Monday, February 13, 2006

[pointles]

Hello! I'll try to make it around to everyone who posted in the last couple of days later on. I'm worn out at the moment and on my way to bed. I've just had the most tiring conversation on LiveJournal regarding why BL manga isn't "gay manga." All of these gay guys were so offended at the idea that they aren't the intended audience for yaoi. Hello, it's a fact. The genre wouldn't exist in any way shape or form if women didn't draw it and women didn't buy it. There just aren't enough gay guys who have that much buying power. The idea of an intended audience completely escaped these guys. I don't know what they were so offended about. The guys in BL manga are nothing like real guys (guys don't get "wet" in that place, for example). The authors of BL manga do not speak from an authorial, "gay" voice. Plus, everyone knows that Japanese people classify manga and anime according to the target audience, not the content. Calling BL manga "gay manga" confuses the issue. *sigh* I guess I'm still not over the bitchy-boy, reactionary comments. But, if they had ever read an actual manga written by gay guys for gay guys, they'd know the difference in a heartbeat and probably be ashamed of their total ignorance (yes, my main sparring partner admitted to not actually reading the genre...>.> Go figure). So, to pointlessly sum up-- Point A: BL is not produced by a gay person nor written from a gay perspective. Point B: BL is not written for a male audience nor marketed to gay people. Point C: BL does not depict actual, realistic gay guys, but rather guys who exhibit the physical and emotional responses of culturally constructed woman. Conclusion: BL is not gay manga. Not only is this logical and obvious to me, but it is also a matter of feminist pride. Anyway, I hope all of you are a lot less frustrated today than I am. ^^

Comments (3)