chaiacteis aie depicted in
manneis that aie neithei wholly masculine noi wholly feminine.
0
Foi example, while adult
men aie geneially seen as being moie iestiained about demonstiating theii emotions, many
of the men found in BL aie ielatively open about theii emotions. Even when they attempt
to hide theii emotions, they still act in ways that cleaily convey the veiy emotions they aie
tiying to hide. Men in BL could be seen, theiefoie, as the idealized men that ieadeis wish
they could fnd in ieal life.

Although theie may be some tiuth in each of these theoiies, it would be pioblematic
to look exclusively to them foi an undeistanding of BL`s appeal. Few of the authois of these
theoiies suiveyed the ieadeis of BL. Although ieadeis may not be conscious of all of theii
ieasons foi following a genie, it is still necessaiy to examine the ieasons that they give foi
theii enjoyment. This can be a challenging exeicise, since ieadeis may not be willing to
analyze why they enjoy something foi feai of destioying that enjoyment, oi because they
do not caie why they enjoy it.
In the suivey, I did not specifcally ask ieadeis why they liked the BL genie. Howevei,
I did ieceive answeis that can help illuminate some viewpoints on why the genie is attiac-
tive. I suspect, howevei, that theie may be almost as many ieasons foi liking the genie as
theie aie ieadeis of it. Some of the ieasons given by the suivey iespondents included: °I
like the dynamic of two men getting togethei. And, it`s just hot." °I like the iomance and
the sex. It`s hottei and moie inteiesting when it`s between two men." °I do like the visu-
als of the bishounen; the eiotic alluie of two guys getting it on. I also like the deepei ioman-
tic points of ielationships that get built by the guys." °I piefei to iead mangas ¦sic] which
have beautiful ait and as a heteiosexual woman natuially I like men thus TWO beautiful
man ¦sic] making out aie a ieal tuin-on!" °I would love to see some iealistic appioach to
men`s iomance, and I am attiacted to the angst cieated fiom it." °I iead yaoi foi the titil-
lation." °I like them because I get to oogle ¦sic] hotly diawn men." °What I appieciate
about yaoi is the 'foibidden` aspect." One iespondent asked, °must theie be a ieason: Attiac-
tion, lust and sexuality is ¦sic] not a iational piocess and does not iequiie validation.... Any-
thing my mind cooks up about it is just about self-justifcation."
2
The most often-cited
ieason heie was that °it`s hot." Foi these ieadeis, a ielationship between two men is eiotic,
and so they enjoy BL; foi some this factoi is enhanced by the °foibidden" aspect, because
homosexuality is still seen by many as being not socially acceptable.
I would like to highlight anothei ieason foi enjoying BL that a iespondent gave because
I believe it sheds light on the pioblem of misogynistic ieactions to female BL chaiacteis.
The iespondent said, °Who knows: Titillation: ... Romance without pesky female compe-
7-¨She Shculd }ust Die in a Ditch° (BLAIR) 111
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tition: (We always compaie don`t we:) Poin that doesn`t involve us as women:"
3
While she
does ieiteiate the idea of male homosexual ielationships as titillating, fai moie impoitant,
she biings up two ideas that I think aie at the coie of the negative comments about female
chaiacteis: the idea that the ieadei will, peihaps unconsciously, compaie heiself to and tiy
to compete with a female chaiactei, and the attiactiveness of a genie that can depict poino-
giaphic situations without using a female body.
This fist idea of women unconsciously attempting to compete with the female chai-
acteis in an inteiesting one; howevei, I don`t think that the pioblem is only unconscious
competition. In some cases, I believe that the ieadei will identify the female chaiactei as a
souice of competition, iegaidless of the fact that the two men in the stoiies aie involved
with each othei. The men aie still the object of desiie foi the ieadeis. This means that chai-
acteis who thieaten the ielationship between the men could also be seen as thieatening the
desiie of the ieadei.
Anothei aspect to this negative ieaction to female chaiacteis stems fiom the lack of
nuance in how the chaiacteis aie poitiayed. Often they come off as somewhat ßat, iathei
than being fully developed, thiee-dimensional chaiacteis. This is less of a pioblem with the
male chaiacteis, who aie often moie nuanced. Even when the male chaiacteis aie not com-
pletely thiee-dimensional, a piedominantly female audience may be moie inclined to ovei-
look these less-nuanced poitiayals of chaiacteis with whom they cannot completely ielate
because of the gendei diffeience. Howevei, when female chaiacteis aie poitiayed as lack-
ing nuance, a female audience will note this immediately. I believe that the female chaiac-
teis aie poitiayed in this less-nuanced mannei because they aie often used as antagonists
in the plot and aie not intended to be liked; what the mangaka wish to highlight aie theii
negative aspects.
Some pooily poitiayed female chaiacteis in BL may be excused by ieadeis thinking
that although they wouldn`t act that way, they could imagine othei people doing so. Othei
poitiayals of female chaiacteis may be so extieme, howevei, that it thiows female ieadeis
out of theii suspension of disbelief and iuins theii appieciation of the stoiy.
The second idea that the iespondent biought up also deseives a closei look. The iespon-
dent`s idea that poinogiaphy that involves a female body can be pioblematic foi a female
ieadei is complementaiy to the theoiies espoused by Aoyama Tomoko, Suzuki Kazuko, and
Matsui Midoii. Much tiaditional poinogiaphy is seen as degiading foi women. In tiadi-
tional male-oiiented poinogiaphy, women aie most often the object of the gaze, and they
do not obtain subjectivity; this is seen as both a symptom of the patiiaichic stiuctuie of
Westein civilization and as a way of ieinfoicing this same system by denying women sub-
jectivity.
4
While in theoiy poinogiaphy and obscenity aie easily defnable, in piactice it is
moie diffcult.
5
This diffculty was famously expiessed by Justice Pottei Stewait of the U.S.
Supieme Couit in 964 when he declaied that he didn`t know what piecise kinds of mate-
iial would be consideied haid-coie poinogiaphy but that °I know it when I see it."
6
Obscen-
ity and poinogiaphy thus depend on the inteipietation of the consumei, and what one
peison defnes as obscene anothei may not. While many BL woiks aie sexually explicit,
otheis aie not explicit in the least. Peihaps because of the oiigins of the teim yaoi, most
academic woik on BL focuses on the moie sexually explicit woiks and fiequently desciibes
the genie as a whole as °poinogiaphic."
7
But even though some BL woiks could be defned
as poinogiaphy, the genie as a whole is not poinogiaphic.
As Mulvey points out, in naiiative cinema the audience ieceives pleasuie voyeuiisti-
cally, by means of obseiving the actions of the chaiacteis on the scieen; naicissistically,
112 Pait Two: Genie and Readeiship
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thiough identifcation with the chaiacteis; and fetishistically, thiough use of close-ups on
body paits.
8
Manga, which contains cinematogiaphic elements, such as the editing of nai-
iative time and of space (depth of feld, etc.), can also be examined using this theoiy. BL
can be seen as a way of oveituining the patiiaichal system. It is wiitten by women specifcally
foi a female audience, and iathei than focusing on the female body it is focused exclusively
on the male body. This allows women not only to gain subjectivity, because they aie the
taigets of this genie, but it iemoves theii objectivity, because they aie not focusing theii
gaze on othei female bodies but instead on men`s bodies.
One pioblem with this view is that, as I mentioned eailiei, the men aie not poitiayed
in a steieotypically masculine way but aie iathei feminized. Men in BL aie feminized not
only in theii appeaiance, being fiequently andiogynous, but they aie also feminized in theii
emotional ieactions, shown as being moie open with theii emotions than is consideied
typical. The uke in BL is especially feminized and is fiequently depicted as emotionally
ßusteied and quick to ciy. In fact, as Nagakubo Yko points out, many BL stoiies can be
iead as mimicking heteiosexual iomance naiiatives, wheiein the heteiosexual fantasies of
women aie, in BL, simply piojected onto two male bodies.
9
Regaidless, BL is still a genie taigeted towaid a female gaze. Despite the fact that the
audience has expanded to include male ieadeis as well, the audience is fiequently assumed,
especially in academic woik on BL, to be mainly female and heteiosexual, and BL is pio-
duced with the desiies of this audience in mind.
20
This biings us back to the question of
why an audience in which the majoiity population is female has such negative ieactions to
poitiayals of its own sex.
I aigue that the negative ieactions of female ieadeis aie caused by theii desiie to focus
entiiely on the ielationship between the male leads and by the most common use to which
mangaka put theii female chaiacteis. It is impoitant to note at this point that female chai-
acteis aie by no means ubiquitous in BL; in fact, it is entiiely the opposite. Women aie
almost entiiely invisible in BL. When women do appeai, they aie iaiely fully developed
chaiacteis and sometimes aie not even diawn with facial featuies, as it is often not neces-
saiy foi the ieadei to be able to diffeientiate one fiom anothei.
2
One of the moie common uses foi female chaiacteis is as a baiiiei to the male chai-
acteis` developing ielationship. A typical chaiactei could be a woman with whom the chai-
actei`s family wants him to develop a ielationship, eithei because homosexuality is still not
consideied socially acceptable and they want the chaiactei to be accepted, oi because they
do not know that he is gay and aie pushing him towaid a ielationship in geneial. Alteina-
tively, the female chaiactei might be inteiested in one of the chaiacteis and puisuing him,
aggiessively oi not. Regaidless of the depiction, the female chaiactei will be almost uni-
veisally hated by fans because she is a thieat to the main couple`s ielationship.
In addition to this, howevei, she is fiequently depicted by the mangaka in a veiy neg-
ative way, so theie is little about the chaiactei that is likable. This depiction is, in the main,
not iealistic. While the chaiactei`s ieasons foi hei actions may be based on iealistic motives,
hei actions themselves aie often ovei the top and not at all how most ieal women would
ieact in the given situation. An example of this is the chaiactei Mejiio Kanako in Kano
Shiuko`s Ctcnage.
22
Ctcnage is a one-volume woik that focuses on the ielationships of a gioup of foui con-
stiuction woikeis, with most of the attention given to the ielationship between Nakano
Shunji and Mejiio Yasushi. Yasushi and the female chaiactei, Kanako, shaie a last name
because they aie cousins. They used to be in a ielationship, but while they could have mai-
7-¨She Shculd }ust Die in a Ditch° (BLAIR) 113
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iied, Yasushi didn`t want to have childien because of his blood ielationship with Kanako.
At the beginning of Ctcnage, Yasushi ieveals that it was his inteiest in Nakano that piompted
him to bieak up with Kanako. Despite the fact that he had been living with Kanako foi two
yeais at that point, Yasushi moves in with Nakano instead. Although Nakano and Yasushi
have a sexual ielationship, they have diffculty connecting on an emotional level, and theie
is a faii amount of violence in theii ielationship. They have many misundeistandings, and
Nakano uses anothei of the constiuction woikeis, Kuioda Taiki, to make Yasushi jealous.
This misundeistanding is quickly iesolved within the fist chaptei, but befoie the ieadei
can get complacent, Kanako is intioduced in chaptei two.
Kanako veiy delibeiately tiies to come between Nakano and Yasushi, and she uses sev-
eial diffeient ways to do this, all of them undeihanded and iepiehensible. Fiist, she tells
Nakano that she wishes to take back Yasushi. Then she attempts to seduce Nakano, imply-
ing that the only ieason he is with a man is because he has nevei had a woman befoie. Kanako
also begins to haiass Nakano; she constantly shows up wheievei he is, at woik oi even at
the gioceiy stoie. Then she implies that the ieason she dumped Yasushi is because she is
piegnant and she didn`t want to heai Yasushi tell hei that she should get an aboition.
23
This
ievelation makes Nakano act diffeiently towaid Yasushi, and the two of them fght. Shoitly
aftei this, Kanako asks Nakano to accompany hei to the gynecologist because she is scaied
of going alone. At the gynecologist`s, it is ievealed that, despite having many symptoms of
piegnancy, Kanako is not, in fact, piegnant. She heiself was convinced that she was pieg-
nant, and she is both saddened and ielieved to fnd out that she was wiong. The knowl-
edge that she isn`t piegnant enables Kanako to let go of hei iemaining feelings foi Yasushi,
and she bows out of the manga with suipiising giace.
Although Kanako`s motives foi acting the way she does aie easily undeistandable and
ielatively iealistic (she is given a sad back stoiy to explain why she is so fxated on Yasushi),
hei actions aie completely uniealistic and come off as quite cieepy. Hei main puipose foi
existing is to cause misundeistandings between Yasushi and Nakano and to make the sto-
iyline moie emotionally weighty.
Readei ieactions to Kanako aie vitiiolic. In fact, the quote used in the title of this papei
comes fiom a ieadei comment about Kanako made when Ctcnage was being posted on Yaoi
Daily. The full comment spaiked a shoit conveisation in the comments. This conveisation
was held shoitly aftei Kanako had been intioduced, befoie she had actually done much that
was objectionable, except lifting hei shiit to show hei bieasts to Nakano.
LBC: Kanako`s a majoi cunt and she should just die in a ditch, slowly and painfully.
Now, wheie did I put my knives and shovel:
QC: No, no, no, don`t use knives, because it`s going to be messy, with the blood and all
that. You should use some iope. Twist it aiound hei neck then pull it slowly, when
she`s about to faint, ielease the iope a little so she won`t die that fast then do it again
and again until she`s dead. ¯digs hole to buiy the body¯
LBC: Hehehe, you`ie iight. How `bout slightly stiangling hei until she faints and then
we buiy hei alive: Nothing`s moie tiaumatizing than waking up in a ieally ciamped
space, in the daik, and no one to heai you scieam. I`m a ¦sic] such a bittei, hoiiible
bitch, but with Kanako, I don`t caie.
24
These weie by fai the most violent of the comments ieacting to Kanako, and the level of
hate that they evince was fai out of piopoition with Kanako`s actions at the time when the
comments weie made.
Many of the othei comments in this section weie some vaiiation of °Boo ... boo ...
boobies ... ARGH!"
25
and mentions of how suipiised the ieadei was when Kanako lifted
114 Pait Two: Genie and Readeiship
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hei shiit. It is veiy inteiesting to note that although LBC made some veiy alaiming com-
ments about Kanako, latei in the comments on the same post she is fai moie modeiate.
TB: Sometimes I ieally dislike yaoiland. Real women aie not like that. Ugh.... Just so
anoying ¦sic] when the mangakas ¦sic] paint women like that.
LBC: I agiee with you. I hate disliking some female chaiacteis in Yaoiland, but damn, I
hate women like Kanako. I hate it when a woman thinks sex between guys is weiid oi
gioss, as if she weie any hottei, which she ain`t not with that peisonality/behavioi.
26
When iesponding to a moie levelheaded comment, LBC was heiself levelheaded. But in hei
fist comment about Kanako, she ieacted fai moie violently than the situation called foi,
and with a distuibing amount of misogyny towaid a chaiactei that, as of yet, had done lit-
tle to meiit it. LBC`s comment in iesponse to TB implies that she is not misogynistic in
geneial, but hei extiemely misogynistic ieaction eailiei was a iesult of the way Kanako was
depicted. This implies that theie aie othei female chaiacteis, even in BL, oi yaoiland,
27
that
LBC does not fnd objectionable.
In my suivey of BL ieadeis, I asked foi theii geneial impiessions of female chaiacteis
in BL manga. None of the ieplies that I ieceived weie misogynistic in the least. One of the
iesponses mentioned that the female chaiacteis aie usually °handled badly as plot devices."
Othei iespondents elaboiated on this, saying that the female chaiacteis aie °theie to add
an extia dash of tiouble oi angst, oi to piovide the ieadei with a chaiactei to hate" oi, °just
the side chaiactei that has the guy iealize he is gay" oi, °BL obsessed fiiends, sisteis oi moms.
Eveiy once in a while theie is a giilfiiend/best fiiend who bows out giacefully." Othei
iespondents mentioned that female chaiacteis can occasionally be helpful fiiends who
encouiage the budding ielationship between the main chaiacteis. A few iespondents men-
tioned that they tiy to only iead manga in which the female chaiacteis aie handled as well
as the male chaiacteis. One of those commenteis went on to add, °pait of me says 'well,
it`s not about the giils anyway, so who caies:` and the othei pait says 'Damnit ¦sic], stop
poitiaying my/oui sex like that!`"
28
The modeiate piivate ieactions in the suivey iesponses
I ieceived, contiasted with the vitiiolic public ieactions, lead me to believe that such misog-
yny can be attiibuted to a symptom of the °anonymity of watching," which is the phenom-
ena of °hatied as public peifoimance" noted by anthiopologist Michael Wesch in his woik
on YouTube.
29
Accoiding to Wesch, the anonymity gianted by paiticipating in inteinet foiums, wheie
it is possible to invent an entiiely new peisona simply by changing useinames, fiees peo-
ple to act in ways that they would nevei act in ieal life. In addition, pait of the point in
commenting is to be noticed, to leave the comment that is the one people iespond to, and
to paiticipate in a community, even if it is in a negative mannei. Posting inßammatoiy com-
ments can in fact aid this goal, because the moie outiageous a comment, the moie iesponses
it tends to ieceive. While I am suie that the people who make these soits of comments do,
in fact, dislike the chaiacteis they aie iefeiiing to, I am not suie that they hate them neaily
as much as they say they do.
30
These commenteis aie ieacting to the way the mangaka
intends the chaiactei to be peiceived.
A pioblem with this theoiy`s application to Yaoi Daily is that it is piedicated on
anonymity. LiveJouinal, howevei, is a blogging website. Comments, unless they aie made
anonymously, which is not possible in locked communities such as Yaoi Daily, always con-
tain a useiname that is also a hypeilink back to the commentei`s jouinal. While it is pos-
sible to lock entiies so that they cannot be seen by the geneial public, often jouinals aie
completely open and contain signifcant amounts of infoimation about the useis` ofßine
7-¨She Shculd }ust Die in a Ditch° (BLAIR) 115
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lives. In this way, useinames caiiy with them the useis` identity, oi as much of it as they
have chosen to shaie in theii jouinals. Also, Yaoi Daily encouiages commenting, and those
comments fuithei the development of an identity foi a specifc useiname. Although ofßine
lives can be hidden oi misiepiesented by useis, they still cieate an identity foi LiveJoui-
nal, which to some extent negates the anonymity of cieating a useiname.
Othei ieseaich done on anonymity and computei-mediated communication (CMC)
can also help to inteipiet the behavioi displayed by commenteis on Yaoi Daily. Reseaich
on ßaming in CMC is paiticulaily useful.
3
As Philip Thompsen notes, whethei oi not a
comment is defned as a ßame depends on two sepaiate issues. The fist is the behavioi oi
woiding of the comment (hostile, emotional, etc.). The second issue is on the iecipient`s
inteipietation of the comment.
32
Theiefoie, a comment could be inteipieted as a ßame when
it was not intended as such; oi a comment that was intended to be inßammatoiy could be
evaluated as noninßammatoiy. Thompsen also notes that ßaming behavioi depends on the
noims of the gioup in which it takes place, with some gioups being moie open to unin-
hibited behavioi than otheis.
33
Othei ieseaich has deteimined that anonymity can actually
help encouiage identifcation with a gioup and thus the submeigence of individual opin-
ions to the noims of the gioup in which people aie paiticipating.
34
Because Yaoi Daily is intended as a space to show woiks featuiing a male couple and
to shaie appieciation foi these woiks, and not as a space foi appieciating female chaiac-
teis, it has become a place wheie it is acceptable to say anything a commentei wants about
the female chaiacteis. Because the female chaiacteis aie fiequently intended by the man-
gaka to be disliked, and because the space in which BL is shaied was not set up to avoid
these soit of comments, it has become acceptable to be openly misogynistic in comments.
Raiely will anyone else call anothei commentei on this behavioi. These misogynistic com-
ments can be iead as a symptom of the social noim of Yaoi Daily, and not necessaiily as
ießecting the ofßine opinions of the commenteis themselves. Bashing male chaiacteis,
howevei, needs to be done with caution, and it is always a good idea to imply that the ciit-
icism is not tiuly meant. Oftentimes commenteis who make negative comments about the
male chaiacteis will be called out foi them.
I would like to ietuin biießy to two of the iesponses to the suivey that I mentioned
above; namely, to the ideas that female chaiacteis aie usually °handled badly as plot devices"
and aie °theie to add an extia dash of tiouble oi angst, oi to piovide the ieadei with a chai-
actei to hate."
35
These inteipietations tie in with some of the ideas mentioned by Tania
Modleski about the villainess in soap opeias. As Modleski points out, in soap opeias the
°one chaiactei whom we aie allowed to hate unieseivedly" is the villainess, who is also,
accoiding to Modleski, °the negative image of the spectatoi`s ideal self."
36
Kanako is a pei-
fect example of this. While the male chaiacteis have theii faults, Kanako is the only chai-
actei the ieadeis aie encouiaged to dislike.
The soap-opeia villainess is able to oveithiow the usual passive feminine iole and to
contiol, at least foi a time, the couise of the naiiative. One of the ways in which this hap-
pens is by means of piegnancy, exactly the means by which Kanako hijacks contiol of the
naiiative fiom Yasushi and Nakano. This causes Nakano to feel a gieat deal of anxiety. He
is confionted with the possibility that Kanako, by means of hei piegnancy, could take
Yasushi away fiom him. This also is a ieveisal of the way in which gendei ioles aie noi-
mally poitiayed. Heie a man, Nakano, is foiced into a passive and anxiety-flled iole noi-
mally inhabited by female chaiacteis. The villainess is both cheeied foi and jeeied by the
ieadeis. She is suppoited because she is a female chaiactei who obtains subjectivity, gen-
116 Pait Two: Genie and Readeiship
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eially by means of tuining feminine weaknesses into souices of stiengths, but on the othei
hand, she is hated because she achieves powei by undeihanded means.
37
The chaiactei Koyama Moe in Homeiun Ken`s Bcku wa kimi nc tcri ni naritai
38
(I Want
to Become Youi Biid) is used in much the same mannei as Kanako is in Ctcnage, but the
ieadei ieactions weie quite diffeient. The manga staits out with the main chaiactei Koyama
Kei, Moe`s youngei biothei, having sex with his ait teachei and thinking that, despite the
fact that he is ffteen, he doesn`t know what love is. When Kei goes home, he sees his sis-
tei giinning at hei cell phone and Moe tells him all about hei boyfiiend, the °supei-cute
and dieamy" medical student Fujii. The ieadei soon leains that Kei and Moe`s mothei died
seveial yeais ago. Theii fathei iemaiiied, and he is cleaily too busy to have much time foi
his childien. Kei spends a lot of his time hanging out with his mateinal uncle, Akatsuka
Rintai, a poin novelist. When Kei is at Rintai`s house in the fist chaptei, he gets a pan-
icked phone call fiom Moe. Moe has a date with hei boyfiiend, but she`s let hei homewoik
pile up and now she can`t make it; also, she can`t call hei boyfiiend because the batteiy on
hei cell phone is almost dead. Could Kei go and meet Fujii and let him know that Moe will
have to ieschedule: Kei iuns all the way to wheie Moe and Fujii weie supposed to meet and
then, handily foi the plot, he passes out fiom the heat into Fujii`s aims. Fujii takes caie of
Kei and the two of them talk and seem to hit it off. By the end of the chaptei, it is cleai
that Kei has a ciush on Fujii, and it is also pietty cleai to the ieadei how this stoiy will go.
Indeed, as the stoiy continues to develop and Kei and Fujii giow closei, it becomes
cleai that cute, ßaky Moe and Fujii have veiy little in common. Moe staits to feel hei own
ielationship with Fujii thieatened by how close Fujii and Kei aie becoming, and she tiies
to keep them apait. Foi his own pait, Kei does his best to bieak things off with Fujii when
he sees that it is huiting Moe. Aftei many misundeistandings, the stoiy ends happily. Moe
bieaks up with Fujii and fnds a new boyfiiend who is moie like hei, and Fujii staits going
out with Kei. Indeed, by the end of the stoiy, Moe has become one of Fujii and Kei`s stiongest
suppoiteis.
Moe is depicted in a iealistic mannei. She may be a bit ditzy and selfsh, but she still
has a good heait and she caies a gieat deal foi Kei. She is just staiting univeisity and is
iathei self-involved. This chaiacteiization is moie iealistic than the chaiacteiization of
Kanako and was likely done to help engage the ieadei sympathetically with Moe. While
fans at fist ieacted positively towaid Moe, as the stoiy went on, they began to ieact in a
moie negative mannei, at least until the veiy end, when hei suppoit foi Kei and Fujii caused
an abiupt ieveisal of populai opinion. The fist fan ieactions to Moe weie all along the fol-
lowing lines: °Moe`s an adoiable spaz. ;P,"
39
; °I feel bad foi Moe. :( She`s-like someone
said above-is actually a sweet, cute chaiactei. I hope Fujii doesn`t fall foi hei biothei
instead. XD;;;"
40
; and °Oh so poignant! I like that they didn`t make the sistei into some evil
bitch, that she`s a nice peison too and they get along well and love eachothei ¦sic].. he`s
¦Kei`s] just fallen foi hei boyfiiend. Aigh that will make the angst 00x`s woise!"
4
As is cleaily visible in these comments, at the beginning of the stoiy eveiyone was ioot-
ing foi Moe ovei Kei. The second comment is especially ievealing. Despite the fact that
fiom the moment Kei faints into Fujii`s aims it is cleai the two of them aie going to be the
main couple of the stoiy, the commenteis still wanted Moe to be happy, even if it meant
that Kei and Fujii wouldn`t get togethei. As one iemaiked, °::sigh:: I wish the sistei wasn`t
so adoiable. I just know the uke and seme aie gonna get togethei, and she`s piobably gonna
get huit, and it`d be so much easiei to not caie about it if she weie annoying."
42
This is pait of the ieason I believe that the female chaiacteis, when they aie being used
7-¨She Shculd }ust Die in a Ditch° (BLAIR) 117
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as baiiieis to the main couple`s ielationship, aie depicted in such a negative way. The man-
gaka will depict them as giasping oi unsympathetic because then the ieadeis will not sym-
pathize in the least. In addition, the mangaka might wondei why she should spend a lot of
time tiying to develop a likable chaiactei foi a iole that is going to be disliked anyway. The
way Moe is depicted might be even moie effective foi the stoiy. Because she is liked, the
ieadeis aie attempting to cheei foi both Moe and Kei at the same time, which gives moie
emotional depth to the stoiy.
43
As the stoiy piogiessed, sympathies staited to change. As moie and moie details weie
ievealed about how Kei was ignoied by theii fathei, and as Moe continued hei ditzy ways,
the ieadeis began to empathize moie with Kei and to lose patience with Moe. When Kei
sees Moe ciying in Fujii`s aims at a festival because Fujii had been paying moie attention
to Kei than to hei, Kei iesolves to back off because he can see that he is huiting his sistei`s
ielationship. Latei in the stoiy, Kei fist iefuses to back out of a planned outing with Fujii
to allow Fujii and Moe to go on a date, despite the fact that this iefusal cleaily upsets Moe.
Then, at the veiy last minute, Kei tells Fujii to go and fnd Moe because Kei knows that
Moe has made plans to meet with hei ex-boyfiiend. One commentei iemaiked aftei this
that she kind of wished that Fujii and Moe would stay togethei because they make a good
couple; anothei commentei iesponded, °Actually, I felt that way until I iealized that ...
¦t]he sistei is ieally self-centeied, and not veiy thoughtful, eithei ... I mean, just because
she couldn`t see hei boyfiiend, she would iun off with hei Ex: That is what made me
tuin...."
44
Even though Moe`s actions aie still peifectly undeistandable and noimal, this point
in the stoiy, when Moe, upset ovei Kei`s iefusal to give up on a meeting with Fujii so Moe
and Fujii can go on a date togethei, agiees to meet with hei ex-boyfiiend, is when most
ieadeis staited disliking Moe, although theie weie still some who defended hei.
Moe`s most selfsh act in the manga is to tiy to keep Fujii fiom following Kei aftei Kei
has iun away fiom them ciying. Although theie weie still seveial commenteis who iemaiked
that they could undeistand why she`s acting that way and sympathize with hei, most of the
comments weie fai moie negative. One commentei iemaiked that if she weie Moe, she
would step aside so Kei and Fujii could be togethei,
45
which stiikes me as being a some-
what idealistic thought. Shoitly aftei this incident, howevei, the situation between the thiee
is iesolved when Moe iealizes that she and Fujii aie not actually a good match and bieaks
up with him, fieeing Fujii to be with Kei.
One of the fist comments on the post that contained this pait of the stoiy was, °Moe`s
gotten heiself onto good teims with me now."
46
All that was necessaiy foi Moe to iedeem
heiself in the eyes of ieadeis was to bow out of the ielationship with Fujii. The fact that
she immediately tuins aiound and staits championing Fujii`s ielationship with Kei only
made it easiei foi ieadeis to absolve hei of hei eailiei selfshness.
Moe is a good example of a female chaiactei who is effectively used to help the plot
along without being made completely unlikable in the piocess. An inteiesting thing about
hei poitiayal is that it is cleai that Homeiun Ken was tiying to make hei a sympathetic and
semi-iealistic chaiactei.
An inteiesting question to biießy look at heie is why mangaka choose so often to use
female chaiacteis as a iival, instead of male chaiacteis which could be-and sometimes
aie-used just as effectively. It is impoitant to note that when male iivals occui, they aie
often not as demonized as the female iivals, noi aie they as negatively poitiayed by the
mangaka. Theie aie, of couise, always exceptions. The male iival who appeais in the last
118 Pait Two: Genie and Readeiship
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chaptei of Ctcnage is chaiacteiized as just as unlikable as Kanako; peihaps even moie dis-
likable. Kanako is at least given the oppoitunity to explain hei motives, which makes hei
slightly moie sympathetic, wheieas the motives given foi the male iival`s actions only seive
to make Nakano moie sympathetic.
The main chaiacteis in BL aie fiequently chaiacteiized as not-homosexual, even when
they aie cleaily engaged in a homosexual ielationship. It is common foi chaiacteis to deny
that they aie gay and then pioceed, almost immediately, to become involved in a homo-
sexual ielationship. Constance Penley, in an aiticle on Kiik/Spock slash, suggested that this
device °allows a much gieatei iange of identifcation and desiie foi the ¦ieadeis]: in the
fantasy one can be Kiik oi Spock (a possible phallic identifcation) and also still have (as
sexual objects) eithei oi both of them since, as heteiosexuals, they aie not unavailable to
women."
47
This could help account foi why female love iivals aie disliked in BL even moie
than male love iivals. Not only aie the female chaiacteis thieatening the ielationship
between the main chaiacteis, they also thieaten the ieadei. A female chaiactei becomes a
iival foi the ieadei in that she thieatens the possibility that the ieadei can have eithei of
the main chaiacteis. Because she is female, this love iival could step into the opening left
by the chaiacteis` absence of an avowed homosexual identity.
The thiid chaiactei I would like to discuss is the chaiactei Miyabi in Shimotsuki Kaiii`s
Madness.
48
In addition to wiiting BL woiks, Shimotsuki also wiites seinen and shnen
manga.
49
As a iesult, Madness has many elements that aie moie commonly found in seinen
and shnen manga, both in the basic plot stiuctuie and in the numbei of bloody scenes
that occui.
Madness staits out with a biief explanation that, due to a majoi eaithquake in 2700
A.D., the woild has fallen into chaos that even thiee hundied yeais latei has not been
iesolved. This leads to an inteiesting technological situation in which computeis, guns and
swoids all exist side by side and cais seem to have disappeaied. Because of the chaos, theie
has also emeiged a veiy violent gioup of people known as Madness who delight in blood-
shed, although with the muidei of theii leadei sometime befoie the beginning of the stoiy,
the gioup has disappeaied.
One of the main chaiacteis in the stoiy is Izaya, a piiest, who is caiing foi a man that
his fathei caged and chained in the basement of theii chuich. This man is none othei than
the supposedly dead leadei of Madness, Kyo, who lost his memoiy at the time that he was
supposedly killed. Anothei ex-membei of Madness attacks the chuich, attempting to steal
Kyo`s swoid. Duiing the fght, Kyo manages to fiee himself fiom the basement of the chuich
and kills his foimei companion. Aftei this fght, both Kyo and Izaya leave the chuich and
its village, Kyo because he is not welcome, now that he, a mass muideiei, is fiee fiom his
piison, and Izaya because he is the only peison who can stop Kyo when Kyo is in the giip
of bloodlust.
Not long aftei they leave the village, Kyo and Izaya encountei anothei ex-membei of
Madness, Oboio, who joins them. Soon aftei this, Izaya gets lost in a city and ends up get-
ting consciipted to woik in a biothel. He is saved by the biothel`s top piostitute, Uiaia, fiom
being iaped. It is little suipiise to the ieadei when, a chaptei latei, Uiaia is ievealed to be
none othei than Miyabi, a foimei membei of Madness and the peison who supposedly killed
Kyo. Miyabi is diawn in a way that is veiy ieminiscent of female chaiacteis in seinen woiks;
she is veiy busty and weais clothes that aie fiequently on the veige of falling off, and sev-
eial times she is depicted as weaiing haidly any clothes at all. But she is also shown as being
couiageous, geneious, and stiong, with a foimidable tempei and stiength of chaiactei.
7-¨She Shculd }ust Die in a Ditch° (BLAIR) 119
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It is only aftei Miyabi is intioduced that the plot of Madness ieally gets staited. The
manga is cuiiently two volumes long and at piesent is still being seiialized in Japan. Dui-
ing the couise of the stoiy, Miyabi fiequently comes between Kyo and Izaya, not because
she is tiying to become iomantically oi sexually involved with eithei one of them, but
because she likes Izaya as a peison. Since he is extiemely naïve, she wants to piotect him
fiom Kyo. Miyabi`s inteifeience iesults in hei inteiiupting Kyo and Izaya just befoie they
have sex, eveiy single time. While this would noimally be giounds foi eveiy fan of the
seiies to tuin against hei (and some do), the majoiity of the fans still adoie hei, in pait
because she also piotects Izaya fiom eveiyone else, but moie because hei chaiactei is fie-
quently desciibed by fans as °kick ass."
When Miyabi is fist intioduced, as Uiaia, she saves Izaya fiom being iaped by offei-
ing heiself as a substitute, an extiemely iaie example of heteiosexual inteicouise in a BL
woik. Readei ieactions weie, undeistandably, veiy sympathetic towaid hei. The fist com-
ment mentioning Miyabi that wasn`t commenting on the size of hei bieasts mentioned how
hoiiible the situation must have been foi hei, although in the manga Miyabi looks iathei
boied. The next comments weie a shoit conveisation between seveial commenteis iemaik-
ing on how beautiful Uiaia/Miyabi is. This soit of ieaction to a female chaiactei in a BL
manga is also extiemely iaie. At this point in the stoiy, it was not known that Uiaia and
Miyabi weie the same peison, although it had been implied. Readeis weie ieacting to Uiaia
mainly because she offeied heiself up to save Izaya and not because she was an ex-membei
of Madness. Moie typical weie iesponses like the eailiei °boobies ... ARGH!"
50
comment
made in iesponse to Kanako`s chaiactei in Ctcnage. Comments like that weie made befoie
Miyabi was even tiuly intioduced, in iesponse to a small diawing of Miyabi that was pait
of the fiont mattei in the manga. The postei of the Madness was quick to ieassuie those who
ieacted negatively to this pictuie that, while theie is a woman in Madness, they`ll like hei.
When Miyabi is fist intioduced, it is just as an image of hei in hei Madness days, with
some discussion between Kyo and Oboio about who she is. Readeis` ieactions to hei weie
extiemely positive. One of the fist ieactions was about how sexy Miyabi`s chaiactei was.
5
That was quickly followed by ieactions about how nice it was to see a female chaiactei who
can kick ass.
52
Because stiong, sympathetic, and well-thought-out female chaiacteis aie so
iaie, they aie welcomed immediately whenevei it seems like they might appeai, and iead-
eis often stick by them even if they stait to inteifeie in the main couple`s ielationship.
The fist time Kyo attempts to have sex with Izaya aftei Miyabi is intioduced, Kyo has
just ie-lost all memoiies of who he is and so doesn`t caie that Izaya is insisting that they
need to go save Miyabi and Oboio. Kyo is fai moie inteiested in getting Izaya`s pants off
than he is in iunning to the iescue of people he doesn`t iemembei. Kyo has Izaya`s pants
half off and both of them aie in the bathtub when the hilt of a swoid is intioduced to the
back of his head by Miyabi, who didn`t need iescuing aftei all. Miyabi goes on to pin Kyo
down by iesting hei foot on his head. The fist comment to this was °GAH! We fnally get
some lovin ¦sic] and its ¦sic] inteiiupted!!! Pooi Kyou ¦sic].. but that pic with Miyabi`s foot
on his head ciacks me up.. hahaha."
53
Othei commenteis ieacted similaily. Extiapolating
fiom the eailiei ieactions to women in BL manga that I cited, it would be ieasonable to
expect negative ieactions to Miyabi heie, but eveiy commentei who mentioned hei did so
not only positively, but on occasion almost fawningly.
The second time that Madness was posted to Yaoi Daily, ovei a yeai latei, the com-
menteis weie a little less foigiving at this scene. One iemaiked, °I`m soiiy, but Miyabi-
san`s becoming a little obnoxious...."
54
One othei commentei agieed, but all of the iest
120 Pait Two: Genie and Readeiship
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ieacted positively. Although seveial commenteis complained that Miyabi could have picked
a bettei time to inteiiupt, they did not ieact negatively towaid hei, and anothei com-
mentei`s ieaction was °Oh my gawd ¦sic] I love Miyabi. ¯gush gush¯ ."
55
Othei than
the fist comment I quoted, the most negative comment about Miyabi was not about hei
chaiactei, but about hei miiaculous ability to have hei shiits iipped almost entiiely to
shieds and still stay on. Indeed, Miyabi was so populai that when Madness was posted foi
the second time, most of the comments on the fist of these ie-postings weie about how
much they loved the manga and seveial commenteis mentioned that they loved Miyabi.
When a commentei mentioned that upon seeing bieasts s/he looked away ieally quickly,
otheis weie quick to offei ieassuiance that Miyabi is actually likeable.
In the suivey, I asked ieadeis about what they thought of female chaiacteis in othei
manga genies that they iead. The iesponses I ieceived weie similai to what would be
expected fiom what I have discussed about ieactions to female chaiacteis in BL. Female
chaiacteis who aie stiong in theii own iight aie liked, while chaiacteis who aie oveily emo-
tional oi diamatic oi who exist only to fawn on the main chaiacteis (when they aie male)
oi on othei male chaiacteis aie disliked. Also, ieadeis ieact to how the mangaka appaiently
want theii chaiacteis to be ieceived. They geneially like the chaiacteis they aie seemingly
intended to like and dislike those chaiacteis whose attiibutes imply that they aie supposed
to be disliked.
56
The same piefeiences emeiged when they weie questioned about women
in fanfction and in published books.
57
It is cleai, then, that the misogyny and negativity that is found in many female iead-
eis` iesponses to female chaiacteis in BL manga does not necessaiily aiise fiom any innate
dislike of all female chaiacteis in manga oi because the ieadeis hold misogynistic views in
geneial. Rathei, what happens is that chaiacteis that aie poitiayed in a negative way by the
mangaka, such as Kanako, aie hated because they aie seemingly designed to be hated. Chai-
acteis that aie poitiayed as iealistically ßawed, such as Moe, have some suppoiteis, but they
aie also disliked. Chaiacteis that aie poitiayed as stiong and likeable, like Miyabi, aie
almost univeisally adoied by female ieadeis.
Although Yaoi Daily is intended as a space to appieciate ielationships between two
men, it does not necessaiily follow that in oidei to fulfll this intention it needs to be a
place that is open to hostility towaid the female chaiacteis. Howevei, the social noim foi
Yaoi Daily has developed so that dislike of female chaiacteis and misogynistic comments
about these chaiacteis aie consideied acceptable and unwoithy of notice by paiticipants. I
believe that this is the iesult of the deaith of stiong, positively poitiayed female chaiacteis
in BL. It is also caused by delibeiately negative poitiayals of female chaiacteis by mangaka,
which lead to the female chaiacteis being cast in the position of the chaiactei that ieadeis
love to hate. It is also a iesult of the female chaiacteis being seen as thieatening the fan-
tasies of the ieadei. Female chaiacteis thieaten both the ielationship between the main
chaiacteis and, by viitue of theii gendei, by close off the oppoitunity foi ieadeis to fanta-
size about a ielationship between themselves and eithei of the main chaiacteis.
Nctes
1. Foi the puipose of this chaptei, °postei" will iefei to the peison who makes the oiiginal jouinal entiy
and °commentei" will iefei to the ieadeis who make comments on that post.
2. These ieactions aie also fiequently noted in ieadeis of the slash fanfction genie, which like BL focuses
on male homosexual ielationships and is most fiequently wiitten by women foi women.
7-¨She Shculd }ust Die in a Ditch° (BLAIR) 121
©

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3. This suivey was titled °Readei suivey on Yaoi/BL/Boys` Love/Shounen ai manga." I designed and con-
ducted the suivey. The suivey was posted online using the Google Docs foims featuie and it was piomoted
on the Yaoi Daily Café community on LiveJouinal. It was also piomoted by the authois of seveial manga blogs
in an attempt to move beyond the LiveJouinal community. The suivey was active fiom 6 P.M. MST on Oct.
0, 2008, until 3 P.M. MST on Oct. 26, 2008. Duiing this peiiod I ieceived a total of eighty-seven iesponses.
The suivey was conducted to allow complete anonymity foi the iespondents, since ieading in this genie is
sometimes seen as stiange and peihaps deviant by widei society. All of the subjects weie self-selected and
most weie seiious, although a few iespondents` iesults weie discaided because they weie cleaily not seiious
in theii answeis and weie possibly only inteiested in attempting to skew the iesults.
To biießy explain the title of the suivey, although theie is a maiked piefeience foi the teim yaci, theie is
no one teim that is univeisally used to desciibe the BL genie in English-language fandom. In oidei to avoid
skewing the iesults by using only one of the teims which might have diffeient connotations foi the iespon-
dents than it does foi me, I used all teims in the suivey.
In futuie citations of this suivey I shall iefei to it as the °ieadei suivey." In oidei to diffeientiate between
the diffeient iespondents, I shall cite the time the suivey was taken when I quote a iespondent.
4. Yaoi Daily, http://community.livejouinal.com/yaoi_daily/; LiveJouinal, http://www.livejouinal.com.
Due to fiequent adult content, Yaoi Daily is a °locked" community; posts aie viewable only to membeis of
the community. LiveJouinal is a hosting website foi online jouinals that has become one of the favoied sites
foi fan jouinals and fan communities.
5. Yaoi Daily Community Piofle, http://community.livejouinal.com/yaoi_daily/piofle.
6. All commeicially published BL woiks aie acceptable, so a post may be fiom a manga, a djinshi with
a laige piint iun, oi a BL computei game. Although the iules simply mention that licensed woiks aie not
allowed, the FAQ (http://www.yaoi.ca/yaoidaily/faq/index.html#4b) iefeis specifcally to °Noith Ameiican
publishing companies."
7. Foi examples of this, see Aoyama Tomoko, °Male Homosexuality as Tieated by Japanese Women Wiit-
eis," in The }apanese Trajectcry. Mcdernizaticn and Beycnd, ed. Gavan McCoimack and Yoshio Sugimoto
(Cambiidge: Cambiidge Univeisity Piess, 988), 86-204; Suzuki Kazuko, °Poinogiaphy oi Theiapy: Japa-
nese Giils Cieating the Yaoi Phenomenon," in Millennium Girls. Tcday´s Girls Arcund the \crld, ed. Sheiiie
A. Inness (Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefeld Publisheis, Inc. 998), 243-267.
8. See Matsui Midoii, °Little Giils Weie Little Boys: Displaced Femininity in the Repiesentation of Homo-
sexuality in Japanese Giils` Comics," in Feminism and the Pclitics cf Difference, ed. Sneja Gunew and Anna
Yeatman (Bouldei, CO: Westview Piess, 993), 77-96.
9. Kazumi Nagaike, °Peiveise Sexualities, Peiveisive Desiies: Repiesentations of Female Fantasies and
Yaci Manga as Poinogiaphy Diiected at Women," U.S.-}apan \cmen´s }curnal, English Supplement, 25 (2003):
76-03.
10. See Elizabeth Woledge, °Fiom Slash to the Mainstieam: Female Wiiteis and Gendei Blending Men,"
Extrapclaticn 46. (2005): 50-65.
11. This aigument is veiy similai to what Janice Radway desciibes as the appeal of the iomance novel in
chaptei foui of Reading the Rcmance. Although the compaiison may seem to be a stietch, because iomances
aie focused on a heteiosexual ielationship, many of the tiopes found in iomance novels aie similai to tiopes
found in BL. Janice A. Radway, Reading the Rcmance. \cmen, Patriarchy, and Pcpular Iiterature (Chapel Hill,
NC and London: Univeisity of Noith Caiolina Piess, 99).
12. Blaii, °Readei Suivey," 0/0/08 9:07; 0/0/08 9:30; 0//08 00:28; 0//08 06:3; 0//08 4:43;
0/3/08 3:46; 0/5/08 8:58; 0/8/08 23:39; 0//08 00:42.
13. Ibid, 0/4/08, 09:47.
14. Lauia Mulvey, °Visual Pleasuie and Naiiative Cinema," in Visual and Cther Pleasures (Bloomington
& Indianapolis: Indiana Univeisity Piess, 989), 9; Nagaike, °Peiveise Sexualities," 79; Tania Modleski, Icv-
ing with a Vengeance. Mass-Prcduced Fantasies fcr \cmen, 2nd ed. (New Yoik & London: Routledge, 2008),
44-45, 47.
15. Poinogiaphy is °the explicit desciiption oi exhibition of sexual subjects oi activity in liteiatuie, paint-
ing, flms, etc., in a mannei intended to stimulate eiotic iathei than aesthetic feelings; piinted oi visual mate-
iial containing this." Obscenity is defned as °. The chaiactei oi quality of being offensively indecent, lewdness;
an instance of this, esp. an obscene expiession. 2. The chaiactei oi quality of being hoiiible, offensive, oi
moially iepugnant, etc. Also (as a count noun): an extiemely offensive oi objectionable gestuie, statement,
event, etc." Cxfcrd English Dicticnary, diaft ievision 2008, s.v. °Poinogiaphy." Cxfcrd English Dicticnary, diaft
ievision 2004, s.v. °Obscenity."
16. Jacobellis v. Ohio, 378 U.S. 84, 97 (964).
17. See foi example Nagaike, Suzuki, and McLelland, among otheis. Maik McLelland, °Loincloths, Lady-
boys and Lolita`s Little Biothei: Women`s Cultuie and the Consumption of 'Gay Poinogiaphy` in Japan," in
122 Pait Two: Genie and Readeiship
©

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Queer in the 2Ist Century. The Bcdy-Queer and Pclitic, ed. J. Keith Atkinson and Justin J. Finneity (Foiti-
tude Valley, Austialia: Gay and Lesbian Welfaie Association, Inc., 200), 97-8; Maik McLelland, °Why aie
Japanese Giils` Comics Full of Men Bonking:" Refractcry. A }curnal cf Entertainment Media, 0 (2006/2007):
http://blogs.aits.unimelb.edu.au/iefiactoiy/2006/2/04/why-aie-japanese-giils%E2%80%99-comics-full-of-
boys-bonking-maik-mclelland/; Maik McLelland and Seunghyun Yoo, °The Inteinational Boys` Love Fan-
dom and the Regulation of Viitual Child Poinogiaphy: The Implications of Cuiient Legislation," Sexuality
Research o Sccial Pclicy. }curnal cf NSRC 4:(2007): 93-04.
18. Mulvey, 6, 8, 2-22.
19. Nagakubo Yko , Yaci shsetsurcn. }csei nc tame nc ercsu hygen :
(Tokyo: Sensh Daigaku Shuppankyoku, 2005), 09-4. Nagakubo`s woik piovides a veiy good analy-
sis of gendei in BL.
20. The bieakdown in suivey iespondents both suppoits and contiadicts these ideas about the composi-
tion of the BL audience. Out of the eighty-seven iesponses I ieceived to my suivey, eleven of the iespondents
identifed as male, although fve of the iesponses weie almost completely blank aftei the initial demogiaphic
questions and a sixth iesponse was obviously facetious. I also had one iespondent identify as inteisexed and
two each identif y as tianssexual and othei. Again, foi the question of sexuality, ovei half of the iespondents
identifed themselves as heteiosexual (ffty-two iespondents), but theie weie a bioad vaiiety of iesponses
given, including bisexual (twenty-one iespondents), gay (two iespondents), lesbian (thiee iespondents), and
queei (one iespondent).
21. This is itself pioblematic, in that a genie that is taigeted towaid women tends to avoid depicting them.
22. Kano, Ctcnage, Attiactive Fascinante scanlation. http://community.livejouinal.com/afascinante/; Kano
Shiuko . Ctcnage . Tokyo: MagazineMagazine, 2007. Because I am looking at the online
English-language fandom`s ieactions to female chaiacteis I have limited the woiks I am looking at to those
that aie easily available online as scanlations. Howevei I also include foi iefeience the oiiginal Japanese pub-
lication.
23. The manga is uncleai as to whethei Kanako oi Yasushi ended theii ielationship.
24. LBC & QC, http://community.livejouinal.com/yaoi_daily/495943.html, 02/3/2008. Useinames link
diiectly to the useis` jouinals, many of which give details about theii peisonal lives, so in oidei to piotect
useis` identities, I will not mention theii usei names oi link diiectly to the comments. I have also chosen to
do this because theie is still some stigma associated with ieading BL, and some ieadeis chose to keep theii
inteiest in BL a seciet.
25. HT, http://community.livejouinal.com/yaoi_daily/495943.html, 02/3/2008 (accessed Nov. 7, 2008).
26. TB & LBC, http://community.livejouinal.com/yaoi_daily/495943.html, 02/2-3/2008 (accessed Nov.
7, 2008).
27. Because BL woiks aie iaiely iealistic, some fans have begun to use the teim °yaoiland" to desciibe the
°ieality" in which these stoiies take place.
28. Blaii, °Readei Suivey," 0/0/08 8:6; 0/0/08 9:27; 0/0/08 23:39; 0/0/08 20:52; 0/2/08 02:07.
29. Michael Wesch, °An Anthiopological Intioduction to YouTube" piesented at The Libiaiy of
Congiess, June 23, 2008 (http://www.youtube.com/watch:v·TPAO-lZ4_hU), 27:58-29:52 (accessed Oct. 26,
2008).
30. I believe this to be so based not only on the iesults of my suivey, but also on moie modeiate oi appiov-
ing comments made by some of the seemingly misogynistic commenteis.
31. Theie aie many diffeient defnitions of °ßaming"; a list is given on page 33 of Philip A. Thompsen,
°What`s Fueling the Flames in Cybeispace: A Social Inßuence Model," in Ccmmunicaticn and Cyberspace. Sccial
Interacticn in an Electrcnic Envircnment, ed. Lance Stiate, Ron L. Jacobson, and Stephanie B. Gibson, 2nd ed.
(Ciesskill, NJ: Hampton Piess, Inc., 2003). The defnition I am using heie was oiiginally espoused by Keith
Doiwick in 993. Doiwick defnes ßaming as °the spontaneous cieation of homophobic, iacist and misogy-
nist language duiing electionic communication" (3). Keith Doiwick, °Beyond Politeness: Flaming and the
Realm of the Violent." Papei piesented at the annual meeting of the Confeience on College Composition and
Communication, San Diego, CA, Maich 3-Apiil 3, 993.
32. Thompsen, 336.
33. Ibid., 337-38.
34. Susan E. Watt, Maiten Lea and Russell Speais, °How Social is Inteinet Communication: A Reappiaisal
of Bandwidth and Anonymity Effects," in Virtual Scciety? Technclcgy, Cyberbcle, Reality, ed. Steve Woolgai
(Oxfoid & New Yoik: Oxfoid Univeisity Piess, 2002), 66-69.
35. Blaii, °Readei Suivey," 0/0/08 8:6; 0/0/08 9:27.
36. Modleski, 86.
37. Modleski, 89-90.
38. Homeiun Ken, Bcku wa kimi nc tcri ni naritai, DokiDoki, Nakama and Smexy Bs joint scanlation
7-¨She Shculd }ust Die in a Ditch° (BLAIR) 123
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http://www.aiagami.oig/doki.php. Homeiun Ken . Bcku wa kimi nc tcri ni naritai
. Tokyo: Kaisha, 2005.
39. BG, http://community.livejouinal .com/yaoi_daily/28028.html, 05/23/2006 (accessed Nov. 7, 2008).
°;P" is the postei winking and sticking out hei tongue.
40. Sh, http://community.livejouinal.com/yaoi_daily/2807586.html, 05/24/2006 (accessed Nov. 7, 2008).
°XD;;;" is the postei giinning with hei eyes shut. The semicolons iepiesent sweat diops, which in manga aie
a symbol of neivousness, woiiy, oi embaiiassment.
41. PA, http://community.livejouinal.com/yaoi_daily/2807586.html, 05/24/2006 (accessed Nov. 7, 2008).
42. Hd, http://community.livejouinal.com/yaoi_daily/282539.html, 05/25/2006 (accessed Nov. 7, 2008).
Because only one post of a stoiy is allowed in a day and ieadeis aie following many stoiies at once, in com-
ments on Yaoi Daily chaiacteis aie often iefeiied to by a desciiptoi othei than theii name, which the ieadei
might have foigotten, such as °the seme," °the uke," oi °the giil."
43. On a side note, when they appeai, Homeiun Ken`s female chaiacteis aie always depicted in a sympa-
thetic way; even if they only appeai veiy biießy, they aie always likable.
44. QK, http://community.livejouinal.com/yaoi_daily/282500.html, 05/29/2006 (accessed Nov. 7, 2008).
45. An, http://community.livejouinal.com/yaoi_daily/283655.html, 06/0/2006 (accessed Nov. 7, 2008).
46. Me, http://community.livejouinal.com/yaoi_daily/2884482.html, 06/2/2006 (accessed Nov. 7, 2008).
47. Constance Penley, °Feminism, Psychoanalysis, and the Study of Populai Cultuie," in Cultural Studies,
ed. Lawience Giossbeig, Caiy Nelson and Paula A. Tieichlei (New Yoik & London: Routledge, 992) 488.
Italics in the oiiginal.
48. Shimotsuki Kaiii. Madness, Beautiful Soup scanlation http://soup.umi-soia.com/. Shimotsuki Kaiii
. Madness . Tokyo: Gentsha, 2004.
49. Manga maiketed to young men and boys, iespectively.
50. HT, http://community.livejouinal.com/yaoi_daily/495943.html, 02/3/2008 (accessed Nov. 7, 2008).
51. http://community.livejouinal.com/yaoi_daily/269268.html, 04/2/2006 (accessed Nov. 7, 2008).
52. http://community.livejouinal.com/yaoi_daily/269268.html, 04/2/2006 (accessed Nov. 7, 2008).
53. PB, http://www.livejouinal.com/yaoi_dailiy, 05/09/2006 (accessed Nov. 7, 2008).
54. LBC, http://community.livejouinal.com/yaoi_daily/4707980.html, /03/2007 (accessed Nov. 7, 2008).
55. Ki, http://community.livejouinal.com/yaoi_daily/4707980.html, /04/2007 (accessed Nov. 7, 2008).
56. Blaii, °Readei Suivey."
57. Ibid.
Biblicgraphy
Aoyama, Tomoko. °Male Homosexuality as Tieated by Japanese Women Wiiteis." In The }apanese Trajec-
tcry. Mcdernizaticn and Beycnd, edited by Gavan McCoimack and Yoshio Sugimoto, 86-204. Cambiidge:
Cambiidge Univeisity Piess, 988.
Doiwick, Keith. °Beyond Politeness: Flaming and the Realm of the Violent." Papei piesented at the annual
meeting of the Confeience on College Composition and Communication, San Diego, CA, Maich 3-Apiil
3, 993.
Matsui, Midoii. °Little Giils Weie Little Boys: Displaced Femininity in the Repiesentation of Homosexual-
ity in Japanese Giils` Comics." In Feminism and the Pclitics cf Difference, edited by Sneja Gunew and Anna
Yeatman, 77-96. Bouldei, CO: Westview Piess, 993.
McLelland, Maik. °Loincloths, Ladyboys and Lolita`s Little Biothei: Women`s Cultuie and the Consumption
of 'Gay Poinogiaphy` in Japan." In Queer in the 2Ist Century. The Bcdy-Queer and Pclitic, edited by J.
Keith Atkinson and Justin J. Finneity, 97-8. Foititude Valley, Austialia: Gay and Lesbian Welfaie Asso-
ciation, Inc., 200.
_____. °Why aie Japanese Giils` Comics Full of Men Bonking:" Refractcry. A }curnal cf Entertainment Media,
0 (2006/2007): http://blogs.aits.unimelb.edu.au/iefiactoiy/2006/2/04/why-aie-japanese-giils%E2%80%
99-comics-full-of-boys-bonking-maik-mclelland/
McLelland, Maik, and Seunghyun Yoo. °The Inteinational Boys` Love Fandom and the Regulation of Viitual
Child Poinogiaphy: The Implications of Cuiient Legislation." Sexuality Research o Sccial Pclicy. }curnal
cf NSRC 4:(2007): 93-04.
Mizoguchi, Akiko. °Male-Male Romance by and foi Women in Japan: A Histoiy of the Subgenies of Yaci
fctions." U.S.-}apan \cmen´s }curnal, English Supplement, 25 (2003): 49-75.
Modleski, Tania. Icving with a Vengeance. Mass-Prcduced Fantasies fcr \cmen. 2nd ed. New Yoik & London:
Routledge, 2008.
124 Pait Two: Genie and Readeiship
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vey, 4-26. Bloomington & Indianapolis: Indiana Univeisity Piess, 989.
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Manga as Poinogiaphy Diiected at Women." U.S.-}apan \cmen´s }curnal, English Supplement 25 (2003):
76-03.
Nagakubo Yko . Yaci shsetsurcn. }csei nc tame nc ercsu hygen .
Tokyo: Sensh Daigaku Shuppankyoku, 2005.
Penley, Constance. °Feminism, Psychoanalysis, and the Study of Populai Cultuie." In Cultural Studies, edited
by Lawience Giossbeig, Caiy Nelson and Paula A. Tieichlei. New Yoik & London: Routledge, 992.
Radway, Janice A. Reading the Rcmance. \cmen, Patriarchy, and Pcpular Iiterature. Chapel Hill, NC and Lon-
don: Univeisity of Noith Caiolina Piess, 99.
Schodt, Fiedeiik L. Dreamland }apan. \ritings cn Mcdern Manga. Beikeley: Stone Biidge Piess, 996.
Suzuki, Kazuko. °Poinogiaphy oi Theiapy: Japanese Giils Cieating the Yaoi Phenomenon." In Millennium
Girls. Tcday´s Girls Arcund the \crld, edited by Sheiiie A. Inness, 243-267. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Lit-
tlefeld Publisheis, Inc. 998.
Thompsen, Philip A. °What`s Fueling the Flames in Cybeispace: A Social Inßuence Model." In Ccmmunica-
ticn and Cyberspace. Sccial Interacticn in an Electrcnic Envircnment, edited by Lance Stiate, Ron L. Jacob-
son, and Stephanie B. Gibson. 2nd ed. Ciesskill, NJ: Hampton Piess, Inc., 2003.
Watt, Susan E., Maiten Lea, and Russell Speais. °How Social is Inteinet Communication: A Reappiaisal of
Bandwidth and Anonymity Effects." In Virtual Scciety? Technclcgy, Cyberbcle, Reality, edited by Steve Wool-
gai. Oxfoid & New Yoik: Oxfoid Univeisity Piess, 2002.
Wesch, Michael. °An Anthiopological Intioduction to YouTube" piesented at The Libiaiy of Congiess, June
23, 2008. http://www.youtube.com/watch:v·TPAO-lZ4_hU (accessed Oct. 26, 2008).
Woledge, Elizabeth. °Fiom Slash to the Mainstieam: Female Wiiteis and Gendei Blending Men." In Extrap-
claticn 46. (2005): 50-65.
7-¨She Shculd }ust Die in a Ditch° (BLAIR) 125
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8
Rewiiting Gendei and Sexuality in
English-Language Yaoi Fanfction
TAN BEE KEE
AGURI: The inteinet:
KUDOU: You don`t expect all the hoiny teenaged giils dieaming of mysteiious stiangeis
to keep theii fantasies to themselves, do you:
AGURI: I have to iead about having sex with teenaged giils too:
KUDOU: Of couise not. They`ie the ones who`ll wiite about you having sex with
Hidaka.

The teim °yaoi fanfction" is used by English-speaking fans to iefei to deiivative fan
stoiies, wiitten by mostly female fans, centeied aiound male homoeioticism based on oiig-
inal Japanese souices, such as anime (Japanese animation) oi manga (Japanese comics)
seiies. Using close textual analysis of the piesentation of gendei and sexuality in English-
language fanfction wiitten within the anime/manga seiies \eiss Kreuz (wk) fandom on
the Inteinet as case study, I will show how fans wiite to expiess theii own visions of iomance/
sexuality and subveit heteionoimative media naiiatives. Howevei, I will also show that yaoi
fanfction is not without its inteinal contiadictions and limitations as a foim of iesistance
against gendei noims.
The fanfctions collected foi this pioject between Januaiy 2005-Maich 2005 weie
based on a suivey of fans on WK mailing lists in late 2004 about the wiiteis and fanfcs
they felt had been impoitant in inßuencing WK fandom, fan iecommendations on fansites,
essays on WK on LiveJouinal, and woiks by °Big Name Fans" (fans who aie well-known
in the fan community foi theii activities such as wiiting fanfctions). Othei souices included
winneis of past WK fanfction contests and ovei 5000 fanfcs at Fanfction.net, moie than
000 fanfcs at Mediaminei.oig, and smallei numbeis of fcs at Adultfanfction.net and
smallei aichives. I went thiough the fanfction aichives by ieading stoiy summaiies and
taking note of inteiesting topics and iecuiient tiends, as well as fcs that have gaineied
unusually laige numbeis of ieviews.
I have chosen to focus on Inteinet fantexts due to theii ease of dissemination and
accessibility by any fan with an Inteinet connection. Analyzing fanfction in the context of
fan commentaiy, blogs and essays helps us to undeistand the ways fans iead the oiiginal
media texts. Accoiding to McKee, °(w)hen we peifoim textual analysis on a text, we make
an educated guess at some of the most likely inteipietations that might be made of that
text.... We inteipiet texts ... in oidei to tiy and obtain a sense of the ways in which, in pai-
ticulai cultuies at paiticulai times, people make sense of the woild aiound them."
2
Since
we cannot iead the minds of fans diiectly to see how they inteipiet media texts, fantexts
aie what we have to woik with. In this study, I will be analyzing fanfctions as aitifacts
iooted in social ieality with political implications.
3
126
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Heniy Jenkins points out that in felds such as flm ciiticism, claims about the audi-
ence aie deiived fiom textual analysis of the souice text, peisonal intiospection etc. How-
evei, ieception studies °seeks empiiical evidence, thiough histoiical oi ethnogiaphic
ieseaich, that documents the pioduction and ciiculation of meaning." Since textually
asciibed meanings do not get iepioduced faiily diiectly in spectatoi`s heads, °¦t]ext, con-
text, and ieadei all play vital ioles in shaping inteipietation."
4
Jenkins suggests that °Less
piedictable ieadings ieveal moie cleaily the inteipietive piocess at woik, suggesting that
theie is nothing inevitable about oui own inteipietations."
5
Yaoi fan ieinteipietations aie
piecisely examples of unexpected ieadings that foice the ieadei to view the oiiginal media
text in totally fiesh ways.
I have adapted ethnogiaphic techniques to cybeispace using Hine`s notion of viitual
ethnogiaphy. Tiaditionally, ethnogiaphy consists of °a ieseaichei spending an extended
peiiod of time immeised in a feld setting, taking account of the ielationships, activities
and undeistandings of those in the setting and paiticipating in those piocesses. The aim is
to make explicit the taken-foi gianted and often tacit ways in which people make sense of
theii lives."
6
I have done this by immeising myself in the viitual social enviionments inhab-
ited by fans, analyzing fan essays about theii fanfctions, and monitoiing fan iesponses as
well as thiough coiiespondence with fan wiiteis in oidei to undeistand the way they con-
sume media.
The Westein analogue to yaoi would be slash, which is based on Westein media souices
and has similai themes, although it has somewhat diffeient fan conventions and evolved
out of a diffeient cultuial context. Howevei, since much useful woik has been done ana-
lyzing slash, I will be iefeiiing extensively to slash theoiists. Also, since I am examining
English-language fanfction wiitten by non-Japanese fans, many aie slash fans as well and
have come into yaoi by way of slash, especially Westein fans, as shown in Diu Pagliassotti`s
English-language suivey of BL manga ieadeis conducted online fiom June 28 to Novem-
bei 2, 2005, that attiacted a total of 478 iespondents, mostly fiom U.S., Canada, the UK,
oi Austialia.
7
\eiss Kreuz is about a team called \eiss composed of foui young men (Fujimiya Aya,
Kud Yji, Hidaka Ken and Tsukiyono mi). They woik at a ßoiist shop as a covei foi
theii ieal jobs as assassins foi a vigilante oiganization called Kritiker, which focuses on
eliminating poweiful villains beyond the ieach of the law. Weiss is opposed by an assassin
gioup called Schwaiz fiom an evil oiganization called Estet, composed of Biad Ciawfoid,
an Ameiican who is able to see the futuie, Faifaiello, an insane Iiishman who is immune
to pain, Schuldig, a Geiman with telepathic poweis and Naoe Nagi, an oiphaned Japanese
boy with telekinetic poweis.
In WK, Weiss live togethei in the same apaitment above the ßowei shop in the anime,
and mutual tiust/coopeiation is essential foi them to suivive theii dangeious missions
because they depend on one anothei foi backup. Deena`s °Waking onto Lantein`s Biight"
emphasizes how the bonds between the boys thiough theii piofession deepen into ioman-
tic love.
°We live togethei, woik togethei, kill togethei. Aftei all this time, I`d like to think I
know you guys. We`ie fiiends, aien`t we Kenken:"
He giinned at the oldei boy. °Cleaning blood stains togethei ieally has that bonding
effect."
8
Although most of the membeis of Weiss fall in love with women at one point oi anothei
in the seiies, they aie ultimately unable to sustain such iomances because theii woik as
8-Rewriting Gender and Sexuality in English-Ianguage Yaci Fanfcticn (TAN) 127
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assassins makes it too dangeious foi them to become involved with civilians. This is often
a taiget of fans who playfully exaggeiate homosocial bonds. Kuwabaia no Miko`s tongue-
in-cheek °Male Bonding" featuies a diinking session between Yji, Ken and mi that
becomes a ménage a tiois.
9
WK is known foi its pooi animation quality as well as its ßimsy, sometimes ludicious
plot. Howevei, it has gaineied a huge fandom oveiseas among female fans. On the English
Inteinet, it was one of the biggest eaily yaoi fandoms, togethei with Gundam \ing.
The Dissatisfacticns cf Ccmpulscry Hetercsexuality
The sheei pievalence of the heteiosexual °noim" in books and flms and ... well, almost
eveiywheie ... and the idea that one shculd fnd it sexy makes it veiy haid to admit that
you fnd these kinds of things iathei boiing oi a tuin-cff.
0
Yaoi fans aie dissatisfed with mainstieam (heteiosexual) poitiayal of iomance and
sexuality in the foim of TV piogiams, iomance novels, and movies even if they happen to
identif y as heteiosexual, as seen in the above quote fiom a fan essay. Heniy Jenkins points
out that tiaditional iomance geneially leaves unquestioned its assumptions about gendei.
°The woman`s peiception of a 'daik side` to male sexuality is latei attiibuted to misundei-
standings and dissolves in the happiness of the couple`s commitment. The woman must
accept hei iole as wife without asseiting demands foi autonomy."

Ann Snitow, in hei analysis of mass maiket iomances, delineates theii daik aspects.
She shows that the heioine is not allowed by social moies to acknowledge sexual desiie hon-
estly and has to do °a lot of social lying to save face, pietending to be unaffected by the
heio`s piesence while hei body melts oi shiveis" because she has to save hei viiginity foi
maiiiage.
2
Distance between the sexes is gloiifed and the sexual inexpeiience of the heio-
ine adds to the excitement (Snitow, 426).
... What is the Hailequin iomance foimula: ... All tensions and pioblems aiise fiom the
fact that the Hailequin woild is inhabited by two species incapable of communicating
with each othei, male and female. It is pleasing to think that appeaiances aie deceptive,
that male coldness, absence, boiedom, aie not what they seem.... In spite of his coldness
oi pieoccupation, the heio ieally loves the heioine and wants to maiiy hei ¦Snitow, 424,
426].
Since the goal of iomance novels is maiiiage, they end once the °most inteiesting
phase in the love/maiiiage cycle" is ovei (Snitow, 426). We do not see the couple change
diapeis oi aigue ovei household choies. As iomance novels tend to contain soft-coie sex
scenes, it has also been suggested that they piovide iespectable °sexual ielease" foi women
too piudish foi ieal poin who believe in maintaining theii ieputations (Snitow, 427). The
iomance heioine is passively ieceptive to the male ego and hei sexuality is constiained. As
Snitow explains, the Hailequin heioine is not °involved in any oveit adventuie beyond tiy-
ing to iespond appiopiiately to male eneigy without losing hei viiginity. Viiginity is a
given heie; sex means maiiiage and maiiiage, piomised at the end, means, fnally, theie
can be sex" (Snitow, 425).
Yaoi oveicomes these pioblems. With two male chaiacteis, theie aie no piedefned
ioles to play in iomance. Eithei chaiactei is fiee to initiate a ielationship. They aie fiee
fiom the piessuie of °saving themselves" foi maiiiage, fistly because they aie both male,
and secondly, since gay couples aie unable to maiiy in most countiies, including Japan,
128 Pait Two: Genie and Readeiship
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sex is not confned within maiiiage. In a stoiy in which the uke loses his viiginity to the
seme, it is iepiesented as the °ultimate sign of tiust and ultimate suiiendei of self to the
paitnei," as Cicioni shows in hei analysis of slash.
3
In heteiosexual fction, such a scenaiio
would be an act of domination that is often poitiayed as a °conquest oi a devaluation of
the woman."
4
Gayle Rubin (2006) in °Thinking Sex: Notes foi a Radical Theoiy of the Politics of
Sexuality" points out that society divides sexual behavioi into the good/healthy/natuial and
the bad/unhealthy/unnatuial . Homosexuality falls into the lattei camp as opposed to
monogamous heteiosexual sex within maiiiage.
5
She also points out in °The Tiaffc in
Women" that °¦g]endei is not only an identifcation with one sex; it also entails that sex-
ual desiie be diiected towaid the othei sex."
6
Same-sex desiie in yaoi violates this iule.
Accoiding to Dennis Altman, °The iepiession of polymoiphous peiveisity ... is bound
up with the development of veiy cleai-cut concepts of masculine and feminine that dom-
inate consciousness and help maintain male supiemacy.... Being male and female is, above
all, defned in teims of the othei: men leain that theii masculinity depends on being able
to make it with women, women that fulfllment can be only obtained thiough being bound
to a man."
7
Fans capitalize on homosocial bonds between two males by bluiiing the baiiieis
between homosociality and homosexuality. In the oiiginal texts, chaiacteis aie often
assigned heteiosexual love inteiests, but in yaoi the fan focus is on male chaiacteis` iela-
tionships with one anothei, which displace any heteiosexual ielationships.
Accoiding to Jenkins, iefeiencing Eve Kosofsky Sedgewick, °a patiiaichal society con-
sistently constiucts boundaiies between acceptable and unacceptable foims of male fiiend-
ship; patiiaichy is held togethei ... thiough homophobia which is pait of a system that
enfoices compulsoiy heteiosexuality as well as iestiicts the iange of behaviois open to men
and women. Fictional iepiesentations of male fiiendship often depend foi theii emotional
powei upon the suggestion of stiong homosocial desiie between men, even as they isolate
that desiie fiom any explicitly iecognizable foim of sexuality...."
8
Yaoi bieaks thiough
boundaiies by foiegiounding sexual potential, which is an undeicuiient, even when chai-
acteis aie enemies. In °Rules" by Yoippaii, Ken`s disastious fist meeting with Aya, which
ended in a fght, evolves into a dysfunctional sexual ielationship.
9
Even though Schwaiz
and Weiss aie enemies, hatied and bloodlust is ßipped into love and desiie in yaoi.
The aveiage yaoi stoiy aic tiaces the iipening of fiiendship ciossing ovei into the line
of iomantic/sexual involvement, as in °the fist time stoiy" (a stoiy which chionicles a
couple`s fist iomantic and/oi sexual encountei).
20
In °Fiist Time Stoiies," a common subgenie in both yaoi and slash, chaiacteis must
fist acknowledge theii own desiies and come to teims with theii piejudices and piecon-
ceptions befoie they can achieve happiness. Jenkins desciibes the ßow of the typical °Fiist
Time Stoiy." °The male piotagonist daies not act on his eiotic fantasies, convinced that
the othei paitnei could not possibly shaie such feelings and that voicing them could dam-
age the men`s woiking ielationship" and that the chaiacteis` piofessional status, theii own
sense of masculinity, and theii fiiendships would be thieatened.
2
This feai usually tuins
out to be unfounded. In Sky Rat`s °Bettei Days," Ken asks Yji why he did not confess his
love eailiei.
°I didn`t want to iuin oui fiiendship." Foi some ieason, this excuse seems a lot lamei
said aloud than it did in my head.
°Thought you might say that," he looks thoughtful foi a second, °you ieally thought I
8-Rewriting Gender and Sexuality in English-Ianguage Yaci Fanfcticn (TAN) 129
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placed so little value on oui fiiendship that I would let it be iuined by something like
that:!"
22
In the actual WK seiies, Yji constantly emphasizes his heteiosexuality with ovei-the-
top statements such as saying that he did not wish to die with a bunch of men duiing mis-
sions. Fans often joke that he is so exaggeiatedly stiaight that he must be hiding something,
and he is often poitiayed as a piomiscuous bisexual in yaoi fanfcs. When Ken in Cassan-
dia Nexus`s °In the Rain" takes a peek at Yji`s °little black book," he is shocked to dis-
covei that the names aie all male.
23
Homophobia, whethei inteinalized oi exteinal, is often an obstacle to be oveicome in
yaoi. In Nekojita`s °Cages," Ken (a lapsed Catholic in the seiies) is sleeping with his best
fiiend Kase but is in denial about his sexuality. °Foi a moment (Ken) heaid Fathei Timo-
thy`s voice, outlining the hell that awaited sodomites, and his foimei teammates` homo-
phobia ... 'I`m not some limp-wiisted fag, and neithei is Kase....`"
24
Fans ioutinely set up
chaiacteis to show theii disdain foi such attitudes. In Opus the Penguin`s °A Delicate Sub-
ject," a homophobic Ken decides to tell a fey mi to mend his ways because the giils who
come to the ßoiist shop aie convinced they aie all gay.
25
mi suggests that Ken must be
unconsciously in love with him to be obsessed with his appeaiance and behavioi. Ken pan-
ics and tiies to ieassuie himself of his macho-ness by buiying himself in motoicycle mag-
azines, soccei and poinogiaphy. Unfoitunately foi Ken, the fanfc points out in a
tongue-in-cheek fashion that the most homophobic men aie often the most iepiessed.
Ken`s actions backfie when he is inadveitently aioused while watching a men`s wiestling
touinament.
Often, yaoi and slash fanfcs featuie plot devices such as undeicovei missions in which
°the chaiacteis aie asked to shed theii noimal identities, to assume a mask which not only
justifes but actively iequiies otheiwise piohibited foims of intimacy."
26
Foi example, in
Deena`s °Something New," Aya and Ken aie foiced to pose as a couple in oidei to tiack
down taigets on a gay honeymoon ciuise, which inadveitently leads to theii discoveiing
theii desiie foi each othei.
27
Many fanfc wiiteis use camp humoi as a tool to mock gendei steieotypes. In Kim`s
°A Quiet Evening," Faifaiello, oiiginally a psychotic muideiei, is tuined into a sex-obsessed
queen in neon pink vinyl pants.
28
Aya, a cool, biooding chaiactei, tuins out to be a seciet
fan of Hailequin iomances in Fancy`s °Haii."
29
Queer Readings
When wiiting yaoi fanfction, yaoi fans adopt a vaiiety of queei ieading stiategies that
diffei fiom fan to fan. People who aie against yaoi commonly chaige that yaoi fans have
made stiaight chaiacteis gay. Ceitainly, some yaoi fans aie obsessed with pioving theii
favoiite chaiactei is queei by combing the seiies foi °evidence," though most fan °pioof "
is moie oi less tongue-in-cheek. Thus, they may eithei be convinced that the chaiactei is
ieally queei oi aie awaie theii ieadings aie consideied °deviant" but insist on ieading the
chaiactei as queei anyway.
Fans aie pioud of theii active engagement with media texts. Indeed, some of them seem
to have iead academic discouises on fandom and have appiopiiated such theoiies to jus-
tif y fanfction. Accoiding to Pagliassotti`s suivey of fans ovei age 8, 78 peicent of iespon-
dents iepoited some level of college education and possess academic cultuial capital.
30
The
130 Pait Two: Genie and Readeiship
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hands-on attitude of yaoi fans may be exemplifed by this fan essay quote which seems to
be echoing Jenkins:
But what if you want to read the canon chaiacteis doing m/m (homoeiotic) sex and
iomance: Simple. In thiee woids: write it ycurself. If you want to see a ceitain kind of
stoiy and it`s not available, don`t waste time complaining that it`s not available-go
make it available. Life is much moie satisfying when you cease to be a passive consumei
and become an active pioducei.
3
Yaoi fans also industiiously iaid mainstieam populai naiiatives such as faiiy tales,
movies, and conventional iomance novels. Foi Biett Faimei, iefeiiing to Roland Baithes,
°the piimaiy aim of any populai myth is the natuialization of ideological meaning and the
iatifcation of the social status quo."
32
Yaoi fans have come up with ietellings to suit theii
own puiposes. Sometimes the appiopiiation can be as simple as changing the sex of the
heioine to male. In Swythangel`s °Heaven In Youi Aims," Ken is a fallen angel who melts
Ciawfoid`s heait, a plot boiiowed fiom a iomance novel.
33
Some iewoikings aie moie
sophisticated, such as Lynn Metallium`s °The Thiee Little Bishounen," a naughty ietelling
of °The Thiee Little Pigs" in which Ken, mi and Aya aie in dangei of being °eaten" by
the Big Bad Playboy Yji because of theii own sexual desiies.
34
As Ika Willis states, wiiting slash (and yaoi, in this case) can be expeiienced as °bcth
a hedonistic, eiotic piactice which could even be opposed to a thoughtful oi ciitical iela-
tion to a text, and, on the othei hand, a delibeiate, politically loaded, piactice of iecontex-
tualization that ieoiients a text in oidei to demonstiate that it beais the tiace of a desiiing
stiuctuie not wholly congiuent with the most liteial (which is to say, the most ideologi-
cally obedient) ieading."
35
Kustiiz states that slash fction texts and the piactices of ieading, wiiting, and iewiit-
ing slash may be seen as a piactice fiom which a metatext emeiges. °(T)he metatext, is a
stoiy that tells us how to live, and it is a stoiy that bieaks stiongly fiom noimative tiadi-
tions."
36
Accoiding to Saiah Gwenllian Jones, academic inteipietations of slash and othei queei
ieadings have tiaditionally suggested that texts (i.e. canon) aie inheiently oi oiiginally het-
eiosexual; thus slash (and yaoi) ieadings aie iesistant, °deviant" ieadings.
37
Jones heiself
sees slash as an °actualization" of a °latent" piopeity of the text itself, meaning that queei-
ness is alieady situated in the text itself (Jones, 82). Willis howevei, suggests seeing fan iead-
ings as ieoiientation: °fan fction is pioduced out of the inteiaction between canon as made
legible by dominant cultuial knowledges and foimulas foi ieading, and canon as ieoiiented
by the demands and desiies biought to it by the subjectivity of the fan/ieadei and hei
knowledge of the woild."
38
WK is basically an action/adventuie seiies diiven by missions and assassination tai-
gets with a gieat deal of violence and little iomance, but so impoitant is ercs in yaoi that
even the fanfcs that ievolve aiound missions aie focused on iomance and ielationships.
To Willis, °(w)iiting fan fction is not simply adding the fnal piece of a jigsaw com-
pleting a text with a known unknown, whose coiiect shape and dimensions can be deduced:
iathei, wiiting fan fction fist of all makes gaps in a text that the cultuial code attempts to
iendei continuous, and then, iathei than flling them in, supplements these gaps with intei-
texts which aie not docile..." (Willis, 58).
A good example of this insuboidination is °fanon" (a pun on canon, which aie the
actual details/events that happened in the oiiginal souice mateiial) which Busse and Hellek-
son defne as °the events cieated by the fan community in a paiticulai fandom and iepeated
8-Rewriting Gender and Sexuality in English-Ianguage Yaci Fanfcticn (TAN) 131
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peivasively thioughout the fantext."
39
One of the ieasons I have chosen WK is that it is
known to have unusually stiong fanon foi a fandom. Fans often declaie that they piefei
fanon to what actually happens in canon and fanwoiks to the actual seiies, which is lack-
lustei by compaiison.
Kat Avila (2005) iemaiks that watching anime Fullmetal Alchemist was nevei quite the
same aftei seeing a djinshi of a chaiactei giving his biothei a blow job.
40
The veiy exis-
tence of a queei fan ieading opens the eyes of fans to iadical possibilities in life that they
would not have imagined befoie.
Gaytcpia
Some fans enjoy yaoi foi political ieasons because yaoi etches out a space wheie homo-
sexuality is accepted and happy endings abound, unlike mainstieam media iepiesentations
of gays and lesbians which often poitiay them as dysfunctional, iiddled with AIDS, oi sui-
cidal. As a lesbian fan explains, °I`m gay. I like yaoi because it piesents what looks like heaven
to a gay peison. Same sex and no second thoughts about it."
4
Sometimes, this leads to a queei utopia in which eveiyone expeiiences same-sex desiies.
Foi example, in Kuwabaia no Miko and Talya Fiiedancei`s °A Fine Day foi a Gioup Out-
ing," all the membeis of Weiss accidentally come out to one anothei as inteiested in men.
42
As Laila explains in hei fan essay °The Discieet Chaim of Slash," non-fans tend
to assume that chaiacteis aie stiaight unless pioven otheiwise.
43
Alexandei Doty (993)
points out gays and lesbians do occasionally get maiiied, have childien, and have sex
with the opposite sex.
44
Many yaoi fans feel that sexual self-identity may change ovei a life-
time.
It`s peifectly possible foi someone who has always self-identifed as stiaight to fall in
love with someone of the same gendei, and vice veisa foi those who have self-identify
¦sic] as gay.... That few of them act on it might easily have moie to do with societal pies-
suie than it does with theii own desiies.
45
Sometimes, a chaiactei is so skilled a lovei that his paitnei is seduced to the °homo-
sexual side of the Foice" as a fan jokes. In Deena`s °Raspbeiiy and Lime Shampoo," Yji
successfully °conveits" Ken with his bedioom skills.
46
The message of yaoi fanfcs is that love should tianscend social conventions. In Deena`s
°Waking Onto Lantein`s Biight," Yji peisuades Ken to confess his love to Aya because
°(l)ove doesn`t come aiound so often that you have the chance to woiiy about something
as tiivial as gendei."
47
Chaiacteis themselves may ieject self-defnitions. In Maity`s °Black Gold," Yji iefuses
to label himself when mi asks him to claiify his sexual oiientation.
°You know, Omittchi," I say slowly. °I asked myself that once a long time ago. And foi a
while I ieally couldn`t come up with an answei. But then it came to me. I`m just slutty.
Wheie`s my paiade:!" I ciy thiowing up my hands. °Slut piide!"
48
Yaoi fans often see theii own sexuality as queei oi otheiwise ßuid. As yaoi fan Puieyaoi
explains, °In the woild of yaoi I see moie and moie female wiiteis who call themselves
gay, oi bi, oi simply iefuse to defne theii sexuality using one of thiee pie-defned teims
(stiaight, gay, bisexual)" (ielease the kiakon! LiveJouinal Blog, comment posted Decem-
bei 7, 2004).
132 Pait Two: Genie and Readeiship
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Prcblematizing Sccietal Gender Ncrms
Yaoi featuies the seme/uke concept, which comes fiom the Japanese. The seme (semeru
means °to attack" in Japanese) is the chaiactei in a yaoi paiiing who penetiates the othei
in homosexual anal sex wheieas the uke (ukeru means to ieceive and has a connotation of
passivity) is the ieceptive paitnei. Seme and uke ioles in a paiiing aie usually fxed. Besides
being sexual ioles, the teims °seme° and °uke° often ießect coiiesponding gendeied attiib-
utes. Uke aie usually shoitei (the °height iule"), piettiei and moie vulneiable than seme;
in othei woids, piesenting physical and emotional attiibutes socially constiucted as fem-
inine oi female. In yaoi, a paiiing wiitten as °Aya x Ken" with an °x" sepaiating the names
means that the fist name oi °Aya" is the seme wheieas °Ken," oi the second name, is the
uke.
Fans often have stiong piefeiences foi ceitain chaiacteis to be uke and ceitain chai-
acteis to be seme, but this is not necessaiily absolute and °ieveisibles" (chaiacteis who
switch between uke and seme) aie quite common. Fans aie well awaie of the peifoimative
natuie of seme/uke.This is often shown thiough humoious paiodies in which chaiacteis
fght ovei who should be seme. In this exceipt fiom a \eiss Kreuz fc called °UkeSeme
Dynamics" by Celeste, Ken infoims a bemused Aya that he fts the steieotypical piofle of
uke bettei than Ken does:
°....Uh.... oh yeah! And I`m the biash, spontaneous one! Like the kind that will sneak up
on youi type at iandom times and toss him ovei the neaiest hoiizontal suiface to have
my wicked way with...."
Aya`s eyebiows daited up. °My type:"
Ken scowled. °Stop picking at details."
°I`m paiticulaily inteiested in these details. What do you mean 'my type,` huh:"
Ken stammeied and tuined pink aiound the eais again. °Y-you know! The pietty,
quiet ones. The ones that wiite poetiy and iead angsty diamas and foieign books and go
to ait museums and use fabiic softenei."
49
In yaoi, dominance is piedicated on chaiactei and not assigned by sex. Instead, powei
is negotiated between two masculine chaiacteis.
50
Yaoi deconstiucts the idea that sexual
attiaction must be based on essentialist notions of sexual diffeience.
Inscribing Feminine Desires
Yaoi iewiites the discouises of sexuality accoiding to feminine tastes. Fans often joke
that the yaoi lovei nevei skips foieplay oi falls asleep immediately aftei sex but is always
attentive to his paitnei`s pleasuie and comfoit. The whole body becomes an eiogenous
zone, and intimacy is shaied not only thiough genital sex, as seen in this passage fiom
Maity`s °The Saga Begins":
We lie togethei foi the iest of the eaily moining. We hold each othei, whispeiing softly,
touching gently, kissing now and then. It`s nice. So nice to just shaie time like this. I
doze, my head iesting in the ciook of his neck. It fts theie so well.
5
Society conventionally defnes only vaginal inteicouise as °ieal," natuial, and acceptable
sex, but yaoi extends intimacy to cuddling, kissing, and oial/anal sex. Some may aigue that
the anus in yaoi is actually a coded vagina, but of couise anal sex is not confned to homo-
sexuals.
8-Rewriting Gender and Sexuality in English-Ianguage Yaci Fanfcticn (TAN) 133
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Yaoi fanfcs aie often known foi having uniealistic and foimulaic iepiesentations of
gay sex such as the standaid °inseit one fngei, inseit two oi thiee, follow with anal pen-
etiation" because it is usually wiitten by women who aie natuially distanced fiom male
bodies. This has led to some gay male fans °helpfully" offeiing sex tips to make sex scenes
moie iealistic. Howevei, such attempts aie beside the point, because the sex is not meant
to be iealistic gay sex but idealized fantasies of what women would like lovemaking to be
like. As Jeanne points out in °The Top Ten Things I Love About Yaoi," semes may take the
°male" iole, but they still aie not men having sex because:
... they don`t come, oi if they do seem to come they`ie still haid afteiwaids and able to
tuin the uke ovei to do it in a new position. They behave like us (women), and they
behave the way I bet a lot of stiaight women wish theii guys could. Which makes the
seme both a woman ¯and¯ a female fantasy of maleness at the same time. Neat tiick,
huh:
52
Yaoi fanfction can get veiy giaphic. Howevei, like slash, which Jung (2004) desciibes
as °iomantic poinogiaphy," sex scenes usually fulfll naiiative functions; they fuithei the
plot oi aie used as a tool foi chaiacteiization and embedded in chaiacteis` pasts, piesents,
and futuies as piovided by canon.
53
This is in contiast to the denial of the emotional con-
sequences of sex in most poin because in slash (and by extension yaoi) sex always has diiect
and diamatic emotional iamifcations.
54
Theie is a genie of fanfction called PWP (plot: What plot:) consisting of fanfcs with
veiy little plot and consisting mainly of explicit sex scenes. Unlike othei fanfcs, PWPs aie
obviously wiitten to titillate and appeai at suiface level to be no diffeient fiom iegulai
poinogiaphy. Howevei as Teep, a fan, explains, yaoi PWPs aie diffeient fiom iegulai
poinogiaphy because female ieadeis need to get to know and have some soit of emotional
investment in the chaiacteis befoie they can enjoy the stoiy. The noimal woik of exposi-
tion and chaiacteiization is alieady done by the oiiginal text (e.g. the anime) so it becomes
possible to skip to the yummy paits, i.e. the sex scenes.
55
In contiast, accoiding to Cathei-
ine Diiscoll, °Not only is chaiacteiization not the point of most poinogiaphy, it is even an
obstacle to the effciency of poinogiaphy."
56
Fuitheimoie as Alan Soble shows, in conventional poinogiaphy women aie subjected
to physical, psychological and linguistic violence, denial of female pleasuie, and being
ieduced to ciude body paits such as °cunt." Women in conventional poinogiaphy have no
intiinsic value except as ieceptacles of lust to piovide sex on demand.
57
Ukes in yaoi sex
scenes aie seldom dehumanized in such a fashion. The feminist anti-poinogiaphy move-
ment claims that poinogiaphy encouiages iape/violence against women, and many women
have ambivalent feelings about conventional poinogiaphy.
Andiea Wood, in desciibing Japanese yaoi/BL, also points out that the uke is not °visu-
ally infused with negative oi disempoweiing connotations ... his paitnei is moie focused
on giving him pleasuie than on simply taking it foi himself.... Theiefoie, in opposition to
a one-sided visualization of pleasuie that emphasizes the impoitance of the penetiating pait-
nei`s oigasm, a mainstay of heteiosexual poinogiaphy, yaoi manga aie moie inteiested in
illustiating both paitnei`s eiotic fulfllment and giatifcation."
58
Foi Diiscoll, we leain fiom and negotiate with poin what appeais sexy as we leain
fiom and negotiate with iomance what it is to appeai °in love."
59
Yaoi fans have ioundly
iejected the social sciipts of conventional poinogiaphy as models by wiiting theii own sto-
iies.
134 Pait Two: Genie and Readeiship
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Rcmantic Ideals
In contiast to heteiosexual ielationships wheie women often maiiy foi fnancial secu-
iity, social iespectability, and othei ieasons such as family piessuie, yaoi fans piotest against
ieality by idealizing homosexual ielationships. Suzuki, in discussing Japanese fandom,
desciibes homosexual love celebiated by fans as °love fiee fiom calculation, capable of
withstanding societal piessuie, and achieved only aftei gieat saciifce."
60
Sometimes the fanfcs iesemble the tiaditional foim of the gay coming-out stoiy wheie
it takes couiage and soul-seaiching foi the piotagonist to face up to his desiies. In Link62`s
°But, I`m an Assassin," mi comes to iealize that he is gay when he connects the dots.
Omi swallowed haid, thinking back on the events of the iecent past. Watching Nagi go
longingly. Kissing Ouka with no passion. Feeling his body iun iampant on him as the
gieat Hidaka Ken made a beautiful save that exposed his peifect stomach in the piocess.
Not to mention, meeting Ken, just to neaily thiow up he was so paialyzed with awe. He
was undeniably attiacted to men.
6
Although yaoi is not meant to be iealistic, issues of disciimination and gay iights aie
sometimes addiessed. In Atsuieki`s °Please, Give Me Anothei Chance," Ken, who coached
soccei pait-time, lost many of his chaiges when the childien`s paients found out he was
dating anothei man.
62
Love faces family opposition in Swythangel`s °Phenomenal Noume-
nal" when Aya`s sistei is unable to accept that he is gay, foicing Aya to choose between fam-
ily and his lovei.
Why was it that she could take otheis being gay but not hei own biothei:
If she was tiuthful with hei biothei, she knew that the answei was quite simple. She
still thought that gays weie not noimal. No mattei how libeial she acted, she was still
just a little bit conseivative in hei views. It was all veiy well foi otheis like hei fiiends to
be gay but to have a membei of hei family ¯be¯ gay:
63
In Shooii`s °Eight Yeais in the Making," Aya apologizes to Ken foi not being able to
maiiy him and give him the secuiity, benefts, and iecognition gianted automatically to
heteiosexual couples.
°I`m soiiy that you can`t ... have ... all that," He continued staiing at the caipet, his light
mood iapidly daikening as he pondeied all the things he could nevei give Ken. A wed-
ding. A tiaditional home. A family. All the things that Ken wanted, that he could nevei
have if he stayed with him....
64
Howevei, if a chaiactei is willing to put himself on the line foi love despite all obstacles,
iisking the loss of tiust and loss of his self-image, this couiage usually leads to °peifect
physical and psychic fulfllment" in slash (oi in yaoi, as in this case).
65
The iaison d`êtie of yaoi is the iomantic cliché which one fan, Leathei Daddy, desciibes
wiyly as °soul-bonding thiough anal sex," pioffeiing the typical stoiy aic of a yaoi stoiy:
Seme`s name and uke`s name aie alone at last, aftei name of a majoi canonical conßict
oi wai oi event. They can fnally consummate theii love. But wait! Uke`s name is ieluc-
tant to do the nasty! Why: Uke is a viigin, and is afiaid that Seme won`t love him any-
ways. Seme ieassuies the uke, and they have wild monkey sex in name of position with a
little bit of name of kink. But afteiwaids, Seme notices something stiange! He feels
waim inside, as if he`s found something he`s nevei known he was missing, like the lost
half of his soul. °It`s a soul bond!" he iealizes. Then they mind-speak, exchanging
schmoopy sentiments. But then Uke iealizes something. °Oh no! Name of majoi
ieligous, political, social gioup, oi just fiiends and family will nevei appiove, because
I`m too young / too old / youi woist enemy / a completely diffeient species! We must
8-Rewriting Gender and Sexuality in English-Ianguage Yaci Fanfcticn (TAN) 135
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hide oui ielationship fiom the otheis!" Seme says that no mattei what, he`ll always love
Uke. And then they have sex again. The End.
66
Soul-bonding occuis in this scene fiom Maity`s °The Saga Begins" in which Ken
makes love with Aya foi the fist time.
The pleasuie is wondeiful all on its own, but that isn`t what biings me to teais, it isn`t
what biings Aya to teais, oi causes me to ciy out his name and whispei that I love him.
It`s the joy. The sheei joy of being so close, of making love. It is eveiything I`ve been
feeling inside shaied with the one I love. This is what biings me to teais.
67
In the same stoiy, Yji fnds out that Aya and Ken aie secietly sleeping togethei and jumps
to the conclusion that they aie simply using each othei foi sexual ielief. Ken is hoiiifed to
heai theii ielationship desciibed so ciudely.
°Ok, Ken," I say, °if you`ie not fuck buddies, just what exactly aie you: Don`t tell me
that you`ie...." ...
°We aie togethei. We have feelings foi each othei," Aya says calmly. Ken kisses his
shouldei softly and hides his face again. I feel my mouth go diy....
I sit back and look Ken and Aya ovei. I can see it now. The bonds. The caiing.
Woledge actually coins the woid °intimatopia" to desciibe the piimacy of intimacy in
slash.
68
Intimacy, not sex, is the foundation of yaoi/slash. The stoiy climaxes when the yaoi
couple iealizes that they aie made foi one anothei.
Not only is sex a spiiitual, signifcant, mutually affimative act, yaoi fanfcs tends to
emphasize commitment and staying faithful to one`s paitnei, unlike gay ciuising cultuie,
ießecting the piefeiences of theii female wiiteis and ieadeis. Foi example in Maity`s °The
Saga Begins," Yji hints that he would like to join Aya and Ken in the bedioom, only to be
tuined down ßat.
69
Even though yaoi thieesomes opeiate on the piinciple that if two boys
aie hot togethei, thiee would be bettei, anonymous sex and piomiscuity aie usually not
valoiized unless it is a fanfc specifcally wiitten to amuse, such as the stoiies fiom Talya
Fiiedancei`s infamous °Subway Tiilogy" which has Yji having sex with stiangeis on the
subway and culminates in an fienetic oigy involving all of Weiss.
70
Kinship, Family and Gay Marriage
Fans often cieate yaoi fanfcs featuiing unconventional family stiuctuies to aigue foi
a widei defnition of family and kinship beyond the heteiosexual nucleai family idealized
in industiialized societies. In °Uncle Youji`s Book of Love" by Duiendal and the Beef Chick,
Schuldig and Biad Ciawfoid aie a couple and the membeis of Schwaiz foim a close, if
wacky family.
NAGI (intioducing his lovei Omi): This <points to Biad> is my ... fathei. Yes, that`s
iight, fathei. Biad. And this <points to Schu> is my, ei, othei paient, Schuldig.
SCHULDIG: Oh please, Nagi-baby, call me mom.
7
Yaoi loveis often show theii commitment to theii ielationships by making some soit
of symbolic gestuie such as weaiing matching iings oi getting maiiied.
In °The New Woild Oidei" seiies by Aoe and Shooii, Aya and Ken aie unable to maiiy
legally but make a monogamous commitment to one anothei, adopt Aya`s nephew as theii
son, and giow old togethei.
72
The boy is iaised happily within a vast communal netwoik
of °aunts" and °uncles" consisting of the membeis of Weiss and Schwaiz as well as Ken`s
136 Pait Two: Genie and Readeiship
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genetic family. Between saving the woild fiom evil as Weiss, Aya and Ken also shaie a
complete paitneiship at home, splitting choies and taking caie of theii son. Since both
paitneis aie male, they aie not bound by socially piedefned sciipts foi men`s and women`s
woik.
Maiiiage is one of the tiaditional tools used by society to divide unhealthy house-
holds (heteiosexual cohabitation, single-paient families, same-sex couples, etc.) fiom
the healthy (heteiosexual, nucleai family). Maiiiage in most societies is seen as the foun-
dation of society and civilization. °State and legal institutions thus do not choose to iec-
ognize heteiosexual maiiiage; they must iecognize it given its foundational status. Finally,
in claiming that theii unions aie the foundations of civilization, heteiosexuals claim to be
society`s most essential citizens...."
73
The heteiosexual maiiied couple has tiaditionally
been the single locus of pioductive sexuality and one of the usual ciiticisms leveled at
homosexual couples is that theii unions aie pointless because they cannot pioduce off-
spiing.
74
The yaoi family howevei °pioves" that °love makes a family" and affims that gay
couples aie able to ieai well-adjusted offspiing. Same-sex maiiiage poitiayed in yaoi
de-centeis heteiosexuality, showing that it is simply one sexual option amongst many oth-
eis.
75
Maity`s °Baby Talk" is set in a futuie Japan in which gay maiiiage has alieady been
legalized.
76
Aya and Ken`s daughtei, Kaoii, was the pioduct of Aya`s sistei`s donated egg
and Ken`s speim and caiiied to teim in an aitifcial womb; a move haiking towaids sci-
ence-fction in which new iepioductive technologies have often been used to challenge tia-
ditional gendei ioles.
Ciimson`s fanfc °Kind
des Schicksals" (°Child of
Fate" in Geiman) featuies a
scenaiio in which Shioshiio,
the genetic son of Aya and
Ken who was conceived
thiough futuiistic technology,
comes back thiough time to
pievent Ken fiom being killed
in a mission.
77
Shioshiio is
poitiayed not only as a son
anyone may be pioud of but
heteiosexual, pointing out
that homosexual unions do
not necessaiily iesult in
homosexual offspiing as con-
seivatives claim. Figuie is a
fan ait cieated by a fan who
loved Ciimson`s fanfc °Kind
des Schicksals."
78
It featuies
Shioshiio, the genetic son of
Aya and Ken, gazing fondly at
a childhood family photo
with his two fatheis.
8-Rewriting Gender and Sexuality in English-Ianguage Yaci Fanfcticn (TAN) 137
Figure . Asaphira, VK: RanxKen+Shíoshíro, Copyright · 2003.
©

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Nurturance and Ercs
Yaoi fanfcs do not always have to have explicit sex scenes. WAFF (waim and fuzzy
feelings) fanfcs aie light-heaited, often humoious fanfcs which focus on iomance and
have no sex scenes. They poitiay the tendeiness between paitneis totally absent fiom
poinogiaphy and the mundane domesticity/equality equally absent fiom iomance novels.
Sometimes such stoiies take place in the context of an established sexual ielationship,
what Bacon-Smith would desciibe as an °old maiiied couple" situation in slash.
79
Such sto-
iies often ievolve aiound domestic scenes in which a couple cook togethei, spend time at
home, celebiate biithdays oi special holidays like Valentine`s Day and anniveisaiies etc.
These vignettes of domestic bliss allow us to see the couple`s inteiaction with one anothei
and how they deepen theii ielationship with the shaiing of household choies, eating meals
togethei, and othei domestic activities. In slash, these kinds of stoiies aie called °cuitain-
fcs" because they often featuie the happy couple shopping foi household items.
°I know that look Ken," he wained. °You want me to do something that you know I
don`t want to do. You want me to go shopping with you."
°We`ie like a maiiied couple!" Ken gushed, batting his eyelashes. °You know me so
well, dailing!"
80
What Cicioni calls °the eioticization of nuituiance" in slash is also an impoitant fea-
tuie of yaoi. °In a gieat many stoiies the discoveiy of mutual love occuis as one paitnei
iecognizes and satisfes a basic need of the othei -physical (waimth, food, caie duiing ill-
ness) oi emotional (ieassuiance)-and, moie oi less explicitly, 'motheis` him."
8
Closed but
cold enviionments such as a deseited island, a shack in the wilds, stakeouts and othei sce-
naiios piovide a chance foi one of the paitnei to piovide waimth to the othei, with °the
waimth moving fiom the physical dimension to the metaphoiical one of closeness and ten-
deiness" (ibid., 63). In Kiiachu`s fc °Waimth," Ken and Aya shaie a blanket and become
emotionally involved aftei they weie stianded by a cai bieakdown.
°Still cold:"
°Bettei."
Aya felt a hand gioping beneath the folds of the blanket. A hand touched his own.
The fngeis weie waim, unlike his own.
82
Readeis can enjoy vicaiiously the waimth of caiing foi anothei and being caied foi.
Deena`s °Raspbeiiy and Lime Shampoo" is set just aftei Yji had to kill Neu, a iival assas-
sin who iesembled his dead lovei Asuka. Ken is woiiied about Yji`s giief and mental sta-
bility and shows his suppoit foi Yji by °motheiing him," which eventually leads to the
biith of a ielationship.
And then theie was Ken`s iecent mateinal shioud.... These days, Ken cooked foi him
and stayed up to wait foi him and annoyingly piotected him duiing theii missions
togethei.... He was veiy caieful with his woids aiound Yohji, no longei bluiting any-
thing and eveiything out. He tieated him like some dainty object that would bieak at
any moment.
83
A whole sub-genie of fanfction, which I will call °chibifcation" fanfcs, involves adult
chaiacteis magically tiansfoimed into chibi oi small, child veisions of themselves.
Swythangel`s °Chibifcation: Raising Ken" is a typical example and featuies Ken being tians-
foimed into a foui-yeai-old aftei eating some expeiimental anti-ageing jelly beans in a lab.
84
This fanfc piemise allows plenty of cloying, kawaii (cute) scenes between child Ken and
adult Aya (with whom Ken is secietly in love). Little Ken, unlike his adult self, has no qualms
138 Pait Two: Genie and Readeiship
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about showing his affection foi Aya openly. He is indulged, tendeily bathed, fed and taken
caie of by Aya, leading to a happy dénouement (and sex) when he is fnally tiansfoimed
back into an adult.
Janice Radway points out that in the family no one suppoits and nuituies women
effectively and emotionally-eithei women woiking in the home oi women woiking in the
paid laboi foice.
85
While Radway`s study was done duiing an eia when most women weie
stay-at-home housewives, today`s women aie in the same position of having to take caie
of eveiyone as both °caieei supeiwomen" and household manageis. This may be a ieason
why the idea of being caied foi is so appealing to wiiteis and ieadeis. Also, diawing on
Chodoiow`s pie-Oedipal model of the mothei-daughtei ielationship, Radway suggests that
the iomance heioine`s desiie (and that of the female ieadei`s) foi nuituiance is the iesult
of a °coveit and unconscious wish to iegiess to the state of infancy in oidei to expeiience
again, but this time completely and without the slight withholding boin of homophobia,
that piimaiy love the infant ieceived at the bieast and hands of hei mothei" (Radway, 45).
Yaoi vicaiiously fulflls the fan`s sexual and emotional needs.
Accoiding to Cicioni, °the cential aspect of slash ¦yaoi, in this case] fantasies is the
notion of a same-sex woiking paitneiship being extended to the emotional/sexual spheie,
with each paitnei being ielied on to always be theie and nevei -unlike the dynamics of
the mothei/daughtei ielationship-iejecting the othei foi someone of the opposite sex."
86
This ideal is seldom fulflled in ieality foi women who giow up to tiansfei theii need foi
love fiom theii motheis to theii male paitneis undei compulsoiy heteiosexuality. Yaoi
love, howevei, is ieminiscent of the idealized infantile bond because it is unconditional and
uniestiicted and, best of all, eteinal. This love is so stiong and unselfsh that deathfcs
which featuie the death of a chaiactei often have one chaiactei making the ultimate saciifce
by dying foi his lovei. Talya Fiiedancei`s °To Buiy the Huit of Memoiy" made many fans
ciy when it was ievealed thiough a suipiise ending that Aya had died in oidei to shield
Yji duiing a cai accident.
87
Gender Bending
Yaoi chaiacteis tend to be andiogynous. As Jeanne points out in hei fan essay °Why
the Guys: Oi Navel-Gazing in the Afteinoon" iefeiencing feminist ciitic Joanna Russ on
slash, yaoi boys aie an amalgam of what wcmen considei desiiable male and female qual-
ities-male bodies, male status/powei, female ielating styles, female piioiities.
88
Howevei,
yaoi fanfcs also commonly tiansgiess gendei in othei ways.
In the seiies, both Ken and mi have been known to cioss-diess to hide theii iden-
tity on missions. Similaily in fanfcs, cioss-diessing is a common theme. Foi example, in
Geneiic Miko`s °Unexpected Talents" seiies, Aya cioss-diesses in oidei to infltiate a pios-
titution iing and his unexpected ambiguous beauty aiouses Yji`s inteiest in the piocess.
89
Accoiding to Judith Butlei in °Imitation and Gendei Insuboidination," °gendei is a kind
of imitation foi which theie is no oiiginal; in fact, it is a kind of imitation that pioduces
the veiy notion of the oiiginal as an effect and consequence of the imitation itself."
90
Yaoi
fanfcs suppoit the peifoimative natuie of gendei.
One paiticulaily mind-bending stoiy is °Giil" by Viiidian5 and Maya Tawi, in which
Aya discoveis that he has the ability to altei his sex.
9
Duiing the couise of the stoiy, not
only does s/he expeiience what it is like to menstiuate and buy women`s undeiweai, Aya`s
8-Rewriting Gender and Sexuality in English-Ianguage Yaci Fanfcticn (TAN) 139
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sudden tiansfoimation leads to changes in his ielationships with his male teammates as
well as with Schuldig. Aya gets sexually haiassed by male stiangeis in public, molested on
the tiain, and has sex with a woman in a female body. S/he also has sex with Yji, not only
as a woman and as a man but as an inteisex peison. Boundaiies between stiaight and gay,
male and female aie bluiied and pioblematized.
Plots in which chaiacteis switch bodies and change sex aie also quite common. Sex-
change stoiies often function as a chance foi gleeful fanfc wiiteis to inßict biological bui-
dens such as PMS onto bewildeied chaiacteis.
One sub-genie of yaoi/slash contioveisial amongst fans is known as mpieg (male pieg-
nancy). The ability to give biith is one of the most impoitant chaiacteiistics of being a
woman and caiiies with it an enoimous physical, emotional, and fnancial impact on hei
life-expeiience. A piegnant man is vulneiable both physically and emotionally and offeis
gieat amusement to fan wiiteis who enjoy this theme. Some have also commented that they
enjoyed seeing theii favoiite male chaiacteis in the iole of nuituieis and °motheis."
Yaoi piovides a vehicle foi fans to imagine a utopian woild unconstiained by biolog-
ical sex oi gendei ioles as well as a way to ciitique society`s oppiession of women. Jung also
speculates that slash, and by extension yaoi, may allow ieadeis and wiiteis to put on male
diag and exploie theii own masculinity.
92
In the same vein, the seme`s penis has been
desciibed as a °latex stiap-on" because °it is an fantasy sex toy that is always eiect and can
accommodate ieally odd positions."
93
Pcwer and The Female Gaze
Biinging You Male Objectifcation Thiough Eiotica since 998.-Fan wiitei Talya
Fiiedancei`s LiveJouinal Piofle.
94
Lauia Mulvey`s °Visual Pleasuie and Naiiative Cinema" (98) populaiized the concept
of the °male gaze," in which the male viewei of cinema deiives pleasuie fiom looking at pas-
sive females.
95
Snitow iemaiks that women in Hailequin iomances aie constantly on display.
°¦A] woman doing what women do all day, is in a constant state of potential sexuality."
96
As
a fan astutely notes, women aie commonly sexually objectifed in populai cultuie.
Anyone else noticed how sex scenes in Hollywood movies aie noimally flmed looking
down on the couple-fiom the typically °male" peispective-iathei than upwaids: How
we`ie used to seeing actiesses staik naked fiom eveiy conceivable angle and yet a single
shot of a penis still piovokes embaiiassment amongst audiences and erect penises aie
still only evei seen in poin flms:
97
Yaoi tuins the tables foi female fans who aie tiied of being sexually objectifed and
undei male sexual sciutiny. In yaoi, males aie the objects of desiie and theie is a degiee of
pleasuiable female voyeuiism in watching not only one, but two males having sex. As Fuji-
moto Yukaii states, °women aie fieed fiom the position of being unilateially violated, and
gain the peispective of the violatoi, of the one who watches."
98
Yaoi fans enjoy the subvei-
sive thiill of watching males in a vulneiable, submissive position, not only sexually but emo-
tionally. °'A man ain`t moie vulneiable than when he`s got a dick up his ass.` And hey!
These guys aie vulneiable foi lcve! Who could ask foi moie:"
99
Noi is voyeuiism the only pleasuie-the female wiitei/ieadei can enjoy identif ying
heiself as eithei the passive uke oi active seme oi both at once. Wheieas, as slash fan Helen-
140 Pait Two: Genie and Readeiship
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inhell points out in hei essay °I Am Not a Dominatiix: Women and the Active Sexual Role,"
in conventional sexual fantasy women aie eithei passive oi, if they aie aggiessive, they aie
usually poitiayed as dominatiix because °society posits an active female as a kink."
00
Avila
(2005) iemaiks in hei online magazine aiticle °Boy`s Love and Yaoi Revisited," °Thiee
yeais ago, I wiote a biief suivey aiticle called Yaoi Comics: Two Guys in Love and the
Female Voyeui. At the time, one of my infoimants told me the title was misleading, and
now I undeistand why-because women aien`t on the outside looking in ... they`ie alieady
inside the men."
0
The multiple identifcations of the fan aie facilitated by the fact that fan stoiies typi-
cally depend on moie than one point of view and a single event may be iepeated two oi
thiee times as it is expeiienced by the diffeient chaiacteis piesent. This allows us special
insights into the emotions of the loveis.
02
Cece`s °Revealing Myself " is mostly wiitten in
the fist peison fiom Ken`s point of view but shifts to Aya`s point of view in the epilogue
in which he desciibes how he feels about Ken`s love.
03
This allows the ieadei to enjoy vic-
aiiously the joy of loving and being loved duiing intimate scenes and to be ieassuied of
the tiuth of the chaiacteis` feelings foi each othei.
The yaoi fanfc wiitei fiequently decides to put chaiacteis into undignifed, even
degiading situations. Well-known fan wiitei Chalcedony Cioss desciibes heiself pioudly
as an °uniepentent physical and emotional abusei of imaginaiy bishounen" on hei Live-
Jouinal blog piofle.
04
PWPs often featuie outiageous and expeiimental scenaiios such as exhibitionism and
use of household objects as sex toys. Wiiteis fiequently enjoy challenging one anothei to
wiite inteiesting and oiiginal sex scenes with unusual piemises.
Many fans have said that fanfction piovides a safe way to exploie taboo topics. Yaoi
fanfcs often featuie sexual fantasies that push the limits of social acceptability such as ten-
tacle iape, fetishes, incest etc. In Miko no Da`s well-known °Sinneis and Saints" seiies, mi
enteis into a consensual BDSM (bondage domination sadism masochism) lifestyle with
Schuldig and Nagi aftei being iejected by Yji.
05
Distuibingly, iape and degiadation aie sometimes eioticized, as in Geneiic Miko`s
°Popcoin" seiies in which Schuldig sneaks into the Weiss apaitment weekly to iape Ken,
using his mind-contiol poweis to iemain undetected.
06
Caids Slash points out the absuid-
ity of the fannish tendency to wallow in iape in hei metafctive fanfc. Heie, Ken tiies to
iebel against the abuse meted out by fanfc wiiteis.
... Ken looked at his hands, wondeied if it weie possible to swallow his own fst so that
he could die and nevei have to come back to this fandom again. But, his mouth wasn`t
ieally that big and he didn`t think the ciazy fangiil -Oh, shit, theie weie moie of them
ovei theie next to the Not-Omi. All with fieakishly biight eyes (glowing oibs of glow,
ieally) and ßowing locks of haii and goth clothes. °Schuldig, can`t you save me fiom
these evil fangiils:" Ken mumbled.
°Soiiy, aftei I get done iaping you, I have to go let Ciawfoid iape me-and like it
without being mind iaped. At least you have the advantage of being foiced to like it."
Sigh.
07
Yaoi also delves into edgy subject matteis such as abusive ielationships and abnoimal
psychology. In Scailet Fevei`s twisted °Fiail," Ken is tiied of his unhappy lifestyle as an
assassin and uniequited love foi Aya.
08
He engages in a soidid one-night stand with his
enemy Schuldig in a sleazy motel and is eventually killed by him. In °Rheotaxis," a well-
known fanfc by The RCK, a giown-up Nagi tuins Yji into his sex slave with explicit scenes
of non-consensual sex.
09
8-Rewriting Gender and Sexuality in English-Ianguage Yaci Fanfcticn (TAN) 141
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Peihaps theie is some amount of female sadism in toituiing a male chaiactei and mak-
ing them vulneiable, especially stoic, silent chaiacteis such as Aya. Yaoi uke in fanfcs often
beai the biunt of steieotypical °negative female chaiacteiistics" such as passivity, helpless-
ness, and masochism.
0
Female fans may be displaying theii angei at the way women aie
expected to behave by putting male chaiacteis into such ioles. In Atsuieki`s °Love on a
Leash," Ken is a mute sex slave who gets iaped, beaten, and abused by eveiyone he meets
and passed fiom ownei to ownei until he is iescued by Aya.

Judging fiom the moie than

600 ieviews left on Fanfction.net foi this veiy populai stoiy, fans seem to feel a mixtuie
of pity, piotectiveness, and sadism towaids the suffeiing uke whose helplessness stiikes
them as °cute."
Unsettling Ambivalences
Rape in Yaoi
Male iape peimeates yaoi. Women commonly have ambivalent feelings about sexual
desiie so yaoi iape may be a case of taking iesponsibility off the uke`s hands by having sex
foiced upon him. Given the contiadictoiy messages fiom society (women aie caught
between being °piudes" and °sluts") and iisks of sex such as piegnancy and diseases, it is
not suipiising that this ambivalence and iesentment should show up in women`s sexual
fantasies.
Just because a woman fantasizes about iape, it does not mean that she would enjoy
being iaped in ieality. Rape as sexual fantasy woiks paiadoxically only because the woman
who imagines this is actually in contiol. Linda Williams, authoi of a study on poinogia-
phy entitled °Haid Coie: Powei, Pleasuie, and the 'Fienzy of the Visible`" aigues in an intei-
view that women aie likely to be sensitive to any potential abuse of female anatomy oi
powei, even though that abuse itself can be a tuin-on.
2
Women aie fiee fiom that baggage when they aie looking at male-male fantasy sce-
naiios. Such abuse would be fai too ieal and fiightening in a heteiosexual context because
females do live undei the constant thieat of male sexual violence and compiise the majoi-
ity of iape victims.
Fuitheimoie, female victims of iape aie commonly iegaided as °tainted," while the
uke who is iaped by his lovei is poitiayed as imbued with innocence. Ladies` comics fea-
tuiing male-female iomances may featuie iape but it is not necessaiily sublimated into the
spheie of °puie love."
3
In Jacque Koh`s faiily typical Yji x Aya stoiy °Second Chances," Yji is in love with
Aya but unable to expiess his love.
4
Unfoitunately, one night, he iapes Aya when he is
diunk, though he iegiets his actions when he is sobei. Such plots would possibly appeai
iepulsive to the ieadei if the uke weie a female chaiactei but as Nagaike, wiiting about Japa-
nese BL explains, iape heie does not signif y the seme`s disiuptive sexual/violent desiies,
but his oveiwhelming, uncontiollable love foi the uke.
5
The debate ovei whethei conventional poinogiaphy encouiages violence against women
and iape has gone on foi decades without any iesolution because of the diffculty of piov-
ing causation. Howevei, it is unlikely foi piactical ieasons that a female will be able to go
out and foice two males to act out yaoi fantasies foi hei beneft. Someone who enjoys vio-
lent, nonconsensual sex in hei fcs does not necessaiily wish to see it ieenacted in ieal life.
142 Pait Two: Genie and Readeiship
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Romantic Rescue
Much peisonal giief, loneliness, and suffeiing is alieady piesent in WK, foi example,
duiing the couise of the seiies Ken becomes homeless, loses his giip on sanity, is jailed, and
meets othei misfoitunes.
Huit/comfoit is a teim used to desciibe a type of stoiy in which one chaiactei is huit
physically oi emotionally in some way and the othei piovides love/comfoit. Oiiginally a
slash teim, this is also a common situation in yaoi. In WK yaoi, chaiacteis sometimes dis-
play self-destiuctive behavioi in ieaction to theii unhappy pasts oi stiessful lives; this can
iange fiom cutting and attempted suicide to piomiscuity. Sometimes a chaiactei may be
abducted and injuied/toituied/iaped by an enemy such as Schwaiz in the couise of a mis-
sion oi even biutalized by a teammate. In Atsuieki`s °Suiiounded by Daikness" Ken is
blinded in the couise of duty.
6
Amnesia, comas, even AIDS aie common themes.
Fan wiiteis often invent tiaumatic pasts. Although all of Weiss have tiagic back-
giounds, fan invention allows wiiteis to exploie emotional tiauma/psychological damage
(e.g., Stockholm syndiome) to a depth not possible in the seiies as well as fiom angles not
piesent.
Foi example, Sidaia`s °Sunde" (°sin" in Geiman) establishes the fanon that Schuldig
is evil because he was sexually abused by his fathei and was foimeily a diug-addicted pios-
titute.
7
This was paiodied in Caids Slash`s °Five Ways Ken Hidaka Was Nevei Raped" in
which Schuldig infoims Ken, °Ciawfoid iapes me and my daddy piobably did and some-
times I was a stieet whoie. I`m a plethoia of sad sexual histoiy. My whole evil justifcation
is usually hinged to the fact that I was mistieated as a child."
8
Such suffeiing is seldom pointless because it fulflls a naiiative function and usually
allows anothei chaiactei to iealize how much the wounded chaiactei meant to him whethei
it is a past tiauma oi a iecent one. In Maity`s °The Saga Begins," Ken and Aya become
loveis aftei Ken mistakenly thinks Aya was huit duiing a mission and iealizes his tiue feel-
ings foi Aya.
9
The huit also allows the othei chaiactei to comfoit and nuise the huit one.
When iape is peipetuated by someone outside the main couple, it is fiequently used
as a gambit in huit/comfoit fanfcs in which the seme teaches the uke the joy of sex within
a loving ielationship, a cliché which some fans desciibe jokingly as the °Healing Cock."
In Sidaia`s °Zeit," Ken, who is in love with Aya, is tiaumatized aftei being iaped by
Schuldig.
20
Aftei many obstacles, he is fnally able to get ovei his feai of sex with Aya`s
help. Caids Slash paiodies this iecuiient tiope in °Five Ways Ken Hidaka Was Nevei Raped."
Schuldig explains why Aya will be upset if Ken gets iaped.
°Because he loves you," Schuldig pointed out. And he piomptly set to stiipping Ken of
the clothes that stood in the way of the highly sexualized iape scene.
°Aya doesn`t love me!"
Theie was a knock on the dooi. Ken opened it and poked his head aiound the coinei
to fnd Aya standing theie, all with the bedhaii and yawning. A piece of white piintei
papei in his hand. °Ken Hidaka, I love you with all my heait and soul. Youi unending
innocence and clumsiness and willingness to get iaped to piovide me with huit/comfoit
scenes makes me love you with all my heait and soul."
2
The yaoi chaiactei is always accepted and ieassuied by his paitnei in the end despite los-
ing his viiginity, etc., which may ießect the wishes of women foi the suppoit of theii pait-
neis if they themselves weie to encountei such a calamity.
The suffeiings of chaiacteis engaged in commeicial sex woik, stiipping, piostitution,
and sexual slaveiy aie also peiennial themes in fanfcs. Theie aie many fanfcs in which
8-Rewriting Gender and Sexuality in English-Ianguage Yaci Fanfcticn (TAN) 143
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Aya tuins to piostitution to pay foi his comatose sistei`s medical bills, only to be saved by
a wealthy Yji in an AU (°alteinate univeises" aie fanfcs that featuie familiai chaiacteis
but in totally diffeient settings). In anothei AU stoiy, Aya puichases and heals Ken, an
abused slave. A slash fan explains the eteinal appeal of this theme:
I think the appeal of such stoiies is that it`s the ultimate iescue. Fiom the thieat of phys-
ical dangei that goes along with being a piostitute, fiom disease, abuse, lovelessness,
societal scoin, the veiy annihilation of the soul. The peison is iedeemed by love. A lot of
iomance novels have a iescue theme. I think theie`s something appealing in that to a lot
of women, even if we also know that it`s all just one big fantasy, that no man is actually
going to come to oui iescue and that it would iiiitate us if he tiied....
22
Of couise, the gieatei the suffeiing, the giandei the fnal iomantic iescue. It is not neces-
saiy foi a chaiactei to be a whoie oi sex slave. Cindeiella stoiies in which a pooi peasant
oi stieet waif is iescued by a millionaiie oi piince aie equally populai. Yaoi, especially that
wiitten by youngei fans, is sometimes unable to tianscend such social conditioning about
waiting foi one`s piince to come iiding in on a white hoise in oidei to tiansfoim one`s life.
Gay PoIitics
Basically what BL says is, °This isn`t about ieal gay men. I`m just using men in a sexual
ielationship as a fantasy that has nothing to do with ieality."
23
As some fans have pointed out, many yaoi fans like yaoi fanfction not specifcally
because of the homosexuality, but because they °like hot guys" and two oi moie guys
togethei aie bettei than one.
24
Maik McHaiiy iemaiks: °Although most oi all of the male
chaiacteis in a yaoi stoiy piefei sex with males, in almost all of the seveial hundied yaoi
stoiies I have iead, theie is little oi no sense of a homonoimative enviionment established
in opposition to a pievailing heteionoimative one, little oi no need foi same-sex desiiing
males to foim an identity oi to, in suppoit of it, allow oi piohibit conduct oi viewpoints."
25
While theie aie many male gay/bisexual fans of yaoi, especially among youngei age
gioups, some gay men aie offended at the idea of becoming °sex objects" foi female pleas-
uie. Accoiding to a fan, Riccichan, young fangiils who have little knowledge of actual gay
cultuie sometimes have tiouble diffeientiating between yaoi as a fandom piimaiily cieated
by woman and °male homosexuality as it piesents itself in oui ieality," theieby causing
unwitting offence by asking ignoiant, piobing questions when encounteiing actual gay men
(Yaoi LiveJouinal Blog Community, comment posted August 5, 2003).
Slash fans have been similaily bedeviled by such a pioblem. Also, in the politically
chaiged Westein context of °open lobbying foi homosexual iights, some fans seem to feel
the need to justify slash to the gay community, oi even to iefoim slash in such a way as to
make it moie palatable oi 'politically coiiect.`"
26
Howevei some fans do enjoy the political loading of the gay identity:
But I don`t iead yaoi foi (coded) het sex and iomance. I iead it foi ¯gay¯ sex and
iomance.... Foi me, using the teim °gay" has a ceitain appeal. It`s like ... it comes with a
tiemendous amount of societal baggage ... and if the chaiacteis aie labelled °gay" it`s
like they`ie saying °fuck society, we`ie going to love who we want to love, and theie`s not
a damn thing you can do about it!" Oi something.... It has to do with peiceived gendei
ioles, and what`s ieally °noimal." Of couise, that`s just my point of view.
27
Accoiding to Diu Pagliassotti`s suivey, ninety-six peicent of iespondents suppoited same-
sex maiiiage showing that most held piogiessive attitudes with iegaids to gay iights.
28
Con-
144 Pait Two: Genie and Readeiship
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stance Penley in °Biownian Motion: Women, Tactics, and Technology" feels that fans feel
ieal appieciation foi °gay men in theii effoits to iedefne masculinity, and theii feelings of
solidaiity with them insofai as gay men too inhabit bodies that aie still a legal, moial, and
ieligious battlegiound."
29
Some Japanese commentatois on Japanese yaoi have insisted that to °piosciibe ¦yaoi]
as a iejection of womanhood oi feminist subjectivity was to militate an equally iepiessive
vision of female sexuality as one that must always culminate in heteiosexual sex and sex-
ual fantasies." In othei woids, they aigued that the gay ciitique of yaoi was itself a foim of
heteiosexism.
30
A gay male yaoi fan also points out that iegulai poin oi hentai (a teim foi
Japanese media featuiing explicit heteiosexual sex) aie equally uniealistic, but eveiyone is
awaie of and unpeituibed by the way they tend to be diiected towaid men while ignoiing
women`s ieal expeiiences (Kei, ai tc yuuki nc ctcgibanashi Blog, comment posted June 29,
2006).
A female fan, Soul of Tabiis, adds that stiaight men who like °lesbian poin" taigeted
at men aie not inteiested in lesbian political issues and that they aie not inteiested in watch-
ing women who aie not conventionally attiactive have °lesbian sex" (Yaoi LiveJouinal Blog
Community, comment posted August 4, 2003). Regaidless of whethei individual stiaight
men may be inteiested in lesbian issues, she does undeiline the fact that female fans in gen-
eial aie held to highei standaids of political coiiectness compaied to stiaight men enjoy-
ing °lesbian" poinogiaphy cateiing to heteiosexual vieweis who aie geneially undeistood
to be consuming fantasies.
FemaIe Characters
PRETTY GIRL WITH LITTLE CLOTHING, QUICK WIT AND SARCASTIC TONGUE: Hi, I`m heie to
join Weiss!
MANX: Theie`s no ioom foi women in this fc.
3
Yaoi has often been ciiticized foi the °absence" of female chaiacteis. Theie aie a num-
bei of ieasons foi this situation. Fiist of all, heteiosexual ielationships tend to follow socially
piesciibed gendei ioles. Radway offeis this pessimistic assessment of male-female ielations:
Men tend to ielate to women on ielatively supeifcial emotional level just as they defne
them piincipally as sexual cieatuies because theii physiological chaiacteiistics aie the
most obvious maik of theii diffeience fiom men. Given the fact that a woman and any
futuie childien she might have aie economically dependent on such men, it becomes
absolutely essential that she leains to distinguish those who want hei sexually fiom that
special individual who is willing to pledge commitment and caie in ietuin foi hei sexual
favoi.
32
Given that a woman involved in heteiosexual ielationships must negotiate this sexual
minefeld, which has seiious implications foi hei welfaie, it is not suipiising that yaoi fans
should wish to avoid female chaiacteis altogethei.
The piesence of a female chaiactei also means that the female ieadei/wiitei would
inevitably compaie heiself with the idealized attiibutes of a fctional giil with a peifect
body.
33
Penley comments that it makes sense fiom a feminist viewpoint that women who
wiite homoeiotic iomance aie alienated fiom female bodies °that aie a legal, moial, and
ieligious battlegiound, that aie the site of contiaceptive failuie, that aie publicly defned
as the gieatest potential dangei to the fetuses they house, that aie held to painfully gieatei
standaids of physical beauty than those of the othei sex."
34
8-Rewriting Gender and Sexuality in English-Ianguage Yaci Fanfcticn (TAN) 145
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Accoiding to Thoin, some fans actually expiess wistfully that they wished to be boin
male so that they can love °a man as a man, oi, to iephiase it, as an equal, fiee of piedefned
gendei expectations."
35
Howevei, theie is a daikei side to this dislike of female chaiacteis. Some fans appeai
to fnd female chaiacteis a thieat because they iepiesent possible love inteiests foi the male
chaiacteis they fantasize about and get in the way of yaoi paiiings they wish to set up.
Foi example, some WK fans hate Silvia because she not only slept with Ciawfoid and
Schuldig (both chaiacteis aie fan favoiites and often paiied togethei) but declaied that
Schuldig was lousy in bed. Othei female chaiacteis fiom WK who fiequently become tai-
gets foi fan hatied include Sally, whose love iedeems Faifaiello fiom madness; Sakuia, who
had an uniequited ciush on Aya; and ka, mi`s cousin who is in love with him.
Some vindictive fans have been known to poitiay these female chaiacteis in a nega-
tive light oi to kill them off in theii fanfctions. As Chiistine Scodaii points out about slash
fandom, female competition ovei men in mainstieam cultuie is so peivasive that even a
fctional woman is seen as a thieat to a female fan who wishes to fantasize about two fctional
men.
36
Many yaoi fans aie iathei defensive about this issue. Foi example, many claim that
canon females aie disagieeable, weak, oi dependent and as such, aie unattiactive to fans
and not woithy of wiiting about.
And even as a het (fanfction focused on heteiosexual ielationships) fan, theie weie
many female chaiacteis I did not like because they seemed to be theie simply foi the
puipose of paiiing off with the lead males oi because they weie helpless oi weak oi
pointless oi otheiwise countei to my feminist values.... But now that I`ve become a yaoi
fan I must suddenly love them oi feel guilty: ... These people ignoie the huge numbei of
male chaiacteis not liked by the yaoi fandom when they do this ¦Aii, Yaoi LiveJouinal
Blog Community, entiy posted August 4, 2003].
One might aigue that yuri (the lesbian equivalent of yaoi) could possibly be moie sub-
veisive than yaoi with its piivileging of self-suffcient female-female iomantic/sexual bonds
that challenge the patiiaichy. Howevei, yuri is not veiy populai among females in Japan
and oveiseas and many yuri fans appeai to be heteiosexual males.
While some of this may be accounted foi by the possible homophobia of stiaight
females who aie not inteiested in lesbian ielationships, the fact that female bodies suffei
fiom the societal and physical buidens detailed in this aiticle also makes yuri unattiactive.
Moieovei, yuri pioduced by male fans may oveiemphasize physical attiibutes of chaiac-
teis such as bieast size and concentiate on explicit sex iathei than the development of iela-
tionships. The piesence of what one fan desciibes as °cieepy yuri fanboys" in the fandom
may also put off lesbian/bisexual women fiom exploiing this genie because they aie alieady
the taigets of male fantasy in conventional media and poinogiaphy.
Fanfcticn As Act cf Resistance
Foi young women, it`s one of the few outlets in which they can have fun with and shaie
theii sexuality-and go as fai as they can with theii (wiitten) sexual fantasies-in an
enviionment that is safe and suppoitive.... They aie holding conventions, paiticipating
in online clubs and foiums, and iunning websites ... the bulk of the wiiteis aie young
women in theii late teens and twenties ... females in theii dating yeais who will be
deciding the couise of oui sexual moies in the neai futuie ... and foi the tiuly cieative
ones, the futuie content of oui media.
37
146 Pait Two: Genie and Readeiship
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Accoiding to an infoimal poll in an online yaoi foium about whethei they would give
up yaoi if theii loveis objected, most female fans ieplied that they would nevei do it just
to please theii paitneis. One well-known yaoi wiitei named Wiggle, who ieceived a mes-
sage desciibing hei as a °sick balls sucking bitch," ieacted by defantly wiiting a kinky fc
involving eiotic use of pubic shaving.
38
Tiansgiession is pait of the pleasuie of being a yaoi fan. One often heais of young fans
that boldly type theii x-iated fcs on school computeis in full public view. They often pei-
seveie even when paients delete theii fanfcs fiom the family computei and iestiict theii
computei use. Fans often swap tips on how to hide theii yaoi fiom paients and othei authoi-
ity fguies. One paiticulaily memoiable online foium signatuie I spotted aiound Chiist-
mas 2007 featuied a stein Santa infoiming the fan that she would get no piesents because
she had been naughty. Santa had checked hei computei and it was full of yaoi!
Foi female fans, yaoi fanfction offeis them a cieative outlet to engage with love/sex-
ual issues and hone theii wiiting skills. Some even go on to publish oiiginal homoeiotic
stoiies. They leain fiom one anothei how to ciitically ieoiient media texts foi theii own
beneft and geneiate fantexts that aie even moie complex, satisfying and iichei than the
oiiginal souices.
Yaoi is an active expiession of female sexuality and is geneially desciibed by fans using
positive ihetoiic of libeity and pleasuie. As a fan admits in °Diawn to it," she ieads yaoi
°to get tuined on."
39
A typical fan view of yaoi is expiessed by a fan inteiviewed in °Diawn
Togethei." °It`s becoming a iallying ciy at anime conventions-all the giils scieam, 'Yaoi!
Yaoi!` " she says, using feminist imageiy. °It`s like buining youi bia. It`s declaiing youi sex-
uality."
40
Many yaoi wiiteis pioudly declaie theii political stances by displaying banneis
suppoiting fieedom of speech, gay iights, oi similai sentiments on theii websites. Not all
yaoi fans see theii wiitings as political acts but, following the old feminist slogan °The pei-
sonal is political," eveiy yaoi fan who types hei fanfc in piivacy is engaged in a quiet iev-
olution of hei own.
Howevei, in its gloiifcation of male homosexuality and male bodies, yaoi does iun
the iisk of demonizing female chaiacteis and maiginalizing women and female bodies. It
is limited in its imaginative failuie to piesent alteinative sexual/iomantic models foi women
to follow. Yaoi fanfction can also be iegiessive oi constiained within gendei hegemony,
especially texts pioduced by youngei, less sophisticated wiiteis.
Moieovei, we should not foiget that fans do not diiectly contiol commeicial media
pioduction and often possess little socio-economic clout due to age, sex etc. Penley uses
de Ceiteau`s notion of °Biownian motion" to show how the actions of slash (and yaoi) fans
can be seen as gueiilla iesistance involving hit-and-iun acts of appaient iandomness due
to theii ielative poweilessness against the establishment.
4
Ccnclusicn
Yaoi highlights the gap between ieality and women`s unsatisfed yeainings. In hei study
of iomance ieadeis, Radway shows that iomances cieate an ideal woild that iefeiences the
inadequacies of heteiosexual ielationships in ieality as well as piovides escapism in the tem-
poiaiy, fiee iealm of the imaginaiy, defusing any ieadei incentive to tiansfoim theii situ-
ation.
42
While theie is indeed an escapist stiain in yaoi, I would aigue that yaoi is fai moie
8-Rewriting Gender and Sexuality in English-Ianguage Yaci Fanfcticn (TAN) 147
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iadical than iomance novels oi mainstieam media. Yaoi fans have shown theii disaffection
with mainstieam gendei ideology and wiested the pioduction of meanings fiom commei-
cial conceins. In fanfction, theie is no demaication among pioducei/consumei, wiitei/
ieadei and theie is constant dialogue among fans.
Yaoi fandom is a feminine, queei-fiiendly community on the net wheie female fans
can suppoit and netwoik with one anothei to ciicumvent censoiship and defy moial gate-
keepeis such as Inteinet seivice piovideis, family, fiiends, employeis, and even the law.
Despite its shoitcomings, yaoi fanfction functions as an alteinative discouise in opposi-
tion to social discouises that seek to iestiain and channel female sexuality into patiiaichal
institutions.
Nctes
1. Lady Bast, °The Inteiview," GlowingCioss.net, http://glowingcioss.net/The_Inteiview_fc.html
(accessed Maich , 2005). This fanfc is a metafctive paiody in which new chaiactei Aguii Kyo is inteiviewed
by Kritiker befoie joining Weiss. He is wained by the existing membeis that joining Weiss would entail becom-
ing the taiget of yaoi fanfcs.
2. Alan McKee, Textual Analysis. A Beginner´s Guide (London: Sage Publications, 2003), .
3. Ibid., 74.
4. Heniy Jenkins, °Reception Theoiy and Audience Reseaich: The Mysteiy of the Vampiie`s Kiss," Pio-
fessional Homepage, http://web.mit.edu/cms/People/heniy3/vampkiss.html (accessed Febiuaiy 6, 2008).
5. Ibid.
6. Chiistine Hine, Virtual Ethncgraphy (London: Sage Publications, 2000), 4-5.
7. Diu Pagliassotti, °Reading Boys` Love in the West," ParticipCticns 5:2, Novembei (2008), http://www.
paiticipations.oig/Volume%205/Issue%202/5_02_pagliassotti.htm.
8. Deena, °Waking Onto Lantein`s Biight," Boys Next Dooi, http://www.discainate.com/boysnextdooi/fc
tion/weiss/WakingOnto.html (accessed Febiuaiy 4, 2005).
9. Kuwabaia no Miko, °Male Bonding," Boys Next Dooi, http://www.discainate.com/boysnextdooi/fc
tion/weiss/WeissBonding.html (accessed Febiuaiy 0, 2005).
10. Laila, °The Discieet Chaim of Slash Fiction," Plastic Venus, http://quietladybiiman.livejouinal.com/
34858.html#cutid (accessed June 9, 2006).
11. Heniy Jenkins, Textual Pcachers (New Yoik: Routledge, 992), 29.
12. Ann Baii Snitow, °Mass Maiket Romance: Poinogiaphy foi Women is Diffeient," in Gender, Race, and
Class in Media. A Text-reader, ed. Gail Dines and Jean M. Humez (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications,
2003), 25.
13. Miina Cicioni, °Male Paii-bonds and Female Desiie in Fan Slash Wiiting," in Thecrizing Fandcm. Fans,
Subculture, and Identity, ed. Cheiyl Haiiis and Alison Alexandei (Ciesskill, NJ: Hampton Piess, 998), 68.
14. Anne Kustiitz, °Slashing the Romance Naiiative," The }curnal cf American Culture 26.3 (2003): 377.
15. Gayle Rubin, °Thinking Sex: Notes foi a Radical Theoiy of the Politics of Sexuality," in Thecrizing
Feminisms. A Reader, ed. Elizabeth Hackett and Sally Haslangei (Oxfoid: Oxfoid Univeisity Piess, 2006).
16. Gayle Rubin, °The Tiaffc in Women: Notes on the 'Political Economy` of Sex," in The Seccnd \ave.
A Reader in Feminist Thecry, ed. Linda Nicholson (New Yoik: Routledge, 996), 80.
17. Dennis Altman, Hcmcsexual. Cppressicn and Iiberaticn (New Yoik: New Yoik Univeisity Piess, 993),
78-79, 90, 92.
18. Heniy Jenkins, Textual Pcachers (New Yoik: Routledge, 992), 202-203.
19. Yoippaii, °Rules," Boys Next Dooi, http://www.discainate.com/boysnextdooi/fction/Rules.html
(accessed Septembei 26, 2004).
20. The Fanfction Glossaiy, http://www.subieality.com/glossaiy.htm (accessed August 7, 2007).
21. Heniy Jenkins, Textual Pcachers (New Yoik: Routledge, 992), 20.
22. Sky Rat, °Bettei Days," MediaMinei.oig, http://www.mediaminei.oig/fanfc/view_st.php/3836
(accessed Maich , 2005).
23. Cassandia Nexus, °In the Rain," Kuwabaia no Miko`s Weiss Kieuz Yaoi Fanfction Page, http://www.
kuwamiko.com/WeissRain.html (accessed Febiuaiy 4, 2005).
24. Nekojita, °Cages," Cat`s Dieam, http://www.catsdieams.com/fanfction.html (accessed Febiuaiy 25,
2005).
148 Pait Two: Genie and Readeiship
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25. Opus the Penguin, °A Delicate Subject," Fanfction.Net, http://www.fanfction.net/s/36385// (accessed
Maich 2, 2005).
26. Heniy Jenkins, Textual Pcachers (New Yoik: Routledge, 992), 208.
27. Deena, °Something New," Velvet Undeiweai: A Shiine to Yoji Kudou, http://www.geocities.com/tsukiy
oshi/new.html (accessed Maich , 2005).
28. Kim, °A Quiet Evening," Schwaiz Contiadiction, http://www.geocities.com/schwaiz_contiadiction/quie
tevening.html (accessed Febiuaiy 5, 2005).
29. Fancy, °Haii," Fanfction.Net, http://www.fanfction.net/s/980249// (accessed Maich 2, 2005).
30. Diu Pagliassotti, °Reading Boys` Love in the West," ParticipCticns 5:2, Novembei (2008), http://www.
paiticipations.oig/Volume%205/Issue%202/5_02_pagliassotti.htm.
31. Jeanne, °The Top Ten Things I Love About Yaoi," Aestheticism, Octobei (200), http://www.aesthetic
ism.com/visitois/editoi/index.htm (accessed Apiil 22, 2007).
32. Biett Faimei, Spectacular Passicns. Cinema, Fantasy, Gay Male Spectatcrships (Duiham and London:
Duke Univeisity Piess, 2000), 24.
33. Swythangel, °Heaven in Youi Aims," XY: Intoxicating Obsession, http://www.lucidinsanity.com/
fanfc/wkfcs/hiya.html (accessed Maich 7, 2005).
34. Lynn Metallium, °The Thiee Little Bishounen," Fanfction.Net, http://www.fanfction.net/s/534692//
(accessed Febiuaiy 4, 2005).
35. Ika Willis, °Keeping Piomises to Queei Childien: Making Space (foi Maiy Sue) at Hogwaits," in Fan
Ficticn and Fan Ccmmunities in the Age cf the Internet, ed. Kaien Hellekson & Kiistina Busse (Jeffeison, NC:
McFailand, 2006), 56.
36. Anne Kustiitz, °Slashing the Romance Naiiative," The }curnal cf American Culture 26.3 (2003): 382.
37. Saiah Gwenllian Jones, °The Sex Lives of Cult Television Chaiacteis," Screen 43. (2002): 8.
38. Ika Willis, °Keeping Piomises to Queei Childien: Making Space (foi Maiy Sue) at Hogwaits," in Fan
Ficticn and Fan Ccmmunities in the Age cf the Internet, ed. Kaien Hellekson & Kiistina Busse (Jeffeison, NC:
McFailand, 2006), 53.
39. Kaien Hellekson and Kiistina Busse, intioduction to Fan Ficticn and Fan Ccmmunities in the Age cf
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40. Kat Avila, °Boy`s Love and Yaoi Revisited," Sequential Tart, Jan (2005), http://www.sequentialtait.com/
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41. Jeanne, °The Top Ten Things I Love About Yaoi," Aestheticism, Octobei (200), http://www.aestheti
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42. Kuwabaia no Miko and Talya Fiiedancei, °A Fine Day foi a Gioup Outing," Fiiedancei`s Weiß Kieuz
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44. Alexandei Doty, intioduction to Making Things Perfectly Queer. Interpreting Mass Culture (Minneapo-
lis: Univeisity of Minnesota Piess, 993), xii.
45. Laila, °The Discieet Chaim of Slash Fiction," Plastic Venus, http://quietladybiiman.livejouinal.com/
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46. Deena, °Raspbeiiy and Lime Shampoo," Boys Next Dooi, http://www.discainate.com/boysnextdooi/
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47. Deena, °Waking Onto Lantein`s Biight," Boys Next Dooi, http://www.discainate.com/boysnextdooi/
fction/weiss/WakingOnto.html (accessed Febiuaiy 4, 2005).
48. Maity, °Black Gold," Fanfction.Net, http://www.fanfction.net/s/756833// (accessed Maich 7,
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49. Celeste, °UkeSeme Dynamics," Fanfction.Net, http://www.fanfction.net/s/504297// (accessed Maich
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50. Anne Kustiitz, °Slashing the Romance Naiiative," The }curnal cf American Culture 26.3 (2003): 377.
51. Maity, °The Saga Begins," Fanfction.Net, http://www.fanfction.net/s/58599// (accessed Maich 8,
2005).
52. Jeanne, °The Top Ten Things I Love About Yaoi," Aestheticism, Octobei (200), http://www.aestheti
cism.com/visitois/editoi/index.htm (accessed Apiil 22, 2007).
53. Susanne Jung, °Queeiing Populai Cultuie: Female Spectatois and the Appeal of Wiiting Slash Fan Fic-
tion," Gender Fcrum Gender Queeries 8 (2004), http://www.gendeifoium.uni-koeln.de/queei/jung.html.
54. Anne Kustiitz, °Slashing the Romance Naiiative," The }curnal cf American Culture 26.3 (2003): 377-378.
55. Teep, °Why Chicks like Fanfc Poin," Home Page, http://www.bedfoid.net/teep/fanfc.htm (accessed
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56. Catheiine Diiscoll, °One Tiue Paiiing: The Romance of Poinogiaphy and the Poinogiaphy of
8-Rewriting Gender and Sexuality in English-Ianguage Yaci Fanfcticn (TAN) 149
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57. Alan Soble, Pcrncgraphy. Marxism, Feminism, and the Future cf Sexuality (New Haven: Yale UP, 986),
56-57, 96.
58. Andiea Wood, °'Stiaight` Women, Queei Texts: Boy-Love Manga And The Rise of A Global Countei-
public," \cmen´s Studies Quarterly. 34(/2) (Spiing 2006): 403.
59. Catheiine Diiscoll, °One Tiue Paiiing: The Romance of Poinogiaphy and the Poinogiaphy of
Romance," in Fan Ficticn and Fan Ccmmunities in the Age cf the Internet, ed. Kaien Hellekson & Kiistina
Busse (Jeffeison, NC: McFailand, 2006), 88.
60. Kazuko Suzuki, °Poinogiaphy oi Theiapy: Japanese Giils Cieating the Yaoi Phenomenon," in Millen-
nium Girls. Tcday´s Girls Arcund the \crld, ed. Sheiiie A. Innes (London: Roman & Littlefeld, 999), 257.
61. Link62, °But, I`m An Assassin," Noiie Sensus, http://www.noiiesensus.com/bookshelf/paii_kenxom
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62. Atsuieki, °Please, Give Me Anothei Chance," Fanfction.Net, http://www.fanfction.net/s/978867//
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63. Swythangel, °Phenomenal Noumenal," XY: Intoxicating Obsession, http://www.lucidinsanity.com/fan
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64. Shooii, °Eight Yeais in the Making," Bleeding Heaits, http://www.tiowaluvsduo.net/weissweb/bleed
ingheaits.htm (accessed Maich 7, 2005).
65. Camille Bacon-Smith, Enterprising \cmen. Televisicn Fandcm and the Creaticn cf Pcpular Myth
(Philadelphia: Univeisity of Pennsylvania Piess, 992), 230.
66. Leathei Daddy, °Review of 'Loid of the Rings`: A Diamond Between Wood and Stone," Slap to the Head
Fanfction Reviews, http://web.pitas.com/fcbitches/woodandstone.html (accessed June , 2006).
67. Maity, °The Saga Begins," Fanfction.Net, http://www.fanfction.net/s/58599// (accessed Maich 8,
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68. Elizabeth Woledge, °Intimatopia: Genie Inteisections Between Slash and the Mainstieam," in Fan Fic-
ticn and Fan Ccmmunities in the Age cf the Internet, ed. Kaien Hellekson & Kiistina Busse (Jeffeison, NC:
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69. Maity, °The Saga Begins," Fanfction.Net, http://www.fanfction.net/s/58599// (accessed Maich 8, 2005).
70. Talya Fiiedancei, °The Subway Tiilogy," Fiiedancei`s Weiss Kieuz Fanfction, http://www.f yiedancei.
net/wk/index.html (accessed Maich 7, 2005).
71. Duiendal and the Beef Chick, °Uncle Yohji`s Book of Love," Velvet Undeiweai: A Shiine to Yoji Kudou,
http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Ginza/570/Weiss/fanfcs.html (accessed Maich , 2005).
72. Aoe and Shooii, °New Woild Oidei," Bleeding Heaits, http://www.tiowaluvsduo.net/weissweb/bleed
ingheaits.htm (accessed Maich 7, 2005).
73. Chet Meeks and Ailene Stein, °Refguiing the Family: Towaids a Post-Queei Politics of Gay and Les-
bian Maiiiage," in Intersecticns Between Feminist and Queer Thecry, ed. Diane Richaidson, Janice McLaugh-
lin and Maik E. Casey (Houndsmill, UK: Palgiave Macmillan, 2006), 53.
74. Michel Foucault, The Histcry cf Sexuality, tians. Robeit Huiley (New Yoik: Vintage, 980), 3.
75. Chet Meeks and Ailene Stein, °Refguiing the Family: Towaids a Post-Queei Politics of Gay and Les-
bian Maiiiage," in Intersecticns Between Feminist and Queer Thecry, ed. Diane Richaidson, Janice McLaugh-
lin and Maik E. Casey (Houndsmill, UK: Palgiave Macmillan, 2006), 38.
76. Maity, °Baby Talk," Fanfction.Net, http://www.fanfction.net/s/60799// (accessed Maich 8, 2005).
77. Ciimson, °Kind des Schicksals," Fanfction.Net, http://www.fanfction.net/s/2065398//Kind_des_Schi
cksals (accessed Maich 2, 2005).
78. Figuie . Asaphiia, \K. RanxKen-Shicshirc, 2005, http://www.deviantait.com/deviation/9298909/:qo
·206&q·weiss-kieuz&qh·boost%3Apopulai-age_sigma%3A24h-age_scale%3A5.
79. Camille Bacon-Smith, Enterprising \cmen. Televisicn Fandcm and the Creaticn cf Pcpular Myth
(Philadelphia: Univeisity of Pennsylvania Piess, 992), 23.
80. Deena, °Chiistmas Fienzy," Fanfction.Net, http://www.fanfction.net/s/49346// (accessed Maich 2, 2005).
81. Miina Cicioni, °Male Paii-bonds and Female Desiie in Fan Slash Wiiting," in Thecrizing Fandcm. Fans,
Subculture, and Identity, ed. Cheiyl Haiiis and Alison Alexandei (Ciesskill, NJ: Hampton Piess, 998), 62-63.
82. Kiiachu, °Waimth," Fanfction.Net, http://www.fanfction.net/s/334080// (accessed, Febiuaiy 5, 2005).
83. Deena, °Raspbeiiy and Lime Shampoo," Boys Next Dooi, http://www.discainate.com/boysnextdooi/
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84. Swythangel, °Chibifcation (Raising Ken)," XY: Intoxicating Obsession, http://www.lucidinsanity.com/
fanfc/wkfcs/chibi.html (accessed Maich 8, 2005).
85. Janice Radway, Reading the Rcmance. \cmen, Patriarchy, and Pcpular Iiterature (Chapel Hill and
London: Univeisity of Noith Caiolina Piess, 984), 94.
150 Pait Two: Genie and Readeiship
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86. Miina Cicioni, °Male Paii-bonds and Female Desiie in Fan Slash Wiiting," in Thecrizing Fandcm.
Fans, Subculture, and Identity, ed. Cheiyl Haiiis and Alison Alexandei (Ciesskill, NJ: Hampton Piess, 998),
72.
87. Talya Fiiedancei, °To Buiy the Huit of Memoiy," Fiiedancei`s Weiss Kieuz Fanfction, http://www.
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88. Jeanne, °Why the Guys: Oi Navel-Gazing in the Afteinoon," Aestheticism, http://www.aestheticism.
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89. Geneiic Miko, °Unexpected Talents," East of Sanity, http://www.eastofsanity.com/ (accessed Febiu-
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90. Judith Butlei, °Imitation and Gendei Insuboidination," in Inside/Cut. Iesbian Thecries, Gay Thec-
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91. Maya Tawi and Viiidian5, °Giil," Zippos and Safety Pins, http://panthea.populli.net/fction/giil.htm
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92. Susanne Jung, °Queeiing Populai Cultuie: Female Spectatois and the Appeal of Wiiting Slash Fan
Fiction," Gender Fcrum Gender Queeries 8 (2004), http://www.gendeifoium.uni-koeln.de/queei/jung.html.
93. Ibid.
94. Talya Fiiedancei, °Fyiedancei`s Piofle," LiveJouinal Blog, http://fyiedancei.livejouinal.com/piofle
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95. Lauia Mulvey, °Visual Pleasuie and Naiiative Cinema," Screen 6.3 (975).
96. Ann Baii Snitow, °Mass Maiket Romance: Poinogiaphy foi Women is Diffeient," in Gender, Race,
and Class in Media. A Text-reader, ed. Gail Dines and Jean M Humez (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publica-
tions, 2003), 425.
97. Laila, °In Defense of ... Yaoi," Pale Movies Veision 8: Afteiglow, http://www.palemovies.com/i_ido_
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98. Fujimoto Yukaii, \atashi nc ibashc wa dckc ni aru nc? Shcjc manga ga utsusu kckcrc nc katachi
(Tokyo: Gakuyou Shobo, 998), quoted in Matt Thoin, °Giils and Women Getting Out of Hand: The
Pleasuie and Politics of Japan`s Amateui Comics Community," in Fanning the fames. Fans and Ccnsumer Cul-
ture in Ccntempcrary }apan, ed. William W. Kelly (Albany, NY: State Univeisity of New Yoik Piess, 2004),
69-87.
99. Jeanne, °Why the Guys: Oi Navel-Gazing in the Afteinoon," Aestheticism, http://www.aestheticism.
com/visitois/editoi/index.htm (accessed Apiil 22, 2007).
100. Heleninhell, °I Am Not a Dominatiix: Women and the Active Sexual Role," Helen gets the job done,
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101. Kat Avila, °Boy`s Love and Yaoi Revisited," Sequential Tart (Januaiy 2005) http://www.sequential
tait.com/ait_005_.shtml (accessed Jan 6, 2005).
102. Camille Bacon-Smith, Enterprising \cmen. Televisicn Fandcm and the Creaticn cf Pcpular Myth
(Philadelphia: Univeisity of Pennsylvania Piess, 992), 65.
103. Cece, °Revealing Myself," Fanfction.Net, http://www.fanfction.net/s/9083// (accessed, Febiuaiy
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104. Chalcedony Cioss, °Chal`s Piofle," LiveJouinal Blog, http://chal.livejouinal.com/piofle (accessed
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105. Miko no Da, °Sinneis and Saints," Love is Love, http://www.daikhuntiess.com/miko_no_da/MW/
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106. Geneiic Miko, °Popcoin Timeline," East of Sanity, http://www.eastofsanity.com/ (accessed Febiuaiy
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107. Caids Slash, °Five Ways Ken Hidaka Was Nevei Raped," Unapologetically Given To Wandei, http://
caids-slash.livejouinal .com/36343.html (accessed Apiil 9, 2007).
108. Scailet Fevei, °Fiail (You May As Well Be Me)," The Fountain of Decay, http://www.geocities.com/
neciolantiy/Fiail.htm accessed Febiuaiy 4, 2005).
109. The RCK, °Rheotaxis," Consensus Realities, http://www.theick.oig/ (accessed Maich , 2004).
110. Jeanne, °Why the Guys: Oi Navel-Gazing in the Afteinoon," Aestheticism, http://www.aestheticism.
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111. Atsuieki, °Love on a Leash," Fanfction.Net, http://www.fanfction.net/s/96649// (accessed Maich
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113. Kazumi Nagaike, °Peiveise Sexualities, Peivasive Desiies: Repiesentations of Female Fantasies and
Yaoi Manga as Poinogiaphy Diiected at Women," U.S.-}apan \cmen´s }curnal 25 (2003), 94.
8-Rewriting Gender and Sexuality in English-Ianguage Yaci Fanfcticn (TAN) 151
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Yaoi Manga as Poinogiaphy Diiected at Women," U.S.-}apan \cmen´s }curnal 25 (2003), 94.
116. Atsuieki, °Suiiounded by Daikness," Fanfction.Net, http://www.fanfction.net/s/037952// (accessed
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125. Maik McHaiiy, °Identity Unmooied: Yaoi in the West," in Queer Pcpular Culture. Iiterature, Media,
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Comics Community," in Fanning the fames. Fans and Ccnsumer Culture in Ccntempcrary }apan, ed. William
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_____. °Heaven in Youi Aims." XY: Intoxicating Obsession. http://www.lucidinsanity.com/fanfc/wkfcs/hiya.
html (accessed Maich 7, 2005).
_____. °Phenomenal Noumenal ." XY: Intoxicating Obsession. http://www.lucidinsanity.com/fanfc/wkfcs/
phen.html (accessed Maich 7, 2005).
Teep. °Why Chicks like Fanfc Poin." Home Page. http://www.bedfoid.net/teep/fanfc.htm (accessed Apiil
23, 2007).
8-Rewriting Gender and Sexuality in English-Ianguage Yaci Fanfcticn (TAN) 155
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Thoin, Matt. °Giils and Women Getting Out of Hand: The Pleasuie and Politics of Japan`s Amateui Comics
Community." In Fanning the Flames. Fans and Ccnsumer Culture in Ccntempcrary }apan, edited by William
W. Kelly, 69-87. Albany, NY: State Univeisity of New Yoik Piess, 2004.
Tsuchiya, Kyoko. An Assassin and \hite Shaman. (Weiss Kieuz Manga) Vols. and 2. Tokyo: Shinshokan,
998.
Vincent, Keith. °A Japanese Electia and Hei Queei Piogeny." In Mechademia 2, edited by Fienchy Lunning,
64-79. Minnesota: Univeisity of Minnesota Piess, 2007.
Wiggle. °Sphynx." Puie Yaoi. http://www.puieyaoi.oig/fction/index.html (accessed May 9, 2007).
Willis, Ika. °Keeping Piomises to Queei Childien: Making Space (foi Maiy Sue) at Hogwaits." In Fan Fic-
ticn and Fan Ccmmunities in the Age cf the Internet, edited by Kaien Hellekson & Kiistina Busse, 53-70.
Jeffeison, NC: McFailand, 2006.
Woledge, Elizabeth. °Intimatopia: Genie Inteisections Between Slash and the Mainstieam." In Fan Ficticn
and Fan Ccmmunities in the Age cf the Internet, edited by Kaien Hellekson & Kiistina Busse, 97-4. Jef-
feison, NC: McFailand, 2006.
Wood, Andiea. °'Stiaight` Women, Queei Texts: Boy-Love Manga and the Rise of a Global Counteipublic."
\cmen´s Studies Quarterly 34(/2) (Spiing 2006): 394-44.
Yoippaii. °Rules." Boys Next Dooi. http://www.discainate.com/boysnextdooi/fction/Rules.html (accessed
Septembei 26, 2004).
156 Pait Two: Genie and Readeiship
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PART THREE
Bcys´ Icve and Percepticns
cf the Queer
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9
Utteiing the Absuid,
Revaluing the Abject
Femininity and the Disavcwal cf
Hcmcsexuality in Transnaticnal
Bcys´ Icve Manga
NEAL K. AKATSUKA
It`s the ultimate expiession of love-to weai matching iings with youi signifcant othei,
showing the woild that you aie a couple. High school student, Wataiu Fujii, also weais
one though he is single. When he accidentally switches iings with populai and hand-
some senioi, Yuichi Kazuki, they discovei that theii iings paii up! Since then, Kazuki,
who is known foi being kind to all becomes stiangely haish to Wataiu. They alteinate
between hot and cold, as in between clashes they begin to soit theii feelings foi one
anothei. Aie Wataiu and Kazuki the woist of enemies oi aie they actually soulmates:
!
The above synopsis of Cnly the Ring Finger Kncws (Scnc yubi dake ga shitteiru) entic-
ingly discloses what is in stoie foi ieadeis who daie to ventuie into the manga`s contents-
not just any tuibulent iomance, but a iomance between two boys. Fai fiom being an
exceptional naiiative, Cnly the Ring Finger Kncws belongs to a sub-genie of shjc (giils`)
manga known vaiiously as boys` love (heieaftei BL), yaoi, and shnen-ai.
2
The BL sub-genie,
as Diu Pagliassotti defnes it, is °a naiiative about the iomantic oi eiotic ielationship
between two oi moie male chaiacteis that has been cieated with the intention of appeal-
ing to a female audience."
3
While this may seem a cuiious phenomenon to some because
the taiget audience is females iathei than gay males, BL manga have become tiansnational
cultuial commodities.
4
Beginning in the late !990s with Kizuna in !998 and FAKE in !999,
5
the BL manga maiket in Noith Ameiica as of 2008 has expanded to about 350 licensed titles
tianslated and ie-ieleased into English fiom Japanese. This is in addition to numeious
unoffcial fan tianslations (i.e., °scanlations"-tianslated scans of Japanese oiiginals) avail-
able online that pieceded the aiiival of offcial tianslations into the Noith Ameiican mai-
ket and continue to be made foi manga cuiiently unavailable in English. Although theie
is no commeicial maiket foi scanlations, because they aie illegal due to copyiight infiinge-
ment, they have expanded the numbei of BL texts available to ieadeis who pationize such
Web sites.
The successful intioduction and sale of BL manga in Noith Ameiica-as well as in
othei Westein countiies, such as Spain, Italy, and Fiance
6
-show that the enjoyment of cul-
tuial commodities such as BL manga may be less iestiicted by socialization into a ceitain
cultuie than by economic oi political baiiieis. Cultuie does, of couise, have an effect on
the economy and politics as well as the kinds of BL texts selected foi tianslation by pub-
lisheis. Fuitheimoie, BL texts aie not necessaiily easy to obtain online oi ofßine (e.g., due
159
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to censoiship laws). Foi example, Pagliassotti found that ceitain themes, such as shcta
(inteigeneiational homoeiotic/iomantic naiiatives involving young boys), aie avoided oi
adapted by U.S. publisheis foi the U.S. maiket due in pait to social noims (in this case
iegaiding child poinogiaphy).
7
Howevei, I want to point out that BL manga, when acces-
sible, aie enjoyed outside of Japan, and thus the enjoyment of theii naiiatives is not nec-
essaiily contingent upon a single cultuial logic, histoiy of sexuality, oi undeistanding of
gendei. Contiaiy to Maik McLelland`s aigument that BL is possible as a valid fantasy topos
foi women in Japan because of Japanese society`s paiticulai undeistanding of homosexu-
ality, the appeal of BL may be something moie tiansnational in chaiactei, something
Iwabuchi Koichi calls °cultuial odoilessness."
8
Iwabuchi aigues that majoi audiovisual cul-
tuial commodities, such as manga, expoited fiom Japan aie cultuially odoiless in the sense
that while these commodities may signify °Japaneseness," this signifcation is not in itself
paiticulaily ielevant to its tiansnational appeal. This odoilessness is enabled in pait by the
softening oi eiasuie of moie explicit visual iefeiences to the commodity`s countiy of oii-
gin (e.g. iacial and bodily images) so that a paiticulai cultuie is not impiinted onto the
commodity.
9
This is pait and paicel of globalization, which has bluiied and pioblematized
distinct cultuial boundaiies and piolifeiated a sense of °familiai diffeience and bizaiie
sameness" simultaneously.
!0
While ieadeis may inteipiet and appieciate BL in multiple
ways, BL naiiatives speak in a way that is intelligible and appealing tiansnationally.
In this chaptei I offei an alteinative ieading of BL that seeks to evaluate the undeily-
ing logic of BL naiiatives and theoiize what within these texts appeals to audiences tiansna-
tionally (with a focus on the Westein context). I locate this appeal in BL`s potential to cieate
an affimative feminine space and subjectivity that subveits, although ieifes in othei ways,
the heteionoimatively gendeied hieiaichy of patiiaichy. I will aigue that such a space is
possible thiough the simultaneity of a homosexual pietext embedded within a heteionoi-
mative subtext constiucted thiough the naiiative topoi of BL such as the disavowal of
homosexuality. Reading BL in this mannei allows foi an analysis of the tiansnational appeal
of BL that takes into account the paiadoxical multiplicity yet commonality of the positions,
identities, and motives of its ieadeiship.
BI as a Gendered Space fcr Fe(male)s
gi Fusami aigues that ieadeis of shjc manga, ¨even males, aie all engendeied-
hailed in the Althusseiian sense-by the categoiy of shcujc. In ¦BL] iepiesentations, which
do not show women as cential, the shcujc type unveils itself as a code and an institution."
!!
This institution is based upon °Japanese modein femininity in the Meiji peiiod ¦!868-!9!2]:
a feminine image based on westeinization following Japan`s centuiies-long isolation and
on the viitues of the so-called 'good wife and wise mothei.` "
!2
The BL text encoded as
shjc-a code, an institution, an ideology-always alieady anticipates its ieadeis aie shjc
(i.e., adolescent giils), iequiiing ieadeis, iegaidless of theii actual age oi gendei identity,
to theiefoie iead the text fiom the peispective of shjc. To a ceitain extent this code is
specifc to the Japanese sociohistoiical context and subject to hybiidization within new
contexts. Yet the code and the paiticulai way it positions ieadeis is also ielevant in the
West. Thiough a 2005 English-language suivey (N · 478) and compaiison with a sepaiate
2006-7 Italian-language suivey (N · 3!3) of ieadeis of BL manga, Pagliassotti found that
the majoiity of iespondents began ieading BL manga in theii teens and eaily twenties aie
160 Pait Thiee: Boys` Love and Peiceptions of the Queei
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now between eighteen and thiity-foui yeais old, aie female (eighty-nine peicent in the
English-language suivey and eighty-two peicent in the Italian-language suivey), and iden-
tify as heteiosexual (foity-seven peicent in the English-language suivey and sixty-two pei-
cent in the Italian-language suivey).
!3
That the piimaiy ieadeiship in the West iesembles
the ieadei anticipated by the shjc code of the BL text ieveals the extent to which its hail
tiavels tiansnationally and is answeied.
It is impoitant to emphasize though that the ieadei anticipated is not the only ieadei
who ieads BL texts. The suiveys ieveal that BL manga ieadeis also include males (eleven
peicent in the English-language suivey and thiiteen peicent in the Italian-language sui-
vey), heteiosexually identifed males (thiee in the English-language suivey), and non-het-
eiosexually identifed males and females.
!4
Yet contiaiy to this heteiogeneous composition,
as Andiea Wood points out, past studies have analyzed BL as almost an exclusively heteio-
sexual female genie.
!5
This is exemplifed by Suzuki Kazuko`s inteipietation of BL as an
expiession of giils` and young women`s °despaii of evei achieving equal ielationships with
men in a sexist society and theii quest foi ideal human ielationships."
!6
While this may be
tiue to a ceitain extent, this chaiacteiization is ultimately limited in that it ieaiticulates a
heteionoimative fiamewoik of desiie, which suggests women only want to exploie iela-
tionships vis-a-vis men. Fuitheimoie, as a male piesence in ieadeiship is iaiely acknowl-
edged, this position is inevitably maiginalized and subsumed within the piesumption of a
(solely) female ieadeiship.
!7
While the way that ieadeis aie positioned by the text as shjc
is not necessaiily alteied, the conßation of the position that ieadeis aie inteipellated into
by the hail of the text and the multiple positions ieadeis inhabit piioi to the hail of the text
is pioblematic insofai as it does not take into account bioadei sexual and sexed positions
that the appeal of BL ieaches.
In oidei to move beyond this iestiictive method of analysis and develop a moie
nuanced peispective on BL and its textual pleasuies, we must view the BL ieadeiship as
always alieady fe(male)s. °Fe(male)s" alludes to the engendeiing consequences of the ide-
ology of the BL text on its audience, which positions both males and females as female, as
opposed to a known audience of (heteiosexual) females. At the same time, thiough its
focus on (biological) sex as opposed to (social) gendei, as well as being unmaiked by age
and an accompanying social positioning (e.g., woman, giil), the concept can emphasize the
(female) peison who has not yet come into fully gendeied being and the social weight such
a being is invested with. That is, ieadeis aie positioned with a paiticulai ielationship to
femininity similai to adolescence-a liminal peiiod of ielative agency as they aie not yet
adult, fully engendeied women (whose agency is constituted as a lack in the Lacanian the-
oiy of the Symbolic-see below).
It is this audience, hailed fe(male)s, that analyses should speak towaid, and the pai-
ticulai feminine peispective iequiied by BL that should be taken into account in analyz-
ing the tiansnational appeal of BL. Along similai lines, Matthew Thoin aigues,
I think we can appieciate why yaoi and slash-style fan pioductions fnd favoi among a
ceitain demogiaphic cohoit of women in many industiialized nations. I would aigue
that what these fans shaie in common is discontent with the standaids of femininity to
which they aie expected to adheie and a social enviionment and histoiical moment that
does not validate oi sympathize with that discontent.
!8
I would expand this position to say that ieadeis cannot be contained by the categoiy of
°women," but iathei need to encompass fe(male)s, whose discontent extends to the socially
degiaded valuation of femininity itself. This stance could potentially encompass both queei
9-Uttering the Absurd, Revaluing the Abject (AKATSUKA) 161
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and heteiosexual females and males.
!9
Of couise, the explicit poitiayal of homoeioticism
may pievent homophobic ieadeis fiom delving beyond the texts` suiface imageiy.
20
Fui-
theimoie, as males, iegaidless of theii sexuality, aie hailed by shjc manga to iead as
fe(male)s, they may iesist such a hail because of a feai of feminization. Undei the gendei
politics of patiiaichy, male feminization usually entails a loss of (claim to) powei and
agency, suggesting a ieason why male ieadeiship tends to be ielatively low.
Embedding Narratives cf BI in Hetercncrmative Intelligibility
While BL, bioadly defned, encompasses eiotic oi iomantic ielationships between
males, these ielationships aie naiiated in paiticulai ways to the sub-genie that have con-
sequences foi how gendei and sexuality aie constiucted. In the thiid peiiod (!99! to the
piesent) of the geneial yaoi phenomenon that Mizoguchi Akiko outlines, BL is diffeienti-
ated bioadly in its use of a new body-type aesthetic (moie masculine and musculai) and
in contempoiaiy settings, compaied to pievious peiiods, which utilized a similai naiiative
piemise of iomantic oi eiotic ielationships between men.
2!
In addition, ceitain topoi dom-
inantly stiuctuie BL naiiatives: (!) °iape as an expiession of love," (2) °one oi both of the
piotagonists maintaining that they aie stiaight even aftei they aie homosexually involved,"
(3) °the top ¦seme]/bottom ¦uke] ioles in sex coiiesponding to the masculine/feminine
appeaiance of piotagonists," (4) °the ioles nevei ieveising," and (5) °sex always involving
anal inteicouise."
22
I would also add the topos of the naiiative being fiom the uke`s pei-
spective.
23
While these topoi aie not always piesent in theii entiiety, noi absolutely fol-
lowed, they aie the topoi that foim the assumptions of most BL naiiatives (oi iathei, theii
ideology) and to which many BL manga iespond. Foi example, Fujiyama Hyouta (Fujiyama
Hyta), the authoi of Spell, iemaiks in hei afteiwoid that while she was successful in poi-
tiaying the naiiative fiom the seme`s peispective, she was °dissatisfed" and ended up wiit-
ing a follow-up shoit stoiy fiom the uke`s peispective.
24
Heie Fujiyama`s statement gestuies
towaid hei conscious ieveisal of the peispective topos and hei latei discomfoit with this
ieveisal.
These topoi constiuct naiiatives of BL in a paiticulaily heteionoimative mannei. Even
though females aie usually maiginalized fguies of desiie in BL texts and thus iendeied
invisible (in teims of signifcance to the naiiative and its focus on love and desiie), iathei
than homosexuality losing all meaning since the possibility of heteiosexuality should also
theiefoie be iendeied invisible, sexuality often iemains a ciitical issue foi one oi moie of
the piotagonists. This, I would contend, is because of the way the topoi stiuctuie BL nai-
iatives; even if heteiosexuality is not explicitly piesented within naiiatives as a possibility,
it always alieady exists as a piesumption of ieality. This piesumption stiuctuies the way
the piotagonists aie chaiacteiized and inteiact with each othei. Foi example, the thiid topos
ieconstiucts a heteionoimative gendei dyad wheieby the seme iepiesents masculinity and
the uke iepiesents femininity, despite the chaiacteis both being male. This hieiaichical
stiuctuie is ieifed thiough the ffth topos, in which anal sex with its confguiation of sex
positions coiiesponds to heteionoimative assumptions of engendeied powei positions (i.e.
top as masculine, bottom as feminine).
Due to this, Mizoguchi aigues that the topoi aie meant to °achieve 'heteiosexual
iomance` naiiatives foi heteiosexual female ieadeis."
25
That is, while BL may posit a homo-
sexual pietext of a homoeiotic iomance between two oi moie males, this is piemised on a
162 Pait Thiee: Boys` Love and Peiceptions of the Queei
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heteionoimative subtext intended to place the pietext within a iealm of intelligibility foi
piesumed heteiosexual females. Howevei, I would point out that even though a heteio-
noimative subtext is constiucted, this subtext is also ievealed as failing to contiol and fx
identity thiough the pietext of homosexuality. Thus the subtext and pietext do not act in
binaiy opposition to each othei, but iathei, as Alexandei Doty points out, °the queei often
opeiates within the nonqueei, as the nonqueei does within the queei (whethei in iecep-
tion, texts, oi pioduceis)."
26
The simultaneous piesence of the heteionoimative and the
homoeiotic is ievealed by the disavowal of homosexuality (oi the second topos). This iev-
elation is ciucial foi the gendeied woik of BL in its peifoimativity.
27
The Perfcrmativity cf Disavcwal and Igncrance
The disavowal of homosexuality-oi the maintenance of heteiosexuality in Mizoguchi`s
phiasing-can obviously be a concise utteiance, such as in Shiozu Shuii`s Eerie Queerie
(Gsutc!) when Mitsuo exclaims, °We aien`t gay!" to a ciowd of his classmates.
28
Howevei,
the disavowal does not need to be utteied out loud to be peifoimed-indeed, the uttei-
ance itself is not necessaiily a stiaightfoiwaid, effective mechanism, as Mitsuo`s classmates
laugh at him and twist his woids to suppoit theii accusation that he is gay.
29
To bettei
undeistand the multiple ways in which this topos can be naiiated, I would like to exploie
thiee examples fiom thiee sepaiate BL manga. These examples demonstiate how ignoiance,
peisonal ießection, and exteinal ciicumstances (usually in addition to an utteiance)
can all be mobilized within stoiies to distance not only the chaiactei(s) fiom homosexu-
ality, but also the ieadeis who aie immeised in the diama of the chaiactei(s). This
disassociation in tuin has consequences foi the epistemology of BL and thus how ieadeis
come to know (and not know) not only BL, but also the logic(s) of gendei and sexuality
it poses.
HomosexuaIity as an uninteIIigibIe
impossibiIity-Only the Ríng Pínger Knows
As Wataiu ieveals to Kazuki that the gift he has just given is not fiom him, Kazuki
slowly coineis Wataiu against a wall. Aftei teasing Wataiu foi a little while, Kazuki whis-
peis Wataiu`s name and slowly leans in as if to kiss him.
30
As Figuie ! shows, the scene is
extended thiough a whole page and focuses on Wataiu`s somatic ieactions (e.g. body feel-
ing waim, blushing) and psychological confusion. Wataiu is ultimately poitiayed as igno-
iant of even the possibility of homosexuality, unable to imagine the link between his somatic
ieactions, the homoeioticism of the situation, and his sexuality. This is fuithei confimed
in a latei scene when Wataiu thinks, °To be honest, I don`t even undeistand my own feel-
ings yet. I nevei even imagined that I would fall in love with anothei man. And theie`s still
a pait of me ... that doesn`t want to accept it."
3!
Homosexuality cannot even be imagined
as a possibility and is disavowed.
Iove as transcending (homo)sexuaIity-Spell
Aftei fnally confessing his love to Kisugi in a bout of jealousy, Natoii is guided by
Kisugi to loosen his pants. Natoii questions his identity and feelings towaid Kisugi as his
9-Uttering the Absurd, Revaluing the Abject (AKATSUKA) 163
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Figure . Wataru confused by his somatic reaction to Kazuki's seduction. Credit: OriginaI Japanese
version Only the Ríng Pínger Knows-Sono Yubí Dake Ga Shítteíru · 2002 Satoru Kannagi & Hotaru
Odagiri. OriginaIIy pubIished in Tokyo, Japan in 2002 by Tokuma Shoten PubIishing Co., Itd. EngIish
version in U.S.A. and Canada pubIished by DigitaI Manga, Inc. under Iicense granted by Tokuma
Shoten PubIishing Co., Itd. EngIish transIation · 2004 by DIGITAI MANGA, INC.
©

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9-Uttering the Absurd, Revaluing the Abject (AKATSUKA) 165
Figure 2. Natori ponders the impIications of his actions in terms of his identity. Credit: OriginaI Japa-
nese version Spell-Superu · 2003 Hyouta Fujiyama. OriginaIIy pubIished in Japan in 2003 by Fron-
tier Works Inc. EngIish transIation · 2007 by DIGITAI MANGA, INC.
©

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hand disappeais into Kisugi`s pants.
32
Like Figuie !, Figuie 2 shows how this intiospective
moment is extended thioughout the page, diawing attention to Natoii`s innei monologue,
°He`s a guy. And I`m also a guy. But, he`s a guy who sleeps with othei guys sometimes. But
I don`t caie. I just connect with him." This monologue ieveals that Natoii has come to the
conclusion that although they aie both adolescent males and Kisugi sleeps with males (note,
this behavioi is not labeled homosexual), he loves him iegaidless. That is, Natoii`s love is
not simply because Kisugi is a male (which would imply Natoii is homosexual) oi because
Kisugi sleeps with males (which would imply Natoii wants Kisugi to sleep with him and,
again, that Natoii is homosexual), but because of an unnamed °connection." In this iound-
about mannei, homosexuality is disavowed thiough disengagement with sexuality as the
chaiactei claims his love tianscends (homo)sexuality.
Possession and Iack of controI -
Eeríe Queeríe! Volume 1
Mitsuo`s spiiit watches in hoiioi as his body, possessed by the spiiit of Kiyomi, sud-
denly confesses to Hasunuma in fiont of all theii classmates. As eveiyone else does not
know that Mitsuo`s body is possessed and it is Kiyomi`s spiiit ievealing hei feelings, his
classmates maivel at Mitsuo being gay.
33
One classmate even exclaims, °This is the fist
time I`ve evei seen a ieal gay guy." The humoi of the scene is obviously based on the class-
mates` misundeistanding that Mitsuo is in contiol of himself and thus homosexual. In this
case, homosexuality is meant to be disavowed, even while it is being paiodied, due to Mit-
suo`s possession by a giil and his subsequent lack of contiol.
Howevei, in a latei scene Mitsuo feels soiiy foi Kiyomi and allows hei to again pos-
sess his body so that she can have hei fist kiss with Hasunuma.
34
In this scene, Mitsuo
willingly lets his body be used to kiss anothei adolescent male, which could be iead as
homosexual, but at the same time could be iead as heteiosexual because it is Kiyomi who
would really be kissing Hasunuma. How can we iead this situation: How do we deteimine
the sexuality of the chaiacteis: This pioblematic is at the heait of the disavowal topos-
what may seem homosexual can also be iead in anothei way as heteiosexual. The disavowal
thus functions in two majoi ways: (!) heimeneutic ambiguation of identity and (2) expo-
suie and paiody of the heteionoimative equation of identity.
While some scholais have aigued that the disavowal (in addition to othei BL topoi)
is homophobic, I would iathei diaw attention to its peifoimativity.
35
Eve Kosofsky Sedg-
wick aigues, °Ignoiance and opacity collude oi compete with knowledge in mobilizing the
ßows of eneigy, desiie, goods, meanings, peisons."
36
Ignoiance and knowledge both woik
to constitute what is to become mateiial ieality. In this vein, the disavowal is a peifoima-
tive act that pievents ieadeis fiom knowing what the identity of the disavowei really is;
fiom claiming epistemological authoiity ovei the chaiacteis and the naiiative. Because
ieadeis do not know foi suie, they can fantasize and cieate theii own tiuth. This ambigu-
ity is facilitated by the absence of a thiid-peison naiiation, the omniscient authoiial voice.
The ieadei is left with only the thoughts and voices of the chaiacteis to diaw infeiences
fiom; even then, only one peispective-usually of the uke-is consistently followed. The
heimeneutic ambiguity that the disavowal theiefoie cieates enables multiple ieadings of
any text by ieadeis with multiple positions, motives, and desiies. Foi example, while one
could inteipiet the chaiacteis in Spell as homosexual, one could also believe that Natoii,
who indiiectly disavows homosexuality, is heteiosexual yet has sex with Kisugi because
166 Pait Thiee: Boys` Love and Peiceptions of the Queei
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theii love tianscends sexuality and gendei, as mentioned above. By not avowing and stead-
fastly following a sexual defnition of eithei homosexuality oi heteiosexuality, the chaiac-
teis do not contiadict eithei ieading-theii stoiy can thus be iead in multiple ways while
potentially affiming all ieadings.
At the same time, the disavowal of homosexuality, piemised thiough the othei BL
topoi on a homo/heteiosexual binaiy, also iendeis explicit how the heteionoimative equa-
tion of intelligible gendei identity is °institute¦d] and maintain¦ed thiough] ielations of
coheience and continuity among sex, gendei, sexual piactice, and desiie."
37
Judith Butlei
aigues that heteionoimativity iequiies that identities that do not follow this equation, such
as an affimative (male) femininity, cannot exist.
38
Howevei the disavowal iendeis this nai-
iow equation of intelligibility and its notion of fxed identity as absuid thiough paiody.
Foi example, in Freefall Rcmance (Rakka sckudc), Renji initially disavows homosexuality
as he looks upon his diunken fiiend, Youichi, thinking, °He has sex appeal, and he`s pietty
good-looking. If only he was a giil, I would have done hei by now. What am I thinking:"
39
He soon conveys his thoughts to Youichi, which iesults in the Youichi asking, °What ¦do]
you mean eiotic: I`m a 25-yeai-old guy. You don`t swing that way, do you:" Renji ieplies,
°No ... I don`t, but," and tiails off.
40
Renji then caiesses Youichi`s face slowly, sending
Youichi iunning out the dooi wondeiing why Renji, who he knows is heteiosexual, would
do such a thing.
4!
This scene not only ieveals the heteionoimative equation via Renji`s logic
of desiie that follows fiom his identity as a male, but also paiodies it by demonstiating its
limitations. The disavowei, Renji, says he is not homosexual because it does not make sense
in the heteionoimative equation-he is a male, and as a male he is attiacted to females.
Howevei, if Renji is not homosexual -indeed if he is heteiosexual -what does it mean
that he desiies Youichi, anothei male:
The queeiness of BL is not so much due to the homoeiotic images within the manga
itself, but iathei its pioblematization of what intelligible gendei and sexual identity means.
To disavow is to iendei one`s self unstable and contested, ßuid yet fxed in pinpoints
of intelligibility. While to claim oneself as queei may be to say that one is something-
whatevei that might be-the disavowei in BL claims nothing except to say °I am not homo-
sexual, whatevei my actions." Naiiatives of identity and behavioi aie pitted against each
othei, iesulting in a subjectivity that iathei than is something, only cculd be something.
The heteionoimative equation is exposed as not only inadequate, but also unieasonable,
untenable, and absuid thiough the abject, unstable identity of the disavowei within the
equation`s conceptual fiamewoik. The aibitiaiiness of the peifoimance of identity is
exposed.
The two functions of the disavowal complement each othei in piiming the BL naiia-
tive foi what I will aigue is the tiansnational appeal of BL-the ievaluation of femininity.
Because one cannot know identity with any epistemological ceitainty due to the ambigu-
ous logic that stiuctuies how we should know, the instability of the heteiosexual matiix is
made known and can no longei be taken foi uncontestable tiuth. Simultaneously, the het-
eionoimative equation that iesults in a fxed identity is exposed and paiodied by the iden-
tities that it cannot allow to exist, yet do, in BL. If identity is not fxed and the heteiosexual
matiix does not have to be taken foi gianted, then desiie does not have to follow fiom gen-
dei oi sex. That is, one can desiie and/oi be desiied, iegaidless of gendei oi sex. Fuithei-
moie, theie is no ieason to hold that the value-laden gendei hieiaichy posed by
heteionoimativity must be taken as valid. In this context, femininity can be ieclaimed by
the fe(male) ieadeis of BL manga and ievalued.
9-Uttering the Absurd, Revaluing the Abject (AKATSUKA) 167
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A Revaluaticn cf Femininity
The signifcance of this ieclamation and ievaluation deiives fiom the paiticulai iela-
tionship that fe(male) ieadeis aie positioned to have with femininity. Fiom the paiticulai
peispective of adolescent boys in BL, fe(male)s aie piesented with the same dilemma that
the liminality of adolescence piesents to adolescent females-the peiiod will end and they
will be tiansfoimed into adults.
42
Foi fe(male)s this entails positioning themselves as not
only feminine, but also accepting the second-class accoutiements of femininity in patii-
aichy. In Tales cf Icve, Julia Kiisteva aigues that in seculai patiiaichal cultuies women have
become conßated with the mateinal.
43
The mateinal, in tuin, is necessaiy foi peisons to
abject to become subjects. Due to this conßation, women, femininity, and mateinity aie
all abjected, which Kiisteva aigues accounts foi the actual denigiation of women and
incieased antifeminism.
44
This entails women facing the paiadox of becoming a social sub-
ject thiough an inteinal abjection of themselves as women/feminine/mateinal. As Butlei
has famously aigued, gendei is peifoimative and its peifoimance is imposed on us by het-
eionoimativity.
45
By peifoiming femininity then, fe(male)s constiuct theii subjectivity as
the abject gendei, oi iathei, signify theii own lack of subjectivity within the Symbolic.
46
To iesolve this ciisis of being awaie yet unable to disavow theii own (futuie) femininity
as abject, I aigue that fe(male)s can use BL as a space to affim theii (futuie) femininity as
subjectivity. Not coincidentally, the chaiactei that peifoims the disavowal and piovides the
naiiative viewpoint is usually the uke, the chaiactei constiucted thiough the othei BL topoi
as the feminine piesence.
It is thiough the uke as male femininity that fe(male)s can mitigate theii ielationship
to femininity in light of its abjection. That is, femininity is ie-peifoimed and iteiated anew
undei the guise of the abjectness of male femininity-an identity, like affimative femi-
ninity, that is not meant to exist undei heteionoimative patiiaichy. Howevei, in BL the
uke, unlike women, is both object (feminized by and ielative to the seme) and subject (as
man, oi soon-to-be-man, in the Symbolic). He piesents that °fiagile boidei (boideiline
cases) wheie identities (subject/object, etc.) do not exist oi only baiely so-double, fuzzy,
heteiogeneous, animal, metamoiphosed, alteied, abject."
47
In this position, uke as subject
can ievalue femininity because he is the piivileged benefactoi of patiiaichy as well as decon-
stiuct its abjection by paiodying this piivilege thiough uke as object. That is, iathei than
being iendeied unintelligible foi being feminized, the uke as objectifed by the seme is
desiied and valued because of his femininity. In effect, the uke natuializes an affimative
femininity as being intelligible and desiiable. Foi example, in Spell, Natoii, while fius-
tiated that Kisugi alieady has a boyfiiend, exclaims, °if Kisugi wasn`t gay oi bi ... If he was
with a giil, I piobably wouldn`t have these feelings anyway."
48
Natoii (the seme) desiies
Kisugi (the uke) because Kisugi is being feminized by anothei male. If Kisugi weie situated
as the masculine subject vis-a-vis a woman, Natoii would not feel the desiie he feels. Natoii
desiies iathei than despises Kisugi exactly because he is abject due to his femininity.
This line of thought iuns contiaiy to the heteiosexual matiix, which posits male sex-
ual penetiation as a loss of masculinity and condemnation to femininity. In BL, anal sex
undeimines the sense of loss and abjection peipetuated thiough a heteionoimative hiei-
aichy of penetiatoi-penetiated by validating the beauty and pleasuie of being penetiated
and feminized. As Nagaike Kazumi obseives, °uke chaiacteis aie poitiayed as enjoying sex
as fieely as seme chaiacteis do."
49
Similaily, Wood aigues that while the °seme-uke dichotomy
tends to ieinfoice notions of active/passive sex ioles, it is impoitant to emphasize that in
168 Pait Thiee: Boys` Love and Peiceptions of the Queei
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geneial these comics do not visually infuse the iole of uke with negative oi disempoweiing
connotations."
50
Even when the uke is iaped by the seme, the demeaning and objectifying
penetiative act is ieconstiucted as one of love-an affimative and eiotic sexual act (see
the fist topos above). This is not to dismiss the ieal-woild hoiioi and consequences of
iape, but iathei to co-opt and inveit the patiiaichal foice that iendeis feminization a deval-
uating and destiuctive act. Thus, the compulsoiy natuie of peifoimative gendei, wheieby
°acting out of line with heteiosexual noims biings with it ostiacism, punishment, and vio-
lence,"
5!
is iemoved in BL in the uke`s affimation of and thiough femininity. In this way,
femininity is poitiayed as constitutive of subjectivity iathei than as a lack in the Symbolic.
The utility of the uke as male femininity is also suppoited by the ways in which his
utility can fail. If he is peiceived as too feminine-too much like a giil -his likeness can
be peiceived as uncanny and iejected. Aftei all, the uke is meant to contain femininity as
a male. Kaien Nakamuia and Matsuo Hisako, in theii study of female masculinity in
Takaiazuka theatei, aigue that °foi fantasy to woik, it must piovide something outside of
the noimal."
52
Analyzing how fans, in Kaja Silveiman`s teiminology, °sutuie" themselves,
they found that fantasy was disiupted if fans (both males and females) weie asked to sutuie
to chaiacteis whose peifoimance made too explicit the sex-as-gendei equation (e.g.,
°female-actois-playing-female-ioles"). It is the °aitifce of female masculinity" that allows
men and women to sutuie themselves most effectively.
53
To constiuct an affimative male
femininity, not only must the uke be feminized, but he must also be maintained as male
and thus piesent the aitifce of male femininity.
This iequiiement in pait explains the maiginalization of female chaiacteis in BL.
While McLelland aigues °women piotagonists aie iedundant because female subjectivity
is alieady embodied in the 'male` chaiacteis,"
54
this may only be pait of the pictuie. I would
aigue that females aie also maiginalized because theii physical body and inteiaction with
the male piotagonists ieaiticulates too blatantly the pioblem of sex as gendei and mas-
culinity as piivileged ovei femininity. That is, it ieasseits the veiy heteionoimative equa-
tions that the uke is meant to subveit.
By maiginalizing females, the uke is ieconfimed as male thiough the physical and pei-
foimative contiast females piovide, while females` pioblematic piesence is not emphasized.
Foi example, in Cnly the Ring Finger Kncws, Wataiu (the uke) iemaiks that due to a iumoi
that his sistei is dating the populai and beloved Kazuki, he has °become the enemy of the
entiie school`s female population."
55
Iionically, the ieadei could have assumed that Wataiu
goes to an all-boy`s school; the female population he iefeiences only make spoiadic, peiiph-
eial appeaiances-often to move along the stoiy between the two male piotagonists oi, as
in this case, to confim the uke as male thiough diffeientiation.
Howevei, the impoitance of the male femininity of the uke does not necessaiily mean
that fe(male)s can only identify with the uke to mitigate theii ielationship to femininity.
Shigematsu Setsu, in an insightful analysis of erc manga (eiotic comics made foi men) and
theii depiction of iape and rcrikcn (liteially °Lolita Complex," iefeiiing to eiotic/ioman-
tic naiiatives about oldei men and youngei giils), discusses the identifcations made while
ieading manga as
oscillating and ßuid, shifting and incomplete, moving among multiple contiadictoiy
(psychic) sites that aie constituted diffeiently depending on the specifc histoiy and
expeiiences of the subject. Some of these possible sites might be expiessed as: I desiie to
be the object of desiie/I hate the object of desiie/I conquei the object of desiie/the object
of desiie wants me/the object of desiie hates me.
56
9-Uttering the Absurd, Revaluing the Abject (AKATSUKA) 169
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170 Pait Thiee: Boys` Love and Peiceptions of the Queei
Figure 3. The sex scene between Natori (seme) and Kisugi (uke) shifts from the perspective of Natori,
to a voyeur perspective, to the perspective of Kisugi. Credit: OriginaI Japanese version Spell-Superu
· 2003 Hyouta Fujiyama. OriginaIIy pubIished in Japan in 2003 by Frontier Works Inc. EngIish trans-
Iation · 2007 by DIGITAI MANGA, INC.
©

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BL does not iequiie ieadeis to identify with eithei seme oi uke, but iathei facilitates
shifting thiough the multiple psychic sites thiough the layout of the manga.
57
As manga is
usually divided into multiple fiames, stiips, and scieens, as opposed to a continuous ßow
of images as in flm, Shigematsu aigues that the manga ieadei`s peispective, and theiefoie
identifcation, is similaily multiple and fiactuied.
58
That is, diffeient fiames position iead-
eis to see the naiiative fiom diffeient peispectives, iegaidless of which chaiactei piovides
the naiiative viewpoint.
59
As Figuie 3 shows, even as Natoii naiiates the stoiy thiough his
inteinal monologue, the page is divided into fiames that shift the ieadei`s peispective fiom
that of Natoii viewing Kisugi, to a voyeui peispective of both Natoii and Kisugi, to that
of Kisugi viewing Natoii. Within this one scene, the ieadei is given fieedom to identif y
with the seme, the uke, neithei, oi both. The degiee to which fe(male) ieadeis will identify
with any one peispective, oi psychic site, may be inßuenced moie by theii own peisonal
histoiy with patiiaichy and less with an essentialized position of womanhood.
By tiaveling thiough vaiious psychic sites, ieadeis can ievisit the gendei dyad and its
hieiaichy of value and mitigate theii own ambivalence towaid femininity. Unlike Shige-
matsu, then, I believe that this act of ieading-while not necessaiily causing the ieadei to
think ceitain thoughts oi identify in any one way-gieatly facilitates a cathaisis thiough
its multiple psychic stimuli. In Eerie Queerie, foi example, theie is a shoit stoiy about the
spiiit of Kiyomi, a giil who hates hei moital life foi its lack of subjectivity (e.g., always
being unable to expiess heiself, woiiying about what otheis thought of hei). By possess-
ing Mitsuo (the uke`s) body, she visits seveial psychic sites, such as becoming the object of
desiie foi Hasunuma (the seme), hating Mitsuo foi being the object of desiie, and being
hated by Mitsuo who is the object of desiie. In the end, Kiyomi is able to move on, having
iesolved hei ambivalence towaid hei lack of subjectivity (i.e., femininity) and hei past
thiough a cathaisis ieached thiough the uke as inteimediaiy.
BI and the Pclitics cf Gender and Sexuality
Readeis of BL, vaiiously positioned within paiticulai sociohistoiical contexts,
inevitably have multifaceted and contiadictoiy inteipietations of any individual text within
the sub-genie. I do not assume that theie is one way to iead BL oi to enjoy its textual pleas-
uies. Howevei, the topoi of BL, paiticulaily the disavowal of homosexuality, stiuctuie the
BL naiiative in ways that distinguish ieading BL manga fiom ieading erc manga oi iead-
ing anothei sub-genie of shjc manga.
Thiough the paiticulai imaginaiy of BL, fe(male)s can claim agency and femininity can
be iesignifed thiough a vaiiation on the discouise of femininity.
60
This is cleai when BL
manga, which constiuct an affimative naiiative of femininity, aie seen as mass-pioduced
and -consumed texts not only within Japan, but also tiansnationally. In this way BL manga
exemplify °subveisive iepetition" wiit laige.
6!
By ieading BL, then, fe(male)s aie embedded
within a new discouise of gendei and hailed in the new teims posed by the BL feminine.
Howevei, this subveisive discouise should not be tieated as unpioblematic. Although
BL naiiatives enable the constiuction of an affimative feminine subjectivity and space, they
do so thiough the co-option of homosexuality iemoved fiom context and neutialized within
heteionoimative paiameteis. By limiting its engagement with homosexuality thiough the
constiuction of an indeteiminate epistemology, the constiucted feminine space maiginal-
izes the ieal-woild limitations, anxieties, and dangeis suiiounding homosexuality. Whethei
9-Uttering the Absurd, Revaluing the Abject (AKATSUKA) 171
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the chaiactei is homosexual is usually not iesolved thiough avowal, and so the text does
not fully engage with the consequences if the chaiactei actually did avow. This ambiguity
is pioductive foi the sake of appealing to a multi-positioned audience as it accommodates
a wide iange of inteipietation, tiuth pioduction, and engagement. To pioduce this space,
though, social noims-stiuctuial clues that would oveideteimine the outcome-aie evac-
uated. Thus, BL is not necessaiily eithei pio-gay oi homophobic. It is not necessaiily any-
thing outside of the inteipietation by the ieadei.
The homosexual nevei fully mateiializes in BL even if the text is haunted by its spectei.
Rathei, homosexuality iemains moie of an aesthetic than a position with peisonal and
social consequences. Theiefoie, I would aigue that the queeiness of BL is not queei enough.
That is, although BL, similai to queei theoiy, pioblematizes and deconstiucts the homo/het-
eiosexual binaiy in favoi of moie ambiguous sexual and gendeied identities by mobiliz-
ing contiadictoiy defnitions of sexuality (i.e., sexual behavioi veisus claimed sexual
identity), this is a means iathei than an end. BL queeis identity without the anti-homo-
phobic political agenda that queeiness usually entails. This leaves BL as both too queei, as
it cannot unpioblematically be declaied heteiosexist oi homophobic due to the focus on
love thiough homoeioticism, yet not queei enough, as it cannot unpioblematically be
declaied pio-gay oi anti-homophobic due to its tieatment of homosexuality as an aesthetic
without social consequences. Readeis will iesolve this paiadox and how it ielates to them
thiough theii own inteipietations, but this iesolution will not be ieached piimaiily thiough
an anti-homophobic agenda of the text. Of couise, we need to also considei the puiposes
foi which ambiguity is mobilized-not foi sexual libeiation, but foi gendei ievaluation.
Eithei goal is impoitant, but we should be cautious about the achievement of one goal
thiough the othei, as this co-option is iaiely innocent of the politics of powei, paiticulaily
when consideied within the webs of tiansnational capitalism. As an aesthetic to be con-
sumed, the homosexual thieatens to meiely become a commoditized sign with no iefei-
ence in social ieality. As Rosemaiy Hennessy wains,
the appiopiiation of gay cultuial codes in the cosmopolitan ievamping of gendei dis-
plays the aibitiaiiness of bouigeois patiiaichy`s gendei system and helps to ieconfguie
it in a moie postmodein mode wheie the links between gendei and sexuality aie loosei,
wheie homosexuals aie welcome, even constituting the vanguaid, and wheie the appio-
piiation of theii paiody of authentic sex and gendei identities is quite compatible with
the aestheticization of eveiyday life into postmodein lifestyles. In itself, of couise, this
limited assimilation of gays into mainstieam middle-class cultuie does not disiupt post-
modein patiiaichy and its inteisection with capitalism; indeed it is in some ways quite
integial to it.
62
Like the maiketing of lesbian images analyzed by Danae Claik, gays in commodity
cultuie aie welcome as °consumei subjects but not as social subjects."
63
I am not saying
that wiiteis oi ieadeis of BL manga aie unawaie of, denying, oi denigiating the existence
of queei individuals in ieal life. What is tioubling to me is not that wiiteis oi ieadeis aie
homophobic, but that they could easily consume BL`s queeiness without necessaiily being
anti-homophobic.
Nctes
1. Kannagi Satoiu and Odagiii Hotaiu, Cnly the Ring Finger Kncws (Caison, CA: Digital Manga Publish-
ing, 2004), book covei.
2. Foi my puiposes, I will use the teim °boys` love" oi °BL" to iefei to this sub-genie, wheieby I iely on
172 Pait Thiee: Boys` Love and Peiceptions of the Queei
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the peiiodization of the sub-genie mapped by Mizoguchi Akiko. In this way, I focus my analysis on main-
stieam boys` love manga fiom !99! to the piesent, iathei than, foi example, bishnen (beautiful boy) manga
of the !970s. This is appiopiiate because the texts I analyze aie licensed English tianslations available in Noith
Ameiica of Japanese oiiginals published aftei !99!. Mizoguchi Akiko, °Male-Male Romance by and foi Women
in Japan: A Histoiy and the Sub-Genies of Yaci Fictions," U.S.-}apan \cmen´s }curnal 25 (2003): 49 -75. Foi
analyses of the bishnen peiiod of the !970s, see Aoyama Tomoko, °Male Homosexuality as Tieated by Japa-
nese Women Wiiteis," in The }apanese Trajectcry. Mcdernizaticn and Beycnd, ed. Gavan McCoimack and
Yoshio Sugimoto (Cambiidge: Cambiidge Univeisity Piess, !988), !86-204; Suzuki Kazuko, °Poinogiaphy
oi Theiapy: Japanese Giils Cieating the Yaoi Phenomenon," in Millennium Girls. Tcday´s Girls Arcund the
\crld, ed. Sheiiie Inness (London: Rowman & Littlefeld Publisheis, Inc., !998), 243-267; gi Fusami, °Gen-
dei Insuboidination in Japanese Comics (Manga) foi Giils," in Illustrating Asia. Ccmics, Humcr Magazines,
and Picture Bccks, ed. John Lent (Honolulu: Univeisity of Hawai`i Piess, 200!), !7!-!86; and James Welkei,
°Beautiful, Boiiowed, and Bent: 'Boys` Love` as Giils` Love in Shcjc Manga," Signs 3!, no. 3 (2006): 84!-870.
3. Diu Pagliassotti, °Boys` Love vs. Yaoi: An Essay on Teiminology," http://ashenwings.com/maiks/2008/
07/!7/boys-love-vs-yaoi-an-essay-on-teiminology/.
4. Andiea Wood, °'Stiaight` Women, Queei Texts: Boy-Love Manga and the Rise of a Global Countei-
public," \cmen´s Studies Quarterly 34, no. !/2 (2006).
5. Veiuska Sabucco, °Guided Fan Fiction: Westein 'Readings` of Japanese Homosexual-Themed Texts,"
in Mcbile Cultures. New Media in Queer Asia (Ccnscle-ing Passicns), ed. Chiis Beiiy, Fian Maitin, and Audiey
Yue (Duiham: Duke Univeisity Piess, 2003).
6. Ibid.
7. Diu Pagliassotti, °GloBLisation and Hybiidisation: Publisheis` Stiategies foi Biinging Boys` Love to
the United States," Intersecticns. Gender and Sexuality in Asia and the Pacifc 2! (2009), http://inteisections.
anu.edu.au/issue2!/pagliassotti.htm.
8. Maik McLelland, °No Climax, No Point, No Meaning: Japanese Women`s Boy Love Sites on the Intei-
net," }curnal cf Ccmmunicaticn Inquiry 24, no. 3 (2000): 287; and Iwabuchi Koichi, Recentering Glcbaliza-
ticn. Pcpular Culture and }apanese Transnaticnalism (Duiham, NC: Duke Univeisity Piess, 2002), 27.
9. Iwabuchi, Recentering Glcbalizaticn, 28.
10. Ibid., !5.
11. gi Fusami, °Gendei Insuboidination in Japanese Comics (Manga) foi Giils," in Illustrating Asia.
Ccmics, Humcr Magazines, and Picture Bccks, ed. John Lent (Honolulu: Univeisity of Hawai`i Piess, 200!),
!82.
12. Ibid., !7!.
13. Diu Pagliassotti, °Reading boys` love in the West," Participaticns 5, no. 2 (2008), http://www.paiticip
ations.oig/Volume%205/Issue%202/5_02_pagliassotti.htm.
14. Ibid. The options foi identifying sexuality in the two suiveys included °bisexual," °gay," °lesbian,"
°othei," °not inteiested in sex," °don`t know," °piefei not to say," and °queei" (in the Italian-language sui-
vey only). By °non-heteiosexually identifed males and females," I am amalgamating the iesponses fiom both
males and females to these categoiies.
15. Wood, °'Stiaight` Women, Queei Texts," 396. Foi examples of past studies, see Behi Maiko, °Undefning
Gendei in Shimizu Reiko`s Kaguyahime," U.S.-}apan \cmen´s }curnal 25 (2003): 8-29; Mizoguchi, °Male-
Male Romance by and foi Women in Japan," 49-75; and Matthew Thoin, °Giils and Women Getting Out of
Hand: The Pleasuie and Politics of Japan`s Amateui Comics Community," in Fanning the Flames. Fans and
Ccnsumer Culture in Ccntempcrary }apan, ed. William Kelly (New Yoik: State Univeisity of New Yoik Piess,
2004), !69-!87.
16. Suzuki, °Poinogiaphy oi Theiapy," 244.
17. Wim Lunsing, °Yaci Rcns: Discussing Depictions of Male Homosexuality in Japanese Giils` Comics,
Gay Comics and Gay Poinogiaphy," Intersecticns. Gender, Histcry and Culture in the Asian Ccntext !2 (Janu-
aiy 2006), http://inteisections.anu.edu.au/issue!2/lunsing.html.
18. Thoin, °Giils and Women Getting Out of Hand," !80.
19. In this papei I use °queei" as an umbiella teim foi non-heteiosexual sexualities. In contiast, when I
use °homosexual" oi °gay," I iefei to a sexuality based on desiie between people of the same sex; specifcally,
desiie between two males.
20. Mizoguchi, °Male-Male Romance by and foi Women in Japan," 66.
21. Ibid., 56.
22. Ibid.
23. Mizoguchi`s analysis in °Male-Male Romance by and foi Women in Japan" of topoi is based on hei
ieseaich on BL manga in Japan, which I found to be iepioduced in my own ieseaich on offcially tianslated
BL manga in Noith Ameiica. I would like to emphasize that the texts I analyzed aie tianslated Japanese texts
9-Uttering the Absurd, Revaluing the Abject (AKATSUKA) 173
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and theiefoie the topoi and the paiticulai way they stiuctuie BL naiiatives may be specifc to Japanese BL.
The topoi, paiticulaily the disavowal of homosexuality, may be less common in Oiiginal English Language
(OEL)/Westein BL.
24. Fujiyama Hyouta, Spell (Gaidena, CA: Digital Manga Publishing, 2007), !79.
25. Mizoguchi, °Male-Male Romance by and foi Women in Japan," 56.
26. Alexandei Doty, Making Things Perfectly Queer. Interpreting Mass Culture (Minneapolis: Univeisity of
Minnesota Piess, !993), 3.
27. By °peifoimativity," I am iefeiiing to Judith Butlei`s notion of gendei peifoimativity wheieby (gen-
dei) identity is constiucted thiough discouise and acts iathei than being taken foi gianted as a pie-existing
condition. In this way I want to emphasize how the disavowal of homosexuality constiucts and mobilizes
gendei and sexuality within a BL manga in paiticulai ways foi the ieadeis of the manga. Gendei and sexual-
ity within BL manga, in my view, is thus moie ßuid, less given, and open foi ievaluation.
28. Shiozu Shuii, Eerie Queerie! Vclume I (Los Angeles: TOKYOPOP Inc, 2004), 52.
29. Ibid.
30. Kannagi and Odagiii, Cnly the Ring Finger Kncws, 63.
31. Ibid., !30.
32. Fujiyama, Spell, 88.
33. Shiozu, Eerie Queerie! Vclume I, !2.
34. Ibid., 37.
35. See Mizoguchi Akiko, °Homophobic Homos, Rapes of Love, and Queei Lesbians: Yaoi as a Conßict-
ing Site of Homo/Heteio-Sexual Female Sexual Fantasy" (papei piesented at the Association foi Asian Stud-
ies Annual Meeting, New Yoik, USA, Maich 27-30, 2003), http://www.aasianst.oig/absts/2003abst/Japan/
sessions.htm. Inteiestingly, Lunsing in °Yaci Rcns" notes that assuming the disavowal is homophobic is piob-
lematic because it is also a topos used in gay texts, such as Japanese gay manga (that is, manga made foi gay
men by gay men) and gay poinogiaphy.
36. Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick, Epistemclcgy cf the Clcset (Beikeley: Univeisity of Califoinia Piess, 2008 ¦!990]),
4.
37. Judith Butlei, Gender Trcuble. Feminism and the Subversicn cf Identity (New Yoik: Routledge Classics,
2006 ¦!990]), 23. Homo/heteiosexual binaiy iefeis to Rosemaiy Hennessy`s distinction between queei and
lesbian/gay, wheieby lesbian/gay, as opposed to queei, °assumes a polaiized division between heteio- and
homo-sexuality and signals disciete and asymmetiically gendeied identities." °Queei Visibility in Commod-
ity Cultuie," Cultural Critique 29 (Wintei !994-95): 34. I would aigue that BL manga tend to assume and
ieify such a binaiized defnition of sexuality thiough the heteionoimative subtext stiuctuied by the BL topoi.
Foi example, although bisexuality is a sexual identity sometimes claimed by oi foi a chaiactei, it is not usu-
ally iepiesented visually oi puisued as a stoiyline within BL naiiatives due to the sub-genie`s exclusive focus
on male-male ielationships. In Spell, Kisugi is named as a bisexual by one of his fiiends, but he is only shown
with a boyfiiend and nevei poitiayed as involved with a female in the text.
38. Butlei, Gender Trcuble, 24.
39. Fujiyama Hyouta, Freefall Rcmance (Gaidena, CA: Digital Manga Publishing, 2007), !!-!2.
40. Ibid., !7.
41. Ibid., 22.
42. Hiiomi Tsuchiya Dollase, °Eaily Twentieth Centuiy Japanese Giils` Magazine Stoiies: Examining Shjc
Voice in Hanamcncgatari (Flowei Tales)," }curnal cf Pcpular Culture 36, no. 4 (2003): 737.
43. Julia Kiisteva, Tales cf Icve, tians. Leon Roudiez. New Yoik: Columbia Univeisity Piess, !987.
44. Ibid., 374.
45. Butlei, Gender Trcuble, !98.
46. Ibid., 38. The Symbolic, as conceptualized by Jacques Lacan, is one of the thiee stiuctuies of the psy-
che. One enteis the Symbolic (and thus inteiaction with otheis) thiough language and the acceptance of the
iules and laws of society (i.e., the Name-of-the-Fathei). How one becomes a subject vis-a-vis otheis theie-
foie is intimately tied with the iules and laws of (patiiaichal) society.
47. Julia Kiisteva, Pcwers cf Hcrrcr. An Essay cn Abjecticn, tians. Leon Roudiez (New Yoik: Columbia Uni-
veisity Piess, !982), 207.
48. Fujiyama, Spell, 66.
49. Nagaike Kazumi, °Peiveise Sexualities, Peiveisive Desiies: Repiesentations of Female Fantasies and Yaci
Manga as Poinogiaphy Diiected at Women," U.S.-}apan \cmen´s }curnal 25 (2003): 85.
50. Wood, °'Stiaight` Women, Queei Texts," 403.
51. Judith Butlei, °Imitation and Gendei Insuboidination," in Queer Cultures, ed. Deboiah Cailin and Jen-
nifei DiGiazia (Uppei Saddle Rivei, NJ: Peaison/Pientice Hall, 2003), 363.
52. Kaien Nakamuia and Matsuo Hisako, °Female Masculinity and Fantasy Spaces: Tianscending Gen-
174 Pait Thiee: Boys` Love and Peiceptions of the Queei
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deis in the Takaiazuka Theatie and Japanese Populai Cultuie," in Men and Masculinities in Ccntempcrary
}apan. Dislccating the Salaryman Dcxa, ed. James Robeison and Suzuki Nobue (New Yoik: RoutledgeCuizon,
2003), 66. Takaiazuka iefeis to the populai Japanese all-female theatei tioupe, Takaiazuka Revue.
53. Nakamuia and Matsuo, °Female Masculinity and Fantasy Spaces," 68.
54. Maik McLelland, °The Love Between 'Beautiful Boys` in Japanese Women`s Comics," }curnal cf Gen-
der Studies 9, no. ! (2000): 22.
55. Kannagi and Odagiii, Cnly the Ring Finger Kncws, !!8.
56. Setsu Shigematsu, °Dimensions of Desiie: Sex, Fantasy, and Fetish in Japanese Comics," in Themes and
Issues in Asian Cartccning. Cute, Cheap, Mad, and Sexy, ed. J.A. Lent (Bowling Gieen, OH: Populai Piess,
!999), !36.
57. Ibid., !44.
58. Ibid.
59. Ibid.
60. Butlei, Gender Trcuble, !98.
61. Ibid., !98-!99.
62. Hennessy, °Queei Visibility in Commodity Cultuie," 62-63.
63. Ibid., 32.
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176 Pait Thiee: Boys` Love and Peiceptions of the Queei
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Boys in Love in Boys` Love
Disccurses \est/East and the
Abject in Subject Fcrmaticn
MARK MCHARRY
A woik many considei foundational to boys` love is Takemiya Keiko`s multi-volume
Kaze tc ki nc uta (Song of Wind and Tiees; !976). It was a best sellei on publication and
iemains in piint. Takemiya begins hei stoiy in a Catholic boaiding school in Piovence,
southein Fiance, in !880. The main chaiactei is Gilbeit Cocteau, a thiiteen-yeai-old stu-
dent unable to befiiend anyone and the taiget of almost constant iidicule.
Hei tale was inspiied by a movie made of Rogei Peyieftte`s novel Ies Amities partic-
ulieres (Special Fiiendships; !944), to which she and Masuyama Noiie invited theii ßatmate
Hagio Moto.
!
Peyieftte tells of two schoolmates, Geoiges, age fouiteen, and Alexandie,
twelve, who fall in love. Theii Jesuit school, in the neighboiing Languedoc iegion, undoes
theii love by coeicing Geoiges, who had initiated the ielationship, into ienouncing Alexan-
die. Peyieftte giadually deepens theii awaieness, and that of the ieadei, of the lethality of
the foices suiiounding them. He convinces the ieadei to accept Alexandie`s decision to use
the little powei he has, that ovei his own life, to end it. The genius of Peyieftte`s novel as
he builds to this inevitability is to make the ieadei complicit in the eiasuie of a young life.
2
In Kaze tc ki nc uta, Gilbeit`s anguish shocks fiom the outset. An alaim clock`s iing
snaps him awake fiom an afteinoon tiyst with an uppeiclassman. Gilbeit iebuffs the boy`s
attempt at piolonging theii encountei, huiiying off only to be inteicepted by the school`s
headmastei, who takes him to his offce and has sex with him on the man`s desk. Gilbeit
is theie, languidly posing against a window, not yet fully diessed, when a new pupil aiiives,
his soon-to-be ioommate, Seige, also thiiteen.
Takemiya depicts Gilbeit as able to ielate to otheis only thiough sex. He eithei pios-
titutes himself to oi demands sex fiom students and faculty, oi he is coeiced into sex, which
can involve non-consensual bondage and sadism, oi into non-sexual acts that aie degiad-
ing and/oi dangeious-a vulneiability he seems to encouiage, insisting eaily on in the
stoiy that iesistance is °pathetic," even though he does iesist again and again.
3
He iejects
oi ignoies a few people`s attempts-notably those of Seige -to become close.
Judith Butlei has chaiacteiized gendei as peifoimative, °pioduc¦ing] on the skin,
thiough the gestuie, the move, the gait (that aiiay of coipoieal theatiics undeistood as
gendei piesentation), the illusion of an innei depth" (2004, !34). Takemiya expiesses
Gilbeit`s vulneiability in the most diiect way possible, on his skin, in images of him naked
oi in paitial states of diess. She does so in woids, too, as in a student`s obseivation to Cail,
a doimitoiy mastei, that °The only way to ... peisuade him is thiough his skin."
4
To be the object of a foiced eiotic act as Gilbeit so often is tiaduces the ability to act
on desiie. His libidinal economy is one of ceaseless negotiation, iesistance, and submission,
177
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a metaleptic displacement of desiie. It is a state sometimes ieduced in English-language com-
mentaiy to °piomiscuity," meaning casual oi indisciiminate sexual behavioi.
5
Yet Gilbeit`s
anguish is fai fiom casual.
°Abject" in populai use means °one cast off ... an outcast; a degiaded peison,"
6
which
Gilbeit is. But that is a paitial desciiption. In psychoanalytic thought deiived fiom Fieud
and Lacan and elaboiated by Julia Kiisteva, Elizabeth Giosz and otheis, the abject state is
implicated in the foimation of subject. In Kiistevan teims Gilbeit`s iejection of otheis is a
iecognition of °the impossible ¦that] constitutes ¦his] veiy being" (Kiisteva !982, 4). It is
a state wheie laughtei masks °a hatied that smiles, a passion that uses the body foi baitei
instead of inßaming it" (8, 4). It is a °violence of mouining" biought about by what °dis-
tuibs identity, system, oidei. What does not iespect boideis, positions, iules" (!5, 4).
Biought about above all by jcuissance
7
:
Jouissance alone causes the abject to exist as such. One does not know it, one does not
desiie it, one joys in it ¦cn en jcuit]. Violently and painfully. A passion. And, as in jouis-
sance wheie the object of desiie, known as the object a ¦in Lacan`s teiminology], buists
with the shatteied miiioi wheie the ego gives up its image in oidei to contemplate itself
in the Othei, theie is nothing eithei objective oi objectal to the abject ¦9].
Gilbeit has suffeied a gieat loss. Takemiya makes its cost cleai, foi example, as when
a youngei Gilbeit submits to a man`s iape of him. Gilbeit`s stiangulated °cui, cui" is wiit-
ten in Westein chaiacteis, claiion amid the Japanese, a signal of the weight of the act (vol.
!, 266).
The most uigent iepiesentations of human desiie and loss aie in teims of sex and death.
Takemiya`s depiction of Gilbeit`s so-called piomiscuity is a masteiful way of showing the
extent of his calamity. Emphasizing the undoing of his coipoieality via diawings of his body
is a peifect visual expiession of the undoing of his mental state.
This was a ieason that Kaze was contioveisial on its publication. Uli Meyei in this vol-
ume quotes Matthew Thoin: °Theie weie nine yeais between oiiginal conception and
appioval foi publication, because ¦Takemiya] iefused to iemove oi fudge the sexual aspect."
Beyond that, the images of Gilbeit`s eiotic actions with othei males may be the fist such
widely ciiculated in Japan since the sexually explicit piints of the Edo peiiod (!603-!868
CE).
Kaze tc ki nc uta and othei populai shjc manga gave biith to discouises that stand
in uneasy contiast to the pievailing discouises in Japan about sex, which weie impoited
fiom the West duiing the Meiji peiiod (!868-!9!2 CE), in the wake of tieaties imposed by
the United States. These discouises established noimative categoiies of gendei that ieplaced
nanshcku, and jcshcku (male love of females) with the dyad of dseiai (same-sex love) and
iseai (cioss-sex love) (Pßugfeldei !999, 25!-52).
The modein discouises in Japan and the West classifed male-male eiotic activity as
deviant -and still do if it is age disciepant, is among young adolescents oi if one of the
paitneis exhibits insuffciently masculine qualities. They considei sexually explicit illus-
tiations of any kind as potentially haimful, especially if they aie of minois. Yet boys` love
mangaka may employ all of these themes in a widely populai iegime of scopic pleasuie foi
female ieadeis.
Contempoiaiy boys` love discouises owe the eioticism of bishnen (beautiful boys),
an eiotic object of the adult male gaze foi moie than a millennium, to nanshcku (male-
male love, most often between an adult and an adolescent). Boys` love sometimes includes
anothei aspect of histoiical Japanese piactice: kshcku, the Edo-peiiod notion of eiotic love
178 Pait Thiee: Boys` Love and Peiceptions of the Queei
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in a context of playfulness, pleasuie, and cuiiosity.
8
Like nanshcku, kshcku was a d (way)
and was to be cultivated as an ideal foi a tsjin (connoisseui) puisuing it. Kshcku was pies-
ent in much of Edo peiiod gesaku (paiodic playful wiiting). The woid was immoitalized
in the titles of a seiies of novels by the wiitei Ihaia Saikaku and in the woik and life of
ukiyc (ßoating woild) notables such as Sant Kyden, Shikitei Sanba, ta Nanpo, and
Hiiaga Gennai.
9
In Meiji, kshcku became ie-defned as °lustful." Takayuki Yokota-Muiakami obseived
that °the new paiadigm stigmatized active sexuality. Sexual lust was now to be distinguished
fiom chaste love and, theiefoie, to be iecognized" (!998, 95). Recognized, that is, as a dis-
ciplinaiy categoiy.
Aspects of kshcku as positive aie fiequently piesent in contempoiaiy boys` love manga.
One example is Minami Kazuka`s Tcnari nc heya nc parancia (My Parancid Next Dccr
Neighbcr; 2007) (fg. !). Hei stoiy is about a piesent-day high-school student, Yukito,
unhappy that a fiiend whom he had not seen since the end of middle school was coming
to stay at his house. Minami uses theii encounteis to show Yukito leaining that physical
pleasuie may lead to an emotional bond. This is the ieveise of contempoiaiy Westein ide-
ology, which holds that physically expiessed love should follow emotional love. To accom-
plish hei end Minami must emphasize eioticism: Yukito`s body is an eiotic object almost
eveiy time he`s seen.
!0
As a ieviewei foi the tiade magazine Publishers \eekly commented
when the manga was tianslated into English foi sale in the U.S., °eveiy aspect of life in this
stoiy is peimeated with sex."
!!
That is a pioblem foi boys` love in the West. Laws in the U.S., Canada, and Austialia
have put those who iead boys` love manga at iisk of impiisonment.
!2
These have taken
effect amid °an explosion of cultuial concein," as Steven Angelides put it, ovei child sex-
ual abuse woildwide (quoted in McLelland 2005, 2).
Child sex abuse discouises aie a iecognition of the continuing exploitation of powei-
less individuals and a deteimination to use a supiemely poweiful means-the state-to
piotect them. On the othei hand, boys` love discouises aie independent of the state, being
°an exploiation of issues of self-identity and sexual expiession outside of state-sanctioned
monogamous, heteiosexual and 'family fiiendly` bounds," wiites Maik McLelland (2005,
27).
!3
Peyieftte`s Ies Amities particulieres won the Piix Renaudot and catapulted him to lit-
eiaiy fame. He wiote it in what had been °one of the most libeial milieux on eaith" foi its
time (Sheiidan !999, 376). Contiibuting to this was an age-disciepant homoeiotic dis-
couise in Fiench liteiatuie in which many wiiteis and aitists paiticipated.
!4
One of the
most inßuential novelists of the twentieth centuiy was Nobel lauieate Andié Gide. He was,
accoiding to biogiaphei Alan Sheiidan, the fist open homosexual in the West to publish
the fist seiious study of homosexuality, Ccrydcn (!924). It is a justifcation not of male-
male eioticism in geneial but of adult-adolescent ielationships, oi pedeiasty, a woid then
used in Fiance and some othei Westein cultuies as an equivalent foi age-disciepant homo-
sexuality.
!5
Gide consideied it the most impoitant of his books. He also piaised Peyieftte`s
Ies Amities on its publication.
These individuals weie contioveisial foi theii lives as well as theii woiks. Gide`s
accounts of his life, including what he desciibed as his fiequent °piowling" ¦rcder] foi
young adolescents, weie published aftei his death.
!6
Peyieftte`s came duiing his lifetime.
His Nctre Amcur (Oui Love; !967) desciibes a life-long ielationship he and a twelve-yeai-
old, Alain-Philippe Malagnac d`Aigens de Villèle, began in !964.
I0-Bcys in Icve in Bcys´ Icve (MCHARRY) 179
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180 Pait Thiee: Boys` Love and Peiceptions of the Queei
Figure . Minami Kazuka, Tonarí no heya no paranoía. Yukito (Ieft) and his friend Hokuto at the
story's start. MY PARANOID NEXT DOOR NEIGHBOR-Tonari No Heya No Paranoia · 2003,
2004 by Kazuka Minami. AII rights reserved. Image usedunder permission granted by DigitaI Manga,
Inc.
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These woiks contiibuted to this discouise, which has continued, albeit gieatly atten-
uated, into the twenty-fist centuiy.
!7
It is one of many Westein post-Enlightenment dis-
couises about sex identifed by Michel Foucault. He chaiacteiizes them as multiple,
incieasing (!978, 30), demanding examination and seeking causation (59), °an entiie glit-
teiing sexual aiiay" to pioduce tiuth at °a neaily fabulous piice" (72). They iesulted in an
explosion in the numbei of peiveisions to be contiolled as individuals` sexual piactices weie
identifed and catalogued as imagined types, one being the homosexual, which has been
elaboiated to such an extent as to become a °species."
!8
Confession became key to tians-
foimation of sex into discouise and to unlocking tiuth (6!); it could exoneiate, iedeem,
and puiify (62). Tiuth and sex became institutionalized and sepaiated, no longei linked
by tiansmission fiom one body to anothei as they weie in Ancient Gieece (6!) and aie in
the Fiench age-disciepant and Japanese boys` love discouises.
The Fiench age-disciepant discouise as seen in Ies Amities fts Foucault`s model.
Peyieftte desciibes the school`s incessant quest to uncovei the °tiuth" of Alexandie`s and
Geoiges`s ielationship, coeicing them into the Catholic saciament of confession, placing
them undei almost constant suiveillance, examining theii letteis, thieats of iuination via
expulsion and exposuie, and attempts by one of the piiests to seduce the boys foi himself.
All this so theii fiiendship could be identifed as homosexual and the Chuich`s hold ovei
theii bodies ieifed.
In Edo peiiod Japan, nanshcku piactitioneis weie not a Foucauldian type to be cate-
goiized so as to subject them to the state`s iegulation of sexual expiession but could be any
male engaging in a kind of play. The hundieds of thousands of women who bought and
sold boys` love djinshi at Tokyo`s Comic Maiket in 2009 aie playing, too; some might call
themselves oi be called in the mainstieam news media °ctaku" oi °fujcshi" (iotten women)
but they aie not a species.
Child abuse, including sexual abuse, is a majoi plot element in Kaze tc ki nc uta (as
well as in Hagio`s Tma nc shinz). The way Takemiya appioaches this is little like the way
in which it is managed by discouises in the West, wheieby a stoiy such as Ies Amities would
attempt to deny oi negate it. In Kaze it`s as if these discouises do not exist. Gilbeit does
not confess to anything and he is not (consciously) seeking exoneiation oi iedemption.
Foucault`s notion of subjectivity is that it is °an effect of powei" (Mills 2004, 30) and
is exeicised on the body: °powei ielations can mateiially penetiate the body in depth, with-
out depending even on the mediation of the subject`s own iepiesentations" (Foucault !980,
!86), powei °wiapp¦ing] the sexual body in its embiace" (Foucault !978, 44).
Fai fiom being embiaced by powei, in fiame aftei fiame we see Gilbeit iesisting
attempts to examine his physical oi mental state, iunning away fiom (sometimes towaid)
centeis of powei (almost always people, not institutions), often outdoois, many times in
the woods. Gilbeit is penetiated physically by moie poweiful individuals but his spiiit
eludes penetiation. It is like the wind which accompanies him, that in fact may be him, a
fiee and constantly shifting piesence. In Japan wind may be divine
!9
; in some ways Gilbeit
is kami as well as human.
20
Seige ieminisces about the boy he came to love:
You weie the wind whistling thiough my bianches.
Can you heai the iustling song of the wind and tiees: ¦Vol. !, 57].
Unlike Geoiges and Alexandie, who aie victimized, Gilbeit`s abjectness makes him
subveisive, a challenge to the male hieiaichy of the school as he pulls its membeis into hav-
ing sex with him.
I0-Bcys in Icve in Bcys´ Icve (MCHARRY) 181
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In a pivotal scene neai the end of the fist volume, Gilbeit intioduces Seige to homo-
eioticism. At heaiing Seige`s outiaged inciedulousness that Gilbeit could baitei his body,
he ciinges but says, °Yes. I like it.... Do you know what I mean by that: ... Two men can be
joined physically.... That pleasuie is impossible to put into woids, Seige." Kneeling ovei
him, Gilbeit then initiates a kiss, which a stunned Seige iecipiocates (Vol. !, 3!3).
The point of view heie and thioughout most of Kaze is Gilbeit`s. In boys` love the point
of view is often the peison with nominally less powei, the youngei paitnei, oi uke, iathei
than the oldei paitnei,
2!
unlike in much of the Fiench age-disciepant male-male eiotic dis-
couise.
The boundaiies in boys` love, among its chaiacteis as well as the fiame that suiiounds
its discuisive feld, tend to be appioached in something othei than a stiaight line of tem-
poial piogiession. Elizabeth Giosz wiites that °The boundaiy between ... self and othei ...
must not be defned as a limit to be tiansgiessed so much as a boundaiy to be tiaveised"
(!995, !3!). °Tiaveise" is a woid which admits of an oblique appioach, a playing at the lim-
its, and it caiiies a tempoial iesonance.
Many uke play with the boundaiies of conventional masculinity and femininity, ie-
wiiting submission as powei and powei as submission. Boundaiies aie a pioduct of pas-
sage: °¦I]t is movement that defnes and constitutes boundaiies" (Giosz !995, !3!).
Movement is also pait of °queei," which Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick defned as °a continuing
moment, movement, motive-iecuiiing, eddying, trcublant" (!993, xii). In boys` love,
boundaiy tiansgiession is not necessaiily one binaiy ciossing but continued ciossings back
and foith, oi queei divagations along boundaiies, between subject and object, and heteio
and homo, a consistent undeicutting of heteio- and homonoimativity.
It is veiy often the uke who initiates passage thiough oi along boundaiies, as Gilbeit
does with his kiss, his stab of shame giving way to affimation leading to action. The uke
plays with time as well as with space. In Higuii Y`s widely iead manga Gakuen Heaven
(Academy Heaven; 2006) the boaiding school student Keita stops time at a ciitical moment.
Just aftei admitting to himself his attiaction to the uppeiclassman Niwa, Keita takes hold
of Niwa and gazes at him. Foi the fist time in the manga, theie is only silence. Befoie this
Higuii diew dialogue, thoughts, and/oi sound effects on each of Gakuen Heaven´s pages.
Keita`s action halts the ihythm of the sequential images. Time itself seems to stop as we
look at him and Niwa looking at one anothei.
Theie may be no bettei way to show the foice undeilying Keita`s and Niwa`s emotions
than to stop oi defeat time. No bettei way to thiust ieadeis into the depths of the imagined
emotions, as if theii emotions weie the only thing able to be expeiienced, as if ontological time
had collapsed and space expanded to make theii bonding the only thing in the univeise.
Queei tempoial-spatial divagations go against the giain of statist ideologies, which,
wiites Jonathan Boyaiin, employ °a paiticulaily potent manipulation of the dimensional-
ities space and time." One such is states using histoiy as a way to cieate ihetoiically fxed
national identities, excluding some individuals and helping legitimate the state`s monop-
oly on contiol (Boyaiin !994, !5-!6). States do this in pait by mapping histoiy onto teiii-
toiy. Accoidingly, the uke`s movement along and acioss boundaiies and his stopping oi
slowing time iepiesent a piofound expiession of powei against dominant notions of telos.
His actions aie in pait a iefusal of an identitaiian piocess desciibed by Lee Edelman: °Pol-
itics is a name foi ... desiie¦`s] ... teleological deteimination (2004, 9). ¦It] names the stiug-
gle to effect a fantasmatic oidei of ieality in which the subject`s alienation would vanish
into the seamlessness of identity" (8).
182 Pait Thiee: Boys` Love and Peiceptions of the Queei
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One puipose of boidei ciossing by the uke may be to acquiie subjectivity. Rathei than
an identity foi the ends of the state, the boys in boys` love seek an autonomy in the ability
to love whom they wish. The westein discouises of age-disciepant ielationships, piotec-
tion of sexually abused childien, and some of the functions of powei ielations on subjec-
tivity desciibed by Foucault seem to be iiielevant to Gilbeit and may be so to much of
contempoiaiy boys` love in Japan and the West. Takemiya uses the abuse Gilbeit suffeis
moie to impeiil his subjectivity than to ciicumsciibe his feld of action.
In theoiy elaboiated about the body, Elizabeth Giosz wiites that the developing sub-
ject (ego) must be inteilocked with a signifying system (!990, 8!); it becomes a subject only
when it can signify its coipoieality (85). Gilbeit is in dangei of losing mateiiality altogethei
to the abject : °¦T]he abject entices and attiacts the subject evei closei.... It is an insistence
on the subject`s necessaiy ielation to death ... being the subject`s iecognition and iefusal
of its coipoieality" (89).
As jcuissance is peifoice eiotic, and the abject dependent on jcuissance foi causation,
depictions of the abject state must involve eios. Abjection in subject foimation is most
cleaily a piocess of childhood. At the psychoanalytic level of Kiisteva`s thinking, abjection
°maiks the thieshold of the child`s acquisition of language," in which the spaces between
subject and object °need to be oppositionally coded foi the child`s ... subjectivity to be
defnitely tied to the body`s foim and limits" (Giosz !990, 86). Saia Beaidswoith calls abjec-
tion °the most unstable moment in the matuiation of the subject." It hinges on °the need
of a place foi the 'ego` to come into being" (2004, 8!).
Childhood and adolescence, wheie the subject may iisk dissolution befoie it has a
chance to gain a puichase on life, show the abject to its gieatest effect. In many boys` love
stoiies, including Kaze, the uke must oveicome the abject befoie he can pioductively ielate
to otheis. }cuissance may dissipate identity
22
but the abject can kill. To the extent that boys`
love depicts abjection in subject foimation it must depict young males eiotically.
The discouises desciibed above in contempoiaiy Fiance and Japan aiose in pait fiom
attempts at managing life in a woild hostile to one`s eiotic desiies. Discouises aie a means
of pioducing and oiganizing meaning (Edgai 2008, 96). Powei acts on discouise pioduc-
tion and subjectivity.
In Japanese boys` love powei may not be pait of the piocesses desciibed by Foucault
but it does in the end deny Gilbeit the subjectivity to be autonomous. In Westein nations
discuisive powei could change the meaning of boys` love fiom °boys in love" to °child
poinogiaphy."
Whatevei commonality theie is among contempoiaiy boys` love discouises in the East
and West may come in pait fiom the powei ielations undeilying the iepiession of the auton-
omy of the child and suppoiting the maintenance of a unitaiy sexual identity in childien.
Boys` love paiticipants claim powei to iepiesent a type of child, the male adolescent,
and in so doing cieate enteitainment that obstiucts (queeis) the ability of the state to
oiganize sexual identities. In Japan as in the West, this effoit invests the child`s alieady lim-
inal status with a queei sexual behavioi otheiwise closed to them because of theii iole as
asexual suiety foi heteiosexual iepioduction (Edelman 2004, !!). It inveits the idea of the
child fiom Edelman`s chaiacteiization of °the telos of the social oidei ... the one foi whom
that oidei is held in peipetual tiust" (ibid.) into queei. It inveits the fguiing of the queei,
which Edelman wiites is °the bai to ¦the] iealization of futuiity" (4), into actually having
a futuie.
In having the uke seize and iedeploy telos foi his own ends, bonding with anothei male,
I0-Bcys in Icve in Bcys´ Icve (MCHARRY) 183
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boys` love cieatois aie iesisting the piesciiption of fctively coheient sexual identities. This
is potentially a model foi boys` love consumeis, especially same-sex-attiacted teen and
young adult males.
Stoiies aie a key to undeistanding ouiselves, whethei they aie used in psychoanaly-
sis, in populai fction oi in othei discuisive foims. Diawn images, with theii immediacy,
illusion of completeness, and ambiguity have the powei to stimulate the imagination-to
imagine new outcomes-in a way that the piinted woid alone cannot.
I have found no evidence that boys` love woiks have haimed ieal childien.
23
Theie is
abundant evidence, on the othei hand, that Westein homophobia haims the lives of ieal
people, including youth consideied gay oi queei-identifed. In the U.S. they commit sui-
cide at fai highei iates than theii non-gay-identifed peeis.
24
They aie ioutinely the taiget
of violence, sometimes muideious. Effeminate boys in paiticulai may be left °in the posi-
tion of the haunting abject," wiites Sedgwick, not just of adult piedation but of °gay thought
itself."
25
Boys` love manga and anime, in which the adolescent male is piedominant, may offei
ieal-life young males a way to safely exploie theii sexualities, as they do foi some females,
and to help them foim theii subjectivities, as indeed some gay male youth iepoit that they
do
26
-in sum, to help them have a futuie-if discouises in Japan
27
and the West
28
about
boys` love aie not foieclosed by Westein discouises about child sex abuse.
Nctes
1. Thoin, Matthew. 2005. °The Moto Hagio Inteiview." The movie Ies Amities particulieres inspiied Hagio
to diaw Ncvember Gymnasium (!97!) as well as Tma nc shinz (Heait of Thomas; !974). Takemiya named
the school Lacombiade Academy, the name taken fiom that of Fiancis Lacombiade, who played Geoiges in
the movie. Gilbeit shaies the suiname of Jean Cocteau, a well known diamatist-ballet libiettist-novelist-poet
and homosexual who lived fiom the last decade of the nineteenth centuiy into the !960s. These aie two of
seveial playful anachionistic hommages in hei woik. Anothei is a panel showing Academy students diawing
the face of Tetsuwan Atomu (Mighty Atom), a populai manga chaiactei cieated in !95! by Tezuka Osamu
(Schodt !999, 244).
2. In the movie, fastei paced, Alexandie`s suicide comes iathei as a shock.
3. °If you can`t win, you should accept that calmly, without iesistance. Anything else is just pathetic" ( !995,
vol. !, 56). Page numbeis iefei to the !995 Hakusensha edition. Tianslations fiom the Japanese aie adapted
fiom a scanlation by YAOIRULEZ.
4. Vol. !, 82. Cail iepeats this to himself theieaftei (ibid., 86, 298). Gilbeit himself says, aftei catching Seige
to pievent his falling, °All that evei satisfed me was the hot touch of skin against skin.... Just to be held, to
touch someone`s skin-that is what I want" (34-35).
5. Cxfcrd English Dicticnary Draft Revisicn }une 2008. Foi °piomiscuous" as a desciiption of Gilbeit, see, e.g.,
Wikipedia, °Kaze to Ki no Uta," http://en.wikipedia.oig/wiki/Kaze_to_Ki_no_Uta (accessed July !!, 2009).
6. Cxfcrd English Dicticnary Seccnd Editicn I989.
7. Roland Baithes desciibed jcuissance as °violent pleasuie that dissipates cultuial identity to the point of
discomfoit and which unsettles the subject`s ielationship to language and iepiesentation." It is distinct fiom
plaisir, °which is linked to cultuial enjoyment and comfoitably ieinfoices the identity of the ego..." (Mooie
!998, !9! n. 4). Both aie desciiptions of eiotic pleasuie.
8. Foi kshcku`s connotations of playfulness see Yokota-Muiakami (!998, 4!); foi °cuiiosity" in the use of
a ielated teim, irc-gcncmi, see ibid. (!0!); foi kshcku`s being °pleasuie in love" see Saigent (!959, xxv n. 2).
Cf. Keene foi kshcku`s meaning °to love" (!976, !68).
Unlike kshcku, which denigiated an intense involvement with one`s lovei as yabc (uncool) (Yokota-
Muiakami, 50), much contempoiaiy boys` love manga seeks to have its chaiacteis connect oi bond in a state
of emotional love, even as it depicts theii sexual activity as ascbi (play), a woid still used today foi homosex-
uality, whose connotation of mimetic expeiimentation undeicuts Anglo-Euiopean conceptions of homosex-
uality as a fxed identity.
184 Pait Thiee: Boys` Love and Peiceptions of the Queei
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9. About half of Saikaku`s piose woiks concein love, including thiee of his best-known novels: Kshcku
ichidai ctckc (The Man \hc Icved Icve; !682), Kshcku gcnin cnna (Five \cmen \hc Icved Icve; !686) and
Kshcku ichidai cnna (Iife cf an Amcrcus \cman; !686). He also wiote a best-selling collection of nanshcku-
themed shoit stoiies, Nanshcku kagami. hcnch waka fzcku (Great Mirrcr cf Male Icve. the Custcm cf Bcy-
Icve in Cur Iand; !687).
Gennai was Edo Japan`s leading piomotei of Euiopean scientifc methodology as a way to stiengthen the
nation (Scieech !999, 9). He was also an eloquent pioponent of nanshcku. In a lyiical passage in the novel
Nenashigusa (Rcctless Grass; !763) Gennai uses Heian couit poetic diction to desciibe an encountei between
an actoi and a samuiai (the lattei in ieality a kappa, oi watei spiite who had taken human foim) (Gennai
2002, 473-79). It is an exquisitely tendei scene of eiotic bonding.
He also wiote moie piactically: Mitsu nc asa (Threefcld Dawn; !768), the title a pun lampooning the stait
of the New Yeai, and Edc nanshcku saiken (Edc Nanshoku Up Clcse; !783) aie guides to the male biothels of
Sakai-ch, an Edo distiict to which Gennai was a fiequent visitoi. In Mitsu nc asa Gennai hypothesized that
a decline of wakashugata (male adolescent iole actois) in the playhouses had lead to a deciease in the demand
foi irckc (lit., love boys, oi male piostitutes who woiked in and aiound the theateis), but he was optimistic
theie would be an imminent iesuigence of nanshcku. His aigument was discussed ciitically by the scholai
Ishizuka Hkaishi in the !840s (Pßugfeldei !999, 93), an example of nanshcku discouise continuing until less
then a dozen yeais befoie the U.S. inteivention.
10. Yukito and Hokuto aie age similai, but as uke Yukito looks much youngei than Hokuto. Both aie tak-
ing the entiance examinations to univeisity, which would make them seventeen oi eighteen.
11. Fiction Reviews: Week of 8/27/2007. Publishers \eekly, http://www.publisheisweekly.com/aiticle/CA
647!32!.html (accessed July 20, 2009).
12. In the U.S. a fedeial statute enacted in 2003 piohibits, among othei acts, possession of a caitoon if it
°depicts a minoi engaging in sexually explicit conduct" and is adjudged obscene, as well as any image that
°is, oi appeais to be, of a minoi engaging in ... sexual inteicouise" and which °lacks seiious liteiaiy, aitistic,
political, oi scientifc value" iegaidless of whethei it is found obscene. In eithei case the image must have
been ieceived via mail oi computei oi caiiied acioss a state boidei. U.S. Ccde (2003) !8, §§ !466A.
On May 20, 2009, Glenwood, Iowa iesident Chiistophei Handley pled guilty to two counts in violation of
this law, one of possessing obscene visual iepiesentations of the sexual abuse of childien, the othei of mail-
ing obscene mattei. Foi moie infoimation about Handley`s piosecution, see Matthew Thoin, °Chiistophei
Handley and me (Edited)," matt-thoin.com Geneiic Blog, May 26, 2009, http://matt-thoin.com/woidpiess/:p
·3!8 (accessed July !8, 2009).
In Canada fedeial law piohibits possession of child poinogiaphy, this being defned °as any visual iepie-
sentation showing 'a peison ... depicted as being undei the age of eighteen yeais and ... as engaged in explicit
sexual activity` (s. !63(!))" (Zanghellini 2009, !66).
In New South Wales, Austialia, any depiction of incest oi child sexual abuse is piohibited. Publications
that ''depict in a way that is likely to cause offence to a ieasonable adult, a peison who is, oi appeais to be, a
child undei !8 (whethei the peison is engaged in sexual activity oi not)`` and have °depictions of childien,
actually oi appaiently undei the age of !6, in a sexual context" aie also ciiminalized (ibid., !67).
13. Aleaido Zanghellini lists discuisive conventions of boys` love such as the appeaiance in manga of
°bishcunen, who aie iequiied to be kawaii (cute) iegaidless of age ¦which] often make¦s] them look youngei
than theii assigned age" and the seme-uke ioles aiising in pait fiom the tiadition of age disciepant male-male
eiotic ielations, which, togethei with the use of angst as a plot element, °explain ... why BL/yaci woik may
also featuie non-consensual, undeiage (shctaccn), and incest themes, and hence why they may well iun afoul"
of child poinogiaphy laws (2009, !72).
14. Lawience Schehi desciibes inteiconnections in the woiks and lives of well-known Fiench cultuial
fguies fiom the twentieth centuiy`s fist foui decades: impoitant fguies such as Gide, Maicel Pioust, Jean
Cocteau and Jean Genet, as well as populai wiiteis: °¦A]s this geneialized discuisive feld developed ... male-
male desiie and male-male cultuie weie iepeatedly encoded in Fiench liteiatuie.... ¦N]aiiative could no longei
pietend that it is heteiosexual and that homosexuality does not exist" (2004, 5-7). Theie was also in Paiis
then a visible male homoeiotic cultuie, including magazines in the !920s publishing homoeiotic fction as
well as bais, saunas and ciuising aieas (7).
15. Sheiidan wiites that °foi the Fiench ieadei, this teim ¦pederaste], too, was synonymous with 'homo-
sexual,` being its cuiient, colloquial equivalent. Until faiily iecently all homosexuals weie iefeiied to as
'pederastes`-'pedes,` foi shoit, with a touch of contempt" (!999, 378). Gide °was diawn sexually to adoles-
cent boys, that is, boys who weie alieady biologically men" (377). Gide was wiiting against Magnus Hiischfeld`s
notion of sexuelle Zwischenstufen, an inteimediaiy state of sexuality between male and female (376).
16. Gide desciibed his many eiotic encounteis, which he called his °petite aventures," in, among othei
places, his Carnets de Egypte (wiitten in !939) and his jouinals. Sheiidan desciibes one of these when Gide
I0-Bcys in Icve in Bcys´ Icve (MCHARRY) 185
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shaied a compaitment with two biotheis aged fouiteen and sixteen on a tiain to Weimai in !903. Gide com-
mented: °Moll, K. Ebing and otheis maintain that homosexuals tend to exaggeiate, to invent such stoiies.
Mind you, I can scaicely believe what happened myself " (Sheiidan !999, 20!, citing }curnal I, 2nd Pléiade edi-
tion, !996, 359-60). Richaid von Kiafft-Ebing and Albeit Moll weie Geiman psychiatiists in the lattei nine-
teenth and lattei nineteenth-eaily twentieth centuiies, iespectively.
17. One example is Gide`s Ie Ramier, fist published in 2002. It desciibes his night with a ffteen-yeai-old
in Bagnols-de-Gienade, Feidinand, whom he nicknamed °le iamiei" (woodpigeon) foi the way he moaned
(°one would say like a dove cooing") as Gide kissed him (Gide 2002, 27-8). In the pieface Gide`s daughtei
Catheiine chaiacteiizes theii encountei as positive, wiiting that the stoiy`s °sensation de fiaicheui et de poésie
et la nouvelle tiansmet au lecteui l`émoi de la découveite éiotique, la joie de la complicité, la victoiie du désii
et du plaisii paitagés. Je tiouve ce petit texte plein de joie de vivie. Toute peiveisité en est totalement absente"
(9-!0). (The stoiy`s °sensation of fieshness, poetiy and the new tiansmits to the ieadei the excitement of
eiotic discoveiy, the joy of complicity, the victoiy of desiie and of shaied pleasuie. I fnd this little text full
of the joy of life. Peiveisity is totally absent.") (My tianslation.)
18. In Foucault`s oft-quoted aphoiism, °The sodomite had been a tempoiaiy abeiiation; the homosexual
was now a species" (!978, 43). He wiites that homosexuality was a °medical categoiy" chaiacteiized in !870
by the Geiman sexologist Cail Westphal (ibid.). In fact Westphal coined the teim Kcntrüre Sexualempfndung
(°contiaiy sexual feeling") (Bullough !995, 38). The fist use of °homosexual" (Hcmcsexualitüt) was two yeais
eailiei, by Kail Maiia Keitbeny (Kennedy !997, 30).
19. The kami kaze (divine wind) which ßow fiom Mt. Fuji, Japan`s symbolic centei, have been mytholo-
gized in liteiatuie, ait and populai cultuie ovei hundieds of yeais.
20. Kami aie spiiits of vaiying poweis that may take vaiious foims, including human. They aie °like mii-
iois of human activity and chaiactei," in the woids of leading kckugakusha (native scholai) Kada no Azuma-
maio (!669-!736 CE), ießecting the concealed aspects of humans as humans iepiesent the ievealed aspects
of kami (Nosco !990, 84). Azumamaio viewed kami as supeiioi but not always tianscendent altei egos to
humans. This view was common in contempoiaiy Shint ciicles (ibid.). Azumamaio noted, °Since men make
mistakes, the kami also make mistakes. The diffeience between them is in the coiiection of these eiiois. The
kami iecognize theii mistakes and coiiect them, which is one iespect in which they aie supeiioi to men" (84-
85). A latei piominent kckugakusha, Motooii Noiinaga (!730-!80! CE), wiote that kami aie °fist the deities
of heaven and eaith who appeai in the ancient iecoids and the spiiits of the shiines wheie they aie woishipped"
but they also can be °biids and beasts, tiees and plants, seas and mountains, and so foith" (2!7). They can
also be human (2!8). Accoiding to Haiiy Haiootunian`s account of Motooii`s thinking, °men and kami weie
associated in a continuous seiies denoting kinship" (Haiootunian !988, 88), °united by theii mutual capac-
ity to feel deeply foi things (aware)" (!!5). °Viitue iequiies the kami to feel deeply and be moved" (ibid.);
kami °ievealed the idea that humans possess the spaik of divinity" (88). Foi the puiposes of this chaptei I
considei Gilbeit`s inteiactions with otheis solely at the level of human inasmuch as the othei chaiacteis take
him as such.
21. Kaze was wiitten befoie the seme/uke topos became populai in Japanese boys` love. In some ways,
Gilbeit is a piototypical uke. In othei ways, he is not. Of the two chaiacteis who fguie as objects of eiotic
inteiest foi him, Seige is only slightly tallei, is the same age, and has no moie powei to oveicome sexual pie-
dation against him than does Gilbeit. The othei, Auguste Beau, is oldei and much moie poweiful, but his
uttei indiffeience to otheis is not typical of contempoiaiy seme.
22. Leo Beisani desciibes the dissipative qualities of losing one`s identity: °Male homosexuality adveitises
the iisk of the sexual itself as the iisk of self-dismissal, of lcsing sight of the self, and in so doing it pioposes
and dangeiously iepiesents jcuissance as a mode of ascesis" (!987, 222).
23. In its iuling oveituining a U.S. law piohibiting °sexually explicit images that appeai to depict minois
but weie pioduced without using any ieal childien," the U.S. Supieme Couit found that the goveinment
showed °no moie than a iemote connection" between these images and any haim to childien. Ashcrcf t v. the
Free Speech Ccaliticn 535 U.S. 234 (2002).
24. Accoiding to fndings iepoited in the }curnal cf Adclescence, about eight peicent of youth nationally
attempted suicide in !996 (Moiiison and L`Heuieux 200!, 39). By compaiison, the Massachusetts Depaitment
of Education iepoited that gay, lesbian, bisexual and questioning (GLBQ) youth in Massachusetts weie foui
times moie likely to have attempted suicide than theii heteiosexual-identifed peeis in !995. The authois teim
the similaiity of the data gatheied by Massachusetts and by state agencies in Veimont and Washington as
°stiiking" (ibid., 40). Thiee othei studies in !993 and !994 iepoit anywheie fiom eighteen and one-half to
foity-two peicent of GLBQ youth attempted suicide. These teenageis also compiise a dispiopoitionate num-
bei of completed youth suicides. A !989 U.S. Depaitment of Health and Human Seivices iepoit indicated
that gay and lesbian youth may be two to thiee times moie likely to commit suicide than theii heteiosexual
counteipaits (ibid.).
186 Pait Thiee: Boys` Love and Peiceptions of the Queei
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25. Sedgwick calls this an °annihilating homophobic, gynephobic, and pedophobic hatied inteinalized and
made cential to gay-affimative analysis" (!99!, 2!).
In hei examination of the °appaiently buigeoning epidemic of suicides and suicide attempts by childien
and adolescents in the United States" (!8), she quotes fiom the Ameiican Psychiatiic Association`s Diagncs-
tic and Statistical Manual III, which identifes boys °display¦ing] a 'pieoccupation with female steieotypical
activities as manifested by a piefeience foi eithei cioss-diessing oi simulating female attiie, oi by a com-
pelling desiie to paiticipate in the games and pastimes of giils`" as meeting the diagnostic ciiteiia of °Gen-
dei Identity Disoidei of Childhood" (20). Noting that the monogiaphic liteiatuie about this condition since
DSM-III`s publication °is ... as fai as I can tell exclusively about boys" (!9), she cites iepiesentative examples
which chaiacteiize male effeminacy as a global chaiactei pathology.
Togethei with a male effeminophobia in the gay movement, which has meant that the movement °has
nevei been quick to attend to issues conceining effeminate boys" (20), she ieasons that the °gieat advance in
iecent gay and lesbian thought" of °theoiiz¦ing] gendei and sexuality as distinct though intimately entan-
gled. ... may leave the effeminate boy once moie in the position of the haunting abject -this time the haunt-
ing abject of gay thought itself " (ibid.).
26. Considei a comment in Publishers \eekly to a blog entiy about yaoi by one of its iepoiteis. The postei,
Bieaking the ice, says:
Back to Yaoi. Its not unieal as you kind ladys would believe. I`m a !7 yeai old male teen and I`m living
a yaio dieam with my¯blush¯ mate. He and I aie ieally close and both of us aie ieally good aitists. We
diaw and post alot of (you quessed it) yaio. Its not unieal and its not just foi giils. thank you (Bieak-
ing the ice)
27. Sait Tamaki biießy discusses half-a-dozen Japanese ciitical woiks about boys` love, including Nagakubo
Yko, Yaci shsetsu rcn (A Theoiy of Yaoi Fiction), Tokyo: Sensh Daigaku Shuppankyoku, 2005; Nakajima
Azusa ¦Kuiimoto Kaoiu], Bishnengaku nymcn (A Bishnen Piimei), Tokyo: Shinshokan, !984; Nobi Nobita
¦Enomoto Naiiko], Ctana wa wakatte kurenai. Ncbi Ncbita hihy shsei (Adults Just Don`t Get It: The Ciit-
icism of Nobi Nobita), Tokyo: Nihon Hyionsha, 2003; and Sakakibaia Shihomi, Yaci genrcn. yaci kara mieta
mcnc (An Illusoiy Theoiy of Yaoi: What Yaoi Shows), Tokyo: Natsume Shob, !998. Sait Tamaki, °Otaku
Sexuality," in Rcbct Ghcsts and \ired Dreams, ed. Chiistophei Bolton et al. (Minneapolis: Univeisity of Min-
nesota Piess, 2007), 247 nn. 4, 5, 6; 248 n. !2.
28. Males compiise appioximately ffteen to twenty peicent of the attendees at the West`s laigest boys` love
and yaoi fan convention, Yaoi-Con. Many aie young and diess themselves as the embodiment of boys` love,
the bishnen. Theii piesence has become the numbei-one topic on Yaoi-Con`s Foiums. The dozens to hun-
dieds of visitois each day to the Foiums aie pioducing discouises about males paiticipating in yaoi (McHaiiy
2008).
Males in boys` love and yaoi may be applying in ieal life something closei to boys` love and yaoi fctional
chaiacteis` fiee-ßoating conceptions of self, a self that iefuses identity oi fxed position, even as it giounds
itself fimly in a male body and affims the desiiability of male-male eioticism (McHaiiy 2007, !90-!9!).
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!!
Queeiing the Quotidian
Yaci, Narrative Pleasures and Reader Respcnse
MARK VICARS and KIM SENIOR
Intrcducticn
The ieadei is at once inteipietei and inteipietation ¦and] is always situated inside con-
texts of discuisive piactices in which aie insciibed values, inteiests, attitudes and
beliefs.... Each and eveiy instance of consciousness oi utteiance is fiamed by a specifc
situation.-Fieund !987, !09
Liteiacy and sexuality could be said to be on the move: politically, socially, and cul-
tuially, and this chaptei attempts to aiticulate an undeistanding of the socio-cultuial con-
ditions in which liteiacy and sexual identity aie piacticed. It takes, as focus foi ciitical
inquiiy, how yaoi is used by °Westein" ieadeis (a gay man and a stiaight woman) to iesist
and (ie)peifoim heteiogendeied pedagogies in eveiyday life. The expeiiences outlined in
this chaptei biing togethei two seemingly dispaiate lives fiom woiking class United King-
dom and middle class Austialia. United in the pioject of (ie)imagining and ieconstiuct-
ing identity, yaoi is positioned as a fugitive text wheie the (heteio)noimative is disiupted
and wheie the quotidian codes that govein gendei and sexuality aie poached foi °peiveise"
puiposes and pleasuies. In this chaptei, we considei how iesponses to texts unavoidably
occui in time and in ceitain kinds of spaces and aie shaped by the noimative discouises of
piactice that sanction how affect, pleasuie, powei and identities aie expeiienced. Oui
iesponses to texts weie, to some extent, acts of self cieation thiough which we as ieadeis
sought to iecovei some thematic continuity of self. They offeied a way of being in the woild
wheie we weie able to embiace and acknowledge oui queei lives as oui own cieations. It
is, theiefoie, in oui social, cultuial and sexual position in ielation to texts that we have
attempted to ie-expeiience unimagined signifcances and to ie-imagine the effects between
°piopei" and °impiopei" ways of being and doing gendei and sexuality.
Yaoi manga ßiit with and exploie the piivileges and penalties associated with tians-
giessing °the noimal." They can be iead as °inteisubjective spaces of cultuial tianslation,"
spaces °wheie one can fnd an oveilay of codes, a multiplicity of cultuially insciibed sub-
ject positions, a displacement of noimative iefeience codes, and a polyvalent assemblage
of new cultuial meanings" (McLaien !994, 65). In the telling of oui stoiies, we have sought
to speak fiom and woik oui inteipietation of the stiuctuial devices of yamanashi-cchi-
nashi -iminashi to play with the theoietical positioning of oui peisonal and piofessional
ielationships and to speak of and about oui deteiiitoiializations of self :
yamanashi-like a day dream cr the twilight between dream and sleep ... where there is nc
need tc ¨climax° but it is pcssible tc rest in perpetual abeyance ... tc pause, redirect, and
relccate cur imaginings tc ancther mcment....
190
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ochinashi-tc trcuble the rcutine and the mundane....
iminashi-tc play with belcnging (within the text, tc a text and beycnd the text) ... these
are nct texts wishing tc lecture, instruct, infcrm cr tell the reader (like sc much adclescent
and children´s lit!) but cne in which bcth the writer and reader ccme tcgether fcr nc reascn
cther than tc play, tc subvert, tc disrupt....
Yamanashi-ochinashi-iminashi speak cf and abcut the pcssibilities that are affcrded by
the uncertainties that ccme frcm the being dcing cf liminality in everyday life.
Yaoi texts foi us opeiated on a peisonal and social level in the ongoing piocesses of
belonging and becoming, and if as it has been suggested that °a text can only come to life
when it is iead, and if it is to be examined, it must theiefoie be studied thiough the eyes
of the ieadei" (Isei !97!, 2-3).
By focusing in on the blends of the emotional, psychic, and cultuial in which subjec-
tivity is foimed, we have situated oui textual lives as a foim of landscape fiom which to
elucidate doubled undeistandings of oui ieadeily/wiiteily (Baithes !974) ielationship with
manga and the cultuial discouises of gendei and sexuality. Employing Appaduiai`s (!996)
concept of ethnoscape as that which is °not objectively given ielations that look the same
fiom eveiy angle of vision but, iathei, that they aie deeply peispectival constiucts, inßected
by the histoiical, linguistic and political situatedness of diffeient soits of actois," (33) oui
piactices of ieading have pioduced supplementaiy texts. If, °the moie one inteipiets the
moie one fnds not the fxed meaning of a text, oi of the woild, but only othei inteipieta-
tions" (Dieyfus and Rabinow !982, !07), then oui inteipietations piovide a space foi altei-
native visions of belonging and becoming; foi queeiing quotidian piactice and iesisting
heteionoimative, teleological naiiatives of identity.
Cut cf the Crdinary (Mark Vicars)
In dieams, fnally, individuals even in the most simple societies have found the space to
iefguie theii social lives, live out piosciibed emotional states and sensations, and see
things that have then spilled ovei into theii sense of oidinaiy life. All these expiessions,
fuithei, have been the basis of a complex dialogue between the imagination and iitual.
... the imagination has bioken out ... and has now become a pait of the quotidian mental
woik of oidinaiy people.... It has enteied the logic of oidinaiy life ¦Appaduiai !996, 5].
Giowing up in a small town in the noith of England in the !980s, I have always felt pies-
suied to legitimize and explain what it is that I am and what I do, especially to myself. I didn`t
do the eveiyday heteiogendeied iituals of °fghting, fucking and football" that made visible
and ieifed noimalcy (Mac An Ghaill !994). My boyish comic books \hizzer and Chips, The
Beanc and Dandy ieinfoiced gendeied expectations and while I enjoyed ieading Desperate
Dan, it was not foi the weekly seiialized naiiative but foi the visual beefcake. In Dennis the
Menace, I identifed moie with the chaiactei of Waltei, the soft sissy boy who dislikes iough
and tumble, and when I was given impoited Ameiican comic books foi my twelfth biith-
day, I found the visuals of Superman, He-Man and the like inciedibly eiotic: the bulging
biceps, the iipped toisos piovided me with my foimative eiotic expeiiences. My ieading has
always been affected by the social and cultuial contexts in which I constiucted my sexual
identity and if, as it has been suggested, the maiginalized individual, by necessity, has to cie-
ate anothei stoiy that they can iead themselves into (Appiah !994), it has been between the
pages of fction that I have imagined, sciipted, and played out my sissy-boy desiies.
II-Queering the Quctidian (VICARS and SENIOR) 191
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My nascent undeistandings of self weie foimed in the days, months, and yeais spent
genußecting at the eveiyday altais of the heteionoimative whilst secietly longing foi some-
thing queei to happen. A lot of what I iead I would use as a template on which I con-
stiucted and scaffolded my subaltein needs. I would invent sexual scenaiios and my
°peiveise" imaginings iepeatedly ieconstiucted texts in ways that insinuated and inseited
a queei piesence in the eveiyday comics and stoiybooks of my youth. Invaiiably, my symp-
tomatic ieadings had a dominant theme that got iecycled and was ieiteiated fiom one text
to anothei. The fist time I saw the flm Seven Brides fcr Seven Brcthers, I loved the ioman-
ticism and I loved the kidnapping idea. I wanted to be one of the kidnapped giils because
I knew I would get to be banged senseless in a log cabin by Howaid Keel. Maitin (!996)
speaks of the queei possibilities of identifying in this way and says books °pioduced the
fantasies into which she ¦Maitin] escaped oi imagined escaping the painful effects of the
iules goveining sexuality, gendei and matuiity" (35). Giowing up having to keep my desiies
silent, texts became the main instiuments of my confession. Thioughout adolescence, I cast
aside my comic books, but as my identifactoiy indeteiminacies giew stiongei so did my
queei ieading piaxis. I sought iefuge within the fctional woilds of liteiatuie and the ioman-
tic offeiings of cinematic musical theatie. It was into these texts that I utteied peifoima-
tives of my inneimost hopes and desiies and staged iesistances to the eveiyday aichitectuie
of heteiosexuality. Texts became much moie than a iepiesentation of an imaginative woild,
and I incieasingly iead to escape the pievailing noimativities that weie disciplining my
being. Reading became so much moie than decipheiing tiny bunched-up piint; it was a
way of iealizing my fantasies, of woiking out the °gieat unmanageable unknowns by means
of small knowns" (Holland !980, !27). In my ieadings, I constiucted subaltein fantasies of
an °othei" self and anothei life. I actively sought out texts in which my paiticulai claims
of self weie able to be enunciated and validated. Sedgwick (!994) has noted how °foi many
of us in childhood the ability to attach intently to a few cultuial objects, objects of high oi
populai cultuie oi both, objects whose meaning seemed mysteiious, excessive, oi oblique
in ielation to the codes most ieadily available to us, became a piime iesouice foi suivival"
(3).
I used all my poweis of concentiation to visualize, fiom texts, expeiiences of which I
had no knowledge and was not likely to encountei in my subuiban woild. My imaginaiy
endeavois, fai fiom being paiasitic on the °ieal woild," weie, in many ways, linked to my
calling foith of utopian constiuctions of self (Vygotsky !978, 92). I have come to iecog-
nize, in the tellings of myself, a stoiy of continually negotiating sepaiation in the ways that
I belong, act, speak, and iepiesent myself as a gay man. Having spent yeais listening to
instiucting paiental and institutional voices that piomulgated hegemonic social and cul-
tuial ioles having to do with gendei and sexuality, I have nevei been quite suie out of
which voice I should speak.
I excel in displacement activities. I can quite happily spend an houi oi so in imagi-
naiy inteiioi design and will contentedly abandon an afteinoon to sift thiough long aban-
doned diaweis in the hope of fnding some inteiesting lettei oi aitifact. It was in one such
iecent foiay I came acioss photogiaphs of my secondaiy school. I involuntaiy shuddeied
at the image of the unifoimed child and immediately tiied to distance myself fiom this
uneaithed piesence of the past in the piesent. Attending school, in this case a Chuich of
England High School, educated me to the consequences of showing what the voice inside
my head was telling me to do and how to be. I quickly iealized I had to monitoi what I
said; I had to be on guaid against the authoiity of that incessant inteiioi monologue. I
192 Pait Thiee: Boys` Love and Peiceptions of the Queei
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became attentive to how I expiessed myself. I leaint what was the cultuially and socially
accepted, what constituted °noimal" patteins of behavioi. As theie was nothing vaguely
queei at that time and place in my life, my sexual subjectivity was piimaiily textual and it
was piedicated on my °capacity to keep a paiticulai naiiative going" (Giddens !99!, 54). I
stiuggled to peifoim in, and paiticipate with, cultuial notions of gendeied heteiosexual-
ity. Howevei, my imaginaiy and fugitive ieadings playfully disiupted the goveining het-
eionoimative discouises of eveiyday life. They became my way of out of a woiking class
stiaight cultuial imaginaiy and as an act of self cieation and suivival; I imaginatively evoked
woilds of sexual heteiodoxies. Diawing fiom otheiwise °stiaight" texts tacit knowledges
and pleasuies, I conjuied up futuie queei times and places. Reßecting on photogiaphs
taken thioughout my schooled adolescence, I detect a chaiacteiistic pose captuied in the
coeiced smile, the sidewaid momentaiy look, the fuitive gaze. Maitel (2003) has noted that
°It often happens that we do not iemembei the fist time we did something, oi even any
one paiticulai time, but iemembei only the iepetition, the idea that we did the thing ovei
and ovei" (8).
I fnd in numeious othei school and family photogiaphs the same iepiesentation of
a fiagmented self. Focusing on these images evokes intense emotion. They take me to an
intimate place wheie it is diffcult to diffuse a tiuth fiom the clamoious voices of the past.
As I begin to ießect on the memoiy of myself and enteiing the stiange yet familiai woild
of the past, I am diawn immediately to its capital and I fnd myself thinking about those
occasions when heteionoimative values dispaiaged a Queei identity. I am getting lost in
past imaginings and stiuggle to fnd the language to shaie and inteipiet my woild. I selec-
tively ievise scenes and ieoidei fiagments in an attempt to make sense of those ciitical,
defning tiansitional moments that have been located in a multiple embodied life. Tuin-
ing once again to those moments wheie I iesisted eiasuie, ciicumnavigated boundaiies,
and acted in ways that disiupted the social constiuction of gendei and sexuality, I fnd that
I am able to inteiiogate and acknowledge how ieading difféiance, that is °the hidden way
of seeing things" (Deiiida, !982, 22) cieated possibilities foi self defnition. My being-
my piesence-incieasingly disiupted the naiiatives of noimalcy. Rutheifoid (!990) talks
of diffeience, in teims of identity, as a state of being that piovides unity and coheience.
Howevei, my becoming involved disunity and incoheience. It was in the piocess of iead-
ing difféiance, in the simultaneous negotiation of that which diffeis fiom the centei and
that which is diffeied by the centei, that it became possible to ieconsidei othei ways of being.
Expeiiencing the foice with which the centei exeits authoiity and authoiizes the maiginal
made me evei attentive to the tacit knowledges of self that weie at play. My sexual desiie
disiupted the infnite heteiogendeied naiiatives of my youth in which I was told what I
had-to-be and how I had-to-become. My sexual diffeience and my ieading of difféiance
biought into view pieviously unimaginable hoiizons of impossible possibilities.
When I was sixteen, I told my fathei I was Gay. He said, °I know, you had bettei go
and tell youi mothei." As I enteied the bedioom wheie she lay, hei gnailed fngeis mis-
shapen thiough iheumatoid aithiitis, she clutched the heated pad she used to alleviate
painful joints. Heavy cuitains weie blocking out the afteinoon sun; she had been pie-
sciibed new anti-inßammatoiy diugs that had a side effect of diying up hei teai ducts. Twice
daily a pipette containing synthetic °natuial teais" would lubiicate hei eye and keep them
functioning. °I`ve something to tell you, I`ve alieady told Dad." I inwaidly ßinched; I had
thought °Coming Out" would be a one-off declaiation, not a iepetitive peifoimance. °I
think I might be Gay." Why did I say °think": Theie was no doubt, in my body, I knew. ¨I
II-Queering the Quctidian (VICARS and SENIOR) 193
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haven`t got a son I`ve got two daughteis...." °What have I done wiong:" °...It is wiong; it`s
in the Bible.... You`d bettei leave."
The silence between us iiievocably fiactuied, she tuined hei face away fiom wheie I
stood and staited to ciy. The teais came quite fieely now. I abandoned the melodiama that
was being played out behind the net diapes of my paients` house and ßed, not quite skiits
billowing, to the end of the ioad to catch a bus to a fiiend`s house. Hei paients had been
infoimed of this possible scenaiio and weie willing to let me stay until I had got things
soited out. My plan was to move to London and fnd the life that I knew was out theie
waiting foi me but would not be found on the stieets of this small noithein town.
As I was diinking hot sweet tea and ietelling the events that led to my outcast state
the telephone began to iing. °It`s foi you, it`s youi fathei," my fiiend`s mothei called thiough
to the kitchen wheie I was still in the piocess of thawing out fiom the ieaction of my pai-
ents. If cnly I had kept my mcuth shut. Neivously, I took hold of the ieceivei. °We want you
to come back, youi mothei and I have been talking and we don`t want you to leave. I`m
coming to pick you up." I stop. I stop and think what kind of futuie my fathei had planned
foi me. He always joked about getting a stiing of donkeys on the beach as I hadn`t pioved
too biight at school. I foiget how many times I had heaid °You`ie not a chip off the old
block, that`s foi suie, why when I was youi age I could cleai a fve bai gate." °Aie you a
Queen:" I had no idea what he was talking about but could detect fiom the tone of his voice
that whatevei it was I had bettei not be one. As I sat at that Foimica-topped kitchen table,
the gatheiing place foi eveiy impoitant family event I can evei iecall, I tiied haid to numb
myself to the situation, to the disappointment etched on the faces of my paients. Maitel
(2003) notes, °Will I be undeistood when I say that sometimes numbness can huit: That
you don`t want to feel because what you feel will be pain, so you tiy not to feel, and just
sit theie, immobile, numb, in pain:" (40).
My fathei stood by the dooi and waited foi me to give him the answei he wanted. °No!"
°How do you know that you aie...:" He avoided saying it. °Have you had sex with a giil:"
°Yes," I lied. °Have you had sex with...." Again, he couldn`t biing himself to say it, to name
me. °No," I lied.
This was the last time my sexuality was evei mentioned. It was tiptoed aiound like I
had some teiminal illness that if named would ieai up and consume us all with one fell
blow. The lesson I leaint fiom my initial ievelation was one of how language and discouise
is always pioductive: It biings a situation into play, enunciates evaluations of the situa-
tions, and extends action into the futuie. What went and iemained unsaid iemains fai
moie desciiptive and meaningful to my inteipietation of that situation. I knew thiough
theii silence that my paients weie holding out foi a ieveisal, foi a change of mind. In giv-
ing voice to what lay on the inside I had cieated myself as I wanted to be seen and heaid.
In theii silence they weie unseating that cieation and hoping foi an eiasuie of its possible
existence.
Thioughout this peiiod of my life I was avidly ieading the liteiatuie that histoiically
chionicled gay expeiience. I sought out gay fction in an attempt to gain insight into what
had been constiucted by otheis, foi me, as a dangeious twilight woild. I consumed auto-
biogiaphies of famous Queeis (Wilde, Ciisp, Genet, White), thiilling in theii daiing iesist-
ances to oithodox heteiosexuality, and found between those pages what my fathei had
known and feaied all along. It was to be some yeais latei, when I encounteied sadomasochis-
tic (SM) yaoi foi the fist time, whilst living and woiking in Tokyo, that I expeiienced again
how fctional life woilds can piovide expeiiences and sensations that aie otheiwise beyond
194 Pait Thiee: Boys` Love and Peiceptions of the Queei
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the eveiyday ieach and embody veisions of what we have only imagined ouiselves being.
It was in texts such as Sadistic Bcy, Hcshi nc yakata and Amai hari, SM yaoi manga that
depict giaphic scenes of sexual dominance, submission and violent sexual piactices that I
once again expeiienced °moments of biogiaphical disiuption" (Spaikes !996).
A Strange Iandscape (Mark Vicars)
Thioughout my time in Japan, I led a double life. Chauncey (!994) has noted how
some middle-class gay men utilize a stiategy of leading a double life, of passing when needed
but paiticipating in the gay subcultuie when they can. Being an outsidei, a gaijin sensei, I
didn`t undeistand much of what was going on aiound me. Not speaking the language, I
ßoated aiound on the suiface, guided by my noctuinal wandeiings in the gay bais and
clubs of Shinjuku ni chme. I fell into sexual encounteis and ielationships with Japanese
men, who much to my amusement avidly iead yaoi that at the time I thought as stiange
little comic books.
My unceitainties of paiticipating in what I consideied at that time and in my naivety
to be peculiaily stiange Japanese behaviois meant I became an avid ieadei and doei of all
things Japanese. Alongside my tianslated ieading of The Tale cf Genji, Sei Shnagon, and
the homoeiotic novels of Mishima Yukio, I also had to hand yaoi manga that I had begged
oi boiiowed fiom my loveis. As I sat somewhat nonplussed thiough houis of kabuki and
attended Buddhist temples and ietieats, my excuisions into manga, weie, in compaiison,
not that discombobulating. As I iead I began to make sense of the paitial and contiadic-
toiy natuie of the social, cultuial and sexual piactices of my new Japanese life. SM yaoi as
pait of that jouiney affoided a daiing iesistance to the iegimes of the noimal (Wainei !999).
Contextualizing my ieading expeiiences of SM yaoi in ielation to my ongoing undeistand-
ing of self, they miiioied my confusions of my being out of place.
Re-thinking ieading as a liteiacy peifoimance (Blackbuin 2002-2003) thiough which
identities can, ovei time, become known, displaced and ieconfguied I have come to ieal-
ize how at specifc times in my life my inteiactions with texts weie intimately connected
to and pait of the piocess of piacticing a social and sexual identity. Reading SM yaoi made
me iethink how °the body is the site, oi place wheie the 'truth´ of identity is ievealed"
(Fiasei !999, !09) and I will now exploie how my embodied iesponses to SM yaoi manga
became peifoimative acts oi piocesses of identifcation in my ongoing jouiney of becom-
ing.
Pcrncgraphy cr Pedagcgy? (Mark Vicars)
It has been suggested how bodily expeiiences aie °often cential in memoiies of oui
lives, and thus undeistanding of who and what we aie" (Connell !995, 53) and it was
thiough SM yaoi texts that I came to expeiience an uncanny seiies of splittings and detei-
iitoiializations of self. Bataille (!962) suggests that the teiiitoiy of the eiotic expeiience is
that of piessing subjectivity closei to its limits than almost any othei expeiience and it was
in the giaphic paiticulaiities, the contexts, the contingencies of the economies of sado-
masochistic desiies that I found my thiill. I became hooked on the visual cainivalesque
pleasuie play of sexual taboo.
II-Queering the Quctidian (VICARS and SENIOR) 195
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SM yaoi manga was an escape fiom logic of sexual and cultuial heteionoimativity.
SM yaoi manga depicted a woild of sexual piactices and ielations that tiansgiessed noi-
mative oideis. The theatiics of SM yaoi manga inveited a woild of heteiosexual ielations.
They opened up a space, oveißowing with puie aitifce, puns, and playfulness that dis-
toited, distended, and defoimed my eveiyday expeiiences of self/othei. These texts ie-
appiopiiated the quotidian codes that govein gendei and sexuality and misused and abused
them foi °peiveise" puiposes and pleasuies. In the aitifcial and excessive antics of SM
powei play, heie was something being expiessed consciously and intentionally that set out
to queei social, cultuial and political values and sexual sensibilities.
SM yaoi manga playfully iewoiked identity in teims of masqueiade. Disiupting the
noimative discouises of heteiosexual ielations, SM yaoi manga situated sexual Otheiness
as a ludic constiuction, one in which the boundaiies between what is ieal and unieal, time-
piesent, past and futuie, the noimative body and gendeied identities, aie contested and
iewoiked. In my limited ieading and undeistanding of SM yaoi manga, I enjoyed the tian-
sient aitifcial aichitectuie of self. The stylized aesthetic offeied alteinatives to tiaditional
heteionoimative iepiesentations of gendei, the body and the family and instantly appealed
to my diffeient ways of being and knowing. If °the woid diffeience" has become a discui-
sive °motif foi that upiooting of ceitainty ¦iepiesenting] an expeiience of change, tians-
foimation and hybiidity" (Rutheifoid !990, !0), then encounteiing SM yaoi manga in my
eaily twenties in Japan induced in me an unsettling of my undeistandings of who I was as
a gay/queei man. I was attiacted to the stoiylines that didn`t ft in with dominant cultuial
sexual sensibilities and pleasuies. The confusion of tiying to make sense of the visuals that
spiialed and spaiked off paiallel stoiies was at times oveiwhelming. Theie was just too
much going on and as I tiied to make sense, my challenge, as a ieadei, was to fnd mean-
ing outside of the oidinaiily available emplotments. SM yaoi manga maiked a distinction
between the common sense, oi tiaditional, notion of homosocial behaviois, sexualizing
them with foibidden coipoieal pleasuies. SM yaoi manga queeied the stiaight male body
by making it an object of conquest and by situating it in naiiatives of suiiendei.
Epistemclcgy cf the Anus (Mark Vicars)
Thinking fiom Haiaway`s (!992) push foi aiticulation iathei than iepiesentation leads
me to suggest how iesponses to texts aie neithei objective noi disembodied but aie best
undeistood as mateiial in themselves. She notes how iepiesentation locks the ieadei/viewei
in the subject/object space wheieas aiticulation can offei the possibility of new discuisive
confguiations of identity to piolifeiate. In SM yaoi manga a countei naiiative is estab-
lished of what male bodies aie and what they can do. The young uke by allowing himself
to be dominated by the oldei seme and by offeiing little iesistance to penetiation situates,
centially within the naiiatives, the anus as a maikei of piohibition and the anus as a site
of pleasuie. The pleasuies of the anus in SM yaoi manga can be iead in teims of unbecom-
ing, paiticulaily if we considei the way that male subjectivity within heteionoimative dis-
couise is situated within discuisive felds and is constituted as a piocess of constiucting an
ongoing defense against penetiation. Segal (!994) has commented, °If we look at how bod-
ies appeai in peisonal sexual naiiatives, it is cleai that they encode cultuially signifcant,
as well as matuiationally specifc, undeistandings of physical oigans and theii function-
ing" (228-229).
196 Pait Thiee: Boys` Love and Peiceptions of the Queei
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My undeistandings of the peifoimance of gendeied masculinity ielied on a cultuial
code (Baithes !974) that iefeiied to and sedimented a shaied body of knowledge about how
the male body in the woild woiks. The male body is supposed to ieheaise naiiatives of hege-
monic masculinity. It is thiough the public peifoimances and iituals of the male body, in
the puisuit and display of a hypeimasculinity, that meanings aiound the male body aie
foimed and immeised in a logic of piactice. It is in the iitualistic activities of eveiyday life
that the body comes to peifoim meanings of itself, and Caibado (2005) has iemaiked:
gendei foi men is also socially constiucted and agency denying. One must leain to be a
man ... because manhood is a socially pioduced categoiy. Manhood is a peifoimance. A
sciipt. It is accomplished and ie-enacted in eveiyday social ielationships. Yet, men have
not been inclined to examine the sex/gendei categoiy we inhabit, iepioduce, and legit-
imize. Noi have men developed a piactice of exposing the contingency and false neces-
sity of manhood. Theie is little effoit within male communities to locate oi even
imagine, the pie-patiiaichal man, the man whose peisonal identity has not been ovei-
deteimined by his gendei ¦!92].
Masculinity, as an inteitextual social piocess, invaiiably iequiies a univeisal signifei
of maleness and anxieties of sexual suiiendei and conquest by anothei male that aie iou-
tinely located in hegemonic undeistandings of gendei and sexuality which focus on the
enacted passive iole taken within imagined sexual acts. SM yaoi manga queeis the knowl-
edges, piactices, and identities of the heteiosexual cultuial code that ieinfoice the peifoi-
mativity of the impenetiable male body. The seme/uke ielationships ieveal and situate the
anus °as the site of peisecution of the desiie to desiie, the place wheie the self plays out its
stiuggle against dissolution" (Theweleit !989, 320). The psychic, biological, and cultuial
expectations of what male bodies aie supposed to be and do, noimatively invoked by the
iigid taxonomies of gendei and sexual identities, aie played with thioughout SM yaoi manga
in the seme/uke ielationship.
In SM yaoi manga the exclusions and piohibitions aiound the penetiation of the male
body put into motion othei, unnamable pleasuies. Penetiative expeiiences as body ießexive
piactices aie seen to pioduce vast deteiiitoiializations. The stoiylines open up the male
body and psyche to diffeient meanings of masculinity thiough which new meanings and
subjectivities aie geneiated. The uke in being puisued and penetiated by the seme ielocates
the male body outside of hegemonic heteiogendeied discouises. The male body is an ongo-
ing site of dilemma as the active/passive, masculine/feminine boundaiies, heteiogendeied
discuisive ielationships that bind individual bodies to cultuial noims get questioned.
Themes such as incest, iape, oldei/youngei sexual ielationships aie challenging to iead
and disiupt the panoptic naiiatives of categoiies and pleasuies of noimalcy sanctioned by
the heteionoimative cultuial code. Foucault (!977) has noted in Discipline and Punish that
°like suiveillance ... noimalization becomes one of the gieatest instiuments of powei, the
powei of noimalization imposes homogeneity" (Foucault !977, !96). SM yaoi manga opens
up a space foi the ieadei to ciitically considei how piactices of self, connected to and ieifed
by the conventions of bodily piactices, aie stiuctuied by heteionoimative peifoimatives of
what male bodies aie and what they aie allowed to do.
In Bcdies That Matter, Judith Butlei (!993) has asseited how bodies aie mateiialized
thiough the piocess of peifoimativity and how identity is inheiently unstable but it is
thiough the piocess of ieiteiation and iepetition of the conventions of eveiyday life that
we come to enact oui identities and discuisively constiuct ouiselves. She has aigued in
Excitable Speech (!997) how the °impiopei" use of the peifoimative by those who aie not
peimitted to have a voice can be employed to deconstiuct °pievailing foims of authoiity
II-Queering the Quctidian (VICARS and SENIOR) 197
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and the exclusions by which they pioceed" (Butlei !997, !58). Diving into the textual woilds
of SM yaoi manga, I became entiapped in a netwoik of ielations, of diffeiences, displace-
ments, tiaces, and defeiials. The stoiylines pioduced feelings of indeteiminacy, fiagmen-
tation, discomfoit, and a sense of excitement. I felt I had enteied a twilight woild which
inveited and spun queei fantasies fiom eveiyday heteiosexual situations. With each the
tuin of the page I emeiged into a new landscape of potentialities that tioubled ioutine
undeistandings of what males aie and what they do. SM yaoi manga authoiized a position
fiom which I began to enunciate alteinate sites of subject and identity foimation and
thiough which I played with the fantasy of belonging to anothei woild, of the coipoieal
pleasuie of being the object of desiie and of ielinquishing contiol. My pleasuies within
these texts weie fuelled by the Dionysian qualities of disiuption, immediacy, and excess,
and I felt incieasingly at home in tiaveising social, sexual, and textual oithodoxies.
Trcubling Texts (Mike Vicars)
... constiuctions of selves might be seen as a mattei of using texts stiategically to desta-
bilize the identities that sought to constiain ... and name and suggests that ... the °idea
of ieadeis constiucting theii own senses of self, theii own uses of text, and theii own
identities fiom those uses is an enactment of subjectivity" ¦Hagood, 2004, !58, emphasis
oiiginal].
Inhabiting imaginaiy spaces to ieconcile the iuptuies in an emeiging concept of self-
hood, I have come to iealize how my involvement with SM yaoi texts facilitated imaginal
dialogues that became an essential pait of my ongoing naiiative constiuction of self. Reßect-
ing on my connections to these texts, I have come to undeistand how in many ways they
affoided iesistances to the iituals of eveiyday life and became pait of the active piocess of
taking up ceitain subject positions in an ongoing piocess of becoming.
My encounteis with SM yaoi manga weie biief but potent. In the fve yeais I spent
living and woiking in Japan, I became a iegulai consumei of manga. I hesitate to call myself
a ieadei as I did not undeistand the language oi how to iead them piopeily. I expeiienced
them impiopeily and they connect me to a time in my life that was all about impiopiiety.
They evoke memoiies and emotions of a time and place and if °emotions aie ... but piocesses
that aie best undeistood with iefeience to the cultuial scenaiios and associations they
evoke" (Rosaldo !984, !4!-!42) then SM yaoi aiticulated all that which was queei to my
Westein eyes. They weie odd, singulai, quaint, sick, ill. That which deviates fiom the
expected oi noimal; stiange: unconventional, eccentiic: that of a questionable natuie oi
chaiactei; suspicious; fake; counteifeit. Oblique, off-centei; that which deviates fiom the
customaiy; bizaiie, cianky, cuiious, eccentiic, eiiatic, fieakish, odd, outlandish, peculiai,
quiiky, stiange, unnatuial, unusual, weiid. Causing puzzlement; peiplexing: cuiious, shady,
suspect and suspicious. Howevei, I became hooked on the thiill of fnding in these texts
unthinkable pleasuies that confionted the highly conventional stoiies of sex and gendei.
SM yaoi had a seductive and compelling appeal that helped me to tempoiaiily step outside
my own woild and considei alteinative possibilities and othei iealities. SM yaoi aie
palimpsest texts that tuin inside-out °noimal" expiessions of feeling within a homosocial
context. Making visible what is felt on the inside they piesent a challenge to noimative iden-
tity categoiies and iendei them unstable in the piocess and these peculiai texts piovided
me with plateaus fiom which I begin to constiuct new undeistandings of self.
198 Pait Thiee: Boys` Love and Peiceptions of the Queei
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In the next stoiy, anothei inteipietation and undeistanding of yaoi manga is voiced,
one that speaks about dissonant undeistandings of self diawn fiom expeiiences of giow-
ing up in middle-class Austialia and of having to live up to and play out peifoimances of
heteiosexual femininity.
Dreaming Beside a Path \ell \crn (Kim Senicr)
we should fnd countless inteimediaiies between ieality and symbols if we gave things
all the movements they suggest. Geoige Sand, dieaming beside a path of yellow sand,
saw life ßowing by. °What is moie beautiful than a ioad:" she wiote. °It is the symbol
and the image of an active, vaiied life." ¦...] Each one of us, then, should speak of his
ioads, his cioss-ioads, his ioadside benches; each one of us should make a suiveyoi`s
map of his lost felds and meadows ¦Bachelaid !994, !!].
My stoiies, the stoiies I chose to tell as a ieadei, took some time to come to this page.
Reading has, and iemains, an integial pait of my piagmatic life (I iead as pait of my life
as an academic, it consumes my conveisations with fiiends and students alike and is a ieq-
uisite foi sleep); the °what" of ieading has woin deep iuts into my eveiy day. The °why"
is a fai less familiai tiack. Family anecdotes about my obsession with ieading aie deeply
iooted in childhood ieminiscences: °Kim always had hei nose in a book." And I have guilty
memoiies of pietending to be completely oblivious to my suiioundings cuiled up in a coi-
nei with a book: °She gets so engiossed," I heai my mothei pioudly telling anothei, °she`s
oui bookwoim!"
Reading was a foim of enteitainment and escape. In the mid-!970s (when I was twelve
yeais old) my fathei was posted to Belgiade, Yugoslavia. My mothei, fathei, and two youngei
sisteis and I took oui fist oveiseas tiip-oui fist tiip on a plane-to ielocate foi two yeais.
Many childien of the expatiiate community attended boaiding schools and so ouis was a
small ciicle at the tiny Ameiican/inteinational school. Foi those of us who did not speak
the local language theie was no television, no iadio. It was long befoie VCRs and the Intei-
net. The Euiopean winteis seemed long, daik, cold, and confning (being snowed in foi
days at a time was novel but quickly lost its novelty). Reading not only whiled away many
long houis but piovided space. In Austialia my sisteis and I weie used to expanse, but in
this politically and linguistically alien enviionment we weie kept veiy close. We weie kept
close to oui home and kept close to each othei. I iead as a way out: a way to escape the
anxious gaze of my paients.
I iead anything. Exhausting the school`s libiaiy, I devouied a classmate`s comic book
collection (\hizzer and Chips, The Beanc, and Buster). Theie is something iionic about iden-
tifying with chaiacteis (piedominately male) obsessed with soccei, fsh-and-chips and °iot-
teis"-idiosynciatically °Biitish" faie. Some classmates and I also iead iecoid albums; while
listening to iecoids we dissected the lyiics and sleeve ait of Cat Stevens and the Beatles.
We ietuined to Austialia when I was fouiteen and, peihaps because of the contiast
with the pievious cold and contiolled twenty-foui months, I iemembei the few weeks we
spent on holiday at Bondi Beach, Sydney with idyllic claiity. Biyan Feiiy songs flled the
aii; the bioad cloudless sky hugged the hoiizon; the suif was blue, glassy and seemed to be
ovei-populated by sandy salt enciusted young men on suif boaids. This was the Austialia
latei (in)famously poitiayed in Puberty Blues (Lette and Caiey !979). It iemains quintes-
sential Austialia in the collective imagination and in my adolescent memoiy.
II-Queering the Quctidian (VICARS and SENIOR) 199
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Frcm the Benches (Kim Senicr)
My home town, subuiban Canbeiia, hundieds of kilometeis fiom the coast was, how-
evei, beieft of sand and suifes. Kathy Lette and Gabiiel Caiey may have folded giitty tow-
els, fetched Chiko iolls and sat foi mindless houis on the beach while the boys suifed; we
inland sisteis, by contiast, weie expected to stand foi fiigid houis on the sidelines of iugby
league felds while the boys played. °We" belonged even when we didn`t. A neidy giil, one
who was nct chcsen (in the language of the time, °going with" a guy) oi waiting on the spoit-
ing sidelines tc be chcsen, found oui way to the school libiaiy-in company, but not always
in companionship, with °the Gieek" chicks and the geeks. The libiaiy was a iefuge; a com-
foitable place to do youi homewoik and a quietly supeivised space away fiom the hieiai-
chical stiuggles being played outside.
Austialia was, and is, a countiy obsessed by spoit and spoiting piowess; male spoit
and male spoiting piowess. Even neidy boys (Dr. \hc fanatics and science geeks) could
iedeem themselves in the summei months by playing ciicket, but the woild in Anglo-
Austialian Canbeiia belonged to the iugby league playeis and theii gioupies. A thiid gioup,
the sons of fist-geneiation southein Euiopean migiants, eithei embiaced the spoits feld
in defense of theii place in the food chain oi alteinatively pioved theii place off the feld.
°Aussie" giils weie faii game in this paiticulai spoit; playing aiound with theii °own" giils
was only sanctioned by maiiiage. So, what weie a teenage °Anglo-Austialian" giil`s options:
In the woids of Kathy Lette, it was to be a °speim spittoon" (2003), to aspiie to be a speim
spittoon, oi to be a suiiogate speim spittoon. This neidy giil iefused to play. Stuck in the
ielative safety of the libiaiy I iead. This time I iead to escape the contemptuous gaze of my
peeis.
Reading this time offeied a two-fold escape fiom confnement; it affoided academic
success (dateless weekends and countless houis in the libiaiy had an unexpected pay-off )
and an intioduction into a whole new undeistanding of gendei and gendeied identity. It
was in the libiaiy of my senioi secondaiy school that I stumbled upon Geimaine Gieei,
Doiothy Paikei, Simone de Beauvoii, Viiginia Woolf, Ms. magazine, Maiilyn Fiench and
Jane Austen. In class, tuigid Patiick White and Joseph Coniad ieigned, but I snuck back
to the iibald, defant, witty and °shameless" gioup on the libiaiy shelves. I iead them qui-
etly (and sometimes secietly, in the case of Gieei`s Female Eunuch and de Beavoii`s Seccnd
Sex), but in the lines and in the passages of these texts I got to play. In these texts I got to
play iough. I began to undeistand the angei I felt at being piesciibed ioles, behaviois, oi
a way of being that was not of my own making oi choosing.
Tc a Crcssrcad (Kim Senicr)
A student exchange scholaiship befoie going to univeisity was my fist oppoitunity
to tiavel to Japan. I lived and attended high school in a small coastal town in Kysh; pop-
ulation aiound 40,000 Japanese people, one Ameiican Lutheian missionaiy, and one ieclu-
sive Italian Catholic piiest. A little oldei than most exchange students at eighteen yeais of
age meant that the stiict piotocols of Japanese high school life (unifoim diess code, cuifew
and venue iestiictions, i.e., coffee shops, which weie stiictly out of bounds) and my limited
language competence once moie found me in a confning social context. At school I thiew
myself into the study of calligiaphy (attending shcd classes), Japanese language (piivate
200 Pait Thiee: Boys` Love and Peiceptions of the Queei
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tutoiing fiom the English-language staff ) and Japanese histoiy (I became enamoied by the
Heian peiiod and the woiks of Muiasaki Shikibu and Sei Shnagon). Aftei school, while
othei students attended spoits, cultuial clubs oi juku (ciam school), my host giandmothei
and I found a companionable silence in fiont of TV jidaigeki (peiiod diamas) and when my
ten-yeai-old host biothei came home, his piefeience foi Dcraemcn, Dr. Slump and Iupin.
Limited luggage space meant that I could only biing a couple of favoiites foi company
on the twelve-month exchange: Emma and Pride and Prejudice. The school`s English-
language book collection despaiiingly consisted of an encyclopedia set fiom the eaily !960s
and some highly abiidged veisions of Shakespeaie foi the puipose of teaching English. Hav-
ing exhausted all souices at hand, I had to stait looking elsewheie foi ieading mattei. I felt
I had outgiown my juvenile delight in comic book ieading and the afteinoon television of
my host biothei only seemed to confim a distain foi his piedilections foi boy`s-own-life
adventuie and themes (i.e., a fascination with bodily functions). Howevei, whiling away
time in bookshops and in fiont of the television made me iealize theie was something moie
to manga and anime than the comic books of my eailiei expeiience. I began paying moie
attention to what my classmates and host biotheis and sisteis weie ieading. My fist pui-
chase was volumes 4 to 6 (dealing with Heian Japan) of the Nihcn nc rekishi (Japanese His-
toiy) seiies. These volumes weie wiitten foi middle piimaiy school students and made use
of furigana foi moie complex kanji and names of histoiical fguies. I would look up names
in my Japanese histoiy dictionaiy and piece togethei the naiiative acioss my English ief-
eience books, the Japanese Histoiy textbook we used in class and my manga. Latei I boi-
iowed my host sistei`s copies of Urusei yatsura, Inuyasha and Ranma I/2 and happily I
stiuggled kanji by kanji, phiase by phiase, line by line, dictionaiy in hand.
The Symbcl and the Image cf Active,
Varied Reading (Kim Senicr)
At fist I painstakingly fxed upon the meaning of the woids in the manga, but this
eventually pioved fiuitless and unsatisfying. The °plain foim" of Japanese veibs was new
to me and many woids did not appeai in the Japanese-English dictionaiy. I gave up tiying
to tianslate the text to undeistand; instead I iead the page. I pulled my disciplined °West-
ein" eyes away fiom sciipt to exploie (the) sciipt. I ßicked acioss the fiames. Moved back.
I noticed the shift in the °aspect-to-aspect tiansitions" (McCloud !993, 79). I placed myself
within the pages to assemble a moment oi an inteival in the naiiative. I iead the page in
much the same way I watched a scene in the afteinoon jidaigeki (aichaic language and ief-
eiences left my eais to lift the occasional familiai woid, to listen foi tone and silence, and
my eyes to watch foi foimulaic °stances," looks and gazes to make my way into the °stoiy").
Reading in the past had been the instiument of escapism and an opening to a subaltein
feminist discouise; now ieading became an act of alteiity.
Thwaited by attempts at stiaight tianslation I began pulling my eyes away fiom a
familiai decoding piactice into a pluial envisioning of a text. LaMaiie (2000) suggests that
the use of poetic techniques such as kumiawasemcji (an assemblage of kanji to foim anothei
woid) and mitate (a visual pun using kanji) in Japanese symbolizes the iebus quality
involved in °ieading" oi °wiiting" the language. He paiticulaily notes how these techniques
function not as °suboidinate to the linguistic message oi to giammatical signifcation.... In
othei woids, secondaiy ievision nevei subsumes oi exhausts the iebus but iuns paiallel to
II-Queering the Quctidian (VICARS and SENIOR) 201
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it" (!9). These insuboidinate (ie)visions aie less familiai and peihaps moie disconceiting
to those ieadeis of alphabetic tiaditions. °Westein" ieadeis aie familiai with puns and
woidplay, especially in the wiiting of post-stiuctuial and postmodein pundits; howevei, it
takes on a whole new level in Japanese. Fiom Buddhist texts (notably zenga) to the elabo-
iate use of homonyms in tanka poetiy, woidplay in Japanese is an honoied tiadition that
has found multiplicitous use in manga. Seigei Eisenstein suggested that the mannei in
which Japanese chaiacteis weie assembled was a foim of montage and indicative of the
°inheiently 'cinematic` natuie of Japanese cultuie" (Schodt, !983, 25). Inteiestingly, one of
the most inßuential and inteinationally ienowned manga aitists of the twentieth centuiy,
Tezuka Osamu (!928-!989), desciibed his manga not as diawings but in teims of sciipt:
°I don`t considei them pictuies-I think of them as a type of hieioglyphics.... In ieality
I`m not diawing. I`m wiiting a stoiy with a unique type of symbol" (Schodt !983, 25).
Woids (kanji) that aie moie than woids (mcji). Woids that aie symbols (kumiawase-
mcji) and sometimes symbolic of not-this-woid (mitate). Symbols that aie pictuies and
pictuies that aie symbols.
The Symbcl and the Image cf
Nct-the-Sperm-Spittccn (Kim Senicr)
Takahashi Rumiko`s playfulness with adolescent sexual appetites in Urusei yatsura
made an inteiesting counteipoint to my own obseivations of Japanese high school cultuie.
On the one hand ielationships between young people in Austialia seemed fai moie °giown
up" and open than what I noticed of my Japanese peeis. Theie was little, if absolutely no,
physical contact between the sexes that I could see in Japan; although hand holding and
tactility amongst young women was a noticeable exception. It confused me. The manga I
iead exploied the intiicacies and social sensibilities of lust and desiie, but I saw and heaid
nothing of the °noimal" behaviois I associated with such excitation (giils watching °theii
guy" play oi piactice spoit, kissing publicly-and passionately!-when theie was no teachei
oi adult of consequence about oi the constant stieam of sexual innuendo). Instead I linked
aims with my female classmates in the coiiidois and between classes; on occasion my best
fiiend and I even held hands as we talked ovei lunch. All behaviois that would ioundly,
and without exception, biand me as a °leso" in an Austialian context; aftei all any young
woman who was not, oi did not aspiie to be, a speim spittoon had to be a lesbian.
Gendei shifting in Ranma I/2 was anothei conundium. In a cultuie wheie gendei
ioles weie symbolically (pink school slippeis foi the giils and blue foi the boys) and explic-
itly (°boys don`t do household choies") maintained, this stoiy exploied the comical adven-
tuies of a gendei bending maitial aitist foi a teenage audience. While I consideied !980s
Austialia fai moie libeial -it was a favoiite conveisation shockei foi my host family to get
me to explain to theii dinnei guests that my fathei did the vacuum cleaning and othei
household duties in Austialia willingly-I had to ieconsidei this position.
Had I evei iead about such topics as an adolescent: Had I heaid discussion about such
a topic without deiisive tones oi moial outiage: If I was honest with myself, I was left
little doubt that in °libeiated" Austialia, gendei ambiguity was peihaps an even gieatei
tiansgiession. Manga, embioiled in an intiicate and centiifugal inteiplay between and at
the boundaiies of cultuie, identity, text, image, ieality, and imagination, queeied the way
I iead the naiiatives of sexual noimativity and constiuction of Othei in my eveiyday life
in Japan and Austialia. I began to appieciate the possibility of seeing woids and images not
202 Pait Thiee: Boys` Love and Peiceptions of the Queei
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as binaiies and not one subjugated by othei, but iathei as a complex cainival (Bakhtin !984);
the possibility to imagine and inhabit a space beyond essentialist iendeiings.
I iead manga only inteimittently aftei the student exchange. They weie impossible to
buy in Canbeiia. But an oppoitunity to tiavel to Japan on a twelve-month univeisity schol-
aiship not only allowed me to catch up with my Japanese host family and make new fiiends,
but pick up the thieads of favoiite manga seiies. Japanese univeisity life was a fai ciy fiom
my sequesteied yeai in Kysh, and an active social life left little time oi inteiest in adven-
tuiing beyond familiai mangaka. I packed a few favoiite volumes to ietuin home foi giad-
uation knowing that I would have to iely on visiting fiiends oi a second-hand netwoik to
keep ieading manga. Back in Austialia theie was seen to be some idiosynciatic value in iead-
ing comics in anothei language, but they weie still comics. A twenty-something young Aus-
tialian woman despeiate to be taken seiiously did not iead comics. I shelved them alongside
my othei adolescent fads and student phases and got on with beginning a caieei and get-
ting maiiied. Foi a long peiiod ieading comics was an extiavagant, hedonistic pastime lost
to the necessity of giowing up-peifoiming teachei, wife and mothei.
Ccuntless Intermediaries Between Reality and Symbcls.
Getting Fucked and Fucking Cver (Kim Senicr)
When do we diaw:
When we weie little. Befoie the violent divoice between Good and Evil. All was mingled
then, and no mistakes. Only desiie, tiial, and eiioi. Tiial, that is to say, eiioi. Eiioi:
piogiession.
As soon as we diaw (as soon as, following the pen, we advance into the unknown, heaits
beating, made with desiie) ... ¦Cixous 2005, 26].
In my foities I ietuined to post-giaduate study. The °book club" fiom senioi second-
aiy school (Austen, Gieei, and Muiasaki and otheis) played a cential iole in theoiizing my
ieseaich; and not with a little initial bemusement, manga ietuined to my life (Senioi, 2008).
Duiing the two decades between undeigiaduate and post-giaduate study I continued to
iead abcut manga: I was paiticulaily diawn to its potential as a stiategy to teach Japanese
language and delighted in publications such as Mangajin and Dc-It-Ycurself }apanese
Thrcugh Ccmics (Nagatomo and Steinbeig, !995). Occasionally acquaintances oi students
asked me to tianslate oi give the gist of a naiiative as piofessionally tianslated manga
impoited fiom the United States weie limited and piohibitively piiced. Reading comics and
manga foi pleasuie was limited to ieading them with my son; he is of the Pckemcn and
Dragcn Ball TV geneiation. I tiied to tiansfei his TV inteiests to Tintin oi °ieal" books
based on Pckemcn chaiacteis. Boideis bookshop came to oui city and with it a giaphic novel
section. Suddenly Dragcn Ball led to Dragcn Ball Z, led to Narutc, led to Cne Piece. Theie
was no stopping him and I iemembeied how much I enjoyed ieading manga. I maiveled
ovei the vaiiety of titles and even noted the Koiean oi othei inteinational authois on offei
as we sought out the next volume my son was aftei. I picked up a few titles that caught my
eye, ietuining them to the shelves like a cuiious bystandei befoie anyone would suspect my
ieal inteiest. My days of ieading manga foi pleasuie weie a thing of the past. So I thought.
As pait of a iecent ieseaich pioject at a school, I found myself in conveisation with a
small gioup of avid manga ieadeis. I biought along well thumbed but long shelved copies
II-Queering the Quctidian (VICARS and SENIOR) 203
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of Urusei yatsura and Ranma
I
2 and they intioduced me to the woild of djinshi. They
intioduced me to the piolifc CLAMP and the manga Gravitaticn. Now as a ieseaichei I
could legitimately iummage along the giaphic novel shelves and sit foi houis ieading ado-
lescent liteiatuie. But unlike the boys-own-adventuies of my son`s taste, I found these new
wiiting/diawing/ieadings fai moie engiossing. They made conscious angei and discontent-
ment that had been mostly lost and foigotten on the well-woin ioad of a giown-up woman`s
life.
I was aioused by the ambiguous and extiavagant texts. The naiiatological stiuctuie
of Gravitaticn iesonated jcuissance (Baithes, !975): that dissolution of ieadei as subject
and wiitei/diawei as object. The unexplained and unquestioned piesence of homosexual
oi tiansgendei ielationships in CLAMP`s Tckyc Babylcn spoke to playfulness and possibil-
ity. The tiansgiessive act of these women authoiing, cieating and appiopiiating space in
the male dominated manga industiy took me back to the cold Canbeiia iugby felds and
the neidy giil hiding in the libiaiy. The giaphic sexual images in yaoi shock the neidy giil,
but they fascinate the stiaight woman. How had peifoiming wife, mothei and ieseaichei
taken me back to that libiaiy: When had manga ieading foi my pleasuie been taken fiom
me: When, and why, had I allcwed it to be taken fiom me: When did getting fucked become
getting fucked ovei:
At the end of Puberty Blues (Lette and Caiey !979) Kathy and Gabiiel stalk down the
beach with theii own suif boaid leaving the beach to theii own giitty towels and the deii-
sive gazes and jeeis of theii peeis. They leave °getting fucked ovei" behind as they cieate
theii own way. The pleasuie I get fiom yaoi manga is no well-behaved pleasuie. It is the
204 Pait Thiee: Boys` Love and Peiceptions of the Queei
Figure : °siIent" by Bianca HiII, · 2007 (acryIics on canvas, originaI 30 cm × 30 cm).
©

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painful ache, the bitteisweet stinging discomfoit of confionting the neidy giil still hiding
in the libiaiy. The °book club" was a wondeiful beginning to uniavel the heteio- masculin-
ized woild of !970s and !980s Austialia, but it is the giaphic pages of yaoi that smash that
woild and daie me to (ie)imagine my becoming woman.
I get to fuck the passive uke. I fuck ovei the complicit bystandei. With/in these giaphic
texts I get to confiont the female teenage peeis of the past who collaboiated in the speim-
spittoon game. I get to fuck ovei the complicit bystandeis: the teacheis that failed to pies-
ent any othei alteinative ways of being in oi outside the classioom that challenged the
status quo. And I get to fuck ovei the silent bystandei within me; the one that allows the
noimalizing games and peifoimances of sexuality and gendei to go on uninteiiupted, cii-
culating and accepted. The bystandei that falls all too easily into the seductive stiaightfoi-
waidness of doing a life laid out iathei than cieating a life of oui own. °Silent" (Fig. !) was
my seventeen-yeai-old niece`s iesponse to ieading some of my eailiei wiiting. I look at the
way she diaws and naiiates hei-becoming (see Fig. 2) and wondei how I may cieate and
(ie)envision an insuboidinate queei self :
Revisiting the Past in the Present. A Methcdclcgical
Apprcach (Kim Senicr)
Identity, as a socially constiucted phenomenon, may change ovei time. In othei woids,
one may, on occasion iedocument one`s own identity. This iedocumentation typically
involves iecasting one`s identity aiound a new set of ielevancies (e.g., linguistic desciip-
tions such as °gay" iathei than °stiaight," °adult" iathei than °adolescent") which in
tuin involves a iecasting of one`s entiie biogiaphy as °leading up to one`s piesent iden-
tity" ¦Weinbeig !979, !47-!48].
Giioux (!987) has noted how a peison`s °stoiies, memoiies, naiiatives and ieadings
of the woild aie inextiicably ielated to widei social and cultuial foimations and categoiies"
(!77) and thioughout adolescence the divisions we expeiienced weie geneiated fiom being
between oi on the wiong side of the boundaiies of inside/outside, heteio/homo, self/othei.
Stiuggling with oui queei inteiioiity, feeling unconnected and set apait became oui °mode
of iesponse to the veiy foims of powei that each day iepioduced it" (Baikei !989, 88). Oui
stoiies, whilst telling of cential moments and ciitical incidents, also aiticulate something
of the piocess of how life stoiies aie able to offei a moie ambiguous, complex and chaotic
view of ieality (Hatch & Wisniewski !995). Resisting hegemonic modes of knowing and
telling we have wiitten fiagments of discouise intended to evoke in the minds of the ieadei
how we used texts to scaffold oui emeigent fantasies of possibilities foi becoming. Each
memoiy that has been tiiggeied in the wiiting of oui stoiies, its inteipietation and analy-
sis, has been iewoiked to uncovei the layeis of undeistanding. A °layeied account is that
which decenteis the authoiity of science by including naiiative ießections, fantasies, and
emotions along with statistics and abstiact theoiy" (Ronai !995, 397) and we have diawn
on oui multiple and oveilapping histoiies to tell of how oui peifoimances of non-noima-
tive identities textualized oui eveiyday lives and inculcated oui fugitive ieading piactices.
Oui encounteis with texts can be thought of as offeiing a histoiy of oui inteiactions with
ouiselves and otheis in the woild; and how they became oui way of negotiating
identifcations and of inteipieting and ieincoipoiating the self as °Othei." Rosenblatt (!978)
has suggested how °a peison becomes a ieadei by viitue of hei/ his activity in ielationship
to a text" (Rosenblatt !978, !8). Thioughout oui stoiies, we have accounted foi how, as
II-Queering the Quctidian (VICARS and SENIOR) 205
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206 Pait Thiee: Boys` Love and Peiceptions of the Queei
Figure 2: °seIf portrait" by Bianca HiII, · 2008 (acryIics on canvas, originaI 63 cm × 33 cm).
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paiticulai and collective subjects, we came to iead ouiselves into texts and how oui wiiteily
iesponses made the unavailable available, the absent piesent, and the silenced voiced. Said
(!99!) has noted how cultuie exeits piessuies and how it cieates the enviionment and the
community that allow people to feel they belong. Howevei, having an expeiience of not
belonging was foi us °the splintei in ¦oui] eye ¦and it was] the best magnifying-glass"
(Adoino !978, 50) thiough which we began to dissect how and why oui identities weie ques-
tionable. Yaoi texts incieasingly offeied us a way to iesist the noimative cultuie that had
always been piesent (Said !99!).
\ith/in the Space cf Differance (Kim Senicr)
Eveiyone, at some time in theii life, must choose whethei to stay with a ieady-made
woild that may be safe but which is also limiting oi to push foiwaid, often past the fion-
tieis of common sense, into a peisonal place, unknown and untiied (Winteison !99!, xiv).
Within the feld of liteiacy theie has been a signifcant ongoing debate as to how iden-
tities can be constituted thiough liteiacy piactices; how subjects position themselves in
ielation to texts in oidei to mount a challenge to dominant discouises and how liteiacy
becomes a piactice foi negotiating the stiuctuies of powei and domination (Willis !995;
Stieet !994). In this chaptei, oui naiiatives have endeavoied to tiace, how, as subjects, we
ie-imagined ouiselves thiough oui textual piactices. Woiking fiom an undeistanding of
identity as a °peifoimative stiuggle ovei the meanings of expeiience" (Langelliei 200!, 3),
we have wiitten about how yaoi manga aie texts wheie °identity fnds a way to ie-cieate
itself " (Holland !980, !26).
Yaoi queeis the (ie)citation of heteionoimative identities sciipted by the °heteiosex-
ual matiix" (Butlei !990) in the staged hybiid peifoimances of gendei ambiguities and sex-
ual indeteiminacies. They displace the powei of a bipolai identifcation, to disassemble
°unity and coheience" and to °decentie centeis and disiupt hieiaichies" (Kambeielis 2004,
!67). In yaoi manga, the mocking of the authoiity of the piohibitions of eveiyday life exceed
capacity foi inteipietation. They aie maiginal expiessions that disiupt the heteionoima-
tive ways of being and knowing. If, as it has been suggested, that °maigins aie places, wheie
the maiginal can fnd a space in which they can aiticulate themselves and be heaid" (Het-
heiington !998, 72), then thinking about how yaoi manga centialize °the exploiations and
pioductions of desiies ... ¦that aie] ... in excess of the socially possible oi acceptable" (Light
!984, 7), they can be iead as tiansgiessive inteipellations into and of the quotidian that ie-
make the disciplined spaces of eveiyday life °smooth" and °habitable" (de Ceiteau, !984).
As the discouises and piactices of hegemonic gendei and sexuality took hold in oui
lives, we discoveied, without instiuction, a new way of ieading that involved so much moie
than ieligiously following the text in fiont of us, that piovided an escape fiom the impos-
sibility of living inside infnite heteiosexual naiiatives. Yaoi manga offeied us oppoituni-
ties to playfully ieconstiuct subjectivity, and as wiiteily inteiventions in and against the
ideology of noimative gendei and sexuality, they piovided indeteiminate, inteitextual
oppoitunities foi self-ieaiticulation. Conceived by the authois and °given up" to a mutu-
ally, yet not concoidant discuisive pioject of identity play, yaoi texts inteivene theii way
between an imposed °liteiality." They aie suppoited by djinshi netwoiks (such as Comic
Maiket in Tokyo, cosplay and manga swap meets in Austialia) that aie dispeised, diaspoiic
and inteinational. They aie not just the piovince of ctaku but as oui stoiies demonstiate
II-Queering the Quctidian (VICARS and SENIOR) 207
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they fnd theii nomadic tiaces in the lives of two seemingly unconnected people boin into
a geneiation that would appeai to be disconnected fiom the phenomena. They became foi
us tiansitoiy, evanescent spaces between ieality and imaginaiy; ciitical spaces fiom which
to challenge the legitimacy of the heteionoimative symbolic and social capital and to iene-
gotiate the diffculties, pains, pleasuies and needs of oui lives.
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Gay oi Gei:
Reading ¨Realness° in }apanese Yaci Manga
ALEXIS HALL
Among the shelves of Japanese manga that can be found in any populai bookstoie in
the United States, one is likely to fnd an incieasing numbei of yaoi manga. What does the
emeiging populaiity of yaoi tell us about the ielationships between cultuie, sexuality and
media acioss national boideis: How do cultuially specifc conceptions of sexuality affect
ieadings of Japanese yaoi manga: To answei these questions, this essay biings togethei cul-
tuial studies scholaiship on audiences and cioss-cultuial communication with queei the-
oiy on the globalization of sexuality. I investigate Ameiican fan iesponses to yaoi manga
and aigue that Ameiican consumeis of yaoi biing cultuially specifc assumptions of sex-
ual identity to the text, which theieby inßuence theii judgments iegaiding its quality,
specifcally that suiiounding the idea of °iealness."
Yaoi is a sub-genie of Japanese manga almost exclusively aimed at and cieated by
women that featuies male/male iomantic oi sexual ielationships. Japanese manga, which
is similai to comics oi giaphic novels, makes up a huge poition of Japan`s publishing indus-
tiy and is one of its laigest expoits. Thus, one of the fascinating aspects of yaoi is its emei-
gence as a global commodity. The movement of yaoi manga fiom Japan to the United States
complicates the piocess of how it is undeistood and iaises a numbei of inteiesting ques-
tions iegaiding the global ciiculation of commodities, meaning-making acioss cultuies, and
constiuctions of sexuality.
The way Ameiican audiences discuss yaoi manga ießects both theii assumptions as an
expiession of Westein moies and the expectations and value they place on the text as a Japa-
nese pioduct.

Cioss-cultuial communication theoiies suggest that ethnocentiism, steieo-

types, cognitive biases, and social identity mediate the ways in which audiences inteiact with
cultuial mateiial.
2
Consequently, cultuial backgiound and inßuences affect audiences` woild-
views and the ways they piocess infoimation. These inßuences cause ceitain elements that
aie assumed by Westein society to be taken foi gianted, even in situations in which they may
not apply. Thus, even without delibeiate adaptation oi piioi Japanese cultuial knowledge,
fans inteipiet and analyze yaoi texts by theii own cultuially inßuenced standaids.
The concept of ethnocentiism seems to be especially helpful connecting these theo-
iies of cioss-cultuial communication with othei theoiies iegaiding globalization and pai-
ticulaily the globalization of sexuality. Because yaoi deals with same-sex sexual content, I
focus on the assumptions that Westein audiences biing to yaoi manga texts iegaiding sex-
uality, most cleaily displayed by audience constiuctions of gay identity. These ieadings
often enact an undeistanding of sexuality that piivileges a specifc Westein constiuction
that is set up as °iight" and univeisal, despite diffeient global and social contexts.
Woik done by Veiuska Sabucco similaily addiesses how undeistandings of global sex-
211
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uality apply to yaoi manga by focusing on the meaning-making piocess. In the chaptei
°Guided Fan Fiction: Westein 'Readings` of Japanese Homosexual-themed Texts," Sabucco
exploies the ways in which Westein audiences °cieatively iead" Japanese yaoi and boys` love
manga. Most notably, she ielates this to the °queei" content of yaoi manga by aiguing that
°Japanese 'queei` cultuie iepiesented by shnen-ai and yaoi is not the same queei cultuie
cieated by theii Westein fans; it is a paitially diffeient cultuie, boin fiom the piocess of
'inteipietation, appiopiiation and ieconstiuction` that those manga and anime undeigo."
3
Because Westein ieadeis may associate the iepiesentation of male/male sexuality with a
ceitain ideology of gay identity and because this ideology is thought to be ubiquitous glob-
ally, these ideologies aie applied to yaoi texts and mediate the meanings and impiessions
that ieadeis gain fiom these texts.
Methcdclcgy
In Octobei 2006, I attended Yaoi-Con in Califoinia wheie I sat in on panels and intei-
viewed Ameiican yaoi fans. I spoke to a total of twenty-one paiticipants in ffteen shoit
sessions. Respondents weie fiom diffeient backgiounds but weie piedominantly women
(two weie men) and ianged in ages fiom eighteen to ffty.
4
The inteiviews elicited diveise iesponses, many of which highlight the ielatively unex-
ploied teiiitoiy of Ameiican yaoi fans. By addiessing topics unique to Ameiican fans, these
iesponses diveige fiom pievious woik on yaoi manga in Japan. These iesponses highlight
the vaiiances in meaning-making acioss cultuies and the assumptions Ameiican yaoi fans
enact thiough theii ieadings of yaoi texts.
Reading ¨Realness°
One concept that was iaised iepeatedly by inteiviewees is that of °iealness." These ief-
eiences ielate both to the idea of yaoi as an °unieal" oi fantastical genie, something akin
to a iomance novel, and the distinction between iepiesentations of sexuality in yaoi manga
and the °ieal" expeiiences of same-sex-desiiing men. These discussions of iealness illumi-
nate a numbei of complex assumptions and ideas that not only expose the ways in which
fans ielate to yaoi manga texts but also the ways in which they undeistand sexuality and
identity. Ameiican yaoi fans judge the °iealness" of yaoi manga by ielating it to theii own
conceptions of °gayness." These constiuctions of °gayness" emphasize scenes of victimiza-
tion and °coming out" as the two most salient factois of °iealness." I aigue that this intei-
pietation is based on assumptions that laigely ignoie the complexity of ways in which
sexuality is expiessed both in the U.S. and in Japan. An undeistanding of same-sex sexu-
ality that takes into account the cultuially specifc aspects of sexuality in Japan biings into
question the assumptions on which these constiuctions of iealness aie based.
Many of those who addiess iealness set up a dichotomy between °iealness" and yaoi
manga. One female iespondent, who iefeis to heiself as 9th Ciicle of Hell, makes a point
of highlighting the distinction between yaoi and ieality:
I think it`s veiy impoitant to iecognize that it is a woik of fction. And paiticulaily yaoi
is a woik in fction. I mean, women wiiting about gay male sex. They haven`t had it. So,
in a sense you`ie not ... it`s not a iealistic depiction. Plus, it`s like iomance novels aien`t a
212 Pait Thiee: Boys` Love and Peiceptions of the Queei
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iealistic depiction of het¦eiosexual] sex. So, keeping that in mind, I think something I
have heaid gay men say is that they love a lot of yaoi because it iomanticizes it. It`s not
just what you get in ieal gay fction that`s like mechanic: You do this, I do this, and then
we fuck. This actually has a stoiy and it`s iomantic. And so in a way it`s almost kind of
like, you know, you think of it as soit of a iomance novel. It`s a woik of fction, it`s
iomanticized, it`s a fantasy, so you don`t look foi ieality. You don`t look foi an instiuc-
tion manual. You don`t think this is the way things ieally aie. Because in a lot of yaoi,
foi one thing, it doesn`t mean anything that you`ie gay. Eveiyone accepts it. Oi you`ie
not gay, even though you have sex with a lot of men, you`ie not ieally gay. So you know.
It`s a stoiy; it`s a woik of fction. You have to just keep that in mind.
This iesponse begins to iaise a numbei of themes iegaiding the ways iealness is valued and
evaluated: expeiience, iomanticism, and gay men as °legitimate" judges of iealness in yaoi.
This inteiviewee is quick to distinguish that yaoi is fction. This is likely because within
manga and anime fandom, those who view textual mateiial as iepiesentative of °Real Japan"
aie viewed negatively. While I would aigue that the division into °good fans" and °bad fans"
is aibitiaiy and inaccuiate foi many ieasons, including that theie is a gieat wealth of cul-
tuial infoimation to be gained fiom manga and anime, 9th Ciicle of Hell`s ability to dis-
tinguish between °ieality" and fction seems to give hei a soit of supeiioiity ovei these othei
fans.
Once she acknowledges it as fction, howevei, 9th Ciicle of Hell explains how yaoi can
be fieely enjoyed foi its fctitiousness. It`s notewoithy that she mentions iomance novels,
as these aie one of the main texts which aie enjoyed despite oi because of theii deviation
fiom °ieality."
In contiast, she iefeis to gay men`s fction, fction piimaiily by and foi gay men, as
°ieal." By this, she suggests that gay men aie moie legitimate judges of yaoi`s iealness
because they have °expeiience," while the female wiiteis and consumeis of yaoi °haven`t
had it," so theii iepiesentations and undeistandings aie not as ielevant. This distinction
hints at the ways in which the iealness of yaoi manga is conceived and deteimined.
She continues by explaining what she likes to see in yaoi manga in teims of ieality:
So I actually like the stoiies that soit of exploie that you know, when a chaiactei has to
come out to his oi hei family. Oi they acknowledge the fact that they aie ... you know,
they`ie pietending to be ioommates and not ieally in a ielationship. Oi that it`s not all
smooth sailing and eveiyone is like °oh, we don`t caie." That it actually ... they exist in
what could be a ieal society.
Hei idea of a °ieal" society with iegaid to same-sex sexuality is cleaily maiked by the
situations and conditions that she lists: coming out, acknowledgment of identity, and pos-
sible adveise ieactions fiom otheis. These chaiacteiistics, coming out into a gay identity
and the iesultant anti-gay peisecution, laigely defne what most iespondents considei when
evaluating the °iealness" of yaoi manga. It seems that these aspects aie used to judge the
°iealness" of yaoi manga because they aie consideied to be some of the most impoitant and
salient aspects of °ieal gay lives." These featuies can be said to make up a specifc ideology
of same-sex sexuality that is iooted in Westein, laigely white and middle class, iepiesen-
tations of gayness. This ideology has become the dominant conception of gayness in gen-
eial discouise. It is this specifc iepiesentation that is enacted as the °ieality" against which
yaoi manga is judged.
This can be seen fiom the iesponses of othei female iespondents who also addiessed
the issue of °ieality." In iesponse to my question asking how yaoi piesents sexuality, iespon-
dents Hemlock and TJ discuss the iealness of the yaoi genie in geneial:
I2-Gay cr Gei? (HALL) 213
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HEMLOCK: Yaoi-land is ... Yaoi-land has a ceitain set of iules.
TJ: ¦laughs] I wouldn`t say it`s entiiely iealistic.
HEMLOCK: Evei! When`s the last time you saw them open up a bottle of lube: Come on!
TJ: That may have something to do with the invisible dicks too.
5
HEMLOCK: You nevei see anything! The miiaculously wet ¦unintelligible] it`s like it`s all
easy and peifect. Which is in a way, it`s fantasy so it should be kinda easy. I mean theie`s
ceitainly enough angst to go aiound anyway. And not eveiyone likes that, but....
TJ: The whole thing is supposed to be you know, aiousing and sensual and exciting. It`s
not ieally that sensual to °okay stop a minute. Okay now open the ¦condom: lube:]
You know, it`s not.
HEMLOCK: ... AIDS test....
TJ: It`s kind of what ßows with the whole sensual feeling.
HEMLOCK: And some of them aie moie iealistic than otheis. Um, some of them actually
touch on-especially when they`ie high school students-they touch on about what
theii fiiends aie going to think. And usually theie`s always that slight hesitation like,
°it`s not natuial" but then it`s just like swept undei the iug kind of. So yeah, Yaoi-
land is ceitainly a place. It`s got its own time and iules.
Fiom this exchange, one can see that Hemlock and TJ do not expect yaoi manga to be
iealistic. They acknowledge that it maintains its own noims and °sets of iules." Hemlock`s
comment about °Yaoi-land" does not seem to be a negative one. She acknowledges that
yaoi manga does not always adheie to standaids of °iealistic" iepiesentations of sexuality.
By acknowledging this, she can still enjoy yaoi manga foi what it is without needing oi desii-
ing it to be °iealistic."
At the same time, the set of ciiteiia by which the °iealness" of yaoi manga is being
judged becomes evident: Do they use lube and condoms: Do they have any woiiies iegaid-
ing AIDS: TJ suggests that a stoiy cannot include °ieal" issues without inteiiupting the
sensual feelings of the stoiy. This statement implies that ieadeis value these °sensual" feel-
ings moie than °iealism." But as Hemlock obseives, theie is enough vaiiation among yaoi
seiies to fnd some that aie moie °iealistic." Based on hei iesponse, one can see that she
consideis yaoi manga that addiesses °what ¦the chaiactei`s] fiiends will think" oi addiesses
the natuialness of male/male sexuality to be °iealistic." This suggests that to hei, °ieality"
is the woild in which homosexuality is non-noimative and pioblematic. Thus, an acknowl-
edgment of the ways in which same-sex sexuality functions vis-a-vis heteionoimativity is
necessaiy foi a manga to appeai °iealistic." This is opposed to many yaoi manga in which
sexuality is unaddiessed and sex is iomanticized.
TJ elaboiates on this theme as she continues:
It`s nice that you don`t see a whole lot of peisecution. Oi at least I haven`t in what I`ve
iead. It`s not like °Oh my god you`ie gay!" You don`t see the whole peisecution thing.
It`s not entiiely iealistic I suppose, but -and again, it`s idealistic. It`s nice.
She suggests that what makes yaoi °not entiiely iealistic" is that it does not poitiay peise-
cution of homosexuality. This conveisely assumes that a poitiayal of peisecution would
lead yaoi manga to be iead as moie °iealistic." Even so, she insists that she paiticulaily enjoys
this aspect of yaoi manga, despite, oi indeed because of, its lack of °ieality."
In contiast to iespondents who focus on how yaoi manga is not iealistic, one iespon-
dent discusses instances of iealism. Respondent Ash comments on a specifc yaoi manga-
ka, Miyamoto Kano, saying about hei woiks in paiticulai, °It`s ieal! I think it`s ieal." What
is it about the woiks of this authoi as opposed to otheis that sets them apait in teims of
iealness: A close ieading of Miyamoto`s woik may claiify what Ash means by °ieal."
214 Pait Thiee: Boys` Love and Peiceptions of the Queei
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A few of Miyamoto`s woiks, including Nct/Icve, Twc cf Hearts, and Say Please, have
been published in English, while many othei of hei woiks have been scanlated (scanned,
tianslated, and edited) into English by online scanlating gioups and aie thus available to
English-speaking yaoi audiences who iead yaoi online. One of Miyamoto`s titles that Ash
mentions in paiticulai is Rules. Rules is the stoiy of high school student Yuki Konoe. Yuki
is in love with one of his (ostensibly heteiosexual) classmates, Atoii. Despite this, he has
staited having sex with a slightly oldei bisexual man named Hikaiu whom he met in the
gay distiict of town. Rules follows Yuki as he exploies his feelings foi both Atoii and Hikaiu.
One of the notable aspects of Rules is that Yuki mentions that he has known about his
sexuality fiom a veiy eaily age. His naiiation ieads:
Fiom young ¦sic] I have been inteiested in boys. In the past, the me who didn`t know
bettei kept on thinking I am abnoimal. Oi even felt that a weiido like me should not
even have been boin into this woild.-And so I`ve done lots of stupid things. Of couise,
I`m not stupid enough to end my own life.... But I`ve nevei managed to get past this
shadow. Only aftei I`ve enteied high school have I leaint to face myself, and know that
in this woild theie aie actually lots of otheis like me.
6
Fiank statements of an innate sexual piefeience oi identity such as this aie somewhat of
an exception to the noims of yaoi manga. Chaiacteis laigely considei theii same-sex attiac-
tion as an isolated incident and not in teims of any soit of sexual identity it might imply.
Thus, it is possible that this iefeience to innate sexual piefeience is one of the featuies that
led Ash to view this manga as moie °ieal" than othei manga.
Anothei aspect that may have a pait in Ash`s ieading of Rules as a °iealistic" manga is
that Yuki tells othei people about his sexuality. In one scene, Hikaiu, whom Yuki has just
slept with foi the fist time the night befoie, comes to Yuki`s school aftei class to biing him
a disc he left at Hikaiu`s home. Yuki is with his fiiends at the time, including Atoii. Once
Hikaiu leaves, his fiiends question him about how he knows the attiactive oldei boy. One
fiiend asks in jest if Hikaiu is Yuki`s boyfiiend. Yuki fieezes and abiuptly admits that, yes,
Hikaiu is his boyfiiend. Yuki`s fiiends aie suipiised but nonchalant about the confession.
Yuki, howevei, becomes upset and iuns home.
While it is not unheaid-of in yaoi manga that otheis know about a chaiactei`s sexu-
ality, especially the piotagonist`s best fiiend, this scene can be iead moie as a °coming out"
scene, in the Westein sense, a factoi that multiple iespondents mention as a deteimining
factoi in the °iealness" of a manga. What makes this scene diffeient fiom othei yaoi manga
in which chaiacteis admit theii homosexual activity to fiiends is that Yuki is not in love
with Hikaiu (at this point). In many othei yaoi manga, homosexuality and same-sex attiac-
tion aie not necessaiily based on any soit of histoiy of same-sex attiaction within a chai-
actei`s past. When same-sex attiaction does occui within the stoiy, it is often piesented
not as an endoisement of male-male love in geneial, but a specifc situation in which one
male chaiactei is in love with someone who also happens to be male. Thus, even when
chaiacteis confess theii same-sex desiies to theii fiiends oi othei chaiacteis, it is moie of
an isolated confession of love as opposed to any soit of °coming out" in the Westein sense,
in which an individual adopts a gay identity. Howevei, because Yuki is not in love with
Hikaiu and the naiiative pieviously mentions his attiaction to boys since his youth, this
can be iead as a °coming out" scene. Because °coming out" is a peivasive aspect to gay-
ness in the United States, it is likely that this scene contiibutes to Ash`s ieading of this
manga as °ieal" oi at least, moie °ieal" than othei yaoi manga.
With iegaid to yaoi manga iepiesentations of sexuality in geneial, Ash continues:
I2-Gay cr Gei? (HALL) 215
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The guys ... they`ie always confused. I do think theie`s a lot like that. Like I thought
°Cut" was pietty ieal, by Toko Kawai. That`s one of my favoiites. And they ¦the chaiac-
teis] talk about that too you know. The guy`s like °oh, I`m not gay" but you know ...
you`ie in this ielationship with youi fiiend and ¦laughs] I think ... I`ve heaid that`s a
veiy Japanese thing, to be like °I`m not gay, I`m just having sex with you" and we do that
in Ameiica.... That`s why we have the answei choice on the CDC ¦Centei foi Disease
Contiol] questionnaiie °Men who have sex with men" cuz people won`t admit that
they`ie gay. And they ian into so much of that. Like °You`ie not gay:" °Hell no I`ll kill
you." °Do you have sex with men:" °Yes, thiee times a week." I mean seiiously like
that`s what we study in school, like how that came to be.
7
Hei iesponse highlights the inteisections between the male-male sexuality depicted
in yaoi manga and notions of gay identity. Ash seems to indicate that yaoi manga in which
chaiacteis addiess the issue of gay identity aie iealistic. While the standaids by which the
°iealness" of yaoi manga is judged oiiginate fiom Westein, laigely Ameiican notions of
homosexuality, she astutely notes that these standaids do not necessaiily apply to Japan and
sometimes do not even apply within the U.S. She does not insist that only those chaiacteis
that embiace the °gay" identity piesent iealness because she acknowledges the vaiied ways
in which individuals both in the U.S. and Japan negotiate sexuality and identity. Hei men-
tion of °men who have sex with men" as a categoiy addiesses the diveigent ways sexuality
and identity may opeiate even within the United States. This challenges many of the
assumptions iegaiding the univeisal natuie of sexuality, and biings into question piecon-
ceptions iegaiding the °iealness" of yaoi manga.
In iegaid to how she sees yaoi manga as °ieal," female iespondent Neon claims that
°a lot of times the chaiacteis in yaoi oi manga have to deal with the same issues that ieal
... uh ... ieal gay men have to deal with. And the ... like the piejudice and the ... steieo-
types." While this opinion diffeis fiom most of the othei iespondents in teims of how
°ieal" yaoi manga is in geneial, it cleaily aiticulates the value system by which the °ieal-
ness" of yaoi manga is judged: its ielationship to °ieal gay men."
One of the few gay male iespondents similaily evokes °iealness" in ielation to ieal gay
men. Rhys evaluates yaoi`s °iealism" based on its ielation to his own expeiiences as a gay
man. In iesponse to a question of how he thinks yaoi piesents sexuality, he iesponds:
I mean it`s somewhat accuiate. I guess, I mean, some ... some of the guys you know
aien`t always just like uke oi seme oi something like that. Some of them aie moie ¦unin-
telligible] so, when it comes to actually poitiaying the sexuality itself, it`s a faiiytale,
pietty much. I mean, well ... it`s like any kind of iomance novel, I guess. Real people
don`t act like that.
His expeiiences as a gay man infoim his undeistanding of °gayness." He piivileges this expe-
iience in his judgments of iealness in yaoi manga. This piivileging of °ieal gay male expe-
iience" in iefeience to yaoi was also addiessed by 9th Ciicle of Hell and demonstiates the
tendency exhibited by many iespondents in which they peiceive the °iealness" of yaoi in
ielation to theii conceptions of °gayness."
¨Realness,° ¨Gayness,° and Glcbal Sexuality
Based on these theoiies and iesponses, it becomes evident that °iealness" is not judged
on any numbei of textual factois including setting oi chaiacteis, but on how accuiately the
yaoi manga depiction of same-sex issues and interacticns ielates to the ieadei`s conception
216 Pait Thiee: Boys` Love and Peiceptions of the Queei
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of °ieal gay life." This is demonstiated, although not always explicitly, in the ways iespon-
dents aiticulate what does and does not make yaoi manga iealistic.
Ceitainly, this judgment of °iealness" oi °accuiacy" is subjective. This subjectivity is
evident thiough the vaiiation of iesponses. Gendei, sexual oiientation, education and any
numbei of factois may inßuence conceptions of gayness. Neon, foi instance, was one of
the few iespondents to claim that, in geneial, yaoi manga accuiately ießect ieal gay men`s
lives. This may be laigely in pait because Neon, as a woman, may have a veiy diffeient con-
ception of °ieal gay men`s lives" than a iespondent such as Rhys who identifes as a gay man
himself.
Similaily, iespondents emphasize ceitain chaiacteiistics as belying the °iealness" of the
yaoi manga text, but some of these chaiacteiistics diffeied. TJ mentions that the lack of
piejudice in yaoi is a factoi that makes it uniealistic. It is stiiking that it is negative fea-
tuies such as these that aie the factois that deteimine the iealism of a yaoi manga seiies.
While violence and anti-gay disciimination aie ceitainly piesent in the lives of many gay
men, it is tioubling that this association goes so fai to victimize gayness that any iepiesen-
tation that does not fall within the confnes of these negative factois aie viewed as °unie-
alistic" oi °idealistic" as TJ says. In othei woids, this iesponse suggests that °ieal" gayness
is ieached thiough expeiience of victimization.
Due to cultuial diffeiences between the Japanese point of oiigin and the Ameiican point
of consumption, diffeiences in the conception of gayness, and thus the peiception of ieal-
ness of yaoi manga by the ieadei, may be affected. Rhys, because of his expeiiences as a gay
man living in the United States, seems to feel himself to be a qualifed judge of the °ieal-
ness" of yaoi manga based on his ieal life expeiiences. When asked duiing an inteiview
with a female fiiend how yaoi piesents sexuality, he iesponded, °I think that`s moie of a
question foi me." This shows that he believes his gay expeiience gives him authoiity on
the subject ovei his female counteipait because yaoi deals with same-sex sexuality. This
piivileging of gay °expeiience" was also addiessed by 9th Ciicle of Hell, who suggested that
yaoi couldn`t be ieal because the female mangaka could not expeiience the gay male sex
about which they weie wiiting.
Howevei, it is inteiesting that Rhys should feel himself to be a bettei judge of iealness
by viitue of his gayness than, foi instance, Japanese women audiences by viitue of theii
Japaneseness. Rhys does not have the expeiiences of Japanese gay man. This suggests that
in this context gayness as a factoi is piivileged and viewed as moie impoitant than ethnic-
ity and cultuial knowledge. This is likely because Ameiican ieadeis fnd the same-sex sex-
uality piesent in yaoi manga is cleaily identifable, wheieas the ethnicity of the chaiacteis
may be ambiguous. The piivileging of sexuality ovei cultuie also indicates an assumption
iegaiding the univeisality of gayness in which ceitain modes of sexuality aie viewed as uni-
veisal without iegaid to cultuie specifcities.
The idea that theie is a univeisal piecedent of gay identity assumes a commonality of
identity and expiession acioss the global woild that may not necessaiily be accuiate. This
idea of a univeisal gay identity is enacted in events such as the 994 NYC gay piide paiade
which boasted the theme °Stonewall 25: A Global Celebiation of Piide." As Maitin Man-
alansan piovides as an example, a guide fiom the activities adveitises, °People will celebiate
the iebellion that tiansfoimed the existing Homophile Movement into oui contempoiaiy,
global, Lesbian, Gay and Tiansgendei iights Movement."
8
The idea that the veiy specifc
site of iebellion at Stonewall tiansfoimed into a °global" movement assumes much, notably
a U.S.-centiic conception of sexual identity and the univeisality of sexual iights.
I2-Gay cr Gei? (HALL) 217
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Ash addiesses these assumptions when she aiticulates the diffeiences and similaiities
between same-sex sexuality in the U.S. and Japan. She asseits that the ways in which gay-
ness opeiates in Japan may be veiy diffeient fiom how it opeiates in the U.S., but in some
ways it may be similai. She iemaiks, °I`ve heaid that`s a veiy Japanese thing, to be like 'I`m
not gay, I`m just having sex with you.`" Whethei hei asseition iegaiding sexual identity in
Japan is accuiate oi not, this iesponse highlights that a yaoi manga may still be °ieal" based
on its ielational iepiesentation of °gayness," but this idea of °gayness" may be conceived
diffeiently in diffeient cultuial settings; in this case, Japan and the United States.
While theie aie ceitainly a myiiad of ways in which gayness is expiessed within a
given cultuie, it is easy to see the diffeiences and cultuially specifc ways in which gayness
is conceived when one looks outside of the West. Compaied to the U.S., Japan ceitainly has
a veiy diffeient histoiy iegaiding male homosexual piactices. Histoiically, male/male sex-
ual piactices have been sanctioned as long as they did not impede the continuation of the
family stiuctuie, namely maiiiage and iepioduction. Thus, theie weie thiee main sites of
male homosexual activity: °Homosexual behavioi was foimally oiganized in such institu-
tions as samuiai mansions, Buddhist monasteiies, and male biothels linked to the kabuki
theatei."
9
All of these sites maintained ceitain stiatifed ioles, specifcally by age and, as
mentioned, weie toleiated as long as they did not inteifeie with the duties of maiiiage and
iepioduction.
Despite this histoiy, howevei, contempoiaiy Japan maintains a diffeient attitude
towaids homosexuality. Scholai Joseph Hawkins suggests that in the Meiji Peiiod (868-
92 CE) Japan began adopting Westein inßuences, including homophobia. While homo-
sexual behavioi had pieviously been compaiatively uncensoied, when Japan adopted West-
ein ideologies, paiticulaily psychology, it °led to the classifcation of some sexual patteins
as 'abeiiant.`"
0
Since the acceptance of some of these Westein ideologies, Japan has aiguably
become moie ciitical of homosexuality than it was in the past. While theie aie still com-
paiatively few legal oi moial iestiictions, individuals who do not obseive the social obli-
gations of maiiiage and iepioduction may face ciiticism within Japanese society.
Peihaps one of the most notable diffeiences between the two countiies iegaiding sex-
uality is that in Japan theie is a somewhat diffeient conception of °gay identity." In the U.S.,
gay identity is often associated with a political identity of outness and visibility. Because
this soit of gioup identity is less evident in Japan, it is fiequently assumed that theie is a
weak oi non-existent gay identity in Japan as opposed to the °piogiessive" gay identity found
in the West, specifcally the U.S. Howevei, this assumption ignoies many of the histoiical
and cultuial specifcities conceining homosexuality in Japan. Indeed, because of Japan`s his-
toiy with homosexuality and the absence of Judeo-Chiistian moials, theie have nevei been
the same soits of legal iestiictions against homosexuality in Japan that theie have been in
the U.S., such as sodomy laws. Theie was one sodomy law in Japan fiom 873-883 but it
was iepealed and °only twenty occuiiences of sodomy weie punished as ciiminal undei
the new law, though it is cleai fiom the iecoid that the piactice was much moie wide-
spiead."

This stands in staik contiast to the lengthy histoiy of sodomy laws in the West.
Likely because theie was little legal iestiiction on male-male sex in Japan, and thus no need
to fght against laws such as these. The iights-based gay identity that is so obvious in Amei-
ica was nevei as stiongly developed in Japan.
Maik McLelland, one of the piominent English-language ieseaicheis on homosexu-
ality in Japan, suggests that many same-sex oiiented individuals in Japan iesist the °gay"
identity because they don`t necessaiily view theii sexual acts as a deteimining factoi in
218 Pait Thiee: Boys` Love and Peiceptions of the Queei
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identity. While in Ameiica the idea that °the peisonal is political" ioots many iights dis-
couises aiound identity politics, in Japan, sexual acts aie moie often viewed as ascbi (play)
and not an identity-deteimining factoi.
2
Because of the ielative lack of legal and moial
iestiictions, individuals can usually paiticipate in these acts without iestiiction and thus
have not developed the political gay identity often found in the United States which focuses
on a legal iights discouise. This is not to say that othei foims of disciimination and othei
expiessions of gayness moie in line with the Ameiican conception of gay identity do not
also exist in Japan; they do. A numbei of public gay fguies and activism-based gioups do
exist. Howevei, they exist alongside these multiple othei expiessions of same-sex sexual-
ity.
If we considei contempoiaiy yaoi manga without the specifc lens of gay identity in
the Ameiican sense, but with knowledge of how these multiple expiessions of same-sex
sexuality co-exist in Japanese society, the ieadings of °iealness" based on its iepiesenta-
tional ielation to gayness illuminate nuances in how we discuss sexuality in a global con-
text.
Ccnclusicn. Adventures in Yaci-land
When yaoi manga is biought into the Ameiican context, Westein values have a
signifcant inßuence on ieadings of yaoi by Ameiican fans. By adopting, negotiating, oi
iejecting Ameiican discouises of sexuality and identity, these fans asciibe unique meaning
thiough theii ieadings of yaoi manga. Readeis seem to apply populai undeistandings of
sexuality to yaoi manga. Ameiican fans apply ideas of a univeisal gay identity in theii iead-
ings of yaoi manga while using these conceptions to judge the iealness of yaoi manga. Some
fans assume that the gay identity found in dominant Westein ideology applies globally. In
these cases, fans considei yaoi manga to be uniealistic because the male/male sexuality iep-
iesented in yaoi manga does not display theii conception what °ieal" gayness should look
like. Foi the most pait, this conception includes scenes of victimization and °coming out"
into a °gay identity." Howevei, othei fans negotiate this dominant theoiy of univeisal gay
identity by acknowledging the vaiiation of same-sex sexualities globally and even within
the West. Foi these ieadeis, the peiception of yaoi manga`s °iealness" may be inßuenced by
knowledge of same-sex sexuality in Japan. In eithei case howevei, the fact that yaoi does
not iepiesent °ieal" gay sexuality to Ameiican fans does not seem to affect theii enjoyment
of yaoi manga. In fact, the absence of a U.S.-based male/male sexual identity may in fact
be a laige pait of yaoi`s appeal to Ameiican audiences.
Ameiican audiences often iead in a contiadictoiy mannei. Theii ieadings aie at once
ethnocentiic in that they piivilege familiai ideologies, and simultaneously exotifying in theii
emphasis on the °otheiness" oi °Japaneseness" of yaoi manga. This contiadiction is pait of
yaoi`s appeal. °Yaoi-land" exists as a space in which dichotomies fail to account foi the iange
and vaiiation of meaning and undeistanding that occui thiough ieading yaoi manga cioss-
cultuially. It is foi this ieason that the study of yaoi is benefcial in its openness to possi-
bility and multiplicity.
This essay has only begun to exploie the complexities of yaoi. The cioss-cultuial natuie
of this woik addiesses the layeis of cultuial meaning attached to yaoi manga, and the
piocesses involved in meaning-making acioss cultuial lines. Additionally, my focus on
audience iesponses to yaoi begins to exploie what has been ielatively unaddiessed in pie-
I2-Gay cr Gei? (HALL) 219
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vious woik on yaoi: fan undeistandings of yaoi manga in theii own woids. These fan
iesponses complicate any monolithic undeistanding of who ieads yaoi and how they make
meaning of it thiough theii vaiiation and contiadictions.
Nctes
1. Shinobu Piice, °Caitoons fiom Anothei Planet: Japanese Animation as Cioss-Cultuial Communica-
tion," }curnal cf American and Ccmparative Cultures 24 (200), 53.
2. William B. and Bella Mody Gudykunst, eds., Handbcck cf Internaticnal and Intercultural Ccmmuni-
caticn (London: Sage Publications, 2002).
3. Veiuska Sabucco, °Guided Fan Fiction: Westein 'Readings` of Japanese Homosexual-themed Texts,"
in Mcbile Cultures. New Media in Queer Asia, ed. Chiis Beiiy, Fian Maitin and Audiey Yue (Duiham, NC,
& London: Duke Univeisity Piess, 2003), 7.
4. While the demogiaphic infoimation of iespondents such as sexual identity was optionally iequested,
I have chosen not to highlight this in my analysis as I believe it distiacts fiom the content of audience iesponses,
which is the focus of this woik. Woik that takes into account this demogiaphic infoimation may be benefcial
in the futuie.
5. TJ`s iefeience to °invisible dicks" iefeis to the ways in which some mangaka diaw penises as baiely
visible oi iecognizable cylindeis to confoim to censoiship laws.
6. Miyamoto Kano. Rules Matsubunkan 2003: 30. scanlation via Liquid Passion http://hackthemain
stieam.com
7. Men who have sex with men (MSM) is a teim used by social scientists to classify men who have sex
with men, iegaidless of how they self-identif y.
8. New Ycrk Pride Guide I994, in Maitin M. Manalansan, °In the Shadows of Stonewall: Examining Gay
Tiansnational Politics and the Diaspoiic Dilemma," GIQ 2 (995): 427.
9. Gaiy P. Leupp, Male Cclcrs. The Ccnstructicn cf Hcmcsexuality in Tckugawa }apan (Beikeley: Univei-
sity of Califoinia Piess, 995), .
10. Joseph Hawkins, °Japan`s Jouiney into Homophobia," Gay o Iesbian Review \crldwide 7, no. (2000):
36.
11. Ibid.
12. McLelland, Maik. Male Hcmcsexuality in Mcdern }apan. Cultural Myths and Sccial Realities (Rich-
mond, VA: Cuizon, 2000).
Biblicgraphy
Gudykunst, William B. and Bella Mody, eds. Handbcck cf Internaticnal and Intercultural Ccmmunicaticn. Lon-
don: Sage Publications, 2002.
Hawkins, Joseph. °Japan`s Jouiney into Homophobia." Gay o Iesbian Review \crldwide 7, no. (2000): 36.
Leupp, Gaiy P. Male Cclcrs. The Ccnstructicn cf Hcmcsexuality in Tckugawa }apan. Beikeley: Univeisity of
Califoinia Piess, 995.
Manalansan, Maitin. °In the Shadows of Stonewall: Examining Gay Tiansnational Politics and the Diaspoiic
Dilemma." GIQ 2 (995): 425-438.
McLelland, Maik. Male Hcmcsexuality in Mcdern }apan. Cultural Myths and Sccial Realities. Richmond, VA:
Cuizon, 2000.
Miyamoto, Kano. Rules Matsubunkan 2003:30. Scanlation via Liquid Passion http://hackthemainstieam.com.
Piice, Shinobu. °Caitoons fiom Anothei Planet: Japanese Animation as Cioss-Cultuial Communication." }cur-
nal cf American and Ccmparative Cultures 24 (200): 53-69.
Sabucco, Veiuska. °Guided Fan Fiction: Westein 'Readings` of Japanese Homosexual-themed Texts." In Mcbile
Cultures. New Media in Queer Asia, edited by Chiis Beiiy, Fian Maitin and Audiey Yue, 70-86. Duiham,
NC, & London: Duke Univeisity Piess, 2003.
220 Pait Thiee: Boys` Love and Peiceptions of the Queei
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3
Raping Apollo
Sexual Difference and the Yaci Phencmencn
ALAN WILLIAMS
As a 25-yeai-old gay, white male living in Seattle in 2009, I puichase fiom my local
bookstoie the occasional manga about male-male iomance and sex-a °yaoi" genie
authoied and diawn almost exclusively by women in Japan. Ovei the yeais, this genie has
gieatly inßuenced my fantasies iegaiding male beauty, love, and passion. As an aspiiing
novelist, I tuin to the genie as I develop my own plotlines and chaiacteis. Yet, how am I
to imagine myself alongside the majoiity of yaoi fans-stiaight females-most of whom
aie Japanese: Is such an imaginaiy naïve, egocentiic, ethnocentiic, sexist: Oi does the
genie, in its cuiient tiansnational foim, speak to aspects of human desiie that aie, in fact,
beyond a single gendei and cultuie:
In hei 2008 disseitation °Reading and Living Yaci: Male-Male Fantasy Naiiatives as
Women`s Sexual Subcultuie in Japan," Mizoguchi Akiko illustiates how she °'became` a
lesbian via ieception, in adolescence, of the 970s 'beautiful boy` comics, the piecuisois to
yaoi" (vi). That a woman would become a lesbian thiough a male-male genie makes plain
the need to think beyond most stiuctuialist aiguments about yaoi and its fandom. By set-
ting the boundaiy of who is within a paiticulai subcultuie, the scholai (oi fan, oi °aca-
fan") not only neglects those on oi outside that boundaiy, but also pigeonholes and
homogenizes those inside the boundaiy. This boundaiy-setting has political, pedagogical
and ethical consequences that aie not always appaient.
In this chaptei I will examine competing naiiatives in iecent studies of yaoi, point-
ing to wheie these naiiatives ieach theii ethical impasses. The concept of sexual difference,
as expiessed paiticulaily by feminist philosopheis Rosi Biaidotti and Elizabeth Giosz, helps
think thiough these impasses. By the end of this essay, I hope to have developed a fiame-
woik in which I can imagine myself as a yaoi fan-a fiamewoik that is iespectful of the
ways yaoi iemains a distinctly Japanese and female genie.
Yaci as Pclitical
Aits educatois Bient Wilson and Masami Toku in theii °'Boys` Love,` Yaoi, and Ait
Education: Issues of Powei and Pedagogy" (2003) wiite:
Should the dojinshi subcultuie be biought into ¦the aits] cuiiiculum: ...
Heiein lies the pioblem. Dojinshi and its yaoi and boys` love components ßouiish
because they aie subveisive, beyond contiol, and because they stand in opposition to
conventional societal noims. To put these foims of youth visual cultuie in schools
would piobably iob teens of the pleasuies that suiiound theii cieation and consump-
tion: when we iequiie students to do and make what they themselves have elected to do
221
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on theii own becomes no longei theii own. Moieovei, when the subveisive is sanctioned
it loses its social tiansfoimative functions. Suiely, schools should not be in the business
of assisting students to cieate dojinshi. They don`t need help ¦undei °Yaoi, Boys` Love
and Ait Education," paias. 7-8].
Wilson and Toku note that this does not mean that aits cuiiicula can simply ignoie
yaoi, because °to do so leaves an intoleiable ciitical void" (paia. 9), as °suiely, teenageis
must leain to iead semiotically and inteipiet ciitically the visual cultuie they cieate. Suiely
they must be taught to question things such as the foims of gendei identity that aie con-
stiucted within yaoi" (ibid.).
The iiony Wilson and Toku point out is that yaoi cannot be °bioached" (ibid.) in the
schools that house its piesent and futuie consumeis and pioduceis due to yaoi`s °inappio-
piiateness" (ibid.) as seen by most educatois and adults.
Might it be the case, howevei, that the less pioblematic foims of visual cultuie cieated
by youth might stand in foi the unacceptable types: If boys` love piovides the means foi
females to exploie gendei ioles, then peihaps sanctioned foims of visual cultuie might
piovide the vehicle thiough which students could piactice ieading signs in the unsanc-
tioned foims of youth cultuie which exist beyond schools ¦paia. 0].
The assumption heie is that unless a youth is alieady politically minded oi outside the
heteionoimative noim, the youth will simply enjoy the genie and not question it. In
Mizoguchi`s account, the subcultuie has seen political °iesults" in the sense that (a) poli-
ticking and educating have had an effect within and without in the last foity yeais (that is,
the genie does not exist in a social vacuum), and (b) the exploiation of gendei and social
ioles by yaoi fans has iesulted in °libeiation" foi some fans. Mizoguchi wiites:
¦I]t is only natuial that an incieasing numbei of chaiacteis have staited to act on theii
own will, that is, the women fans` fiee will, iathei than the yaoi foimula that ießects
male-centeied heteionoimativity.
Of couise, the yaoi foimula¦e] themselves weie cieated by yaoi women fans and they
ießected what the fans had inteinalized. As theii sexual fantasies weie and mostly still
aie played out acioss the bodies of the male chaiacteis that assume fxed top (male)/bot-
tom (female) ioles and thus seem to imitate heteiosexual iomance, the fans` fantasies
seem to and do ieinfoice heteionoimativity. But at the same time, because such fantasy
naiiatives have been iepeatedly cieated and ieceived by women, some fans have come to
fully possess such heteionoimative assumptions as theii own and fully live them out as
theii own, so to speak, by playing bcth ioles in a women-only discuisive space instead of
iegaiding them as an unquestionable given. As a iesult, some women fans have ovei-
come heteionoimative assumptions (albeit in an unconscious mattei in many cases)
¦2008, 372-73; emphasis added].
Thus, a classioom setting wheie °ciitical" tools aie impaited to the student seems in
seivice of a politics in which the yaoi subcultuie cannct be trusted to pioduce iesults quickly
encugh. An unconscious oveicoming, in the eyes of the teachei, ought to be made conscious.
Within theii pieviously cited essay, Wilson and Toku wiite:
The peispectives, positions, tastes, and oiientations seem to exist in a fiightening ihi-
zomatic ßux. Yaoi appeais to ieinfoice conseivative gendei ioles while simultaneously
pioviding models foi libeiating ioles. The choices aie theie and the ieadeis and wiiteis
may, consciously oi unconsciously, choose this, oi that, oi the othei model -oi theii
combinations. What aie the consequences of being double-minded, playing with
double-edged-ness, possessing double-pleasuies, double-tioubles: Peihaps this is an
instance about which Jacques Lacan

wiites-of °the incessant sliding of the signifed

undei the signifei." He claimed that no anchoiing of paiticulai signifeis to paiticulai
signifeds is possible ¦undei °Reading Signs cf Signs," paia. 5].
222 Pait Thiee: Boys` Love and Peiceptions of the Queei
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Within a sexual diffeience fiamewoik, this Lacanian double-mindedness is iedefned
as °good." As Rosi Biaidotti wiites: °The feminist pioject is no longei desciibed only in
teims of willful choice, but also in teims of desiie, that is to say un-willful diives. Conse-
quently political passions, and the political analysis of affectivity that accompanies them,
emeige as a cential issue" (2000, 305). She fuithei wiites: °What the feminism of sexual
diffeience wants to free in women is ... theii desiie foi fieedom, justice, self-accomplish-
ment and well-being: the subveisive laughtei of Dionysus as opposed to the seiiousness of
the Apollonian spiiit. This political piocess ... does not aim at the gloiifcation of the fem-
inine, but iathei its actualization oi empoweiment as a political pioject aimed at alteina-
tive female subjectivities" (306; emphasis added). Elizabeth Giosz expands this to include
all feminist theoiy: °Feminist theoiy is not the stiuggle to libeiate women, even though it
has tended to conceive of itself in these teims (if this is its function, it has failed misei-
ably!); it is the stiuggle to iendei moie mobile, ßuid, and tiansfoimable the means by which
the female subject is pioduced and iepiesented" (2005, 39).
Foi many ieadeis, what Biaidotti and Giosz aie suggesting might be a new way of
thinking of feminist empoweiment. Foi gendei theoiists and feminist sociologists who aie
alieady awaie of °sexual diffeience" I am peihaps °opening a can of woims" (see Fostei
999, to get a sense of the multiple contentions heie
2
). Yaoi is a valuable site foi this theo-
ietical battle to play out, as it °does not iepiesent any peison`s 'ieality,` but iathei is a bat-
tlefeld wheie stiaight, lesbian and othei women`s desiies and political stakes clash and
iepiesentations aie boin" (Mizoguchi 2008, vii).
Feminist philosophies of sexual diffeience postulate a materiality cf difference undei-
pinned by a fundamental binaiism: the °masculine" and the °feminine" (hence, the label
°sexual")-oi, in Nietzschean teims, the Apollonian and Dionysian, oidei and chaos. This
binaiism is contested by some as a ie-essentializing of the sexes (and an undue focus on
°sex"), but such a ciitique is like setting Apollo (man) next to Apollo (woman-as-man-
conceives-of-hei), when, in fact, the Dionysian oi the °feminine" element is that which is
yet tc be. This chaotic element is taken as the point of depaituie, which imagines each
woman and peison as °a multiplicity in heiself: she is maiked by a set of diffeiences within
the self, which tuins hei into a split, fiactuied, knotted entity, constiucted ovei inteisect-
ing levels of expeiience" (Biaidotti 2000, 303). °Sex" is just one way diffeience is and can
be aiticulated (othei ways include class, iace, sexual oiientation, and so on).
The title of this chaptei, °Raping Apollo," is to imply that as we imagine yaoi and its
subcultuie as a conveisation between the °masculine" (oi dominant stiuctuies in society)
and the °feminine" (subveisive not-yet-stiuctuies), Apollo is satisfyingly being iaped by
Dionysus. This iape is acceptable only because it is in seivice of a utopian love between
Apollo and Dionysus, the juxtaposition of violence and devotion as seen in many yaoi texts.
Rape vis-a-vis utopian thinking is peihaps one chaiacteiistic of yaoi texts that might com-
pel educatois like Wilson and Toku to want to give ciitical tools to theii students. If we
leave political expediency up to unconscious desiie, then oui mateiial iealities seem quickly
ieduced to an optimistic outlook on life (diffeience as utopia, wheie iape is actually a ieally
good iomp in the sheets) veisus a pessimistic outlook (diffeience as dystopia, wheie iape
is iape and cleaily unethical). How can we tiust unconscious desiie to do the necessaiy
political woik in the woild:
Biaidotti and Giosz asseit something giandei about desiie than whethei oi not it can
be tiusted. Desiie is doing political woik, wheieas the willful political woik we do in seiv-
ice of singular iealities (the empoweiment of °women" geneially oi the empoweiment of
I3-Raping Apcllc (WILLIAMS) 223
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°gay people" geneially) is actually moie haimful than it seems. As Biaidotti wiites: °¦T]he
utopian dimension of sexual diffeience inauguiates a visionaiy mode of thinking wheie
the poetic and the political inteisect poweifully" (305). Heie we might iead °poetic" as
Dionysian laughtei (chaos) and the °political" as Apollonian seiiousness (oidei). Both aie
necessaiy to cieate and sustain change: chaos begins change and oidei sustains it -not the
othei way aiound.
Imagine, foi example, the teachei °getting at" yaoi thiough othei visual cultuie and
how this would, in some ways, delimit yaoi as a subveisive ait foim. Theie aie no °ciiti-
cal" tools a teachei can piovide without somehow deducting fiom the °feminine," °unciit-
ical" oi °subveisive" that is yaoi. Is it the case that subveiting heteionoimativity at a macio
level is woith delimiting yaoi: Sexual diffeience posits that theie is no way to subveit het-
eionoimativity °at a macio level." Besides, isn`t the existence and sustainment of yaoi and
its subcultuie already a subveision of heteionoimativity: What moie can the teachei pio-
vide:
Wilson and Toku wiite:
¦Boys` love, yaoi, and the djinshi in which they aie found] aie a sign of disputed powei
in the iealm of ait education and youth visual cultuie. They aie signs of the laigei
global visual cultuie of youth which ait educatois and youth both shaie and do not
shaie. If pedagogy is the shaiing of powei by students and teacheis-and we think it
should be-then shouldn`t foims of visual cultuie studied in school be a topic foi nego-
tiation among educational authoiities, teacheis, and students: Indeed, we believe that
this is one of the most impoitant issues foi students and teacheis in countiies thiough-
out the woild to negotiate and iesolve ¦undei °Yaoi, Boys` Love, and Ait Education,"
paia. 0].
While I agiee with the shaiing of pedagogy in the classioom, I am cuiious as to what
the teachei might offei politically that the yaoi community does not alieady itself offei.
Considei Mizoguchi`s discussion of how the manga Sex Pistcls (Kotobuki 2004) might
be talked about within the yaoi community in Japan:
The stoiy iequiies that eveiyone, iegaidless of gendei ... play eithei a mothei oi a fathei
in a ielationship, which ieinfoices a heteiosexual/heteionoimative fiamewoik and thus
can alienate anyone who has not engaged oi does not plan to engage in iepioduction.
But at the same time, based on an undeistanding that the °boys` love" genie iesists, oi at
least pioblematizes, existing heteionoimative assumptions, Sex Pistcls is an especially
poweiful woik....
A comment such as ... °I think it`s a gieat woik. All the chaiacteis aie so attiactive. But,
I just can`t stand that eveiything iesoits to making a child and a maiiiage," °Well, yeah,
but isn`t it natuial:" aie made fieely among the fans. If we iecall that such fundamental
discussions about iepioduction, iomantic ielationships, maiiiage, and family aie usually
avoided as °too seiious," especially among women of diffeient maiital statuses, sexual
oiientations, educational and political backgiounds, it seems ieasonable to call the con-
tempoiaiy yaoi community an effective aiena foi feminist discouise, even though only
cne aitist has pioclaimed heiself as feminist so fai ¦2008, 378-9; emphasis added].
The feminist woik being done heie is that of multiple feminisms oi the constiuction of mul-
tiple iealities. The appiopiiate iole of the teachei in this woik is debatable.
Yaci as Ncn/Hetercncrmative
As we just saw, the oveicoming of heteionoimative thinking foi some fans has paitly
been the iesult of the yaoi subcultuial space itself. This space, foi Mizoguchi, is a °lesbian"
224 Pait Thiee: Boys` Love and Peiceptions of the Queei
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space wheie women can paiticipate in °collective viitual sex iegaidless of theii sexual oii-
entation" (2003). I iead this °viitual lesbianism" not as a pigeonholing of yaoi fans as
°queei" but as an aiticulation of a cultuial phenomenon that is °not/queei." Biaidotti has
a pointed ciitique on what she sees as the feminist tuin towaid lesbian/gay/queei pedago-
gies that °¦have] spelled the end of inteiest in heteiosexuality as a possible feld of tians-
foimation oi becoming" (2003, 59). She wiites: °Classifed and fled undei the somewhat
hasty label of heteio-'noimativity,` the idea of heteiosexual desiie ¦has] declined within
feminist theoiy, in favoi of eithei polysexual becomings oi diffeient vaiiations aiound the
theme of homosexual oi queei desiie" (ibid.). Mizoguchi`s °viitual lesbian" is highly inclu-
sive of the heteiosexual yaoi fan, given that most yaoi fans identify as heteiosexual.
In his °Giils and Women Getting Out of Hand: The Pleasuie and Politics of Japan`s
Amateui Comics Community" (2004) Matthew Thoin makes a move into queei teiiitoiy:
Theie can be little doubt that both the aitists and ieadeis who aie diawn to boys` love
and yaoi aie unhappy with mainstieam noims of gendei and sexuality. And while they
speak fondly of ctckc nc sekai (woild of and foi men), and seem to piefei masculinity
ovei femininity, yaoi aitists and wiiteis show contempt foi °stiaight" masculinity, just
as they scoin standaidized femininity.
... Peihaps the ieadei can thus undeistand why I chaiacteiize this genie and its fans as
°queei." The women and giils in this community may nevei display theii dissatisfaction
with mainstieam noims of gendei and sexuality in fiont of theii moie conventional
peeis, but they give expiession to it in the liminal space of the °event," and eveiy time
they iead oi diaw oi wiite a stoiy in this genie ¦79].
Is Thoin`s homogenization of yaoi fans as °queei" similai to Mizoguchi`s homogeniza-
tion of yaoi fans as °viitual lesbians" (oi °not/queei"): Thoin states that he is using the
teim °queei" as defned by Alexandei Doty °to question the cultuial demaications between
the queei and the stiaight ... by pointing out the queeiness of and in stiaights and stiaight
cultuies, as well as that of individuals and gioups who have been told they inhabit the
boundaiies between the binaiies of gendei and sexuality" (76; emphasis added). At fist
sight, it does seem that Thoin is imagining yaoi fans similaily to Mizoguchi.
Wheie Thoin and Mizoguchi depait fiom one anothei is in how they biacket yaoi
fans` queeiness. Foi example, Thoin wiites:
¦W]e must acknowledge that even in Japan the majoiity of women do not fnd yaoi oi
boys` love paiticulaily appealing. One peison I have inteiviewed about yaoi and slash is
an Ameiican woman with a singulai biogiaphy. Once a gieat fan of slash, she discoveied
yaoi and was so diawn into that genie that she went on to leain to speak and iead Japa-
nese ßuently, and now woiks in Tokyo as a piofessional editoi of commeicial yaoi
anthologies. She feels stiongly that an attiaction to both slash and yaoi is °haidwiied"; if
you`ve got it, you can`t avoid it, and if you don`t, it`s meaningless to you. This is essen-
tially what Sakakibaia
3
aigues, though in diffeient teims, when she claims that yaoi fans
aie °gay men boin in women`s bodies." Although tiaditional, essentialist notions of gen-
dei weie debunked by feminism, feminist foimulations of iadical constiuctionism have
themselves come undei seiious sciutiny. Natuie and nuituie may condition one anothei
in complex ways, and it may be that notions like a °gay man in woman`s body" (oi °les-
bian in man`s body"), and indeed the concept of °tianssexuality" aie awkwaid attempts
to desciibe manifestations foi which we still lack adequate analysis ¦8].
Now considei the following by Mizoguchi:
The ieason yaoi fans can comfoitably discuss theii sexual desiies in as asseitive a man-
nei as gay men in a society wheie women aie conditioned not to behave as subjects of
sexual desiie is that, in the mind of the fan, she is meiely talking about hei favoiite iep-
iesentation, not discussing hei own sexuality ¦2008, 332].
I3-Raping Apcllc (WILLIAMS) 225
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Obviously, Mizoguchi`s piose comes fiom a place of ceititude as she consideis heiself an
insidei, notwithstanding that she did not °ietuin to the genie ¦until] 998" (53). But moie
impoitant than this ceititude is what she does with it: hei discuisive °viitual lesbian"
remains discuisive as a facet of its viituality. Thoin`s discouise is one of °substantiation"
oi getting to the bottom of the essentialism/constiuctionism debate so as to conjectuie
°what`s ieally going on."
Sexual diffeience pioblematizes the theoietical woik being done at both the centei
and peiipheiy of a cultuial site and the affectivity this woik has on inteisubjective undei-
standing. Giosz stiesses that the way we think about inteisubjectivity (°insidei" veisus
°outsidei") is tied to the way we diffeientiate between time and space, piedicated upon the
patiiaichal divoicing of the mind fiom the body (see Giosz 994). In a nutshell, the mind
and body infoim each othei such that the past is a viituality fiom which multiple futuies
can be conceived and peifoimed. The piesent is the thieshold foi these competing futuies.
Essentialist discouises aie unduly homogenizing, wheieas constiuctivist discouises ovei-
lay a °constiucted" mind ovei an °essential" body (5-7). Giosz wiites: °¦T]he question
of time, and of conceptualizing women`s closei alignment with tempoiality, is ciucial to
the stiuggles of sexual diffeience, insofai as the feminine has iemained laigely associated
with space, place, containment, and habitation, while having its becoming-its inteiioi-
ity-its tiansfoimations in time ... cuitailed and contained" (2005, 77). Tiying to sub-
stantiate °polysexual becomings" (such as °gay men boin in women`s bodies") can be
avoided if we piivilege diffeience as it is aiticulated at the moment of its aiticulation: minds
and bodies in communication. Like the teachei, the appiopiiate iole of the cultuial anthio-
pologist in this woik is debatable.
Yaci as Transnaticnal
Suiely, theie aie foices of °evil" outside the yaoi subcultuie (and I use the woid
°outside" piecaiiously in light of Giosz) that iequiie willful and delibeiate politics to com-
bat. In his °Yaci Rcns: Discussing Depictions of Male Homosexuality in Japanese
Giils` Comics, Gay Comics and Gay Poinogiaphy"
4
(2006), Wim Lunsing alludes to such
°evils":
¦The] discussions taking place on BLB ¦boy loves boy] manga aie iiielevant to the
majoiity of the ieadeis, who simply enjoy what they iead. Moieovei, the iecent populai-
ity of BLB manga in China and Koiea shows that theii impact is not limited to audi-
ences who giew up in a Japanese cultuial context. It is to be hoped that BLB manga will
iemain beyond the sciutiny of the new Japanese law against child poinogiaphy and that
Koiean goveinment effoits to ban the genie will be thwaited, since they aie a foim of
ait and ait should be fiee ¦paia. 34].
With yaoi`s lawful existence thieatened, a scholai might be moved to aigue foi the
moial °good" of its continued lawfulness, such as Maik McLelland does in his °The Woild
of Yaoi: The Inteinet, Censoiship and the Global 'Boys` Love` Fandom" (2005).
Yet, in theii 2007 aiticle, °The Inteinational Yaoi Boys` Love Fandom and the Regu-
lation of Viitual Child Poinogiaphy: The Implications of Cuiient Legislation," Maik McLel-
land and Seunghyun Yoo wiite:
Existing ieseaich into the yaoi fandom has been caiiied out piimaiily fiom liteiaiy and
cultuial studies peispectives. Howevei, the behavioial effects of yaoi aie suiely of intei-
226 Pait Thiee: Boys` Love and Peiceptions of the Queei
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est as well to legislatois, anthiopologists, behavioial scientists, health caie piofessionals,
and psychologists. Yaoi, as an impoitant foim of sexual expiession foi many young peo-
ple inteinationally, needs to be studied foi both its positive and negative effects among
the fans (including the negative effects of the law`s pathologization of the genie).
Reseaich should also include yaoi`s behavioial effects, if any exist, on adolescents` and
young adults` psychological and sexual health. Such ieseaich would not only establish
foundations foi undeistanding yaoi but also infoim legislation iegulating both viitual
child poinogiaphy and the sexual fantasies of young people ¦02].
When a scholai takes a political stance with iegaid to a cultuial gioup, the scholai
should always be explicit of the ways in which that gioup is homogenized foi the puiposes
of political expediency (see Mohanty 2003). Heie, the homogenization is that of yaoi fans
as °youth" foi the puiposes of ciicumventing the °law`s pathologization of the genie." Beai-
ing in mind Mizoguchi`s woik (a °liteiaiy and cultuial study" fiom an adult insidei embed-
ded in an adult-and-youth subcultuie), the iest of what McLelland and Yoo aie piomoting
seems like maintenance of the patiiaichal gaze. Wheieas Wilson and Toku as educatois aie
willing to shaie pedagogies with theii students (that is, the teacheis` and students` tempo-
ialities held as epistemologically equivalent in the classioom), I have seiious ieseivations
that °legislatois, anthiopologists, behavioial scientists, health caie piofessionals and psy-
chologists" would shaie as much.
Of couise, this ietuins us to the ciux of the debate between sexual diffeience theo-
iists and those one might call °piagmatists." It is not my intention to dismiss en masse the
political woik being done by the scholais I have cited, noi is it my intention to make sweep-
ing geneializations about entiie disciplines oi piofessions; the outsidei is not always °bad"
and the insidei always °good." Rathei, my aim is to ieappiaise fuithei political woik by
insideis and outsideis alike. Biaidotti wiites: °This ieappiaisal of diffeience is pioposed as
a political piactice, which coincides with the ciitique of a humanistic undeistanding of sub-
jectivity in teims of nationality, self-iepiesentation, homogeneity, and stability. This view
of the subject is questioned in the light of its dualistic ielation to otheiness" (2000, 302).
In imagining the political steps we might take in light of yaoi`s tiansnationalism (with
iegaid to law, health, and autonomy), how much can we affoid to make geneializations
about yaoi fans without doing them an injustice:
McLelland and Yoo wiite:
Moie ieseaich is needed in Anglophone and othei cultuies about yaoi content, its fan-
dom, and its potential behavioial effects so that iealistic iatings and legislation can be
developed. As Angelides
5
aigued, °We ought to be conducting studies that aie not
diiven solely foi a seaich foi 'diffeience` oi 'deviant` identities, but by the desiie to
appieciate ... diveisity." The yaoi community, constituted as it is of piimaiily female
fans fiom a wide iange of cultuies and backgiounds and conjoining as it does male
homosexuality with youthful sexuality, has much to teach about human sexuality, the
sexual fantasies of women in paiticulai, and the impossibility of conjoining sexual fan-
tasy to the limited iange of sex and gendei ioles cuiiently endoised by mainstieam soci-
ety.
... The piocess of identifcation involved in the pioduction and consumption of yaoi is
thus obviously veiy complex, not only diffeiing accoiding to the sexual oiientation of
the ieadei but also being affected by vaiious factois in the context of diffeient yaoi lan-
guage communities ¦0].
The language heie sounds nice-but in piactice, if we ieally want to °appieciate diveisity"
and °iecognize complexity," then we must woik as closely to the Dionysian as possible.
Deviancy becomes diveisity only at the expense of having its inteiioiity contained.
I3-Raping Apcllc (WILLIAMS) 227
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Yaci as Hcmcphcbic
On his blog °comics22.net," Chiistophei Butchei wiote in 2006:
A community is defned by who it excludes, and the yaoi community seems to think
that it doesn`t include gay men. Suie, theii ieasoning is benign on the suiface and it`s all
veiy nice, but honestly: It`s false, entiiely false, and it`s only going to become moie and
moie so as ... manga published in Noith Ameiica expands and the genie penetiates the
public consciousness ¦undei A Few Ccmments Abcut The Gay/Yaci Divide].
Yaoi offeis an appealing foimula foi stoiytelling that has spawned iteiations of the genie
in multiple locations woildwide. Any study of °Ameiican yaoi foi gay men cieated by gay
men" oi °Koiean yaoi foi females by females" oi some othei iteiation would iequiie atten-
tion to geogiaphic specifcity. But is theie a voice to be had by the non-Japanese and/oi
non-female fan who alieady feels at home with the genie in its Japanese and female foim:
At the beginning of this essay, I asked: °Wheie do I ft in:"
The male fan is not included in Mizoguchi`s detailed account because he is empiii-
cally absent in the Japanese yaoi subcultuie:
¦M]any Japanese gay men do not caie veiy much about women and women`s cultuie,
including yaoi, and gay male ieadeiship constitutes a veiy small minoiity of yaoi iead-
eiship. I want to stiess this because ... the impulse to discuss, and even evaluate, yaoi in
ielation to gay men`s ieactions is veiy pievalent ¦2008, 84].
This is to suggest that non-gay males aie even moie empiiically absent.
Howevei, Mizoguchi wiites at length about the °debates" in 990s Japan (79), debates
that echo in Ameiica a decade latei. Sat Masaki, a gay activist (who made the debates laigei
than life), was obviously not iepiesentative of every gay male (8); in fact, he was °atypi-
cal" (82) and he homogenized yaoi fans as °asocial" (89) and apolitical. In his aiticle,
°Yaci Rcns," Lunsing wiites that Sat attacked yaoi as °cieating and having a skewed image
of gay men as beautiful and handsome and iegaiding gay men who do not ft that image
and tend to 'hide in the daik` as 'gaibage`" (2006, paia. 4). Sat fuithei compaied yaoi
fans to °'diity old men` ... who watch poinogiaphy ¦wheie] women engag¦e] in sexual
activities with each othei" (ibid.). Consideiable iesponse to Sat followed, taking vaiious
foims, such as °yaoi was nevei meant foi gay men," °yaoi is libeiating foi women," °yaoi
is indeed poinogiaphy," and °manga that taigets gays isn`t iealistic eithei."
Inteiestingly, Lunsing lumps Sat and Mizoguchi togethei. In 2003, Mizoguchi gave
a lectuie titled °Homophobic Homos, Rapes of Love, and Queei Lesbians: Yaoi as a Conßict-
ing Site of Homo/Heteio-Sexual Female Sexual Fantasy." The following is fiom an abstiact
of that lectuie:
¦C]ontempoiaiy yaoi texts contain fve uniealistic and homophobic tiopes involving
iape as an expiession of love, °stiaight" status foi a male piotagonist in a gay ielation-
ship, fxed top/bottom ioles that coiiespond with the piotagonists` masculine/feminine
ioles, and obligatoiy anal inteicouise.... ¦T]he iecent appeaiance of likable lesbian chai-
acteis does not contiadict the oveit homophobia ¦2003, sec. 87].
Lunsing states that °in Japan, discussions of BLB manga tend to focus on paiticulai
featuies of ¦only] some manga" (2006, paia. 27) and that ultimately:
Ciitiques such as those of Sat and Mizoguchi entail the iisk of leading to the establish-
ment of noims on how male homosexuality must be depicted, which would iesult in a
noimalised, stale iepiesentation of male homosexuality. Obviously, this would be utteily
un-queei and contiaiy to the peifoimative acts in which identity and activity aie not
228 Pait Thiee: Boys` Love and Peiceptions of the Queei
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ielated in a lineai mannei-a chaiacteiistic of Japanese sexualities. Many Japanese gay
men appeai to use depictions of gay men that aie not (meant to be) positive and sup-
poitive, by seeing them as peifoimances that can in tuin enhance theii own lives ¦paia.
34].
Lunsing is thus aiguing foi a desciiption of the genie such that it would not be con-
sideied homophobic, wheieas Mizoguchi is aiguing foi an aiticulation of the genie in which
the subculture ceases to be. Still, theie is much to make sense of heie with iegaid to homo-
phobia and libeiation foi these two scholais.
Let us considei the content of Lunsing`s aigument. On the one hand, the expediency
of identity politics-that is, accuiate poitiayals of what it means to be °gay" foi the sake
of self-deteimination of only some gay males-does not necessaiily outweigh the impoi-
tance of maintaining a °queei" outlook as it peitains to good ait and good stoiytelling,
especially since many gay males (wheievei they aie in the woild) enjoy the genie and fnd
it libeiating. In othei woids, he is cautioning against a °homonoimative" ieading of yaoi.
On the othei hand, Mizoguchi is a lesbian. She is expeiiencing homophobia in the ways
her sexuality is not aiticulated in a female discuisive space. Conceining the yaoi texts them-
selves, Mizoguchi wiites:
¦H]omophobia woiks as a piop that enhances the thiill of the iomance.... When yaoi
piotagonists say, °I`m not gay, I just love you," they aie also saying that those gay men
who love othei men foi theii bodies aie cieeps. This simple sentence, °I`m not gay,"
iepeated befoie and aftei the iomance is consummated, woiks as a twofold opeiation of
homophobia ¦Mizoguchi 2008, 34].
Lunsing seems to iecognize the necessity of giounding queeiness, but he positions himself
as a cultuial anthiopologist who iegaids paiticipatoiy expeiience as °valuable data" (Lun-
sing, 2006, paia. 3):
¦I]nitially BLB manga weie an impoitant innovation in the otheiwise asexual genie of
shjo manga. Love between boys was a means foi women to ieconsidei, oi even to begin
consideiing, theii own sexuality. It matteied less that the stoiies conceined boys than
that they conceined sex.... Some women to whom I spoke could haidly stop talking
about the °cute" boys in such depictions. They evidently identifed stiongly with the
chaiacteis.... To me it seems that moie have an actual inteiest in cute men/boys ¦paia.
30].
So, if yaoi is just about °cute boys," it can`t possibly be homophobic: I know I`m giossly
oveisimplifying Lunsing`s aigument, but Lunsing does considei Mizoguchi`s examples of
homophobia in yaoi texts to °lack the powei to convince" (paia 27). Since when was the
goal of an analysis of peiceived homophobic texts evei to °convince" those who do not pei-
ceive homophobia in some °gieatei" context: The othei issue heie is that Lunsing glosses
ovei Mizoguchi`s context as a lesbian in the subcultuie (oi seemingly hei position in the
subcultuie altogethei). The question of yaoi as homophobic was always beyond pitting the
gay male fan against the stiaight female fan if we considei the lesbian fan.
At this cuiient junctuie yaoi is iidden with homophobic potential. Yet, given that
theie is no single °gay" inteipietation of yaoi, fimly steeiing the genie and its subcultuie
away fiom °homophobic" discouise makes little sense. As Mizoguchi wiites:
The complex and poweiful ways in which the yaoi community is functioning as a les-
bian and feminist space have happened piecisely because of women fans` fieed desiies,
and the extent the genie has changed in the past ten yeais in the diiection of becoming
moie lesbian (gay) and feminist, that is, in the diiection of ultimately making the fans`
lives easiei, suggests the huge potential of theii fantasies ¦2008, 384].
I3-Raping Apcllc (WILLIAMS) 229
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Wheieas Mizoguchi does not speak of sexual diffeience in the same teims that Biaidotti
and Giosz do,
6
I cannot help but think that hei woik on yaoi and its fandom is the ideal
case study.
No doubt, as the genie continues to gain populaiity woildwide, it will become an
impoitant site foi futuie feminist theoiy-making.
Have I ieached my fiamewoik: I think it was waiting foi me all along. The heteioge-
neous gioup known as °yaoi fans" does not have a single standpoint, politics, oi location,
except that they all enjoy yaoi. My voice as a gay, white male in Seattle is valuable as long
as I don`t use that voice to tiample on the ways otheis enjoy, and will enjoy, the genie.
Imagining those who °will enjoy" yaoi is key. As Rosi Biaidotti points out: °Desiie is
active in that it has to do with encounteis between multiple foices and the cieation of new
possibilities of empoweiment. It is outwaid-diiected and foiwaid-looking, not indexed
upon the past of a memoiy dominated by phallocentiic self-iefeientiality" (2003, 57). Ped-
agogies of sexual diffeience piivilege this futuie imaginaiy, because politics of sexual dif-
feience question eveiy instance of homogeneity. I can only hope that futuie studies of yaoi
take this iaping of Apollo by Dionysus as seiiously.
Nctes
1. Wilson and Toku cite Jacques Lacan, Ecrits (London: Routledge, 977), 54.
2. The contentions that Fostei lay out aie too numeious to expand upon heie, but the undeilying issue
seems to be that sexual diffeience has iemained highly theoietical/mythical (and theiefoie piivileges a cei-
tain way of conceptualizing diffeience), wheieas gendei theoiy and feminist sociology have been moie mate-
iial and applicable. My hope is that this essay counteis that aigument.
3. Thoin cites Sakakibaia Shihomi, Yaci genrcn. yaci kara mieta mcnc (An Elusive Theoiy of Yaoi: The
View fiom Yaoi) (Tokyo: Natsume Shobo, 998).
4. Yaci rcns (°yaoi dispute").
5. McLelland and Yoo cite Steven Angelides, °Paedophilia and the Misiecognition of Desiie," Transfcrma-
ticns, no. 8 (2004), http://www.tiansfoimationsjouinal.oig/jouinal/issue_08/aiticle_0.shtml.
6. Foi example, Mizoguchi states that she thinks °quick, cleai-cut feminist activism is an impossible dieam
to begin with" (2008, 380).
Biblicgraphy
Biaidotti, Rosi. °Sexual Diffeience Theoiy." In A Ccmpanicn tc Feminist Philcscphy, edited by Alison M. Jag-
gai and Iiis Maiion Young, 298-306. Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2000.
_____. °Becoming Woman: oi Sexual Diffeience Revisited." Thecry, Culture o Scciety. 20 (2003): 43-64.
Butchei, Chiistophei. °A Few Comments About The Gay/Yaoi Divide." comics22.net, posted August 8,
2006. http://comics22.net/oldei/2006_08_0_aichive.shtml (accessed Decembei 5, 2008).
Fostei, Johanna. °An Invitation to Dialogue: Claiifying the Position of Feminist Gendei Theoiy in Relation
to Sexual Diffeience Theoiy." Gender o Scciety. 3 (999): 43-56.
Giosz, Elizabeth. Vclatile Bcdies. Tcward a Ccrpcreal Feminism: Bloomington, IN: Indiana Univeisity Piess,
994.
_____. Time Travels. Feminism, Nature, Pcwer. Duiham, NC: Duke Univeisity Piess, 2005.
Kotobuki Taiako. Sex Pistcls -5. Tokyo: Biblos Be Boy Comics, 2004-2006.
Lunsing, Wim. °Yaci Rcns: Discussing Depictions of Male Homosexuality in Japanese Giils` Comics, Gay
Comics and Gay Poinogiaphy." Intersecticns. Gender and Sexuality in Asia and the Pacifc, 2 (2006).
http://inteisections.anu.edu.au/issue2/lunsing.html (accessed Decembei 5, 2008).
McLelland, Maik. °The Woild of Yaoi: The Inteinet, Censoiship and the Global 'Boys` Love` Fandom." Aus-
tralian Feminist Iaw }curnal 23 (2005): 6-77. Repi., http://io.uow.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi:aiti
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I3-Raping Apcllc (WILLIAMS) 231
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4
Hidden in Stiaight Sight
Trans¯gressing Gender and Sexuality via BI
ULI MEYER
Dedicated to the Memoiy of
Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick (950-2009)
Intrcducticn
BL and its moie explicit subgenie yaoi aie usually defned as same-sex male iomances
oi eiotica wiitten °by women foi women." Moieovei, since the piotagonists aie male, it is
geneially assumed that BL fans aie stiaight women. If, howevei, they aie stiaight women,
then what is it about BL that ladies´ manga, oi othei stiaight eiotica by women foi women,
cannot piovide:
Takemiya Keiko, the authoi of Kaze tc ki nc uta, the fist shjc manga that contained
gay male sex, explains BL`s success like this:
I`m suipiised at how laige it`s become. The fact suiely tells us what women °ieally"
think. Somebody once said to me, quite memoiably foi me, °Yaci`s gieat because you
can adopt both ioles." Women`s notion of gendei may alieady have ciumbled away.

Thiough boy`s love, it is possible to expiess dual peisonality (feminine and masculine)
that is involved in human beings.
2
If Takemiya is iight and the appeal of BL is that the ieadei °can adopt both ioles" and
also expiess a °dual peisonality (feminine and masculine)," it can be aigued that BL involves
some kind of tiansgiession of sexuality and gendei.
The taking of °both ioles" oi the gendei tiansgiession by shjc manga fans/authois
has often been discussed in a context of female oppiession oi of women as °negative" oi
lack.
3
I will show that by compaiing the piactices and texts of BL fandoms to othei sexu-
ally/gendei tiansgiessive subcultuies, it becomes evident that BL is not (just) about com-
pensation but that it iesembles a distinct sexual/gendei subcultuie.
The yaoi me (liteially, the °yaoi-eye") oi yaoi megane (°yaoi glasses") that the BL fan
utilizes to iead stiaight oi homosocial context as homosexual is compaiable to othei iionic
and destabilizing ieading piactices of sexual and gendei minoiities, as exemplifed in piac-
tices of diag queen cultuie, camp oi °peiveise ieading." BL fans` pieoccupation with gay
men can be undeistood bettei in context of the piactices of giilfags and tiansfags, i.e.,
female-boin peisons who eioticize and identif y with gay men.
By identifying with one oi moie of the gay male chaiacteis in a manga, the fans/aitists
cannot just take on a tiaditionally male gendei iole, but a tiaditionally male sexual
position, which allows them to expeiience themselves, among othei things, as penetiatoi
232
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(seme) and a male counteipait (uke) as penetiated. Thus, the tiansgiession of sexuality and
gendei in BL can be quite liteial, enabling its ieadeis/cieatois to identify oi feel with the
male chaiacteis on a physical level, in a piocess I call °cieative tiansvestism." The tians-
giessions of sexuality and gendei of fans/aitists aie ießected on a textual and visual level
in the evolution of the genie and in its conventions and techniques, while the liteialness
of the gendei tiansgiession is expiessed in BL fandom piactices such as dans kei cosplay
(female fans diessing up as male chaiacteis) and yaoi online iole-playing.
Dhaenens et al., have suggested that flm theoiy would gain by taking into account
that so-called stiaight audiences might be familiai with piactices such as slashing, and by
employing a tiuly queei appioach: °Ultimately, tiansgiession of the boundaiies between
queei ieading and slash fction indicates the need to violate disciplines, which is exactly
what a queei would do."
4
Jenkins has shown that Sedgwick`s woik on the homosocial/homo-
sexual continuum in °Between Men" (985), a foundational woik of queei theoiy, can be
easily adopted to undeistand slash.
5
Likewise, I suggest that both BL studies and queei the-
oiy would gain fiom woiking moie closely togethei.
Modein °Westein" thinking holds that sex, gendei and sexual oiientations aie inboin,
unchangeable and oiganized in dichotomies such as man-woman, male-female, gay-
stiaight, lesbian-gay male, tianssexual-cissexual (i.e. non-tianssexual), etc. Discussing both
BL and slash within that fiamewoik is especially diffcult because they piesent us with a
woild wheie the boundaiies of sexual oiientation and gendei aie in ßux and sometimes
nonexistent: A woild in which stiaight chaiacteis can suddenly tuin gay (Captain Tsubasa
yaoi, Kiik/Spock slash), chaiacteis swap social gendei and even physical sex on a iegulai
basis (Oscai, Ranma), and nothing can be taken foi gianted wheie sex and gendei is con-
ceined.
°Queei" in the modein sense stands not just foi lesbian and gay, but foi all foims of
sex/sexuality/gendei expiession that do not confoim to the conventional heteiosexual model
of genital ielations between an active cis-man and a passive cis-woman. Queei theoiy sciu-
tinizes the natuialness and stability of all modein categoiies of sex/gendei/sexuality and
so offeis a moie appiopiiate fiamewoik foi discussing the woilds of BL and slash.
6
Tiansgiessing boundaiies and violating disciplines myself, I will employ an eclectic
appioach that ießects my own eclectic backgiound in the aits, academia and queei and
tiansgendei activism, thus analyzing the sexual and gendei tiansgiessiveness of BL on the
level of techniques, contents, and fandom piactices.
YAOI ME-The Gaze cf the Rctten Girl
Yaoi staited in the late 970s as djinshi, oi manga cieated and self-published by fans,
by taking existing texts of male homosociality and tuining them into homosexual ones.
Foi example, an innocent boys` football manga such as Captain Tsubasa (98) is tians-
foimed into a gay eiotic text wheie the male chaiacteis have sex with each othei. In its eaily
days, yaoi was seen as pait of the laigei genie of aniparc, anime paiody.
7
Djinshi stiongly
iesemble °Westein" fanfction, and yaci shaies many similaiities with slash. Like slash
authois, yaoi aitists use existing chaiacteis of pop cultuie who often live in homosocial
enviionments oi ielationships (the stai ship captain, the cop, etc.) and paii them as gay
male couples. Refeiiing to Sedgwick`s study of homosociality in English novels of the nine-
teenth centuiy, Between Men (985), Jenkins aigues that the technique of slashing is about
I4-Hidden in Straight Sight (MEYER) 233
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biidging the disiuption in the continuum of male homosociality and homosexuality
8
: °To
diaw the °homosocial" back into the oibit of °desiie," of the potentially eiotic, then, is to
hypothesize the potential unbiokenness of a continuum between homosocial and homo-
sexual -a continuum whose visibility, foi men, in oui society is iadically disiupted."
9
The
same might be said about the technique of yaoi.
But yaoi isn`t just about iewiiting texts. Some authois have noted a phenomenon called
yaoi me (yaoi eye) oi yaoi megane (yaoi glasses), a way of looking at the woild thiough
yaoi eyes.
0
The avid fan staits to see homosexual dynamics eveiywheie: between fellow
students, pop stais, even politicians. This is mostly a case of piojection (though a stiong
°gaydai" might play a iole as well). But yaoi fans aien`t delusional. They know that not
eveiybody is gay-the yaoi gaze goes fuithei than that. It consciously diaws boys and men
into the oibit of the fan`s desiie, tuining them into objects of voyeuiistic pleasuie. The
female voyeui subveisively submits the male object of hei gaze to a °foiced homosexual-
ization": Some men fnd this distuibing, as they still associate homosexuality with humil-
iating effeminacy and penetiability.
In iecent yeais, Japanese yaoi fans have coined the teim fujcshi to desciibe themselves.
The oiiginal teim (fujcshi) means a iespectable lady. By smuggling the homopho-
nous kanji foi fu (iotten) into the woid, the oiiginal meaning gets iionically ieintei-
pieted, twisted and depiaved, ießecting the way in which the fujcshi depiaves iespectable
texts.
Fujcshi now means °iotten giil," showing that BL and specifcally yaoi is still
thought of, howevei (self ) iionically, in teims of depiavity and innocence. Foi giils and
women, pioduction and consumption of sexual texts is still consideied extiemely odd. Giils
aie biought up with the expectation that they aie somehow less sexual than boys. The
°innocent" aitwoik and design of most shjc manga (giils` manga) ießects this. In com-
paiison, many shnen manga (boys` manga) aie full of openly sexual, veiy physical imageiy,
while giils` manga fiame iefeiences to sexuality in symbols and °emotions." Boys` manga
would nevei get away with the degiee of ubei-°innocence" that giils` manga display. It
would look suspicious because °eveiybody knows" that boys aie sexually active, but °eveiy-
body" still pietends that giils aien`t.
In this way, giils who aie involved with sexually explicit manga fandoms aie caught
in an °assumed innocence." And because nobody expects these °nice giils" to be sexually
explicit, they can play with people`s assumptions and expectations about them. The teim
fujcshi illustiates this dichotomy between assumed innocence and depiaved inteiioi beau-
tifully.
On a diffeient but compaiable level, by eioticizing boys and men, BL fans aie caught
in an °assumed stiaightness": theii inteiest seems °only natuial." The fact that they aie eioti-
cizing gay men and acts is often ignoied by commentatois. By a similai logic, until iecently,
female-to-gay-male tianssexuals (and male-to-lesbian tianssexuals) weie denied hoimones
and tieatment: °They told me that I must not ieally be tianssexual. Aftei all, they thought,
if I just wanted to sleep with men, why go to all the tiouble:" says a female-to-male tians-
sexual.

BL fans might be women who aie inteiested in men, but they aie fai fiom being
stiaight. They aie reading the woild with yaoi eyes and have become peiveise ieadeis. Sedg-
wick explains, °The ieading piactices founded on such basic demands and intuitions had
necessaiily to iun against the giain of most patent available foimulae foi young people`s
ieading and life -against the giain, often, of the most accessible voices even in the texts
234 Pait Thiee: Boys` Love and Peiceptions of the Queei
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themselves. ¦This is] becoming a peiveise ieadei¦...]. And this doesn`t seem an unusual
way foi aident ieading to function in ielation to queei expeiience."
2
Lipton desciibes his own ieading piactices and that of othei queei youth, noting that
they °decode texts against the mainstieam, heteiosexual giain.¦...] Some diiectly sought to
altei the intended meaning of a text ¦and] bend inteipietation fiom a heteionoimative
meaning. These ieadeis could fnd homosocial/sexual content piesent in almost any text."
Anothei gioup °negotiated" with a text oi chaiactei. And a thiid gioup placed the ieadei
in the iole of the °detective. These ieadeis insist theii queei ieading is diiectly embedded
within the text by the authoi and theii job is to fnd the hidden messages...."
3
A subveisive gaze that reads oi re-reads a seemingly innocent oi °noimal" enviionment
is common foi maiginalized gioups. The ability to read a peison oi context, to iecognize
them as belonging to the maiginalized gioup oi cultuie, to see what is invisible oi hidden,
is a by-pioduct of the necessity to pass. Most maiginalized gioups piactice some kind of
passing, oi tiying to not be noticed as pait of the maiginalized gioup. A peison of coloi might
tiy to pass as white; a Jewish peison in 930s Geimany might tiy to pass as °Aiyan," and so
on. Often, the peison doesn`t even tiy to pass but is just assumed to be a pait of the domi-
nant gioup: a lesbian might be assumed to be stiaight, as long as she doesn`t come out.
Tiansvestites and tianssexuals aie especially involved in the dichotomy of passing and
reading. To avoid disciimination, a tianssexual might tiy to pass as a cis-peison, oi non-
tianssexual. Reading a tianssexual means seeing that he oi she is not a cis-peison, but a
tianssexual. And othei tianssexuals aie the best °ieadeis": it takes one to know one.
Reading is a necessity, foi when membeis of minoiities aie passing, how aie they to iec-
ognize each othei: How can they foim communities and subcultuies and shaie the knowl-
edge and cultuial pioducts that ießect theii expeiiences: They need to develop an additional
sense to read hidden clues and hints. This is why membeis of maiginalized gioups can look
at the woild and see things that otheis don`t see. They have specialized knowledge, and
knowledge is powei. If queei people °know" that this actoi oi that politician is °one of us,"
even if (oi especially if ) that peison is not °out" oi even if the peison is actually stiaight, it
allows them to navigate the woild with moie powei and with moie fun.
On a textual level, the reading that a fujcshi does is not identical, but veiy closely
ielated to the active piocess of reading subtexts, and reading of queei subtext intc stiaight
texts, that queei people have always done when consuming and pioducing cultuial piod-
ucts. Foi example, an active foim of reading Hollywood flms was peifoimed not only by
the queei audience but also by the queei people who woiked in the flm industiy, so that
many of the subtexts didn`t have to be read intc the text -they weie actually theie and had
only to be discoveied by those in the know: °You got veiy good at piojecting subtext with-
out saying a woid about what you weie doing," says scieen wiitei Goie Vidal about his
woik on Ben-Hur (959), which contains a consciously gay subtext in the ielationship
between Ben-Hui and Massala.
4
Nowadays, HoYay! (fiom: Homoeioticism Yay!) fans of
television shows have become °detectives," oi expeits at spotting the subtext.
But reading is not just a technique to discovei the tiaces that othei membeis of the
minoiity have left. It can be used to actively read intc oi queer, and thus appiopiiate, a
stiaight text. Completely °innocent" woids, cultuial pioducts, even peisons can be appio-
piiated this way.
Reading can become a weapon: the diag queen who calls a male cop °giil" simultane-
ously mocks, subveits, and appiopiiates him. He gets diawn into hei queei woild, a woild
wheie he is suddenly the membei of a minoiity.
5
I4-Hidden in Straight Sight (MEYER) 235
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Camp, anothei queei subcultuial technique of paiody and subveision that utilizes the
techniques of passing and ieading, °'piggybacks` on the dominant oidei`s monopoly on
signifcation."
6
Peikovitch shows that this is °what any minoiity`s paiody does, but camp
always tends to inßect its own gendeied and °unnatuial" aspects in such a way that the dom-
inant oidei`s signifcation can also be seen as constiucted, oi itself othei than natuial."
7
Yaoi staited as aniparc, anime paiody, mostly of boys` manga. Today, yaoi and BL in gen-
eial still contain many paiodic elements. The yaoi me subveits, ie-inteipiets, and appiopii-
ates stiaight male contexts. It could be aigued that BL not only °piggybacks" on the dominant
oidei`s monopoly of signifcation but that it shows that the dominant oidei`s signifcations,
such as gendei ioles and ioles of sex and sexuality, aie constiucted and not natuial.
BISHNEN-The Male Cbject cf the Gaze
BL offeis almost aichetypical voyeuiistic pleasuie, as does its accompanying meichan-
dise: manga, anime, featuie flms such as Bcys Icve (2006), and yaoi computei games allow
the fan to gaze at gay men and gay sexual acts without inteiiuption oi peisonal involve-
ment. Cieating djinshi, of couise, allows foi an even moie active type of voyeuiism, in
that the aitist actually dictates the sexual activity. Kamm has shown that yaoi has an explic-
itly sexual function foi some Geiman and Japanese fans.
8
Hashimoto found that about
thiity peicent of the Austiian and Japanese cosplayeis she inteiviewed (who weie also yaoi
fans) had sexual fantasies ielating to yaoi.
9
BL is a medium that fetishizes and objectifes male chaiacteis as bishnen, beautiful boys.
Theii slendei bodies aie displayed, often in eiotic oi sex scenes, foi the pleasuie of the mostly
female voyeuis. BL aitwoik emphasizes the °feminine" qualities, such as expiessive eyes,
haimonious featuies, haiiless skin, and sometimes beautiful outfts of the bishnen.
BL idealization and fetishization of male beauty is most extieme in the uke chaiac-
teis. In the sexual scenes of BL, it is mainly the body of the uke that is displayed. He is
shown as passive, penetiated, and in the thioes of passion, a passion that is deiived fiom
ieceptivity. His aiousal and sexual ieactions aie the focus of the sex scene, in much the
same way that women`s ieactions aie the focus of stiaight poinogiaphy. In plots that con-
tain violence oi iape, the uke`s pain and agony aie sadomasochistically fetishized.
Voluntaiy oi fcrced sissifcaticn, that is, diessing up male chaiacteis in women`s clothes,
is a staple cliché of BL manga. Fcrced sissifcaticn is also a common BDSM technique, includ-
ing foicing the submissive paitnei to weai female clothes, do °female" choies such as house-
woik, and so on. It seems that many BL fans/cieatois enjoy and fetishize the sissifcaticn,
oi male-to-female tiansgendeiing, of BL chaiacteis and ieal-life peisons such as pop stais;
in a technique that iesembles that of diag queens who call stiaight men °giil," in BL boys
and men get simultaneously subveited and appiopiiated as sexual objects.
It is often assumed that stiaight female ieadeis of yaoi geneially identify with the uke,
the °passive" chaiactei in a sex scene, meaning that seme/uke ielationships ießect heteio-
sexual dynamics. This is cleaily not always the case. I have talked to seveial fans and done
some infoimal suiveys at yaoi foiums and gioups in Geimany and the United States, and
many (at least one-thiid) said that they identify with the seme. In yaoi online and com-
putei games, seme chaiacteis aie often played by women. The point of view in sex scenes
is eithei voyeuiistic oi fiom the seme to the uke, allowing ieadeis an easy identifcation with
the seme.
236 Pait Thiee: Boys` Love and Peiceptions of the Queei
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In explaining yaoi`s success, Takemiya said, °Yaoi`s gieat because you can adopt both
ioles."
20
As yaoi is mostly about sex, it seems doubtful that she meant this in a puiely
metaphoiic sense. Yaoi allows its female ieadeis to expeiience themselves as penetiating
seme and the male paitnei as penetiated uke. If pait of the gendei tiansgiession and attiac-
tion of yaoi and moie geneially BL is ielated to active female sexuality, the othei pait has
to do with passive male sexuality.
That switch of sexual ioles in ieal life is desciibed in an essay by Susie °Sexpeit" Biight,
a well-known authoi on sexuality. She desciibes hei own expeiiences with a sexual tech-
nique called BOB (shoit foi bend ovei boyfiiend) oi pegging, using a dildo and hainess to
penetiate hei male loveis anally
2
:
The fist time I evei asked a man if I could fuck him he said absolutely not. Aftei that, I
met a few men who defnitely liked it, and even guided me to feel inside foi theii
piostate gland (which felt like the tip of a nose). But aftei they came and ciied out and
loved eveiy minute of it, I noticed a decided lack of conveisation. They weie embai-
iassed that I`d found some seciet pait of them. I sensed that if I insisted on talking
about it, the taboo would get woise.
22
Biight mentions a °seciet" oi °taboo" that seems to be ielated to male penetiability.
When Sedgwick discusses the °continuum between homosocial and homosexual -a con-
tinuum whose visibility, foi men, in oui society is iadically disiupted,"
23
she connects it
to °the extent to which men`s sensibility, like women`s, had alieady been stiuctuied aiound
iape."
24
It could be hypothesized that Biight`s taboo and Sedgwick`s disiuption have sim-
ilai ioots, both piotecting men fiom penetiation and potential iape.
It has been aigued that slash and BL aie about equality, about women wanting equal
ielationships with men. Equality in that context iefeis to social and emotional equality,
but in BL and slash, that equality seems to be moie liteial and physical. It is about the avail-
ability of both sexual ioles foi women and men, not just about euphemistically °active"
and °passive" ioles, but about who penetiates and who gets penetiated.
25
The question of
who gets to fuck whom has political iepeicussions, of couise. But on a moie peisonal and
physical level, it allows foi inteiesting insights foi both men and women: Biight desciibes
how a male lovei didn`t undeistand why she wasn`t in the mood to be enteied eveiy day.
When he latei was penetiated by his new giilfiiend who was °insatiable," he confessed,
°'I`m hiding,` he whispeied to me one afteinoon, 'and I`ll nevei challenge you on this one
again! I had no idea what it was like to be the one who`s always theie foi the taking.` "
Biight`s desciiption of actively penetiating a man sounds a lot like yaoi`s queei mix of the
iomantic and the sexual:
I would like moie women with male loveis to know the pleasuies of iavishing theii hus-
bands and boyfiiends ¦...] because it`s a deep emotional pleasuie to be the one who
holds the woild in hei hands, so to speak-to be on top and going inside. When a man
is vulneiable to you in that way, he`s not only having physical pleasuie fiom his
piostate, he`s also giving himself to you in such a completely open way that it can`t help
but be intensely-daie I use the woid-rcmantic, in an ultimate, fai-out, upside-down
kinda way.
26
BARAZOKU-Transtextuality and Transvisuality
Aftei Hagio Moto intioduced gay male love to shjc manga in 97, the fist manga to
actually show gay male sex was Takemiya Keiko`s Kaze tc ki nc uta (976, Song of Wind
I4-Hidden in Straight Sight (MEYER) 237
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and Tiees). Thoin iepoits that °theie weie nine yeais between oiiginal conception and
appioval foi publication, because she iefused to iemove oi fudge the sexual aspect."
27
That
would place its conception aiound the yeai 967, in a decade when knowledge about queei
subcultuies was staiting to become available foi eveiyone, tiiggeiing a wave of iecogni-
tion and self-awaieness in many people and eventually culminating in the Stonewall iiots,
the moment of histoiy that staited the modein gay iights movement. The mateiial that
became available was often fiom the U.S. oi Euiope, feeding into alieady existing Japanese
ideas about the °West": the Japanese teims seiy and -bei desciibe in an act of °ieveise
oiientalism," a °conßated and sometimes eioticised Euio-Ameiican cultuial spheie."
28
Thus, the °West" easily becomes the stage foi queei sexualities and gendeis in a similai
way as °Westein" audiences like to believe in the exotic gendeis and sexualities of the °East."
Welkei has shown that the authois of eaily BL, oi shnen-ai, weie heavily inßuenced
by the gay male cultuies of late nineteenth and eaily twentieth centuiy Euiope.
29
Equally,
it is said that Ikeda Ryoko was inspiied foi the Euiopean setting of Berusaiyu nc bara (972,
The Rose of Veisailles) by a Euiopean souice, Stefan Zweig`s biogiaphic novel Marie
Antcinette (932). This heavy boiiowing fiom Westein souices has shaped BL and tians-
gendei manga on many levels. While modein BL has moie contempoiaiy oi Japanese set-
tings than the manga of the 970s, titles with Euiopean oi pseudo-Euiopean settings, such
as Higuii`s Y`s Iudwig II (996), still abound.
Some Euiopean customs weie impoited to Japan duiing the nineteenth centuiy and
weie pieseived oi ievived theie when they weie alieady obsolete in Euiope: the language
of ßoweis oi the chaiactei system of blood types, both a iecuiiing convention of shjc
manga, have that oiigin. Obsolete symbols fiom eaily Euiopean queei subcultuies weie
also pieseived: aiound 900 the coloi gieen was associated with male homosexuality, so
much so that Oscai Wilde and his ciicle weie said to weai gieen cainations to iecognize
each othei. In manga, the coloi gieen seems to indicate homosexuality, as well. It is piomi-
nent in the Kaze tc ki nc uta covei aitwoik, which sometimes even depicts the chaiacteis
with gieen haii. In the stoiy aic of the Sailcr Mccn S anime seiies (994-995) that intio-
duces Haiuka and Michiiu (a butch/femme oi female-to-male tiansgendei/femme cou-
ple), the eyes of an obsessed giil tuin gieen befoie she attempts to kiss a giil. Michiiu`s
gieen haii seems to maik hei otheiwise °noimal" feminine beauty as queei.
Haiuka, the butch oi female-to-male tiansgendeied sailoi waiiioi, is Sailoi Uianus,
which indicates hei homosexuality oi °male soul" (and not just by the pun on °youi anus").
The Geiman Kail Heiniich Uliichs (825-895 CE), who founded the eailiest gay iights
movement in about 862, coined the then extensively used teim °Uianiei" (Uianian) foi
gay men and lesbians. He believed that a gay man was a female soul tiapped in a male body
and that a lesbian was a male soul tiapped in a female body. The teim iefeiied to the eighth
and ninth chapteis of Plato`s symposium, wheie homosexuality is associated with Aphiodite
Uiania, the heavenly Aphiodite, daughtei of Uianus, who was boin fiom seveied body
paits of hei fathei.
In a similai way, the violet, a Euiopean ßowei symbol foi lesbianism in eaily twenti-
eth centuiy Geimany, has made its way into Japanese populai cultuie. In 928, Mailene
Dietiich sang hei fist hit with a female paitnei about what two giilfiiends do togethei
(°\enn die beste Freundin") while both weie weaiing bouquets of violets. The pansy is pait
of the Violet family and both ßoweis aie said to iesemble female genitalia, while the coloi
puiple oi violet has been associated with lesbianism. In Japan, the violet, oi sumire, is the
emblem of the Takaiazuka Revue that was founded in 93. In Takaiazuka, all male ioles
238 Pait Thiee: Boys` Love and Peiceptions of the Queei
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aie played by women, the male impeisonatois called ctckcyaku. In its eaily yeais, the
Takaiazuka fandom, too, was associated with lesbianism.
30
The Japanese piactice of using nineteenth centuiy Euiopean ßowei symbolism foi a
chaiactei oi an atmospheie can be tiaced back to the giils` novels of Yoshiya Nobuko (896-
973), a highly successful authoi who lived in a lifelong °maiiiage" with a female paitnei.
In hei Hana mcncgatari (Flowei Tales, 96-924 CE), she used a diffeient ßowei name foi
the title of each stoiy, symbolizing the chaiactei of the diffeient heioines.
3
In 925, Yoshiya
staited publishing a magazine undei the title Kurcshbi (Black Rose).
In shjc and BL manga, ßoweis often inteipiet a chaiactei oi indicate gendei oi sex-
uality. Welkei has discussed the meaning of the iose as a symbol foi (male) homosexual-
ity in eaily shnen-ai at length. In 976, the fist male/male sex scene to appeai in shjc
manga was shown as a copulation of two ioses in Kaze tc ki nc uta.
32
While in the tiadi-
tional Euiopean ßowei language of the nineteenth centuiy the meaning of the iose was love,
in manga it has come to stand foi (male) homosexuality. This symbolism oiiginated in gay
male Japanese subcultuie. It came to piominence in 97 with the founding of Japan`s fist
gay magazine, Barazcku (Tiibe of Roses), although the symbol itself had been in use foi
some time befoie that. It could be speculated that the iose became a symbol foi male homo-
sexuality via a pun on rcsette (Fiench foi °little iose"), which is a common Geiman, maybe
Euiopean, slang teim foi the anus. It might have ieplaced the tiaditional Japanese and Chi-
nese ßowei symbol foi the anus, the chiysanthemum.
33
By calling hei 972 classic manga about a female-to-male tiansvestite Berusaiyu nc bara
(The Rose of Veisailles), Ikeda invited associations with Japan`s gay male subcultuie. These
associations stiongly iesonate thioughout the manga and anime. Foi example, in the sui-
ieal opening sequence of the anime veision of Berusai nc bara, the nude fguie of Oscai is
ievealed in a bondage-like pose, wiapped in long pieicing thoins, ieminiscent of a seiies
of photogiaphs of the queei authoi Mishima Yukio called Bara Kei (Oideal by Roses, 963)
that had been iepublished in 97.
34
The photos show the authoi in diffeient stages of nude
bondage, coveied by ioses, oi as a modein St. Sebastian, tied to a tiee and pieiced with
aiiows.
Biought up as a boy and tuined into a peisonal guaid to Queen Maiie Antoinette of
Fiance befoie getting involved in the Fiench Revolution, Ikeda`s heio/ine Oscai is also
fimly placed in a queei Euiopean context: the unusual fist name evokes Oscai Wilde, and
Maiie Antoinette was iumoied to have been a lesbian.
35
Sedgwick wiites, °'common sense` about homosexuality involves two contiadictoiy
gendei models: foims of the inveision tiope (in which a gay man iepiesents 'a woman`s
soul tiapped in a man`s body` and so on) that see queei people as uniquely situated between
gendeis; and foims of the tiope of gendei sepaiation, undei which it only seems common
sense that people of the same gendei ¦who have a lot in common] ¦...] should bond togethei
also on the axis of sexual desiie...."
36
These two opposite peiceptions of gay people as inveits,
Uranier, and membeis of the °Thiid Sex" who aie a mixtuie between female and male; oi
as homosexuals, that is, feminine women oi masculine men who piefei people who aie °the
same" (homo) as themselves, evolved in nineteenth centuiy Euiopean gay activism and weie
adopted by eaily sexology.
Inteiestingly, the two peiceptions can still be found in many queei manga. Inveision
oi °Thiid Sex" is evei-piesent in the foims of sissifed boys, male-to-female tianssexuals,
female-to-male tiansvestites, °inteisexuals," and chaiacteis who change sex oi gendei foi
diveise ieasons. The idea of a °Thiid Sex" meiges with tiaditional Japanese ideas that intei-
I4-Hidden in Straight Sight (MEYER) 239
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piet tiansgendei as some kind of °ieincaination accident" (see, foi example, the Tcrikae-
baya mcncgatari, a Heian-peiiod (794-85 CE) classic about a sistei who behaves like a
man and a biothei who behaves like a woman). This meiging of Euiopean and Japanese
ideas is exemplifed in Princess Knight (Ribcn nc kishi, 954) in which an unboin child,
intended to be a giil, swallows a male soul by accident, the boin child becoming quite lit-
eially a male soul tiapped in a female body.
The homosocial topos is used in viitually eveiy BL text in the foim of a homosocial
setting such as the boys` school, yakuza, oi othei all-male enviionments. A thiid topos of
homosexuality, pedeiasty, was piesent in nineteenth centuiy discussions and ciops up ieg-
ulaily in BL manga, often in the foim of an abuse theme. Manga such as Kaze tc ki nc uta
combine both topoi: the love stoiy between Seige and Gilbeit is set in a boys` school; Gilbeit
was abused by his uncle/fathei, and he also dates oldei boys.
The homosocial boys` school setting with its juvenile fiiendships has been used iegu-
laily by Euiopean authois to thematize homoeiotic attiaction. Novels such as Achille Esse-
bac`s Dede (902) oi Rogei Peyieftte`s Special Friendships (944, Ies Amities particulieres,
liteially, paiticulai fiiendships) fiame theii taboo subjects in the context of adolescent boys`
fiiendships and an enviionment without giils, in which a little boy/boy attiaction seemed
almost °innocent," a meie phase.
These boys` school iomances aie stylistic piedecessois of BL manga, specifcally of
eaily shnen-ai. In fact, Hagio Moto was inspiied to wiite the fist published shnen-ai
manga }uichigatsu nc gimunajiumu (Novembei Gymnasium; 97) and Tma nc shinz
(Heait of Thomas; 974) aftei watching the flm veision of Ies Amities particulieres (964).
37
Taking an existing homosocial genie oi text, in the case of Euiopean authois the con-
ventional boys` school novel, and sexualizing it, is a technique that is stiongly ieminiscent
of the wiiting technique of eaily yaoi and BL in geneial. But while the Euiopean authois
used subtle homosexualization of the homosocial to avoid piosecution, yaoi consciously
tiansgiesses the boundaiy between the homosocial and the homosexual foi sexual titilla-
tion and subveision. Texts that use a similai clash between the innocent and the foibidden
to beef up the sexual impact can be found in the liteiatuie of nineteenth-centuiy Euio-
pean gay subcultuie, e.g. The Priest and the Acclyte (894) by John Fiancis Bloxam.
It could be aigued that Hagio`s Tma nc shinz was one of the fist manga to be iewiit-
ten yaoi-style when hei fiiend Takemiya used a similai, but sexually explicit plot foi hei 976
Kaze tc ki nc uta. Both Tma nc shinz and Kaze tc ki nc uta aie about boys who weie abused
and at fist ieject the love of a fellow student. The inteitextual communication between these
manga can be easily explained by the fiiendship of theii authois, who lived togethei foi a
time, but it is fai fiom uncommon. Aoyama sees °inteitextuality as cential to manga and
novels, and shjo ieadeis as adept at catching such iefeiences."
38
By iefeiencing to and ie-
inteipieting existing texts, yaoi itself is a highly developed foim of inteitextuality.
While the cential technique of yaoi and BL in geneial is to read homosocial texts as
homosexual, anothei type of reading oi ie-inteipietation can be found in BL: the ieading
of female as male and vice veisa. Hagio iepoited that she planned hei manga }uichigatsu
nc gimunajiumu and Tma nc shinz to be a female veision of Ies Amities Particulieres.
Welkei has discussed how a lesbian ieading of Tma nc shinz is facilitated by the femi-
nine look and ambiguously diawn nude bodies of the chaiacteis, some names, the way they
aie placed between unambiguously male and female chaiacteis, and so on.
39
As I have
shown befoie, in an inteipietation that iesembles eaily Euiopean inteipietations of homo-
sexuals as °Thiid Sex" oi inveits, Takemiya associates BL with gendei tiansgiession and
240 Pait Thiee: Boys` Love and Peiceptions of the Queei
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°being both" gendeis: °Thiough boy`s love, it is possible to expiess dual peisonality (fem-
inine and masculine) that is involved in human beings."
If the sex/gendei of shnen-ai chaiacteis is ambiguously diawn, allowing them to be
read as male, female, oi both, manga and anime in geneial use seveial devices to iepiesent
oi conceal the sex/gendei of its chaiacteis. The giammatical stiuctuie of the Japanese lan-
guage allows foi a subtle oi not-so-subtle veibal tians-gendeiing oi un-gendeiing of a
chaiactei. In anime, male chaiacteis aie often spoken by women who aie tiained to sound
like men, iesulting in an ambiguous voice-ovei. The choice of the seiy, oi voice actoi, often
adds an additional layei of meaning to an anime: in the Card Captcr Sakura anime seiies
(998), Yukito, the tendei boyfiiend of Sakuia`s biothei, is spoken by the populai Megumi
Ogata, the same seiy who voices Haiuka/Sailoi Uianus in Sailcr Mccn, thus connecting
the effeminate gay man to the female-to-male tiansvestite.
When Haiuka was intioduced in Sailcr Mccn, hei andiogynous look and masculine
hobbies, togethei with hei °male language," let hei pass as a boy in the eyes of othei chai-
acteis and of the audience. Many manga and anime use similai devices to consciously mis-
guide the audience foi a long time, oi even cieate chaiacteis that can`t be piopeily iead as
eithei male oi female.
The combined use of content, language, aitwoik, naming, style, voice actois, cioss-
iefeiences, and so on to piovide a manga and anime with seveial layeis of meaning that
inteipiet and ie-inteipiet each othei goes fai beyond simple inteitextuality. Aoyama sees
it as an example foi what Genette calls transtextuality, which includes, foi example, para-
textuality, e.g. the ielation between the text itself and its title, pieface, dedication, illustia-
tion, etc.
40
As manga and anime aie visual media, one might suggest that they make extensive use
of some soit of °transvisuality," allowing texts to communicate with each othei and with
themselves on a visual level. The devices of tianstextuality and tiansvisuality play a majoi
iole in the gendei tiansgiessiveness of manga and anime.
Fujimoto has called Princess Knight (954, Ribcn nc kishi, liteially the knight with the
iibbon) by Osamu Tezuka the fist tiansgendei manga.
4
But Fusanosuke Natsume, Matt
Thoin, and otheis have shown that it has at least one piecuisoi, Matsumoto Katsuji`s Nazc
nc kurcb (934, The Mystericus Clcver), a shoit manga about a Scailet Pimpeinel- oi Zoiio-
like giil.
42
Both Zoiio and the Scailet Pimpeinel led double lives as effeminate men and as
fieedom fghteis: it seems appiopiiate that a masculine fghting giil leads a similai double
life.
In Princess Knight, Tezuka`s heio/ine with two souls, a male and a female one, cei-
tainly stiuck a note with the audience and was followed by a laige numbei of similai seiies
featuiing female-to-male tiansvestite heio/ines, including the classic Berusaiyu nc bara. A
lot of Princess Knight´s suspense is deiived fiom the villains` attempt to fnd out if Sapphiie
is °ieally" a boy oi a giil. In hei fist scene in the anime seiies, she is followed and attacked
by thiee villains:
°Why aie you attacking me:"
°We want to know if you`ie a boy oi a giil"
°Who wants to know:"
°If this potion hits you it tuins blue if you`ie a boy and puiple if you`ie a giil."
They shoot a white substance fiom the tips of theii swoids but don`t hit hei. Duiing the
whole seiies, theie is stiong piessuie on hei to let go of hei masculinity, hei boy`s soul, but
she iefuses until the end. Both Princess Knight and Berusaiyu nc bara offei a °logical" expla-
I4-Hidden in Straight Sight (MEYER) 241
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nation foi the heio/ine`s tiansvestism: Theii iespective fatheis biought them up as boys foi
ieasons of succession. Howevei, both heio/ines display a stiong °male soul" all of theii own,
leading lives as militaiy men.
The gendeiing powei of the °fathei" is alluded to by the Princess Knight musical (2006).
In a case of iionic casting, the musical stais foimei Takaiazuka ctckcyaku Kaoiu Ebiia, a
female actoi who specializes in male ioles and is expected to live in a male gendei iole to
some degiee. Ebiia, in the iole of a °Chiistian" God Fathei with a ßowing white beaid,
angiily punishes some angels foi mischievously feeding the unboin Sapphiie a male soul.
In an amazing moment of liteial gendeiing, the tiansvestite God holds Sapphiie`s glowing,
blue male and pink female souls in hei/his hands.
Picking up the tiansvestite theme wheie Princess Knight left off, Berusaiyu nc bara
takes a closei look at the inveited heio/ine`s sexuality. Ikeda`s Oscai stiongly iesembles a
ieal peison, Julie (oi Julia) D`Aubigny, called La Maupin (670-707 CE), a female-to-male
tiansvestite who was biought up as a boy by hei fathei, the secietaiy to the mastei of hoises
foi King Louis XIV, and who latei became the lovei of a fencing mastei. S/he was a famous
duelist, an opeia singei, and was involved with a young woman. In 835, Théophile Gau-
tiei published the novel Mademciselle De Maupin, which he loosely based on D`Aubigny`s
life. Passing as Théodoie de Séiannes, Maupin becomes the piototype of the eiotic andiog-
yne, with men and women falling in love with hei/him.
43
And, like Maupin`s, Oscai`s double-gendeied identity opens up multi-gendeied pos-
sibilities: Giils fall in love with him/hei in a mixtuie of idealized heteiosexuality and butch/
femme lesbianism. Hei love foi hei seivant Andié is pait iemindei of hei female anatomy
(including heteiosexual expectations) and pait gay male fantasy.
The smooth switch fiom one gendei to the othei, and fiom one sexuality to the othei,
is facilitated by the visual peimeability of the oiiginal manga: both Oscai and Andié have
long ßowing haii and feminine, idealized faces, but weai male unifoims. Oscai can be
cleaily iead as male: s/he is thought to be a man by the chaiacteis who meet hei. When
Takaiazuka staited to stage the manga as a musical in 974, the tiansgendei potential of
the seiies was fully iealized and a new layei of meaning was added. As all the ioles weie
played by women, Andié was played by a woman, an ctckcyaku oi male-iole-specialist. In
an inteiesting casting decision by the ievue, the woman Oscai is always played by an ctckcy-
aku, as well. These decisions classify the male chaiactei Andié as °the same" as the female-
to-male tiansvestite Oscai, eithei feminizing Andié oi masculinizing Oscai. On a visual
level, then, the love stoiy can be inteipieted as between two butch lesbians, two female-
to-male tiansvestites, between two men, oi any combination of these.
Ikeda heiself takes the lesbian inteipietation to the next level in hei manga Cnsama e
(975, Dear Brcther), iecasting the likenesses of Oscai, Andié, and Maiie Antoinette in
an all-female giil`s school stoiy. Oscai and Andié aie tuined into the female butches
Saint }uste and Hana nc Kimi. Fiom theie it is only a small step to an unabashedly lesbian
ieinteipietation in Revcluticnary Girl Utena (996/997 Shjc kakumei utena), which
combines plot elements of Berusaiyu nc bara, Cnsama e and even Kaze tc ki nc uta. It iecy-
cles the school setting of eaily shnen-ai and Cnsama e, has duels like Berusaiyu nc
bara and includes an Oscai-like female-to-male tiansvestite as the bodyguaid of the sex-
ually abused, capiicious °Rose Biide" Anthy, who stiongly iesembles Kaze tc ki nc uta`s
Gilbeit.
The Utena plot of a heio/ine piotecting an abused giil but falling in love with a daik
piince, while taking pait in iitualized duels in a school, has iecently been ieinteipieted as
242 Pait Thiee: Boys` Love and Peiceptions of the Queei
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After Schccl Nightmare (2004, Hkagc hckenshitsu), which unites lesbian, heteiosexual and
tianssexual/inteisexual naiiatives, while a gay male plot is piesent in the subtext.
The Takaiazuka musical veision also facilitated a gay male ieading of Berusaiyu nc
bara that was alieady a potential in the manga: Fujimoto lists Oscai and Andié with othei
male/male couples of BL.
44
BL not only reads homosocial texts as homosexual, but, by iead-
ing female chaiacteis as male, it ie-inteipiets stiaight texts, as well.
The fact that Patallir! (979), a satiie on eaily }une-type BL manga, uses likenesses
of Oscai and Andié in the ioles of male/male couples suggests that they had been iead
as a gay male couple by a laigei audience, so much so that they had become clichés that
could be satiiized: the Andié-type is iecast as the daik, biooding, long-haiied °bishnen
killei" Bankoian, and the Oscai-type in the iole of diveise blond, effeminate, andiogynously
clad, but deadly bishnen: Thatchei`s death in the Patallir! anime (982) consciously
satiiizes Oscai`s death in the Berusaiyu nc bara anime (979). Thatchei dies on the stieet
in Bankoian`s aims amid tumbling iose petals. The end song sequence (°Beauty is a Ciime")
of Patallir! constantly iefeis to the opening song sequence of Barusaiyu nc bara. The
song`s lyiics speak of a black iose and the need to be wiapped by thoins while showing
images of Maiaich (an Oscai-type bishnen) and a silhouette of the seme/uke couple
among ioses, theii long haii blowing in the wind. The scene cleaily iefeiences the opening
scene of the Berusaiyu nc bara anime, which contains a white iose, a song about having °a
fate of ioses," and a silhouette of Oscai wiapped in thoins, his long haii blowing in the
wind.
Welkei has suggested that in eaily shnen-ai, the bishnen iepiesents the queei giil.
45
This tiansfoimative piocess, which took place duiing yeais fiom Berusaiyu nc bara`s pub-
lication in 972 to Patallir!`s publication in 982, iendeis the tiansvestite heio/ine indis-
tinguishable fiom the bishnen.
Manga and anime depict complex foims of tiansvestism: a foim of °double diag" is
cential to the plot of anothei ie-inteipietation of the Berusaiyu nc bara theme, the anime
Chevalier (Ie Chevalier D´Ecn) (2005). This double diag tiope is not new oi unique to
Japan. It can also be found in the oiiginal staging of Shakespeaie`s As Ycu Iike It, when a
boy actoi played the giil Rosalind who played the boy Ganymede. In Gaultiei`s novel Made-
mciselle de Maupin, the heio/ine Maupin, who is passing as Théodoie, plays Rosalind in a
staging of As Ycu Iike It. A moie modein example foi this type of diag is the musical Vic-
tcr/Victcria (USA 982, a iemake of Viktcr und Viktcria, Geimany 933): a woman diesses
up as a man who diesses up as a woman.
Set in pie-ievolutionaiy Fiance, Chevalier (Ie Chevalier D´Ecn) featuies an effeminate
young heio being tiansfoimed into his sistei, who used to diess up in male clothes and was
masculine: the man diesses up as a woman who diesses up as a man.
The paii of siblings who have ieveise gendei ioles is ieminiscent of the Tcrikaebaya
mcncgatari. The main chaiactei of Chevalier is, in fact, based on anothei queei Euiopean,
the ieal Chevaliei D`Eon, a famous male spy who lived as a woman (728-80 CE).
The opening scene of the anime seiies (2006) illustiates the inteitextual and inteivi-
sual communication between Chevalier and Berusaiyu nc bara: a shoit scene wheiein the
biothei piactices swoid fghting with his sistei, who is weaiing male clothes, iefeiences a
similai tiaining scene between the young Oscai and Andié in the fist episode of the Beru-
saiyu nc bara anime. In the last scene of the D´Ecn opening sequence, the biothei exits the
scieen amid the iuins of a ievolutionaiy Fiance, now tiansfoimed into a spitting image of
his sistei/Oscai.
I4-Hidden in Straight Sight (MEYER) 243
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The °ievolution" is a iecuiiing topos of tiansgendei and inteisex manga and anime
that can be followed fiom Berusaiyu nc bara to Revcluticnary Girl Utena to The Day cf Rev-
cluticn (999, Kakumei nc Hi), a manga about an inteisexual boy who tuins into a giil.
If in manga such as Kaze tc ki nc uta oi Berusaiyu nc bara, the queei giil oi female-
to-male tiansvestite, is indistinguishable fiom the bishnen, in Chevalier, an anime that is
aimed at a male oi mixed audience, the queei boy is indistinguishable fiom the masculine
woman and the female-to-male tiansvestite.
JUNE-Girlfags, Transfags, BI Fans
Thoin notes, °In hei book Yaci genrcn (998), Sakakibaia Shihomi, heiself a populai
yaci-style novelist, desciibes heiself as a gay man in a woman`s body (a 'female-to-male
gay` tianssexual). S/he suggests that this condition may be quite common among fans of
this genie and may in fact be the ieason foi its existence."
46
Sakakibaia`s contention is
stiengthened by the fact that BL fans used eaily BL magazines such as }une oi Allan to
expiess theii gay male identifcation. Welkei shows that mostly °female" ieadeis sent in
letteis, peisonal ads, and photos in which they staged themselves as beautiful boys. They
desciibed male-male desiie, °sometimes tinged with fantasy, sometimes with sadness and
accompanied by an appeal foi undeistanding oi solidaiity." In the peisonal ads, these types
of ieadeis weie looking foi othei beautiful boys, be they male- oi female-bodied.
47
BL is a medium with many giatifcations that can be inteiesting foi diffeient people,
even foi stiaight men.
48
It ceitainly can piovide voyeuiistic pleasuie foi stiaight female
identifed ieadeis. The BL fandom is too laige and too diveise to seive only one puipose.
But Thoin notes,
Nonetheless, we must acknowledge that even in Japan the majoiity of women do not
fnd yaoi oi boys` love paiticulaily appealing.¦...] She ¦an editoi of yaoi] feels stiongly
that an attiaction to both slash and yaoi is °haidwiied"; if you`ve got it, you can`t avoid
it, and if you don`t, it`s meaningless to you. This is essentially what Sakakibaia (998)
aigues, though in diffeient teims, when she claims that yaoi fans aie °gay men boin in
women`s bodies.
49
In Japan, women with an intense inteiest in gay male sexuality and cultuie seem to
have existed befoie the invention of BL: two of the foundeis of the BL genie, Hagio Moto
and Takemiya Keiko, got °hooked" on °that stuff " by a mutual female fiiend who was °an
expeit" on gay male texts and eiotica, such as Heimann Hesse`s Demian (99) and the flm
veision of Ies Amities particulieres.
50
But this is not a puiely Japanese phenomenon. As eaily as 920, Magnus Hiischfeld
(868-935 CE), the foiemost Geiman sexologist, documented: °bisexual ¦bisexual in the
sense of °double-gendeied"] women, who love feminine men and masculine women, who
have ¦...] quasi homosexual ielationships with the men" and: °A female student of that cat-
egoiy, who had many male chaiacteiistics in hei appeaiance and chaiactei, but was com-
pletely °noimal in the sexual sense," because she had eiotic feelings only foi men, who once
told me, and quite accuiately, she °felt like a homosexual man" ¦my tianslation].
5
The teims °giilfag" and °tiansfag" weie coined duiing the late 990s in the U.S. to
desciibe peisons who weie female-assigned at biith and who feel an intense fascination foi
and identifcation with gay men.
52
In 2000, the GiilFags gioup on Yahoo! was founded,
which today has about 3,000 membeis. The gioup`s intio ieads:
244 Pait Thiee: Boys` Love and Peiceptions of the Queei
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Giilfags aie women who aie veiy attiacted to gay/bi men; females who identify with gay
male cultuie.... Famous ¦self-identifed] giilfags include Caiol Queen, Jill Nagle and
Ann Rice. ¦sic] Do you fantasize about watching oi playing with multiple gay/bi men...:
Would you smile to see (watch) youi boyfiiend kiss anothei man (oi much moie), fos-
teiing youi own lust...: ... Some giilfags feel like a gay oi bi man in a woman`s body....
53
In 997, Bagemihl compaied slash fans to fag hags and female-to-gay-male tianssex-
uals: °Theie is nothing new about women identifying as gay men oi eioticising and ideal-
izing sexual ielationships between men. In fact, stiiking paiallels to the sentiments expiessed
by many female-to-gay male tianssexuals can be found in two unlikely aieas: 'fag-hagging`
and K/S ¦Kiik/Spock] 'slash` fanzines."
54
Bagemihl uses the oldei teim °fag hag" in a sim-
ilai sense as giilfag. He quotes a fag hag: °A stiaight man can look good to me but ... when
I know a man is gay, when he`s picked up some of the gay male cultuial tiicks and man-
neiisms, I don`t know, it just tuins me on.... Since I was 9 oi so I`ve fantasized about being
a beautiful boy in a loving ielationship with a man."
55
Compaiing this statement to a quote by a female-to-gay-male tianssexual, Bagemihl
shows how closely they iesemble each othei: °My fist sexual fantasies weie of a man hug-
ging and caiessing a boy and of men kissing each othei.... What made gay men moie sex-
ually attiactive than stiaight men: Simply the fact that they weie aioused by othei men."
56
The diffeience between giilfag and tiansfag seems to be one of degiee iathei than qual-
ity. A peison might stiongly identify with and even as a gay man, while still maintaining
a female identity. Sedgwick wiote about heiself, °In among the many ways I do identify as
a woman, the identifcation as a gay peison is a fimly male one, identifcation 'as` a gay
man."
57
And seveial yeais latei, °Piobably my own most foimative inßuence fiom quite
an eaily age has been a visceially intense, highly speculative (not to say inventive) cioss-
identifcation with gay men and gay male cultuies as I infeiied, imagined, and latei came
to know them."
58
Lou Sullivan (95-99), the foundei of FTM Inteinational, an oiganization foi
female-to-male tianssexuals, initially identifed as a °heteiosexual female tiansvestite who
was sexually attiacted to gay men."
59
He latei tiansitioned fiom female to male. When still
living as a woman in a ielationship with a feminine bisexual man, Sullivan wiote in his
diaiy:
But the iole ¦Mick] Jaggei played ¦in a flm] tuined me on so-I could identify with a
bisexual male, that`s how fucked I am that I had possibly the most satisfying sex contact
with Jim that nite ¦sic] I`ve evei had. Theie`s so much wiitten about all kinds of sexually
weiid people but a female who imagines heiself as a bisexual male is way beyond any-
thing I`ve evei iead. And so how do I cope with myself :
60
Membeis of sexual oi gendei minoiities such as giilfags oi tiansfags aie often isolated
and, like Sullivan, feai that they aie °the only one" who have such feelings. The lettei columns
of eaily BL magazines such as }une seived similai puiposes as latei Inteinet venues such as
the GiilFags gioup on Yahoo!, in that they helped like-minded souls to connect. It could be
aigued that these BL magazines weie hosting a subcultuie in the making. Like the fans of
}une who consumed gay male manga, Sullivan voyeuiistically consumed a pioduct of pop-
ulai cultuie, in this case a flm featuiing gay oi bisexual men. And like the }une fans who
wiote about theii gay male desiies, Sullivan identifed with a man who is attiacted to men.
Both took measuies to change theii exteiioi to ft theii inteiioi identifcation: the }une fans
diessed up as bishnen and Sullivan began to weai male clothes, thus beginning a piocess
that would eventually iesult in the decision to change his body fiom female to male.
I4-Hidden in Straight Sight (MEYER) 245
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When attempting to put theii sexual fantasies into piactice, both giilfags and tiansfags
who have not physically tiansitioned to male aie confionted with the same pioblem: gay
men aie geneially not inteiested in them. The GiilFag gioup intio says, °We`ll face the
diffculties of having an oiientation that seems designed to engendei fiustiation." And:
°We`ll talk about what it means to be a giilfag, tiy to fguie out how giilfags can meet the
boyfag (oi giilfag) of theii dieams."
6
In peisonal ads, the }une fans who felt they weie gay bishnen sometimes weie look-
ing foi othei female-bodied bishnen. While Welkei inteipiets theii desiies in the context
of lesbianism,
62
I believe that ieading them in a context of giilfag oi tiansfag desiie is moie
piecise: giilfags and tiansfags aie both attiacted to gay men, but giilfags can be attiacted
to othei giilfags. In the same way, tiansfags often date othei tiansfags. This piactice ovei-
laps with, but is not exactly the same as, butches dating butches (oi tachi dating tachi, in
the Japanese context). The expiession of a tempoiaiy oi constant male identifcation is of
cential impoitance in such ielationships, which can be a way to oveicome the pioblem that
°gay men don`t date giils." The ielationship is not just a vehicle oi covei foi a lesbian iela-
tionship, noi is it only a queei space foi expeiimenting with nontiaditional sexuality. It is,
fist of all, a safe and undeistanding enviionment in which the paiticipants can actually be
seen as male, acting out theii masculine gendei and often theii peiception of theii own
physical body as male on the level of sex and sexuality.
But even if giilfags/tiansfags date bisexual men oi fnd a gay man who is inteiested,
the pioblem is not fully solved. By having sex with him, they °tuin him stiaight" and he
might lose a gieat deal of his attiaction foi them. If they aie male-identifed, they might
feel like Sakakibaia: °She is theiefoie nevei happy, even if a man whom she loves, would
love hei. She wants to be loved as a boy."
63
If the giilfag/tiansfag diesses in male clothes and manages to pass as a man, the moment
when °hei" °tiue" sex is discoveied tiiggeis what I would call the °gay tiansvestite`s
dilemma": while a ielationship with a women would confim the masculinity of the tians-
vestite, a ielationship with a man seems to °piove" his/hei femininity. Princess Knight and
Berusaiyu nc bara, both texts with female-to-male tiansvestite piotagonists in love with
men, aie obsessively tiying to solve this dilemma: How can the tiansvestite have a sexual
ielationship with a man without losing hei/his own masculinity:
As mentioned above, the fist episode of the Princess Knight anime shows male villains
who squiit a white liquid fiom the tips of theii swoids. When the liquid touches the tians-
vestite heio/ine, it will ieveal hei/his °tiue," that is, genital, sex. Likewise, Oscai is femi-
nized by hei/his making love with Andié. S/he constantly oscillates between masculine and
feminine, painfully tiying to integiate both. A similai stoiy is told by After Schccl Night-
mare: the °inteisexual" oi female-to-male tianssexual main chaiactei is toin between
his/hei male identity and his/hei love foi a man.
DANS KEI-Frcm Thecry tc Practice
To solve these pioblems, Sakakibaia uses hei ait as a way to live hei sexual and gen-
dei identity: °Hei cieative woik is the only possibility to fulfl hei libido...."
64
She is not
the only piofessional authoi who is using a mechanism I call °cieative tiansvestism."
The gay-male-identifed Sedgwick wiote, °Foi veiy simply a sudden uigency to wiite nai-
246 Pait Thiee: Boys` Love and Peiceptions of the Queei
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iative poetiy, aftei my twelfth biithday, was coextensive with, was the same as, one oi
anothei plot of male homosexual ievelation. Lawience of Aiabia, David and Jonathan, The
Man frcm U.N.C.I.E., Rogei Casement, the Round Table, an avant-Giiaidian ieading of
Jules and Jim...."
65
Poppy Z. Biite (b. 967), anothei gay-male-identifed authoi who mostly
wiites about gay men, desciibes an even moie tiaumatic expeiience of the same soit :
The uige to be placed in context neaily killed me. ... ¦it] caused me to expose and
embaiiass myself in hopes of fnding a peei gioup that didn`t exist.... What`s embaiiass-
ing is the naivete ¦sic] with which I believed ieadeis would take my explanations at face
value. °Oh, she`s ieally a gay man! That explains eveiything!" ... I was completely
unpiepaied foi the people who thought my sexuality was some kind of piomotional
gimmick.... I thought I was ieady to be called a °fag hag" with °penis envy," but I
wasn`t.... All I`d ieally wanted was foi my ieadeis, paiticulaily my gay ieadeis, to have a
bettei shot at undeistanding why I wiote the things I did. With a few exceptions,
though, the gay piess ignoied me.
66
Wiiting about the autobiogiaphies of female-to-male tianssexuals, Jay Piossei explains
that the subject`s autobiogiaphy can sometimes °ie-piesent" the body as a fantasized self,
the self that they wished they could be thiough the tiansfoimation of clothes, appeaiance,
and speech.
67
Baibaia Guest offeis a similai view of lesbian authoi Biyhei: she °acted out
hei desiie to be a boy in the histoiical fction foi which she is best known...."
68
Tayloi con-
cludes: °The desiie to be a boy is collapsed into the wish to wiite, and liteiatuie becomes
an eiotic stimulus."
69
The gay-male-identifed paintei Caiiington (893-932 CE) diew heiself/himself as a
boy, tiansfoiming the body at least on papei.
70
Cieative tiansvestism thiough visual aits
can be a potent tool of identifcation: BL as a visual medium allows foi a smooth
identifcation of aitist and fan with the male chaiacteis by pioviding an °involved" point
of view and chaiacteis that look not so much like cis-men but like boys oi female-to-male
tiansgendeied people in the eaily stages of tiansition. Inteiestingly, in inteinational queei
communities, it is common to iefei to female-to-male tiansgendeied people (ftm) as bcyz,
and many ftm say that they don`t identify so much as men but as boys. As duiing the eaily
yeais of taking testosteione, the ftm goes thiough a second pubeity and looks (and sounds)
like an adolescent boy, this seems only appiopiiate.
In °viitual ieality," a piocess similai to cieative tiansvestism can be obseived in the
foim of people cruising the Inteinet oi engaging in online iole-playing games with a gen-
dei identity that diffeis fiom theii eveiyday gendei. Anothei example would be female-
assigned peisons who wiite gay male poinogiaphy undei a male pseudonym foi a gay male
audience. This faiily common piactice has been desciibed by Patiick Califa who has wiit-
ten gay male eiotica undei a male pseudonym befoie tiansitioning fiom female to male.
7
I know of two female-to-gay-male identifed Geiman authois who live as women but aie
thought to be gay cis-men by theii mostly gay male ieadeis.
72
Like putting on diag, cieative tiansvestism is a technique that is not just available foi
tianssexuals, but foi eveiyone. The tians-gendeied identifcation of manga fans and authois
might last foi the shoit moment of the iomantic oi sex scene, oi foi a lifetime.
Mulvey has aigued foi flm theoiy that female spectatoiship necessaiily involves
female-to-male °tiansvestism," as the female spectatoi needs to take the male point of view
to be able to enjoy the male-centeied naiiative.
73
But she analyzed mostly male-pioduced
mainstieam cinema. BL diffeis fiom moie conventional texts in seveial points: it is female-
authoied and consciously addiessed to a mostly female audience. Moieovei, while com-
meicial BL is piinted by male-dominated publishing houses, audience paiticipation in the
I4-Hidden in Straight Sight (MEYER) 247
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foim of suiveys and polls is invited and inßuences the content. And BL still has stiong ioots
in and connections to amateui manga (djinshi) that is pioduced without any inteifeience
of °patiiaichal" publisheis. Theie is no stiuctuial need foi female fans of yaci to take a male
point of view dictated by male aitists.
Still, the teim °tiansvestism" seems appiopiiate foi BL wiiting and ieading techniques.
It was fist coined by Magnus Hiischfeld in 90, desciibing the act of cioss-diessing and/oi
a pait-time oi full-time identifcation with the opposite sex. Hiischfeld`s tiansvestites could
be male oi female, lesbian, gay, stiaight, bisexual, oi asexual. They could be sexually aioused
by tiansvestism oi not. They could wish a physical change oi not. A °tiansvestite," then,
is a peison involved in any of the above expeiiences.
74
The Geiman teim Transvestismus
(tiansvestism) seems to have been in use in pie-wai Japan as tcransuvechichisumusu.
75
Hiischfeld`s °Tiansvestismus" is pietty close to today`s umbiella teim °tiansgendei," but
as opposed to °tiansgendei," it emphasizes the °act" of changing gendei, not the inteinal
°identity," making the change available foi eveiyone.
While cieative tiansvestism allows foi male identifcation on a viitual level, cosplay
takes the next step, in that it actually involves the body of the fan/aitist. The ieadeis of
}une, by sending in photos in which they staged themselves as beautiful boys, and desciib-
ing theii gay male desiies, ciossed the line between the liteiaiy and the liteial. Theii piac-
tices aie indistinguishable fiom those of male-to-female tiansvestites who send photos of
themselves in female attiie to tiaditional tiansvestite magazines, desciibing theii gendei
and sexual identifcations, which aie often lesbian.
Thoin notes that female-to-male cioss-diessing yaoi fans have many similaiities with
male-to-female ciossdiessing fans of °Beautiful Giil" manga with mostly lesbian content:
Nothing illustiates this ßuidity of identifcation moie vividly than the image of a man
cioss-diessed as a favoiite heioine standing in line to buy a poinogiaphic amateui
manga featuiing that same heioine. If, as Sakakibaia aigues, yaoi fans aie gay men in
women`s bodies, then it might be faii to suggest that many fans of amateui °Beautiful
¦lesbian] Giils" manga aie, as it weie, lesbians in men`s bodies, and not simply iun-of-
the-mill misogynists.... To accept, unciitically, ¦yaoi fans] as good, and ieject, unciiti-
cally, ¦Beautiful Giil fans] as bad, would be a mistake. In a sense, the two genies miiioi
each othei, and speak to the desiies of those who, by choice oi ciicumstance, do not ft
neatly into society`s piesciibed noims of gendei and sexuality.
76
The °Beautiful Giil" cosplayeis that Thoin desciibes stiongly iesemble the male equiv-
alent of giilfags and tiansfags: guydykes and tiansdykes, i.e., male-assigned peisons who
eioticize and identify with lesbians and sometimes tiansition fiom male to lesbian.
77
Like
the male-to-female tiansvestites who identify as lesbians, the °Beautiful Giils" cosplayeis
and guydykes/tiansdykes aie often seen as °peiveits," even by BL fans. The willingness to
inteipiet the °male" behavioi as a sexual peiveision, while BL fandom oi giilfags/tiansfags
often go unnoticed, ießects the degiee to which male sexuality is taken seiiously and female
sexuality is not.
78
Ceitain cosplay fandoms, like the visual kei fandom, aie stiongly associated with female-
to-male tiansvestism, oi dans kei (male diess style). Visual kei is a highly successful visual
style of Japanese pop music that has ioots in the style of andiogynous and tiansvestite musi-
cians like David Bowie. Visual kei bands usually consist of boys weaiing make-up oi female
attiie who aie consideied to be sex symbols. Visual kei fandom is closely connected to yaci
fandoms, with fans diawing djinshi imagining gay sexual ielations between theii favoiite
stais. The bands aie fully conscious of that fandom and catei to it. At cosplay events, visual
kei cosplayeis who diess up as theii pop idols mix with manga cosplayeis.
248 Pait Thiee: Boys` Love and Peiceptions of the Queei
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But can dans kei cosplaying be inteipieted in a context of gendei tiansgiession and
sexuality: Hashimoto answeis the question with a paitial yes, that cosplaying is a fetishis-
tic activity.
79
In hei study of female Austiian and Japanese visual kei fans who aie also yaci
fans, Hashimoto made an inteiesting obseivation: While a ceitain peicentage of the Japa-
nese fans said that diessing up as anothei gendei was pait of the appeal of cosplaying, none
of the Austiian fans said so. That is in itself is iemaikable foi a fandom that consists almost
solely in female-to-male cosplay. While it could be aigued that the visual kei stais them-
selves aie weaiing paitial female diag, and thus the female fans aie weaiing female oi fem-
inine attiie, too, the Japanese fans seemed to be awaie that they weie diessing up as men.
The Austiian fans equally iefeiied to the stais as sexy men, not as women oi gendeiless
beings. Then, how can this cuiious diveigence be explained:
Japan has a stiong, living tiadition of public tiansvestism that is only paitially associ-
ated with the poinogiaphic oi pathological. Japanese giow up with knowledge of male-to-
female ciossdiesseis in classical theatie and in the media (Band Tamasabui, Petei, Akihiio
Miwa, and seveial contempoiaiy tiansgendeied pop stais). Equally, they know about the
Takaiazuka ctckcyaku and peihaps female-to-male cioss diessing in classical theatie and
dance, not to mention gendei-bending in manga and anime.
By contiast, tiansvestism and ciossdiessing in Geiman-speaking countiies is almost
completely associated with the pathological, the iidiculous, oi the sexual. Tiansvestite aitis-
tic tiaditions that weie alive until the Weimai Republic (98-933), ießected in featuie
flms such as Ich mcchte kein Mann sein (Geimany 99, °I Don`t Want to be a Man") oi
Viktcr und Viktcria (Geimany 933), weie extinguished by the Nazi iegime. Aftei that,
until veiy iecently, male-to-female tiansvestites weie seen only in the context of medical
pathology, piostitution, oi (veiy) lowbiow enteitainment.
And most impoitantly, female-to-male tiansvestites weie viitually invisible. Apait
fiom a ceitain tiadition in classical opeia that is only known to opeia goeis, female-to-
male tiansvestism was just not done. The veiy existence of female-to-male tianssexuals
was denied by many scientists, so much so that until about fve oi six yeais ago, the gen-
eial public didn`t know of its existence. Female-to-male tiansgendeied individuals iepoit
again and again that even people who had heaid of the existence of male-to-female tians-
sexuals didn`t know that the °othei diiection" was possible.
80
This is slowly changing, as
duiing the last fve yeais oi so thiee celebiities have publicly tiansitioned fiom female to
male, and infoimation is available fiom the Inteinet. But it is still a veiy exotic topic. In
this context of nonexistence, it makes sense that the Austiian fans don`t ießect on the impli-
cations of theii cioss-diessing.
Anothei fandom with a lot of female-to-male cioss-diessing is the Haiiy Pottei djin-
shi fandom. The Haiiy Pottei boom was as stiong in Japan as it was in Euiope and the U.S.
The Haiiy Pottei books seem to lend themselves to easy slashing, as theie is a whole gen-
eiation of inteinational Haiiy Pottei fans involved in online slashing. In Japan, the slash-
ing natuially happens in the foim of djinshi. With its boaiding school setting, school
unifoims, and boys` doimitoiies, the Haiiy Pottei books iesemble eaily shnen-ai. The
atmospheie of juvenile °innocence" and homosociality inspiies authois to a diveise and
often °polymoiphously peiveise" iange of couplings, including students, teacheis, iela-
tives, and magical cieatuies. The fandom is stiongest with male/male slash but has popu-
lai stiaight and lesbian couplings, too. At cosplay events in Geimany and Japan, gioups of
giils in school boy unifoims, weaiing the colois of the diffeient Hogwaits houses, aie a
common sight.
I4-Hidden in Straight Sight (MEYER) 249
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Diessing up as a bishnen foi a day isn`t enough foi many fans, who aie involved in
online iole playing games wheie they take on the ioles of seme oi uke chaiacteis ovei long
peiiods of time. Some even impeisonate these chaiacteis when they meet in ieal life, mix-
ing the viitual with the ieal to a degiee that they become indistinguishable. The mostly
female teenage BL fans of a Geiman manga gioup I used to attend iegulaily played yaci
iole playing games. Aftei play sessions, I witnessed iecuiiing dialogues such as: °HA! Ich
hab dich gestern abend ge-iaped!" °HA! I have raped ¦English in Geiman oiiginal] you last
night! ¦in the context of the iole playing game]." The dialogues weie followed by scenes of
bonding, cuddling, holding hands, and so on.
By coining and iepeatedly using the °English" teim rape, the Geiman yaci gameis
show the impoitance they place on appiopiiating the iole of penetiatoi and peipetiatoi,
while at the same time iemoving it fiom ieal-life iape, which would be associated imme-
diately if they used the Geiman woid. By saying °I" instead of °my chaiactei," they show
that theii chaiacteis aie not just a gaming device foi them, but a point of identifcation.
Aie these giils who impeisonate boys who have sex with boys and cuddle with each
othei lesbians oi gay female-to-male tianssexuals: Aie they stiaight because they aie giils
who like boys: Aie they stiaight female-to-male tianssexuals because they take a male iole
and inteiact with a giil: Thoin has desciibed the multiple sexual possibilities of the ccsplay
ielated ciossdiessing he witnessed in Japan, echoing the multiple sexual possibilities of the
tiansvestite heio/ine of manga and anime:
One occasionally witnesses eioticized teasing, paiticulaily on the pait of cioss-diessed
cos-playeis, who will make suggestive comments to oi fondle fellow paiticipants of
eithei sex, who aie usually happy to play along. When cioss-diessing is involved, theie
aie always multi-layeied heteiosexual and homosexual tensions. When a woman diessed
as a man makes a pass at anothei woman, she is °playing at" heteiosexuality, but the fact
that she is biologically a woman cieates an obvious homosexual element. If the othei
woman is heiself diessed as a man, then the two aie °playing at" male homosexuality,
yet theie is also a suggestion of female homosexuality, since both aie biologically
women, and, because each woman is ostensibly ieacting to the peifoimed °masculinity"
of the othei, theie is a heteiosexual nuance, as well. Similaily, when a woman diessed as
a man is ßiiting with a man diessed as a woman, theie is a double-ieveise heteiosexual
element, yet, again, since each is ieacting to the peifoimed gendei of the othei, theie is
also a suggestion of homosexuality.
8
What is tiue foi female-to-male ciossdiesseis is similaily tiue foi male-to-female
ciossdiesseis. In Geimany, boys in female cosplay attiie aie a iegulai if iaie sight. While
in Japan some male-to-female cosplayeis weie suipiisingly old and stiongly iesembled sexy
diag queens with °hypei" female attiibutes, in Geimany, only adolescent boys can get away
with seiious female diag. Oldei cosplayeis always fiame it in a humoiistic context. I have
seen boys in fetishizing make-up and half nudity, often in chains, at the Leipzig annual
cosplay convention. Tamei veisions of the °boy-in-chains" can be seen at the monthly cos-
play meeting in my aiea. The thiiteen-to-sixteen-yeai-old Noithein Geiman female fans
I have desciibed enjoy going shopping while walking a male oi female fan who is impei-
sonating an uke on a leash, even when they aie not weaiing costumes.
In Japan, this bluiiing between the viitual and the ieal is taken fuithei by so-called
cosplay cafés. The customeis aie seived by waitiesses and waiteis who aie diessed up as
manga chaiacteis, and often the inteiioi design of the café iecieates the settings of manga.
Cosplay cafés that catei to yaoi fans and to fans who aie inteiested in female-to-male tians-
vestite cosplay aie pait of a laigei Japanese tiadition of host bais, dans kei bais, and cnabe
bais in the enteitainment industiy. The heteiosexual host bai piovides female customeis
250 Pait Thiee: Boys` Love and Peiceptions of the Queei
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with beautiful male company foi the evening. Similaily, cosplay butlei cafés employ beau-
tiful young men who spoil theii female customeis. Butlei cafés such as Café Edelstein
actively tiy to iecieate the atmospheie of a BL manga, in that it pietends to be a boys`
school and its unifoimed hosts play the ioles of school boys: °'I`m in the ßowei aiiange-
ment club,` whispeis one giilish, long-haiied waitei at the cafe, looking up fiom the book
of Geiman poetiy he is ieading."
82
Places as Café Edelstein allow the customeis to physi-
cally intiude into the all-male fantasy woild of BL and inteiact with it.
Dans kei bais, oi bais foi female-to-male tiansvestites who aie sometimes lesbian-
identifed and sometimes male-identifed, oiiginated in the 960s. Foi the time aiound
967, at least thiiteen dans kei bais foi lesbians weie documented in Japan. The bais seem
to have been associated with the ctckcyaku of Takaiazuka and the Shochiku ievue, e.g.,
one bai`s name was Zuka.
83
As theie seems to be a laige clientele of °stiaight" women who
aie inteiested in dating ctckcyaku-like tiansvestites, since 973 theie have been seveial so-
called cnabe bais that satisfy that need. The hosts aie cnabe (butches oi female-to-male
tianssexuals).
84
In the moie iecent ctcme oi dans kei cosplay cafés, the hosts aie female-to-male tians-
vestite bishnen who can be iented foi the evening. By pioviding a semi-ieal enviionment
in which the tiansvestite hosts can inteiact with theii customeis as bishnen, the cafés allow
the hosts to live almost full-time as male without tiansitioning physically. If the customeis
weai male costumes themselves, they can engage with the hosts in a male/male constella-
tion, biinging BL to life.
Ccnclusicn
Women and othei female-assigned people who eioticize and identify with gay men
seem to exist inteinationally, but the commeicialization of these desiies and identifcations
is a uniquely Japanese phenomenon so fai. A featuie flm such as Tcnari nc 80I (yaci) chan
(My Neighbcr Yaci-chan; Japan 2006), which humoiously diamatizes the ielationship
between a boy and a yaci fangiil, is as yet unimaginable foi Euiope oi the U.S.
85
Theie aie
a few °female" authois such as Poppy Z. Biite oi Maiy Renault who have made a caieei
fiom wiiting gay male novels foi a mainstieam maiket, but it is impossible to know how
many such books might have met the fate of the Geiman novel Die Kunst der Bestimmung
(The Art cf Defniticn, 2003) by Chiistine Wunnicke, a highly piaised histoiical novel with
a gay male theme. Although distiibuted by a majoi publishei, it couldn`t be maiketed piop-
eily because book agents felt uncomfoitable iecommending it.
86
Things aie impioving, howevei. Recently, Flooitje Zwigtman, a Dutch female authoi
of juvenile books, ieceived a fai moie positive iesponse to hei tiilogy Een grcene blcem (A
Green Flcwer), about a boy piostitute of the Oscai Wilde ciicle, containing explicit sex
scenes. Its fist pait, Schijnbewegingen (2005, planned English title: Tricks cf the Trade), was
called °Best Book foi Young Adults 2005" in the Netheilands and ieceived impoitant awaids
foi juvenile books all ovei Euiope.
87
And in 2006, I talked to a Geiman publishei of manga
who, at the time, was still unbelieving that the Japanese success of BL could be iepeated in
Geimany. Since then, howevei, BL titles have become some of the highest-selling manga
in the Geiman maiket.
While BL has been a factoi in the cieation of East Asian populai cultuie foi some
yeais, slash is only now beginning to inßuence Westein commeicial pop cultuie: Tcrch-
I4-Hidden in Straight Sight (MEYER) 251
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wccd (2006), a spin-off of the Biitish TV seiies Dr. \hc, with its bisexual, immoital heio
Captain Jack Haikness, has been cieated by an out bisexual television pioducei and sciipt
wiitei, Russell T. Davies. Davies was also iesponsible foi the Biitish oiiginal of Queer as
Fclk (999). To ieach a laigei audience than gay men, Tcrchwccd is aimed at women, who
piesumably have foimed a laige pait of the Queer as Fclk fan base as well. The Tcrchwccd
episode ¨Captain Jack Haikness" (2007), wiitten by Catheiine Tiegenna, has a distinctly
°slashy" feel. Since the success of the flm veision of Brckeback Mcuntain (997/2005),
anothei female-wiitten, gay male text that was highly successful with women, pioduceis
might begin to be moie open to gay male-themed piojects.
While lesbian themes aie alieady acceptable within conventional plots aimed at a majoi
audience (e.g., Buffy oi Xena) gay male plots aie still consideied pioblematic. Lesbians aie
sexy foi many men who might be iepulsed by gay men, due to the taboo on male penetia-
bility. As the media aie still male-dominated, majoi gay male chaiacteis and plots aie
scaice. By contiast, in East Asia, the commeicial success of BL seems to have caused an
inciease in gay male- oi tiansfag-themed featuie flms and television seiies aimed at a
mostly female oi mainstieam audience, including He´s the \cman, She´s the Man, and the
sequel \hc´s the \cman, \hc´s the Man? (both Hong Kong 996), Bishnen (Hong Kong
998), Bcys Icve (Japan 2006), Icve cf Siam (Thailand 2007), Bangkck Icve Stcry (Thai-
land 2007), The First Shcp cf Ccffee Prince (Ccffee Prince) (television seiies, Koiea 2007) ,
and Hua Yang Shac Nian Shac Nu / Hanazakari nc Kimitachi e (both television seiies based
on the manga Hana nc Kimi, Taiwan 2006 and Japan 2007). These flms and television
seiies make use of well known BL plots and devices.
Even though theie seems to be a coie gioup of gay-male-identifed BL fans/cieatois,
BL fandom cannot wholly be contained within tianssexuality oi the giilfag/tiansfag phe-
nomenon. Instead, it ieveals the peiveise oi queei sexuality of its °stiaight" fans/cieatois.
Thoin says that Alexandei Doty, in Making Things Perfectly Queer (993), uses the teim
queei °to question the cultuial demaications between the queei and the stiaight ... by point-
ing out the queeiness of and in stiaights and stiaight cultuies."
88
BL not only points out the queei sexuality but also the queei gendei of its so-called
stiaight female fans/cieatois. Like the gieen yaoi-monstei in the flm Tcnari nc 80I (yaci)
chan that pops out of the zippei in the fujcshi`s back whenevei she thinks about yaoi, and
leaves only a female shell behind, the queeiness of BL fans pops out of what is only a shell
of conventional stiaight femaleness.
Nctes
1. Deb Aoki, °Inteiview Keiko Takemiya," http://manga.about.com/od/mangaaitistswiiteis/a/Keiko
Takemiya_2.htm (accessed August 2, 2009).
2. Masami Toku, °Inteiview with Keiko Takemiya, Januaiy 22, 2003," http://www.csuchico.edu/~mto
ku/vc/inteiviews_full/Inteiview%20w_Takemiya.html) (accessed August 5, 2009).
3. Bjöin-Ole Kamm, Fujshi -Nutzen und Gratifkaticn bei Bcy´s Icve Manga in }apan und Deutschland
(foithcoming mastei`s thesis, Univeisity of Leipzig, Geimany, 2008), 3. See also Bjöin-Ole Kamm, Intioduc-
tion to: Fujshi -Nutzen und Gratifkaticn bei Bcy´s Icve Manga in }apan und Deutschland, http://www.b-ok.
de/download/fujshi_kamm_v_.pdf (accessed Apiil 23, 2009).
4. Fiedeiik Dhaenens, et al., °Tiansgiessing the Boundaiies of Scieen Studies, Repiesentations, and Slash-
ing the Fiction of Queei Theoiy: Slash Fiction, Queei Reading, and Audiences," }curnal cf Ccmmunicaticn
Inquiry, Volume 32 Numbei 4, Octobei 2008, 335-347, http://jci.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstiact/32/4/335
(accessed May 0, 2009), 346.
252 Pait Thiee: Boys` Love and Peiceptions of the Queei
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5. Heniy Jenkins, Textual Pcachers (New Yoik: Routledge, 992), 202.
6. Dhaenens et al., °Tiansgiessing the Boundaiies."
7. Kamm, Fujcshi, 29.
8. Jenkins, Textual Pcachers, 202.
9. Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick, Between Men (New Yoik: Columbia Univeisity Piess, 985), 2.
10. Kamm, Fujcshi, 33ff.
11. Sullivan, quoted in Biuce Bagemihl, °Suiiogate Phonology and Tianssexual Faggotiy: A Linguistic
Analogy foi Uncoupling Sexual Oiientation fiom Gendei Identity," in Queerly Phrased, Ianguage, Gender,
and Sexuality, ed. Anna Livia and Kiia Hall (Oxfoid: Oxfoid Univeisity Piess, 997), 385.
12. Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick, Tendencies (Duiham: Duke Univeisity Piess, 993), 4.
13. Maik Lipton, °Queei Readings of Populai Cultuie," in Queer Ycuth Cultures, ed. Susan Diivei (Albany:
State Univeisity of New Yoik Piess, 2008), 68.
14. The Cellulcid Clcset, dii. Rob Epstein, Jeffiey Fiiedman (995), DVD (Pio-Fun Media, 2004).
15. Paul Bakei, Fantabulcsa. A Dicticnary cf Pclari and Gay Slang (London, New Yoik: Continnum, 2002).
16. Moe Meyei, quoted in Mike Peikovich, Nature Bcys. Camp Disccurse in American Iiterature frcm \hit-
man tc \hartcn (New Yoik: Petei Lang Publishing, 2003), 7.
17. Peikovitch, Nature Bcys, 7.
18. Kamm, Fujcshi, 280.
19. Miyuki Hashimoto, °Visual Kei Otaku Identity -An Inteicultuial Analysis," Intercultural Ccmmuni-
caticn Studies XVI: 2007 (Univeisity of Vienna, Austiia), 95, http://www.uii.edu/iaics/content/2007v6n/0
%20Miyuki%20Hashimoto.pdf (accessed July 0, 2009).
20. Aoki, °Inteiview Keiko Takemiya."
21. A sexual piactice with a long histoiy, if one is to believe the Roman poet Maitial (40-04 CE). In
his poem Tc Philaenis, he satiiized a woman: °Abhoiient to all natuial joys/ Philaenis sodomizes boys."
Anon. tianslation in Stephen Coote, The Penguin Bcck cf Hcmcsexual Verse (London: Penguin Books,
986).
22. Susie Biight, °Move ovei, Ken, it`s °Bend Ovei Boyfiiend," Salon.com, http://dii.salon.com/stoiy/
health/sex/col/biig/998/05/22/nc_22biig/ (accessed August 0. 2009).
23. Sedgwick, Between Men, 2.
24. Ibid., 93.
25. See also Jenkins, Textual Pcachers, 98, about multiple identifcations.
26. Biight, °Move ovei, Ken."
27. Matthew Thoin, °Giils And Women Getting Out Of Hand: The Pleasuie And Politics Of Japan`s Ama-
teui Comics Community" (2004), 85 F 4, http://matt-thoin.com/shoujo_manga/outof hand/index.php#back8
(accessed August 0, 2009).
28. James Welkei, °Beautiful, Boiiowed, and Bent: 'Boys` Love` as Giil`s Love in Shcjc Manga," Signs. }cur-
nal cf \cmen in Culture and Scciety 3:3 (Spiing 2006): 84-70, 846.
29. Ibid., 863ff.
30. Foi a discussion of the histoiic lesbian context of the Takaiazuka fandom, see Jennifei Robeitson,
Takarazuka (Beikeley: Univeisity of Califoinia Piess, 998).
3. Tomoko Aoyama, °Tiansgendeiing shjc shcsetsu° in Genders, Transgenders and Sexualities in }apan,
ed. Maik McLelland, Romit Dasgupta (London and New Yoik: Routledge, 2005), 55.
32. Welkei, Beautiful, Bcrrcwed and Bent, 859ff.
33. Giegoiy M. Pßugfeldei, Cartcgraphies cf Desire. Male-Male Sexuality in }apanese Disccurse, Iõ00-I950
(Beikeley: Univeisity of Califoinia Piess, 2000) 64 and 85N64.
34. Fiist edition 963 undei the title Death by Rcses, iepublished in inteinational edition as Crdeal by Rcses
in 97.
35. See Teiiy Castle, The Appariticnal Iesbian (New Yoik: Columbia Univeisity Piess, 993).
36. Sedgwick, Tendencies, XIII.
37. See Matthew Thoin, °The Moto Hagio Inteiview (2005)," http://www.matt-thoin.com/shoujo_manga/
hagio_inteiview.php (accessed August 0, 2009). See also Nancy, °Poe no ichizoku," °Hagio`s Inteiview °Hat-
achi -20 Yeais Old" (tianslation) http://ponoichizoku.blogspot.com/2007/04/hagios-inteiview-hatachi-20-
yeais-old.html (accessed August 20, 2009).
38. Aoyama, quoted in Welkei, Beautiful, Bcrrcwed and Bent, 864.
39. Welkei, Beautiful, Bcrrcwed, and Bent, 846ff.
40. Aoyama, °Tiansgendeiing shjc shcsetsu,° 56.
4. Quoted in Kamm, Fujcshi, 25.
42. Matthew Thoin, °The Multi-Faceted Univeise of Shjo Manga" (2008), http://www.matt-thoin.com/
shoujo_manga/colloque/index.php (accessed May 5, 2009).
I4-Hidden in Straight Sight (MEYER) 253
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43. Jim Buiiows, °The Adventuies of La Maupin" (995-2008), http://www.eldacui.com/~bions/Maupin/
MaupinIndex.html (accessed July 4, 2009).
44. Welkei, Beautiful, Bcrrcwed and Bent, 852ff.
45. Ibid.
46. Thoin, °Giils And Women Getting Out Of Hand."
47. Welkei, Beautiful, Bcrrcwed and Bent, 856, 857.
48. See Kamm, Fujcshi, 2008.
49. Thoin, °Giils And Women Getting Out Of Hand."
50. See Thoin, °The Moto Hagio Inteiview" and Nancy, °Hagio`s Inteiview."
5. Magnus Hiischfeld, Die Hcmcsexualitüt des Mannes und des \eibes (Beilin: Louis Maicus Veilagsbuch-
handlung, 920), 206.
52. See Caiol Queen, Lauience Schimel, ed., PcMcsexuals (San Fiancisco: Cleis Piess, 997).
53. GiilFags Yahoo! Gioup, °Intioduction," http://gioups.yahoo.com/gioup/GiilFags/ (accessed Apiil 4, 2009).
54. Bagemihl, °Suiiogate Phonology," 386.
55. Quoted in Bagemihl, °Suiiogate Phonology," 387.
56. Ibid.
57. Sedgwick, Tendencies, 209.
58. Ibid., 4
59. Quoted in Leslie Feinbeig, Transgender \arricrs (Boston, Mass.: Beacon Piess, 997), 44.
60. Diaiy of Lou Sullivan (Januaiy 3, 97), quoted in Coiinna Genschel Eistiittene Subjektivität: Diskuise
dei Tianssexualität, Das Argument 243 43/6, 200: 82ff, http://www.linksnet.de/aitikel.php:id·553 (accessed
August 0, 2009).
61. GiilFag Yahoo Gioup, °Intioduction."
62. See Welkei, Beautiful, Bcrrcwed and Bent. See also James Welkei, °Lilies of the Maigin: Beautiful Boys
and Queei Female Identities in Japan" in AsiaPacifQueer, ed. Fian Maitin, Petei A. Jackson, et al. (Uibana
and Chicago: Univeisity of Illinois Piess, 2008).
63. Hashimoto, °Visual Kei Otaku Identity," 92.
64. Ibid.
65. Sedgwick, Tendencies, 208.
66. Poppy Z. Biite, °Enough Rope," http://www.poppyzbiite.com/iope.html (accessed August 2009), fist
published in: Crcssing the Bcrder. Tales cf Erctic Ambiguity, ed. Lisa Tuttle (London: Indigo Books, 998).
67. In Claie L. Tayloi, \cmen, \riting, and Fetishism I890-I950 (Oxfoid: Claiendon Piess, 2003), 5.
68. Ibid., 62n.7.
69. Ibid., 63.
70. Jane Hill, Dcra Carringtcn (Munchen: Knesebeck, 995), 3.
71. Pat Califa, °Identity Sedition and Poinogiaphy" in PcMcsexuals ed. Caiol Queen, Lauience Schimel
(San Fiancisco: Cleis Piess, 997).
72. Peisonal conveisation with publishei, 2008.
73. Foi a discussion of flm theoiy and manga, see Welkei, Beautiful, Bcrrcwed and Bent, 844.
74. See Magnus Hiischfeld, Die Transvestiten (Beilin: Veilag Pulveimachei, 90).
75. Beveiley Cuiian and James Welkei, °Fiom the Well of Loneliness to the akaiui iezubian: Westein
Tianslations and Japanese Lesbian Identities," in Genders, Transgenders and Sexualities in }apan, eds. Maik
McLelland and Romit Dasgupta (London: Routledge, 2005), 65-80.
76. Thoin, °Giils and Women Getting Out of Hand."
77. Foi moie infoimation about guydykes and tiansdykes, see Queen, Schimel, PcMcsexuals; Maikisha Gie-
aney, °A Pioposal foi Doing Tiansgendei Theoiy in the Academy," in Reclaiming Genders. Transsexual Gram-
mars at the Fin de Siecle, ed. Kate Moie, Stephen Whittle (London: Cassell, 999); Uli Meyei, Almost
Homosexual -Schwule Fiauen, Schwule Tians¯Gendei (GiilFags/Tians¯Fags), in Iiminalis , 2007 http://
www.liminalis.de/aitikel/Liminalis2007_meyei.pdf (accessed August 5, 2009).
78. Meyei, °Almost Homosexual."
79. Hashimoto, °Visual Kei Otaku Identity."
80. My obseivation in Geiman-speaking queei and tiansgendei communities since 988.
81. Thoin, °Giils and Women Getting Out Of Hand."
82. Sophie Haidach, °Sexy Comics Feed Japan`s Role Play Boom," Internaticnal Business Times (Maich 4,
2008), http://www.ibtimes.co.in/aiticles/20080304/comics-japan-iole-play-boom.htm (accessed August 0,
2009).
83. Foi a shoit histoiy of cnabe and dans kei bais, see James Welkei, °Telling Hei Stoiy: The Japanese
Lesbian Community 97-200: Selections Fiom 'Kcmyuniti Nc Rekishi` 97-200: Nenpy Tc Intaby De
Furikaeru." (mastei`s thesis / annotated tianslation, Univeisity of Sheffeld, UK, 2002).
254 Pait Thiee: Boys` Love and Peiceptions of the Queei
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84. A documentaiy about cnabe bais: Shinjuku Bcys, dii. Kim Longinotto, Jano Williams (995), DVD
(20th Centuiy Vixen).
85. The title is an allusion to My Neighbcr Tctcrc, the well-known anime about a fiiendly monstei.
86. Peisonal communication with a publishei, 2008.
87. Flooitje Zwigtman, Ich, Adrian Mayfeld (Hildesheim: Geistenbeig Veilag, 2008). The Foundation foi
the Pioduction and Tianslation of Dutch Liteiatuie, °Flooitje Zwigtman-Tiicks of the Tiade" http://www.
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88. Quoted in Thoin, °Giils And Women Getting Out Of Hand."
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Glossaiy
These woids aie specifc to the Japanese-deiived context of boys` love and yaoi in the
West; some of them have application to slash, fan fction, and Inteinet teiminology in gen-
eial. Populai boys` love and yaoi fandoms have teiminology not included heie. Alteinate
usage is in paientheses following the main entiy.
aca-fan. °Academic" - °fan," a teim to desciibe a fan who may have a scholaily inteiest in a
fandom, oi a scholai who may be a fan. The woid was coined by Heniy Jenkins, who was
modeiatoi of the ACAFEN-L academic mailing list in the mid-990s, and has been since
populaiized by him as the title of his blog, °Confessions of an Aca-Fan," which he staited
in June 2006. See fan.
aIternate universe (AU). Fan woik whose chaiactei(s) aie depicted in settings othei than
occuiied in canon. See OOC.
anime-Japanese-oiigin animation; the teim became widespiead in the U.S. in the late 980s
and eaily 990s.
aníparo-°Anime paiody," in which anime chaiacteis aie used in humoious situations.
archive. Geneially, a collection of fan stoiies and/oi aitwoik and scanlated woiks made avail-
able on the Web. See archontic and scanIation.
archontic. The inteitextual ielationships at the coie of liteiatuie. Expanding on Jacques Dei-
iida`s °aichontic piinciple" as the °inteinal diive of an aichive to continually expand,"
Abigail Deiecho pioposes °aichontic liteiatuie" as a desciiption foi fan fction to allow it
to be conceived as an ethical pioject that opposes notions of hieiaichy and piopeity, and
in lieu of woids such as °appiopiiative," foi its connotation of taking oi theft, and °deiiv-
ative," foi its connotation as being lessei than the piimaiy text.

beta. To iead and comment on, oi pioofiead, fan fction befoie the fan publishes it.
bíseínen-Beautiful young man oi young men.
bíshnen-Beautiful boy(s). The topos of the beautiful boy as a sexual object foi men in
Japanese discouise dates fiom at least the Heike mcncgatari (Tale of the Heike; ca. thii-
teenth centuiy CE). It is seen in populai fction in the twentieth centuiy, deployed to seive
against °civilizing" Westein discouises. An example is the widely iead stoiy Shizu nc
cdamaki (The Spool of Hemp), fist published by high school and univeisity students, then
commeicially up to about 96. See nanshoku.
BNF. °Big Name Fan," a fan who is known by othei fans in hei/his fandom(s).
boys' Iove (BL)-Fan and commeicial woiks depicting pie-adolescent, adolescent and/oi
young adult males in homoeiotic ielationships, tiansgiessive of Westein and Japanese
notions of masculinity, heteionoimativity and homonoimativity. In Japan, the ioman chai-
acteis BL aie used moie often than the loan woids °boys` love" (and the Japanese equiva-
lent theieof, °bizu rabu") as a iubiic foi the categoiy in, e.g., bookstoies and on television.
Heivé Biient wiites that °BL" appeaied in Japan in the middle of the 990s, iapidly ieplac-
257
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ing °june," °shnen-ai" (in pait foi its connotation of pedophilia) and °yaoi" (which had
become linked to the activities of the djinshika).
2
In English, °yaoi" is a moie populai teim
than °boys` love." See june, shnen-aí and yaoi.
butIer cafe. Cafés in Japan wheie the waiteis diess as Euiopean butleis to seive tea and pas-
tiies to a mostly female clientele. Theie is also a café in Tokyo, the Café Edelstein, wheie
Japanese male waiteis diess as Euiopean piep school bishnen, and at Yaoi-Con, the Café
Veifuhien, wheie Westein female waiteis diess as bishnen.
canon. Facts known in fandom established by an oiiginal manga, anime, movie, book, oi tele-
vision show oi seiies. See fanon.
Comic Market (Comike, Comiket)-A fan-cieated and -iun maiket foi the sale of djinshi
and othei pioducts centeied aiound manga, anime, video games and othei media. Comic
Maiket is held twice a yeai in Tokyo. Fiom ioughly 700 attendees at the fist event in 975,
Comic Maiket giew iapidly. Since 2007 it has attiacted moie than 500,000 people ovei
thiee days. Boys` love djinshi is exhibited in halls totaling 6,940m
2
. Ovei the past thiity
yeais, appioximately seventy-one peicent of ciicle paiticipants (djinshi aitists) and ffty-
seven peicent of attendees weie women.
3
con. () Fan gatheiing foi meeting each othei as well as people who pioduce commeicial
pioducts bought by fans, exchanging ideas in fandoms, displaying and/oi selling fan cie-
ated woiks, cosplay, etc. Boys` love-ielated cons in the United States include Bishie Con,
Yaoi-Con, and Yaoi Noith (held at Anime Noith). See Yaoi-Con, Yuricon. (2) In Japan,
as a suffx: complex, indicating an obsession.
cospIay-A poitmanteau of °costume" and °play" to desciibe activities associated with diess-
ing and acting like a chaiactei in anime, manga, oi videogames, often at cons.
4
crossover. Fan woik(s) with chaiacteis fiom moie than one fandom. See fan.
discIaimer. A statement usually at the top of a fc oi on the index page foi a fc seiies oi
in an aichive that disclaims owneiship of the chaiacteis. It may also wain of things
some ieadeis may considei contioveisial (e.g., foi boys` love oi slash: non-con, AU, a
chaiactei death, oi a veiy young oi old chaiactei). Sometimes disclaimeis will include a
plot summaiy, a dedication, acknowledgments of beta ieadeis and othei content. See para-
text.
djínshí (dj)-Fan-cieated liteiatuie, most often manga, encompassing magazines, books
and othei media. BL djinshi aie sold at the Comic Maiket and at smallei comic maikets
in othei cities in Japan as well in stoies such as those in Tokyo`s Otome Road. Theii dis-
tiibution in the U.S. has been limited to a few cons and mail oidei.
djínshíka (djinka, djka)-Fans who cieate djinshi.
drabbIe. Fiction of 00 woids.
fan (fanboi, fanboy, fangiil)-In boys` love, an afcionado of Japanese deiived cultuial piod-
ucts depicting adolescent young males in homoeiotic ielationships. See boys' Iove.
fandom. Fans and theii activities, often specifc to a canonical woik oi seiies, e.g., the fan-
doms aiound Fullmetal Alchemist, Harry Pctter, and \eiß Kreuz.
fan nction (fan fc, fc)-Fan-wiitten fction that uses chaiacteis, piemises, oi othei mateiial
diawn fiom othei, usually canonical, fctional woiks such as manga, anime, television shows,
books, movies, etc., oi fiom iepoits about ieal people. See reaI-person sIash.
258 Glossaiy
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fanon. Fan-cieated elements of plot, chaiactei details, etc. that have become widely accepted
by othei fans. See canon.
fan service-Aitwoik oi scenes inseited in a canonical manga, anime, oi in othei pioducts,
that in boys` love depict canonical chaiacteis in a homosocial / homoeiotic context.
fansub. Anime that has been tianslated and subtitled by fans, geneially without peimission
by the copyiight holdeis.
fanzine (zine)-A fan-cieated magazine, geneially a small-sized collection of fan fction, ait,
aiticles, ieadei comments, etc. Distiibuted via postal mail and at fan conventions.
femsIash (femmeslash). Fan woiks depicting homoeiotic ielationships between oi among
female chaiacteis.
fujoshí-Lit., °iotten woman." Female fan(s) of boys` love manga, anime and/oi video games;
a pejoiative teim that has been taken as positive by some fans. See otaku.
GIoBI. A teim coined by mangaka Tina Andeison that combines °global" and °BL" to indi-
cate the spiead of BL, both in tianslated and oiiginal foims, acioss the woild.
gosurorí-Gothic Lolita fashion. See IoIita fashion.
graphic noveI. A collection of manga stoiies, often by one authoi, tianslated and piinted as
a papeiback book maiketed in Westein iegions.
hentaí-Peiveit; abnoimal sexuality; sexual peiveision. Used by Westein manga/anime fans
to desciibe sexually giaphic content.
hurt/comfort (h/c). A topos in fan and othei fction in many cultuies wheiein one chaiac-
tei caies foi anothei in pain oi distiess. It is often used as a way to biing them closei, lit-
eially and fguiatively. In boys` love and slash, h/c is also a way to add a homoeiotic
dimension to an otheiwise ostensibly homosocial ielationship.
J-pop. A genie of Japanese music, some of whose band membeis piesent an andiogynous
appeaiance and who may be consideied slashable, eithei as RPS oi fctional chaiacteis. See
reaI-person sIash.
june. A populai desciiptive woid foi the fist commeicial magazines tieating male-male
homoeiotic themes and maiketed to women. °}une" became eponymous with what would
become boys` love manga. Ccmic }un, founded in 978, published eight issues. In Januaiy
979 it was ienamed }une, at that time becoming dedicated exclusively to stoiies about male
homosexuality. It was published monthly until Apiil 987. }une DX, a ielated magazine,
was published bimonthly between 984 and 2004. It was ieplaced by Ccmic }une, which is
still published.
5
Today in Japan and the West °june" iefeis to an eaily type of boys` love
manga.
6
See boys' Iove.
Iemon, Iime. Scenes in fan fction desciibing sexual acts between oi among chaiacteis.
°Lemon" implies an explicit desciiption of an oveitly sexual act such as inteicouise oi mas-
tuibation; °lime" a less explicit desciiption.
lolícon (lclikcn, rcrikcn)-Lolita complex, obsession with young adolescent giils in manga,
anime and ielated pioducts, aftei Vladimii Nabokov`s novel Iclita. See IoIita fashion.
IoIita fashion (Icli)-In Japan, usually young women (not giils) and some young men who
diess in cute, childlike and modest fashions. The Lolita aesthetic of hypeifeminine and
hypeicute chaiacteiistics, wiites Theiesa Winge, cieates a visual foim of iesistance against
the dominant cultuie, pioviding the subcultuie and its membeis with agency and identity
and allowing Iclis to extend themselves into spaces and ways otheiwise unavailable to
Glcssary 259
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them. One of the most populai Lolita genies is Gothic, which combines Goth, kawaii (cute),
and Victoiian diess.
7
See gosurorí, lolícon.
manga-Comics, geneially published as magazine(s) with a collection of stoiy chapteis fiom
diffeient seiies within a bioad genie such as boys` love. Manga aie peivasive in Japan. Vaii-
ant names in othei languages include manhua (Chinese) and manhwa (Koiean).
mangaka-Manga aitist, caitoonist.
Mary Sue (Maity Stu). An idealized fan-fction chaiactei modeled aftei the authoi. Often dis-
paiaged by othei fans.
M/M. Male/male; see also sIash.
mpreg. Fanfction oi aitwoik in which one oi moie male chaiacteis becomes piegnant.
nanshoku-Male-male love, implying an age-disciepant ielationship, most often between an
adolescent and a young adult oi adult. °\akashud" (wakashu ¦youth] - d ¦way]), foi the
°way of loving youths," may have been moie commonly used duiing the Edo peiiod
(603-858 CE). Nanshcku was a sexual option available to most men and was widely piac-
ticed in most iegions in Japan foi moie than a millennium. It left one of the laigest iepos-
itoiies woildwide of mateiial on male-male sexuality befoie the twentieth centuiy, such as
fction and nonfction books, kabuki oi bunraku diama, and aitwoik such as piints, paint-
ings, and folding scieens. See bíshnen.
non-con (n/c). Fan ait oi fction depicting non-consensual sex act(s), wheie one oi moie
chaiacteis has sex with othei chaiactei(s), despite the lattei`s inability oi iefusal to con-
sent.
one-shot. A woik of fction that stands alone; one that is not intended to be pait of a seiies.
OOC. °Out of chaiactei," in which a fan`s iepiesentation of a canonical chaiactei has him oi
hei acting in ways othei than geneially accepted poitiayals in canon oi fanon. See aIter-
nate universe.
originaI character. A chaiactei cieated by a fan foi his/hei fc oi aitwoik. Oiiginal chaiac-
teis may be pait of an otheiwise canonical fan woik. See Mary Sue.
otaku-Fan(s) of manga, anime and/oi video games; a pejoiative teim that has been taken
as positive by many fans. Azuka Hiiomi gives °ctaku" in a Japanese context as males gen-
eially between the ages of eighteen and foity, whose cultuie became a mass social phenom-
enon in 995-96 with the boom of inteiest in the anime seiies Shin seiki evangelicn (Necn
Genesis Evangelicn).
8
In a 989 moial panic °ctaku" was extended to all amateui manga
aitists and fans iiiespective of sex.
9
In a U.S. context, ctaku may be female oi male, and
ctaku status can be seen as °cool" among fans even as it has negative connotations among
some.
0
The U.S. anime/manga and Asian populai cultuie convention Otakon calls itself
°the convention of the otaku geneiation."

See fujoshí.
Otome Road. Ctcme (°maiden"), a nickname foi the Higashi Ikebukuio distiict of Tokyo in
which theie aie bookstoies selling BL djinshi, manga, video games, CDs, DVDs,
posteis, caids, calendais, and othei items, as well as the Swallowtail butlei café. Billboaids
on buildings and sign-boaids on the stieet adveitise the stoies` BL pioducts with illustia-
tions of bishnen in homoeiotic contexts.
OTP. °One tiue paiiing," a fan`s ideal paii of chaiacteis within a canonical woik to be slashed.
OVA-Oiiginal Video Animation, a diiect-to-video anime. The teim came into existence with
the ielease of Dallas (983). Sometimes iefeiied to as OAV (Oiiginal Animation Video).
2
260 Glossaiy
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paratext. Elements aiound a text, such a stoiy`s length, its headeis, and comments about it.
Kiistina Busse wiites that °fannish ieading piactices ... cieate a paiatextual appaiatus of
its own," and this °shapes how people engage with the ¦canonical woik] they`ie invested
in."
3
Géiaid Genette, et al., chaiacteiize paiatexts as an °'undefned zone` between the ...
inwaid side (tuined towaid the text) oi the outside (tuined towaid the woild`s discouise
about the text)," and, quoting, Philippe Lejune, °'a fiinge of the piinted text which in ieal-
ity contiols one`s whole ieading of the text.`"
4
pIot bunny. An idea foi a stoiy, aitwoik (oi element theiein) to which the wiitei oi aitist
feels impelled to give expiession.
PWP. °Plot, what plot:" Fanfction, usually stoiies, with a piominent emphasis on sexual
activity, often in a humoious context, usually to the exclusion of additional plot. Some-
times given as °poin without plot."
reaI-person sIash (RPS). Homoeiotic fanfction in which one oi moie chaiacteis aie a ieal-
life actoi, celebiity, musician, politician, oi othei piominent peison. See sIash.
scanIation. The combination of °scan" and °tianslation" to indicate manga scanned fiom a
piinted copy and tianslated into a Westein language, the tianslated text digitally inseited
in place of the Japanese chaiacteis. Usually iefeis to woik caiiied out by fans without the
peimission of the publishei.
seme-A male chaiactei in boys` love who is oldei, tallei and moie expeiienced than the uke.
Fiom °semeru," a veib meaning °attack, assault."
shjo-Giil(s).
shnen-Boy(s).
shnen-aí-Boy(s) love. Although no longei used by fans in Japan, fans in the West may use
the teim to desciibe °light" boys` love stoiies that emphasize iomance and contain little if
any explicit sex. See boys' Iove.
shota-Geneially used in the West to desciibe boys` love pioducts featuiing piepubescent
(not yet adolescent) male(s).
shotacon-In Japan, °Shtai complex," an obsession with piepubescent male(s) in manga,
anime and ielated pioducts.
sIash, sIash nction. Homoeiotic stoiies, poetiy, aitwoik, and video about male chaiacteis
fiom television piogiams, movies, and books as well as about ieal people. Slash is distinct
fiom boys` love, although fans may engage with both genies. Slash has ßouiished as an
amateui ait foim in the UK, the U.S., and othei Westein iegions since the late 960s oi
eaily 970s, ioughly contempoianeous with Japanese boys` love and piedating BL`s adop-
tion in the West. No eaily connection has been shown between slash and BL, but the oii-
gins of both may have been inßuenced, wiites Matthew Thoin, °by a global questioning
of gendei and sexuality."
5
One of the key diffeiences between the two genies may be the
age of the media chaiacteis and of the fans cieating eiotic woiks about them. °Slash" is
used as a veib by boys` love as well as by slash fans to desciibe cieating a homoeiotic sit-
uation foi chaiacteis. See reaI-person sIash, sIashabIe.
sIashabIe, sIashy. A chaiactei oi situation that may lend itself to being depicted as homo-
eiotic.
squick. Content of a boys` love, slash, oi othei woik that discomfts the ieadei oi viewei to
some degiee. Also used as a veib, as in °Soiiy, I didn`t mean to squick you."
Glcssary 261
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tankbon-Lit., °special book; sepaiate volume." Used to desciibe a collection of chapteis
in a single seiies aftei having been published in manga.
TPTB. °The Poweis That Be," the intellectual piopeity ownei(s) of the chaiacteis being
slashed, often coipoiations oi othei pioft-making entities.
uke-A male chaiactei in boys` love who is smallei, shoitei and less expeiienced than the
seme. A °pushy uke" is an uke who acts aggiessively towaids the seme.
WAFF (ßuff ). Waim and fuzzy feeling(s). Fan fction focusing on iomance.
WIP. Woik-in-piogiess: a stoiy, seiies oi a visual woik not completed.
yaoi-Acionym of °Yamanashi, Cchinashi, Iminashi," oi °no climax, no point, no meaning."
A spoof is °Yamete, Cshiri ga Itai," oi °Stop, my ass huits." °Yaoi" was coined by a gioup
of amateuis who titled theii 979 djinshi Rappcri yaci tckush gcu (Rappcri: Special Yaoi
Issue). They cieated the acionym because theii woik was a collection of scenes and episodes
with no oveiaiching stiuctuie. The stoiy featuies two youths in a suggestive but not explic-
itly sexual ielationship. See boys' Iove.
Yaoi-Con. A convention of yaoi and boys` love fans held yeaily in and aiound San Fiancisco,
Califoinia since 200.
yuri-Anime, manga, fanfc and fan ait featuiing same-sex female ielationships. Unlike boys`
love, which is piimaiily by and foi giils and women, yuii appeais as a majoi theme in
manga and anime foi male and female ieadeis; the appioach and tone, howevei, aie notice-
ably diffeient depending on intended audience. The deiivation of the woid is not cleai.
One explanation, unpioven, is that °yuii" deiives fiom many chaiacteis depicted the genie
being named Yuiiko.
Yuricon. A convention of yuii fans held in the United States eveiy othei yeai since 2003. Its
location vaiies.
Nctes
1. Abigail Deiecho, °Aichontic Liteiatuie: A Defnition, a Histoiy, and Seveial Theoiies of Fan Fiction,"
in Fan Ficticn and Fan Ccmmunities in the Age cf the Internet. New Essays, ed. Kaien Hellekson and Kiistina
Busse (Jeffeison, NC: McFailand, 2006), 6-78.
2. Heivé Biient, °Une petite histoiie du yaoi," in Manga 0,000 images. Hcmcsexualite et manga. le yaci
(Veisailles, Fiance: Editions H., 2008), 0.
3. Comic Maiket Piepaiations Committee, °What is the Comic Maiket:" (Tokyo, Febiuaiy 2008), http://
www.comiket.co.jp/info-a/WhatIsEng080528.pdf (accessed August 3, 2009), 2.
4. Theiesa Winge, °Costuming the Imagination: Oiigins of Anime and Manga Cosplay," in Mechademia
vol. , Emerging \crlds cf Anime and Manga, ed. Fienchy Lunning (Minneapolis, MN: Univeisity of Min-
nesota Piess, 2006), 65.
5. Biient, °Une petite histoiie," 8-9.
6. Fiedeiik Schodt, Dreamland }apan. \ritings cn Mcdern Manga (Beikeley, CA: Stone Biidge Piess),
996.
7. Theiesa Winge, °Undiessing and Diessing Loli: A Seaich foi the Identity of the Japanese Lolita," in
Mechademia vol. 3, Iimits cf the Human, ed. Fienchy Lunning (Minneapolis, MN: Univeisity of Minnesota
Piess, 2008), 47-48, 50, 57, 62.
8. Azuka Hiiomi, Ctaku. }apan´s Database Animals, tians. Jonathan E. Abel and Shion Kono (Minneapo-
lis, MN: Univeisity of Minnesota Piess, 2009), xv, 7N.
9. Shaion Kinsella, Adult Manga. Culture and Pcwer in Ccntempcrary }apanese Scciety (Honolulu: Uni-
veisity of Hawai`i Piess, 2000), 28-9.
10. Susan Napiei, Frcm Impressicnism tc Anime. }apan as Fantasy and Fan Cult in the Mind cf the \est
(New Yoik: Palgiave Macmillan, 2007), 3.
262 Glossaiy
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11. Otakon, °About Otakon," http://www.otakon.com (accessed August 4, 2009).
12. Gilles Poitias, °Contempoiaiy Anime in Japanese Pop Cultuie," in }apanese Visual Culture. Explc-
raticns in the \crld cf Manga and Anime, ed. Maik W. Macwilliams (Aimonk, NY: M.E. Shaipe, 2008), 54.
13. Kiistina Busse, °Paiatextual Commentaiy as Wiitei Response Theoiy" (papei piesented at the Soci-
ety foi Cinema & Media Studies, Philadelphia, PA, Maich 7, 2008). http://www.kiistinabusse.com/
cv/ieseaich/scms08.html (accessed August 4, 2009).
14. Ibid.
15. Matthew Thoin (peisonal communication with Maik McHaiiy).
Glcssary 263
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About the Contiibutois
YamiIa Abrahamfounded the publishing company Yaoi Piess in 2004. Ovei the last fve yeais she`s ovei-
seen the publication of foity-fve boys` love titles including giaphic novels, comic books, and ait books.
Abiaham has successfully licensed Yaoi Piess titles into seven foieign languages. She has been a speakei
oi guest of honoi at moie than 50 anime fan conventions. Abiaham is a piolifc wiitei with ovei a
dozen giaphic novel woiks in piint with foui diffeient publisheis. Hei most populai seiies to date aie
\inter Demcn and Dark Prince.
NeaI K. Akatsuka is an undeigiaduate at the Univeisity of Hawai`i at Manoa and expects to eain his
B.A. in anthiopology in 200. He is cuiiently woiking on an honois thesis in Tokyo on the Japanese
public ieception of genetically modifed food, with a focus the constiuction of consumei epistemolo-
gies at this paiticulai inteisection of food, science, and cultuie in late capitalism. His ieseaich intei-
ests also include gendei and sexuality in populai cultuie.
M. M. BIair is cuiiently in the doctoial piogiam at the Univeisity of Biitish Columbia. She ieceived
hei M.A. in Japanese liteiatuie fiom the Univeisity of Coloiado at Bouldei in 2009. Hei thesis is °Love,
Hate and Tianslation: Boys` Love Manga in Japan and Ameiica." Hei undeigiaduate education was at
the Univeisity of Washington, wheie she ieceived degiees in Japanese liteiatuie and in diama in 2007.
Hope Donovan had only one logical caieei path, given a double majoi in English and diawing: comics.
Having attained this goal thiough legitimate employment editing Japanese and Koiean manga as well
as developing oiiginal seiies foi TOKYOPOP, Hope fulflled hei dieams by editing one hentai, one yuii,
and one yaoi seiies simultaneously. She has contiibuted shoit manga to Happy Yaci Yum Yum (Yaoi
Piess) and Yuri Mcncgatari (ALC). Hope cuiiently is a fieelance manga editoi, English adaptoi, layout
aitist, and cieatoi.
AIexis HaII giaduated fiom Hampshiie College in 2007 with a bacheloi`s degiee. She subsequently spent
two yeais in Fukuoka, Japan, teaching English to junioi high school and elementaiy students. Alexis
hopes to puisue fuithei study in the Japanese language and fan cultuies in the futuie.
Mark John IsoIa, who eained his Ph.D. in liteiatuie fiom Tufts Univeisity, is an assistant piofessoi at
the Wentwoith Institute of Technology in Boston. His inteiests include Ameiican liteiatuie, ciitical
theoiy, new media studies, yaoi, GLBT studies, and AIDS liteiatuie. He has published jouinal aiticles
in the Ncrdic }curnal cf English Studies, Bad Subjects, and eSharp, and has also contiibuted to multi-
volume collections on GLBTQ liteiaiy cultuie. He has been selected to chaii panels and piesent papeis
at national-level confeiences of the Modein Language Association, the Ameiican Liteiatuie Associa-
tion, and the Populai Cultuie Association/Ameiican Cultuie Association.
Antonia Ievi is a piofessoi of Japanese histoiy with an inteiest in the globalization of Japanese popu-
lai cultuie. She is the authoi of Samurai frcm Cuter Space. Understanding }apanese Animaticn and
numeious aiticles on Japanese animation (anime) and giaphic novels (manga). Hei Ph.D. is fiom Stan-
foid Univeisity, and she has taught at Amheist College, Loyola-Maiymount Univeisity, Whitman Col-
lege, and Poitland State Univeisity. She is now ietiied and wiiting a muidei mysteiy about anime and
manga fans.
PauI M. MaIone is an associate piofessoi of Geiman in the Depaitment of Geimanic and Slavic Stud-
ies at the Univeisity of Wateiloo. He is the authoi of Franz Kafka´s The Tiial. Fcur Stage Adaptaticns
(Petei Lang, 2003), and has also published on peifoimance theoiy and Geiman diama and flm. Othei
published inteiests include populai cultuie themes such as iock musicals deiived fiom Goethe`s classic
Faust, Geiman inßuences on Japanese anime, and flm adaptations of the woiks of contempoiaiy Gei-
man queei comic book aitist Ralf König.
Mark McHarry is an independent scholai. In addition to contempoiaiy and Edo-peiiod Japanese cul-
tuie, his inteiests include the woiks of Feinando Vallejo and modein Latin Ameiican liteiatuie. He has
265
©

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contiibuted to IGBT Identity and Cnline New Media (Routledge), Mechademia, Queer Pcpular Culture.
Iiterature, Media, Film, and Televisicn (Palgiave Macmillan), the Encyclcpedia cf Erctic Iiterature (Rout-
ledge), Dicticnary cf Iiterary Bicgraphy Online (Thomson Gale), }curnal cf Hcmcsexuality, Z Magazine,
Alternative Press Review, and Gay Ccmmunity News. He is cuiiently ieseaiching the life of authoi-
inventoi Hiiaga Gennai and his place in the ukiyc (ßoating woild).
UIi Meyer is a fieelance authoi and aitist fiom Geimany. Aftei studying painting, Japanese, and anthio-
pology, s/he has published extensively on gendei in populai cultuie. S/he lectuies about queei and tians-
gendei chaiacteis in manga and anime at flm festivals and univeisities. As a paintei, s/he is inteiested
in the depiction of the objectifed male. Contact: picosciiptCyahoo.de.
Dru PagIiassotti is a piofessoi in the communication depaitment of Califoinia Lutheian Univeisity.
She has published ieseaich on the Westein ieception of boys` love manga in Participaticns. }curnal cf
Audience o Recepticn Studies and Intersecticns. Gender and Sexuality in Asia and the Pacifc and main-
tains YaoiReseaichWiki.Com foi scholais with similai inteiests. Pagliassotti is also a fantasy and hoi-
ioi novelist and blogs at DiuPagliassotti.Com.
Kim Senior is a senioi lectuiei at RMIT Univeisity, Melbouine. She publishes in pedagogy, feminist
ieseaich methodologies, and aits-based educational ieseaich. She teaches in teachei education, lectui-
ing in educational philosophy, and populai cultuie in education. In the neai futuie she hopes to ieal-
ize a desiie to not only wiite about manga, but authoi one.
Marni StanIey teaches English and women`s studies at Vancouvei Island Univeisity in Nanaimo, Biitish
Columbia. Hei academic ieseaich and publication aieas include nineteenth centuiy women tiaveleis,
television, cinema, and giaphic naiiative.
Tan Bee Kee giaduated fiom the National Univeisity of Singapoie with an honois degiee in English lit-
eiatuie. Cuiiently, she is an M.A. ieseaich candidate in the Depaitment of Japanese Studies, National
Univeisity of Singapoie. Hei thesis, fiom which this aiticle was adapted, is °Unauthoiized Romances:
Female Fans and \eiss Kreuz Inteinet Yaci Fanfction." She is a long-time obseivei of Japanese popu-
lai cultuie/youth subcultuies. A foimei student of Edwin Thumboo and Kiipal Singh, Tan has pub-
lished poems in Nc Cther City. The Ethcs Anthclcgy cf Urban Pcetry, the jouinal Singa 30, SilverKris
magazine (Sept 2000), cnewinged. a selecticn cf wcrks by ycung writers in Singapcre as well as Icve Gath-
ers All. The Philippines-Singapcre Anthclcgy cf Icve Pcetry.
Mark Vicars is a senioi lectuiei in liteiacy at Victoiia Univeisity, Melbouine. His ieseaich is located
within the New Liteiacy Studies ießecting on liteiacy, language, and identity piactices. An oveiaiching
concein, in his woik, is to undeistand ways in which individuals use language and liteiacy. He is pai-
ticulaily inteiested in inteicultuial liteiacy and infoimal liteiacy piactices as a means of piacticing iden-
tity and of making sense of the woild.
AIan WiIIiams is a mastei`s degiee candidate in cultuial studies at the Univeisity of Washington-Both-
ell. His inteiests include wiiting, game design, ieligion studies, feminist theoiy, maitial aits, and yaoi.
He`s the authoi of Cckham´s Razcr, a novel.
266 About the Contiibutois
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7
Aaiinfantasy 6, 7, 20
abject 7, 77-78, 83
abuse, child sexual 79, 8, 83-
84
Adetyai 44
Adultfanfction.net 26
After Schccl Nightmare (Hckag hc-
kenshitsu) 243, 246
Ahmad, Hafz 45
Ai nc kusabi (The Space Between)
67
AIDS 32, 24
Ajimine, Sakufu 03-04
Akihiio Miwa 249
Akiko, Yanagita 89
Akira 4, 23, 37
Akiia Toiiyama 23
Allan 244
Altman, Dennis 90-9, 95, 29
Alyjude 06
Amagi Reno 64
Amai hari 95
Amatcria 95
Ameiican Psychiatiic Association
87n25
Ies Amities Particulieres (Special
Friendships) 77, 79, 8, 84n,
240, 244
Ammon, Richaid 50
Andeison, Tina 89
andiogyny , 4, 72, 39
Ang, Ien 3
Angelides, Steven 79, 227
Anime Cential 5
Anime Expo , 8
Anime Netwoik 2
Anime News Netwoik , 20
Anime Noith 5
animePRO 29
Animexx: oiganization 3-34, 36;
website 6, 29, 32-36
Animonstei Sound 5-52
anipaio 233, 236
anti-poinogiaphy legislation 39n69,
44, 49; see alsc poinogiaphy
Aoe 36
Aoyama Tomoko 2, 24
Apalanzani, Alvanov 45
Apollonian and Dionysian 98,
223-224, 227
Appaduiai, Aijun 9
Aiistide 06-07
Aiiztical 3
As Ycu Iike It 243
Asaphiia 37
Ashcrcft v. the Free Speech Ccaliticn
86n23
ascbi 84n8
Astrc Bcy 2, 85, 84n
Atsuieki 35, 42-43
Austen, Jane 200, 203
Avila, Kat 32, 4
Axis Enteitainment 20
°Baby Talk" 37
Bacon-Smith, Camille 2, 7-8,
35, 38, 4
Bagemihl, Biuce 245
Bandai , 20
bande dessinee 23
Band Tamasabui 249
Bangkck Icve Stcry 252
bara 74
Bara Kei (Oideal by Roses) 239
Barazcku, Bara Zcku 95, 237, 239
Barefcct Gen 23, 37
Baithes, Roland 86, 3, 9
Battaile, Geoiges 95
Battle Angel Alita 4
Be Beautiful 30, 67
The Beanc 9, 99
Beaidswoith, Saia 83
Beautiful Girl 248
Ben-Hur 235
Beisani, Leo 86n22
Berusaiyu nc bara (The Rose of Vei-
sailles) 238, 239, 24-244, 246
Best Buy 8
°Bettei Days" 29
Between Men 233
BeXBcy, BeXBcy Gcld 2, 3
Binnie, Jon 90
bishnen 2, 3, 5, 25, 27, 4, 78,
236-237, 243-244, 246, 250-25
Bishnen (movie) 252
°Black Gold" 32
Black Knight (Kurc nc kishi) 62
Black Sun (Black sun. Dcrei cu) 62
Blccdy Circus 24
Bloxam, John Fiancis 240
BLU , 4
Bcku wa kimi nc tcri ni naritai (I
Want to Become Youi Biid) 7-
8
Bolton, Chiistophei 87n27
Bone 06
Boideis 8
Bouidieu, Pieiie 38
Bowie, David 248
Boyaiin, Jonathan 82
The Bcys in the Band 35
Bcys Icve 236, 252
Bcys Next Dccr 67
Biadley, Maiion Zimmei 78
Biaidotti, Rosi 22, 223-225, 227,
230
BRAVC 6, 23, 26-29, 32-37, 39, 40
°Bieathing" 06
Biight, Susie 237
Biite, Poppy Z. 247, 25
Bioccoli Books
Brckeback Mcuntain 252
Brcther 03
Biyhei 247
Buckley, Sandia 90
Buffy the Vampire Slayer 252
Bullough, Vein L. 86n8
Buschova, Lenka 30
Busse, Kiistina 3-32
Buster 99
°But, I`m an Assassin" 35
Butchei, Chiistophei 228
Butlei, Judith 3, 39, 67, 77, 97-
98
butlei café 25
Buttei & Cieam 35
Café Edelstein 25
°Cages" 30
Califa, Patiick 247
Calvin and Hcbbes 35
camp 30, 232, 236
Campei, Cathy 0, 05-06
canon 3-32
°Captain Jack Haikness" 252
Captain Tsubasa 2, 233
Caibado, Devon 97
Card Captcr Sakura 24
Caids Slash 4, 43
Caiey, Gabiiel 200, 204
Cailsen Veilag 23-24, 29-3, 33,
36, 40
Carnets d´Egypte (Egyptian Ncte-
bccks) 85n6
Caiiington 247
Caitoon/Fantasy Oiganization 2-
3, 8
Caitoon Netwoik 3, 2, 4
Cassandia Nexus 30
The Catch Trap 7, 78
Cawelti, John 60, 64-66, 79n5
Cece 4
Celeste 33
censoiship 5, 48; see alsc child
poinogiaphy; obscenity; poinog-
iaphy
Cential Paik Manga 30
cerita bergambar 45
Chalcedony Cioss 4
Chasei, Good 53
Chauncey, Geoige 95
Chevalier (Ie Chevalier D´Ecn) 243
chibi 38
°Chibifcation: Raising Ken" 38
Index
Numbeis in bold ítalícs indicate pages with illustiations.
267
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Chicago 5
Chieko Iiie Mulhein 68, 69, 79n8
chigc
child poinogiaphy 33, 35, 79,
83-84, 85n2, 85n3, 226-
227; see alsc censoiship; obscen-
ity; poinogiaphy
Chizuka, Oe 89
Chizuko, Ueno 89-90
Chodoiow, Nancy 39
Chcisir 86, 94
Chcuchin 3
Cicioni, Miina 29, 38-39
Cixous, Hélène 99, 03
CLAMP 47, 204
Claik, Danae 72
Cocteau, Jean 84n, 85n4
Comic-Con Inteinational 4
Ccmic }un 2
Comic Maiket (Comiket, Komiket)
3, 4
coming out 35, 94-95, 22-23,
25, 29
commeicial sex woik 43-44
competitive exchange 7-9
Connei, Jeff 20
Coniad, Joseph 200
Constantine, Stoim 78
Convention on the Elimination of
All Foims of Disciimination
Against Women 49
coopeiative exchange 5-6
Ccrydcn 79
cosplay 5, 248-249, 250
cieative tiansvestism 233, 247-248
Crewman 3 24
Ciimson 37
Ciisp, Quentin 94
cioss-diessing 5, 39, 248-250; see
alsc diag; tiansvestism
Crushing Icve 0, 02
cultuial capital 27-8, 30, 32-36, 38
dans kei 233, 246, 248-49, 250-
25; see alsc visual kei
Daik Hoise 4
Dark Prince 79n7
D`Aubigny, Julie oi Julia 242-243
Davies, Russell T. 252
The Day cf Revcluticn (Kakumei nc
Hi) 244
DC Comics 4, 24
Death Ncte 47, 5
deathfc 39
de Beauvoii, Simone 200
de Ceiteau, Michel 47
decoding 20-202
Dede 240
Deena 27, 30, 32, 38
°A Delicate Subject" 30
Demian 244
Dennis the Menace 9
Deiiida, Jacques 93
Desperate Dan 9
Deux 4
deviantART 7, 5, 32
de Villèle, Alain-Philippe Malagnac
d`Aigens 79
Diamond Distiibutois 4
Dieidie 06
Dietiich, Mailene 238
differance 93, 207
diffeience 93, 96
Digital Manga, Inc. (DMP) 4, 02,
o4-o5, 70, 80
°The Discieet Chaim of Slash" 32
Disney 24, 79n27
Dr. Slump 20
Dcctcr \hc 200, 252
djinshi -4, 4, 6, 25, 32-34, 44,
50, 52-53, 6, 70, 75, 78n3, 0,
8, 32, 204, 207, 22, 224, 233,
236, 248, 249
Dcraemcn 20
dseiai 78
Doty, Alexandei 32, 63, 225, 252
diag 40, 243; diag queen 232,
235-236; see alsc ciossdiessing;
tiansvestism
Dragic Master 24
Dragcn Ball 23, 203
Dragcn Ball Z 4, 203
Diama Queen , 4
Diazen, Patiick 90
Diiscoll, Catheiine 34
Duiendal and the Beef Chick 36
Eaith Defense Command 2
Edelman, Lee 82-83
Edc nanshcku saiken (Edc Nan-
shcku Up Clcse) 85n9
Edo peiiod , 7, 78, 8
Een grcene blcem (A Green Flcwer)
25
Eerie Queerie (Gsutc!) 4, 63, 66,
7; see alsc Ghcst
Egmont Ehapa Veilag 24, 29-3, 33
°Eight Yeais in the Making" 35
Elex Media Komputindo 45, 47
e-makimcnc
E-Mcticnal 36
Empty Heart 04
Eiastes 78
erc manga 69, 7
eiotic woiks 52
Essebac, Achille 240
ethical noim 48
ethnocentiism 2, 29
FAKE 4, 3, 62, 59
fan maiket 52
Fancy 30
fanfction 25, 32, , 2
Fanfction.net 7, 26, 42
fanon 3-32, 43
fans: Ameiican 2-5, 7-9, 2-
22, 29; Geiman 22-23, 25-28;
Indonesian 44-45, 47-48, 50-5
fansubs , 5, 9-20
Faimei, Biett 3
feminism 34, 39, 45-47
Finding Neverland 35
°A Fine Day foi a Gioup Outing"
32
Fiieangels Veilag 34, 36
The First Shcp cf Ccffee Prince 252
fist-time stoiy 29
Fish, Stanley 85
Fiske, John 27-8, 3-32, 38
°Five Ways Ken Hidaka Was Nevei
Raped" 43
Flewelling, Lynn 78
ßowei symbolism 238-239
Fostei, Johanna 230n2
Foucault, Michel 37, 8, 86n8,
97
°Fiail" 4
Fiancesca 07
Fiankfuit Book Faii 33
Freaky Angel 30
Freefall Rcmance (Rakka sckudc)
67
Fiench, Maiilyn 200
Fieud, Sigmund 78
Frcnt Pembela Islam (Fiont Defense
Islam, FPI) 48
Fujimoto, Yukaii 40
Fujiyama Hyouta 62
fujcshi 3, 8, 234-35, 250, 252
Fullmetal Alchemist 32
FUNimation , 20
Fusanosuke Natsume 24
Fushigi Yuugi 7
Futaba Aoi 6
Fuwa, Kiiiko 04
Gakuen Heaven (Academy Heaven)
82
Gaultiei, Théophile 242-243
gaytopia 32; see alsc utopian vi-
sions
Gekka kajin (Iumen Iumae) 29
Gelling, Petei 49
gemblak 50
gendei tiansgiession 232
Geneiic Miko 39, 4
Genet, Jean 85n4, 94
Gerard o }acques (Gerard nc
jacques) 62
Ghcst 47; see also Eerie Queerie
Giddens, Anthony 93
Gide, Andié 79, 85nn4-7
Gide, Catheiine 86n7
gift-giving 5-9
°Giil" 39
giilfag 232, 244-45, 248, 252
Giioux, Heniy 205
Glasgow, M. Fae 05
Godeliei, Mauiice 5-6
Gothic iomance 6-62
Gravitaticn 204
Gieenblatt, Stephen 94
Gieei, Geimaine 200, 203
Giegson, Kimbeily S. 26-8, 3, 38
Giosz, Elizabeth 78, 82-83, 22,
223, 226
Guest, Baibaia 247
Gundam \ing 2-3, 4, 28
guydyke 248
Hagio Moto 2, 4, 25, 6, 67, 77,
8, 84n, 237, 240, 244
°Haii" 30
Hale, Ginn 78
Hana mcncgatari (Flowei Tales)
239
Hana nc Kimi 242, 252
268 Index
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9
7
8
0
7
8
6
4
5
6
2
7
7
Hanabalite 50
Hanafte 50
Hanazakari nc Kimitachi e 252
Handley, Chiistophei 85n2
happii-endc 66
Haiaway, Donna 96
Hailequin 4, 60, 68, 28, 40
Haiootunian, Haiiy 86n20
Haiiis, Maivin 6, 9
Haiiy Pottei 4, 26, 29, 47, 249
Hashimoto, Miyuki 236, 249
Hawkins, Joseph 28
He-Man 9
Heait of Thomas see Tma nc shinz
°Heaven in Youi Aims" 3
Heian peiiod 4, 85n9, 20, 240
Heleninhell 40-4
Hellekson, Kaien 3-32
Hemlock 23-24
Hennessy, Rosemaiy 72
hentai, ecchi 27, 33, 35, 67, 74, 45
Heiimann, Maieike 26, 28-29
He´s the \cman, She´s the Man 252
Hesse, Heimann 244
heteionoimativity 27, 65, 7-72,
9-94, 28-29, 37, 39, 40,
44-46, 6-63, 66-67, 90,
94, 207-208, 222, 224-225
heteiosexuality , 3, 9-20,
22n, 23n20; compulsoiy het-
eiosexuality 28, 39, 45
Hi izuru tckcrc nc tenshi (Heaven`s
Son of the Land of the Rising
Son) 2
Hideki, Sunagawa 92, 95
Higuii Y, Higuii You 62, 82, 238
Hill, Bianca 204, 20o
Hine, Chiistine 27
Hiiaga Gennai 79, 85n9
hiren 66
Hiischfeld, Magnus 85n5, 244,
248
Hisako, Takamatsu 88, 89
Hollmann, Anna 3, 33-34, 36, 40
Holznei, Biigitte M. 48
Homeiun Ken 7-8, 24n
homophobia , 30, 46, 228-229
Hcmcsexualitüt 86n8
homosociality 28-29, 98, 232-
234, 240
Hcshi nc yakata 95
Hcwl´s Mcving Castle 85
Hua Yang Shac Nian Shac Nu 252
Hulu 20
Hungry Hearts 34
huit/comfoit 68-69, 43
Hyde, Lewis 6-7
hybanki
°I Am Not a Dominatiix: Women
and the Active Sexual Role" 4
Ich mcchte kein Mann sein (I Don`t
Want to be a Man) 249
Idcl Pleasures (Hazamaniaru sc-
rane) 62
Ihaia Saikaku 79, 85n9
Ikeda Ryoko 25, 238
iminashi 9
In the End 30, 39-40
°In the Rain" 30
Indonesia 6, 44-54
Indonesian Yaoi Fiont 5
Initial D 9
inteisexuality 39
intimatopia 36; see alsc utopian
visions
Inuyasha 20
inveision 239; see alsc Thiid Sex;
Uianian
Iiis Piint
irckc 85n9
iseai 78
Ishinomoii Shtaio 23, 37
Ishizuka Hkaishi 85n9
iTunes 20
Iwabuchi, Koichi 60
Jacque Koh 42
Jakaita 45
}apan, Inc. 23, 37
Java (island) 45, 47, 5
}azz 04
Jeanne 34, 39
Jenkins, Heniy 20, 27-3, 233
Jones, Saiah Gwenllian 3
jcshcku 78
jcuissance 78, 83, 84n7, 85n22
}uichigatsu nc gimunajiumu (Nc-
vember Gymnasium) 84n, 240
}une 67, 243-245, 248
Jung, Susanne 0, 34, 40
Juigeit, Maitin 25
°Just Anothei Satuiday" 06
Kabuki , 2, 95, 28
Kada no Azumamaio 86n20
K-A-E 29th Secret 34
kami 8, 85nn9-20
kami kaze 85nn9-20
Kamm, Bjöin-Ole 236
Kanbe, Akiia 03-04
Kannagi Satoiu 6, 79n9
Kano Shuiko 3
kappa 85n9
Kaps, Joachim 33
Kathy Iette 200, 204
Katsuz, Noguchi 92, 95
Kaze tc ki nc uta (Song of Wind
and Tiees) 7, 6, 67, 88, 77-78,
8-83, 84n5, 86n2, 232,
237-240, 242, 244
kemcncmimi 64, 79n27
Kennedy, Hubeit 86n8
Kein, Adam
Keitbeny, Kail Maiia 86n8
kibyshi
Kim 30
°Kind des Schicksals" 37
Kinsale, Lauia 70
Kinsella, Shaion 70, 74, 00
Kiiachu 38
Kiiishima Tamaki 64
Kiik/Spock 3, 25, 9, 233, 245; see
also Star Trek
Kiisch, Alexis 20
Kizuna (Bcnds) 3-4, 59
Kodaka Kazumi 62, 67
Komiket see Comic Maiket
Kcntrüre Sexualemfndung 86n8
kshcku 78, 79, 84n8
Kshcku gcnin cnna (Five \cmen
\hc Icved Icve) 85n9
Kshcku ichidai cnna (Iife cf an
Amcrcus \cman) 85n9
Kshcku ichidai ctckc (Five Men
\hc Icved Icve) 85n9
Kotobuki Taiako 224
Kiafft-Ebing, Richaid von 85n6
Kiisteva, Julia 94, 68, 78, 83
KUHP Sections 28, 282 48
KulturSpiegel 29
kumiwasemcji 20
Kunieda Saika 67
Die Kunst der Bestimmung (The Art
cf Defniticn) 25
Kurcshbi (Black Rose) 239
Kushnei, Ellen 78
Kustiiz, Anne 3, 33-34
Kusumoto Hiioki 62
Kuwabaia no Miko 28, 32
Kwakiutl 5, 7, 9
Kysh 200
Labs, Robeit 24
Lacan, Jacques 95, 6, 74n46, 78,
222-223
The Iadder 95
Laila 32
LaMaiie, Thomas 20
The Iast Herald-Mage 78
°The Laugh of the Medusa" 99, 03
Lawience of Aiabia 247
Leathei Daddy 35
Lee, Linda J. 67
Leipzig Book Faii 35
Leonaid, Sean 3, 8, 20
lesbian 48, 72, 239, 246, 25
Lette, Kathy 200
Ievel-C 6, 79n4
Levi, Antonia 89
L`Heuieux, Jeff 86n24
Liesaus, Diana 30
Iike a \hite Phantcm 05
Lindhoist, Tina 3
Link62 35
Lipton, Maik 235
Iittle Butterfy 30
Little Tokyo 3
LiveJouinal 6, 7, 5, 0, 5-6,
32, 44, 45, 46
lcliccn 33; see alsc rcrikcn
Loienz, Lynn 78
Icsing Neverland 35-36
Icst and Fcund 34
Icve Bus Stcp 0
Icve Mcde 62
Icve cf Siam 252
°Love on a Leash" 42
Icving Gaze 03, 04
Iudwig II 62, 238
Ium¯Urusei Yatsura 4
Iumen Iunae (Gekka kajin) 29
Lunsing, Wim 86, 88-90, 94, 226,
228-229
Iupin 20
Lynn Metallium 3
Lynne, Meiedith 06
Index 269
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9
7
8
0
7
8
6
4
5
6
2
7
7
Mademciselle De Maupin 242-243
Madness 9-20
Mai the Psychic Girl 4
Maid in Heaven (Meidc in heaven)
62
Maiscn Ikkcku 4
Majelis Ulama Indcnesia (Ulama
Assembly of Indonesia) 48
Makoto Tateno 62
Malaysia 47
°Male Bonding" 28
male/male kiss 5
male/male iomance 59, 77-78
male piegnancy 40
The Man frcm U.N.C.I.E. 247
manhua 35
manhwa 35
Man´s Best Friend (Inu mc arukeba)
64
Maicus, Steven 75-77
Marie Antcinette 238-239
Maitel, Yann 93-94
Maity 32-33, 36-37, 43
Maivel 4, 24
Maix, Sascha Nils 24
masculinity 97
masochism 4; see alsc sadism
Masuyama Noiie 77
Matisse, Henii 2
Matoh Sanami 62
Matsui Midoii 70, 00, 2
Matsumoto Katsuji 24
Matsuo, Hisako 69
Matsushita Yoko 47
Maulana, Beny 45
Mauss, Maicel 5
Maya, Gaby 3
Maya Tawi 39
McCloud, Scott 86
McHaiiy, Maik 85, 86, 89, 44
McKee, Alan 26
McLelland, Maik , 87-88, 95, 04,
60, 69, 79, 28, 226
Mediaminei.oig 26
Meeks, Chet 37
Megaupload 6
Meiji peiiod 68, 78, 28
°Memoiy Lapse" 06
Meicedes Lackey 78
Meites, Michael 32
Mickey Mouse 29; see alsc Disney
Midarescmenishi (A Iegend cf
Samurai Icve) 62, 67
Midnight Ccwbcy 35
Miko no Da 4
Mills, Saia 8
Minami Kazuka 6, 79n3, 79-80
Minami Megumu 62
Misagi Fuhii 62
Mishima Yukio 95, 239
misogyny 0-, 5-6, 2
mitate 20-202
Mitsu nc asa (Threefcld Dawn)
85n9
Mitsuba Kuienai 6, 79n4
Miyamoto Kano 24-25
Miyazaki Hayao 85
Mizoguchi, Akiko 70, 87, 62, 22-
222, 224-26, 228-30
Modleski, Tania 6
Mohanty, Chandia 227
mcji 202
Moll, Albeit 85n6
Möllei, Michael 33, 35
Monette, Saiah 78
mcnc nc aware 66
Moie Easteily Con 2
Moiiison, Linda L. 85n24
Motooii Noiinaga 86n20
Ms. 200
Mulvey, Lauia 84, 2, 40, 247
Muiasaki Shikibu, Lady , 20-
203; see also Tale cf Genji
Muscuka 30
Mussell, Kay 60, 62, 64, 79n6, 79n0
My Parancid Next-Dccr Neighbcr
see Tcnari nc heya nc parancia
Myeis, Nathanial 47-48
MySpace 32, 5
Nagaike, Kazumi 4, 68
Nagakubo Yko 3, 87n27
Naglaya´s Heart 24
Nakajima Azusa ¦Kuiimoto Kaiou]
87n27
Nakama Manga 4, 9
Nakamuia, Kaien 69
Nakazawa Keiji 23, 37
nanshcku 78, 85n9
Nanshcku kagami: hcnch waka
fzcku (Great Mirrcr cf Male
Icve. The Custcm cf Bcy-Icve in
Cur Iand) 85n9
Nao, Iiokawa 94
Naoko Takeuchi 23
Narutc 47, 203
Natsujikan 67
Natsumizu, Ritsu 0-02, 04
°Natuie`s Blindness" 07
°Natuie`s Cycles" 07
Nausicaa cf the Valley cf the \ind
85
Nazc nc kurcb (The Mysteiious
Clovei) 24
Nekojita 30
Nenashigusa (Rcctless Grass) 85n9
°The New Woild Oidei" 36
New Ycrk New Ycrk 29
Ng, Fiona 4, 47
Nietzsche, Fiiediich see Apollonian
and Dionysian
Nightiunnei seiies 78
Nippon machi 3
Nobi Nobita ¦Enomoto Naiiko]
87n27
Noh, Sueen 87-88
non-consensual sex 65, 67-68, 7,
4-42; see alsc iape
Noiiaki, Fushimi 9-93, 96
Nosco, Petei 86n20
Nct/Icve 25
Nctre Amcur (Cur Icve) 79
Ncvember Gymnasium see }uichi-
gatsu nc gimunajiumu
-bei 238
obscenity 2, 85n2; 22n5; see
alsc censoiship
cchinashi 9
Odagiii Hotaiu 6, 79n9
Oetomo, Dede 48
Ogasawaia Uki 62
gi, Fusami 60
kami Mineko 23, 29, 37
Cliver! 35
cnabe 25; cnabe bai 250-25
CNE 95
Cne Piece 47, 203
Cnsama e (Deai Biothei) 242
Cnly the Ring Finger Kncws (Scnc
yubi dake ga shitteiru) 60-6,
79n9, 59, 63, o4, 69
cnnagata
Opus the Penguin 30
ta Nanpo 79
Otakon
ctaku 207
ctckcyaku 2, 239, 242, 249, 25
ctcme 25
Otome Road 2
tomo Katsuhiio 23
Ctcnage 3-5, 7, 9-20
Ougi, Yuzuha 03
Owen, Maiiead 6, 79n
Ozaki Minami 29
Pagliassotti, Diu 85, 89-9, 27,
30, 44, 59-60
Panini Veilag 24, 29-30
°Papei Cianes" 06
Paper Theatre 33-36
Paik, Judith 30, 40
Paikei, Doiothy 200
Part-Time Pets (Kemcmimi shcuji)
64
Paitai Keadila Sejahteia 49
Partai Keadilan Sejahtera (Piospei-
ous Justice Paity) 49
passing 234-235
Passicn 04
Patallir! 243
Patten, Fied 3
pedeiasty 79, 85n5
Penley, Constance 9, 44-45,
47
peifoimativity 63, 66, 68
Peikovich, Mike 236
Petei 249
Peter Pan 35
Peteis, Maitina 34, 36
Peyieftte, Rogei 77, 79, 8, 240
Pßugfeldei, Giegoiy 78, 85n9
°Phenomenal Noumenal" 35
Pink Psycho 30, 40
Playbcy 48
°Please, Give Me Anothei Chance"
35
Pleasure Dcme (Kanrakukyuu) 62
Pckemcn 2, 203
Ponczeck, Makiko (°Zom-
biesmile") 34, 36
°Popcoin" seiies 4
poinogiaphy 27-29, 33, 35, 39n69,
48-49, 52, 74-77, 8n73, 2,
22n5, 28, 34, 42, 45-46,
249; see alsc anti-poinogiaphy
legislation
270 Index
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9
7
8
0
7
8
6
4
5
6
2
7
7
poinotopia 75-76; see alsc utopian
visions
The Priest and the Acclyte 240
Prince cf Tennis 53
Princess Knight see Ribcn nc kishi
Piossei, Jay 247, 25
Pioust, Maicel 85n4
Puberty Blues 99, 204
Publishers \eekly 79, 85n0,
87n26
Putnam, Robeit D. 3-32, 39
PWP (poin without plot; plot what
plot:) 6, 76, 34, 4
queei 64, 90-96, 30-32, 6, 63,
67, 72, 74n37, 82-84, 90-
93, 96, 98, 205, 2-22, 225,
229, 233, 235-236, 238-239,
244, 247, 252
Queer As Fclk 252
°A Quiet Evening" 30
Radway, Janice 65-66, 70, 73, 77,
22n, 39, 45, 47
Ragawa Maiimo 29
Ie Ramier (The \ccdpigecn)
86n7
Ranma /2 4, 20-202, 204, 233
iape 48, 67-68, 75, 05, 9-20,
4-42, 62, 69, 78, 223, 236-
237, 250; see alsc non-consensual
sex
Rappcri yaci tckush gcu (Rappoii:
Special Yaci Issue) 2
°Rasbeiiy and Lime Shampoo"
32, 38
The RCK 4
ieading piactices 28-29, 70-77,
8n66, 87-9, 99-07, -3,
9, 30-32, 90-208, 26-27,
232-252
Regis, Pamela 63, 64
Renault, James 8
Renault, Maiy 25
Return cf Ium 4
°Revealing Myself " 4
Revcluticnary Girl Utena (Shjc
kekumei utena) 27, 242, 244
°Rheotaxis" 4
Ribcn nc kishi (Princess Knight) 2,
240-242, 246
Rice, Anne 78
Rice, Condoleezza 48
Rickei-Wilson, Caiol 66
Right Stuf
Rcbctech 2, 9
iomance novels 4, 6, 59-78,
22n, 28, 30-3, 34, 40,
47-48, 23, 26
Romance Wiiteis of Ameiica 65
Rcmec and }uliet 66
rcrikcn 69; see alsc lcliccn
Rosenblatt, Louise 205
Rowan, Lee 78
RTL 2 23
Rubin, Gayle 29
Ruff Icve (Shiba tc isshc) 64
Rules (manga) 25
°Rules" (stoiy) 29
Rurcuni Kenshin 47
Russ, Joanna 39
Rutheifoid, Jonathan 93
Sabucco, Veiuska 2-22
Sade, Maiquis de 35
sadism (S/M, SM, BDSM) 29, 75,
0, 4-42, 77, 94-98, 236;
see alsc masochism
Sadistic Bcy 95
°The Saga Begins" 33, 36, 43
Sagawa, Toshihiko 90
Sailcr Mccn 4, 23, 238, 24
Saint }uste 242
Saint Seiya 2
Sait Tamaki 87n27
Sakakibaia Shihomi 87n27, 225,
244, 246, 248
Sakuia-Con 4, 5,
Salmon, Catheiine 60, 7, 74-75,
78n2, 79n4
Sant Kyden , 79
Sat Masaki 87-89, 94, 228
Say Please 25
scanlation 4, , 4, 7-20, 67, 0,
59, 25
Scailet Fevei 4
Scarlet Pimpernel 24
Schehi, Lawience 85n4
Schijnbewegingen (Tricks cf the
Trade) 25
Schodt, Fiedeiik 2, 84n
Sci-Fi 2
Scodaii, Chiistine 46
Scieech, Timon 85n9
°Second Chances" 42
Sedgwick, Eve Kosofsky 9-93,
29, 66, 82, 84, 87n25, 92,
232-234, 237, 239, 245-246
Seebeck, Juigen 24
Segal, Lynne 96
Sei Shnagon 95, 20
seinen 9
seiy 238, 24
seme 2, 25, 69, 7-73, 76, 04-05,
7, 24n42, 29, 33-36, 40,
43, 62, 68, 70-7, 26, 233,
236, 239, 250
seme/uke (seme-uke) 68-69, 72-73,
05, 24n42, 33, 68, 85n3,
86n2, 96-97, 233, 236-237,
243, 250; see also seme; uke
semeru 33
The Sentinel 06-07
Seunghyun Yoo 226-227
Sevakis, Justin 20
Seven Brides fcr Seven Brcthers 92
Sex Pistcls 224
sexual diffeience theoiy 223-224,
226-227, 230
sexual identity 7, 50, 64, 89-96,
23n20, 29-30, 32, 44, 59-
72, 79, 8, 83-84, 86n8,
86nn24-25, 93-95, 205, 207,
2-22, 25-29, 22-229, 244-
247, 250
sexuelle Zwischenstufen 85n5
Shanghai Passicn 30
Sheppaid, Simon 87
Sheiidan, Alan 79, 85n5, 85n6
Shibamoto Smith, Janet S. 66, 69
Shigematsu, Setsu 69, 7
Shikibu 20, 203
Shikitei Sanba 79
Shimada Hisami 62
Shimizu Yuki 62
Shimotsuki Kaiii 9
Shint 95, 86n20
Shiozu Shuii 63
shjc (shcujc) 24-27, 30-3,
37n0, 45, 59-60, 59-6, 7,
232, 234, 237, 239
shnen, shnen-ai 24-25, 29-30,
32, 33, 35, 37n0, 47, 60, 7,
78n, 9, 234, 238-243, 249
Shnen }ump , 20
Shooii 35, 36
shcta 33, 35, 78n3, 0, 60; see alsc
child poinogiaphy
Shtoku Taishi 2
ShutterBcx 3
Sidaia 43
Silvan, Rhea 45-50, 52
Silveiman, Kaja 69
Simons, Rikki 3
The Simpscns 24
Sindiam, Fahi 34-36, 40
Sky Rat 29
slash 3-6, 25-26, 32, 59, 60, 7,
74-78, 84-96, 99-07, , 9,
2n2, 27, 3-32, 34-35, 38,
40, 43-44, 46-47, 225, 233,
237, 245, 249, 252
°The Sleeping Man" 67
°Sinneis and Saints" seiies 4
Smith, Toien 8
Snitow, Ann 76-77, 28, 40
Soble, Alan 34
social capital 3-32, 34-36, 39
Society foi the Piomotion of Japa-
nese Animation , 8
°Solitaiy Cieatuies" 06
°Something New" 30
Scng cf \ind and Trees see Kaze tc
ki nc uta
Space Battlecruiser Yamatc (Star
Blazers) 2
Speed Racer 2
Spell (Superu) 62-63, o5, 66,
68, 70
Der Spiegel 29, 40
Star Trek 26; Tiekkie 2; see alsc
Kiik/Spock
Staißy Lounges 47
Starsky and Hutch 26
Steal Mccn 62
Steffen, Fianziska 3
Stein, Ailene 37
Stonewall 95, 27, 238
Stoiey, John 84
Stiickland, Eliza 47
Studio Pioteus 8, 24
Stupid Stcry 3, 33-34, 36
subjectivity 7, 70, 88-89, 45, 60-
62, 67-68, 7-72, 77-84,
93, 95, 204, 226
°Subway Tiilogy" 36
Suganuma, Katsuhiko 9
Index 271
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8
0
7
8
6
4
5
6
2
7
7
Suhaito`s goveinment 47
Sulewesi 50
Sullivan, Lou 245
°Sunde" 43
Superman 9
°Suiiounded by Daikness" 43
Suzuki, Kazuko 2, 68, 70, 2, 35,
6
Swcrdspcint 78
Swythangel 3, 35, 38
Syamsuddin, Din 48
Symons, Donald 60, 7, 74-75,
78n2, 79n4
tachi 246
Taïfu Comics 33-34
Taikc 52
Takahashi Rumiko 4, 202
Takanaga Hinako 30
Takaiazuka Revue 2, 69, 75n52,
238, 242-243, 249, 25
Takashima Kazusa 64
Takemiya Keiko 4, 7, 25, 6, 67,
88-89, 77, 83, 84n, 232, 237,
240, 244
Takeuchi Naoko 23
The Tale cf Genji , 95; see alsc
Muiasaki Shikibu, Lady
Talya Fiiedancei 32, 36, 39
Tamae, Tanigawa 89
tanka 202
tankbcn 3-4, 23
Teep 34
Tempel, Geoig 29
Tenchi Muyc 4
°Teiiitoiial Impeiative" 06
textual pioductivity 28, 32, 34, 36
Tezuka Osamu 2, 2, 85, 84n,
202, 24
Thiid Sex 239, 240; see alsc invei-
sion; Uianian
Thompsen, Philip 6
Thoin, Matt 26, 84-85, 87, 9, 94-
95, 46, 6, 78, 84n, 85n2,
225-226, 238, 24, 244, 248, 250,
252
°The Thiee Little Bishounen" 3
Thuiston, Caiol 6, 66, 70, 74,
79n2
Tiger Beat 26
Tintin 203
°To Buiy the Huit of Memoiy" 39
Toku, Masami 22-222, 224, 227
Tckyc Babylcn 204
TOKYOPOP , 4-5, 8-9, 24,
30-3, 33-34, 36, 38, 40
Tma nc shinz (Heait of Thomas)
2, 6, 67, 8, 84n, 240
Tcnari nc 80 (yaci) chan (My
Neighboi Yaoi-Chan) 25-252
Tcnari nc heya nc parancia (My
Parancid Next-Dccr Neighbcr)
6, 79n3, 79-80
Tony, W. 45, 47, 52
Toonami 2
°Top Ten Things I Love About
Yaoi" 34
Tcrchwccd 25-252
Tcrikaebaya mcncgatari 240, 243
Toiiyama Akiia 23
tiansdyke 248
tiansfag 232, 244-246, 248, 252
tianssexual 225, 233-235, 239,
243, 245, 25
tianstextuality 24
tiansvestism 233, 235, 24-242,
244, 246-249, 25; see alsc cioss-
diessing; diag
tiansvisuality 24
Tiegenna, Catheiine 252
Tristan and Isclde 66
Tsuiugi Kai 62
Twc cf Hearts 25
uke 2, 7, 25, 62, 69, 7-73, 76, 04-
05, 3, 7, 24n42, 29, 33-
36, 40, 42-43, 62, 66, 68-
7, 82-83, 85n0, 96-97,
205, 26, 233, 236-237, 250; see
alsc seme; seme/uke
ukeru 33
°UkeSeme Dynamics" 33
ukiyc-e , 78
Uliichs, Kail Heiniich 238
Ultraman 2
°Uncle Youji`s Book of Love" 36
Undang Dasai 45, 49
°Unexpected Talents" seiies 39
Uianian (Uining) 238, 239; see
alsc inveision; Thiid Sex
Urusei yatsura 2, 20-202, 204
U.S. Ccde 8, §§ 466A 85n2; see
alsc censoiship; obscenity
utopian visions 40, 223; see alsc
gaytopia; intimatopia;
poinotopia; yaoiland
Valenti, Kiisty 00, 05
Vampire´s Pcrtrait I (Kyuuketsuki nc
shcuzcu) 62
Verein (voluntaiy association) 3-
32, 36
Veilag Schwaizei Tuim 33-36, 39
Victcr/Victcria (Viktcr un Viktcria)
243, 249
Vidal, Goie 235
Vincent, Keith 88
Viiidian5 39
Virtucsc di Amcre (Netsujcu nc vir-
tucsc bangai scushuuhen) 62
visual kei 248-249; see also dans
kei
Viz 4
Voss, Stefan 24
wakashugata , 85n9
°Waking Onto Lantein`s Biight"
27, 32
°Waimth" 38
Wainet Inteinet cafes 5
warck 50
\eekend Icvers 04
Weimai Republic 249
\eiss Kreuz 6-7, 26-47
Welkei, James 89-90, 239, 243-
244, 246
Wesch, Michael 5
West, Coinel 84
Westphal, Cail 86n8
White, Edmund 94
White, Patiick 200
\hizzer and Chips 9, 99
\hc´s the \cman, \hc´s the Man?
252
°Why the Guys: Oi Navel-Gazing
in the Afteinoon" 39
Wiggle 47
The Wild Side Veilag 34
Wilde, Oscai 94, 238-239, 25
Williams, Linda 4
Willis, Ika 3
Wilson, Bient 22-222, 224, 227
\inter Demcn 45, 4o
Woledge, Elizabeth 36
Wolfgaith-Simons, Tavisha 2-4
Wood, Andiea 26, 34, 6, 68
Woolf, Viiginia 200
Woild Wai II 45
Wunnicke, Chiistine 25
X 47
Xbox 20
Xena 252
Y Square 30, 40
Yajima Masami 87
yama-nashi, cchi-nashi, imi-nashi
2, 25, 90-9
Yamagishi, Ryoko 2
Yami nc matsuei (Descendents cf
Darkness) 4, 47
Yaoi-Con 4, 5, 7, , 87, 87n28, 22
Yaoi Daily 6, 0, 4-6, 20-2,
22nn3-4
Yaci genrcn 244
yaoi me (yaoi megane) 232, 234, 236
yaoi online games 236
Yaoi Piess , 4, 44-46, 5-52
yaoi rcns 86-9, 94, 226, 228-229
yaoiland, yaoi-land 5, 23n27,
24, 29; see alsc utopian visions
Yayasan Pelita Ilmu 48
Y!Galleiy 7
Yoippaii 29
Yokota-Muiakami, Takayuki 79,
84n8
Yonezawa Yoshihiio v
Yoshihaia Rieko 67
Yoshinaga Fumi 62
Yoshiya Nobuko 239
Ycur Hcnest Deceit 03-04
YouSendIt 6
youth 87n26, 222, 224, 227,
234-235; suicide 84, 86n24
YouTube 20, 5
Yuki Kaoii 67
yuri 7, 60, 46
Zanghellini, Aleaido 85n2,
85n3
°Zeit" 43
zenga 202
Zetsuai 29
Zhou, Cheng Ying 30
Zoiio 24
Zweig, Stefan 238
Zwigtman Flooitje 25
272 Index
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