What is the appeal of BL?

[TAMAnnoying]

first off i hate the term boy love for it.... should be guy love or mannly love or something... :v boy love makes me think of underaged children i shouldnt be looking at naked :v

but anyways, just my two cents, i rarely ever read men in love comics... when i do... its cause i like the way they draw naked chests.... prrrrreeeeety simple wishes.... 300 movie was amazing! so much half naked men~

[Vikiro_Hop]

I might be a bit out of my element here, but maybe my two cents will be worth something.

I don't read any BL comics really, but I can appreciate series that features same sex couples whether they or gay or lesbian doesn't really matter. I like to think it's because I have always enjoyed romance in a series whether it's a subplot or the main focus. Same sex couples came about relatively recently for me when I started reading indy comics and web comics so it's sorta fresh territory for me.

My interest is not really in an erotic fetish way I think. I tend to disassociate my "interests" with stories I read for entertainment even if the romance gets a bit heated. Mostly in a daaaawwww that's adorable. (I'm aware that can come off as a bit patronizing.) Idk how it is for other people or what they get out of it, but if I see a same sex couple I will think of it as slightly more interesting than a straight romance I suppose.

[Dorian_Grey]

@AnnaLandin @joannekwan I agree!

I think boys love and girls love is something of a blessing and a curse.
It is fantastic that homosexuality is shown in comics since the mainstream doesn't have any fascinating or good roles models to fill this at the moment in the west.
But the majority (at least online) is fetishism.
The focus (for the most part) is too much on "LOOK PRETTY GUYS/GIRLS TOGETHER ALL NAKED" and fueling the whole sex sells thing, rather then fully fleshed out characters with flaws and personalities that just happen to be homosexual and actually, maybe experience a romance/best friendship, which is how a lover in real life should be.
It portrays homosexual relationships for men or women wrong; to the point that one person in said gay relationship must be "dominate" and the other must be "feminine" is completely wrong.

I myself have drawn characters in gay relationships, but it isn't the main focus of the story unless it is strictly romantic, and even then the characters shouldn't take a back seat to this just to draw smut.

I really appreciate the fact that sexual diversity is being explored and that's amazing. Some comics and shows are making great characters that are relatable. But I just don't like the heavy fetishism and inaccurate portrayal of it, the sex sells or fanservice just masks what could be an amazing story.

Might I recommend "No.6" japanese novel. There is an anime version and manga version of this which are okay even though they sway away from the novel at times. It does heavily hint at male x male relationship but the focus is the dystopian future and the struggles the characters face.

[vocaloidno1fan]

well, the appeal of BL depends on the person. how it appeals to people sometimes cant be explained. but how i poorly explain it is: BL to (some) girls is like lesbian porn to (some) guys (in a way) no one really knows WHY it appeals to them, but it does :S

[AnnaLandin]

Looks like a good realistic series that I can appreciate! I wish I could read Japanese.

I think Yoshinaga Fumi's got several series available in English, actually, and most of her work seems to be in the low-key, slice-of-life kind of genres, with more realistic characters, AFAIK. And I think this is one of the ones that are available in English - the title is something like What Did You Eat Today, or something like that.

[infectedbloodcomics]

However I, being bisexual myself, love playing with the Kinsey scale with my characters as I don't believe anyone's truly completely heterosexual or homosexual, but I try to keep them believable.

Not to derail the thread, but this person here along with her wife and plenty of her friends as well as all my characters are truly either completely heterosexual or homosexual

[infectedbloodcomics]

That's good, except these comics have nothing to do with gay love, and all with straight men's ideas of what gay love should look like. Actually, not even that: it's just straight guys' fantasies being fed to straight little girls.

[SandraMJ]

My theory is that that's what we are all led to believe as to fit into a simpler label, however upon investigation there tends to be evidence pointing to the opposite (having at some point a man crush, for example, for heterosexual men). But that's by judging by Kinsey's scale, anyway, as completely homosexual/heterosexual is rare there. So as with anything relative to psychology, it's nothing set on stone and it may very well be wrong ^^

[infectedbloodcomics]

It's a very complex matter, but I can honestly tell you that, if anything, EVERYONE is led to believe they are straight, which accounts a lot for all the pain 99% of homosexual people go through until they accept who they are. My theory is that the less people are pressed around sexuality, the sooner they can get to understand who and what they really like.

[SandraMJ]

I agree completely, and I can talk from experience in favor of that as growing up in a household where my older brother came out of the closet only to be received with a terrible attitude from my parents (my mother cried and cried and refused to accept it and my father refused to speak to him, and when he does it's only to make fun of him), accepting that I was bisexual was a terrible experience for myself (I doubt my parents will be hearing of it aaaany time soon).

[infectedbloodcomics]

Well, I told myself I was bisexual for 15 seconds, before laughing my head off at the thought of it. Bisexuality is a stepping stone for many gays and lesbians. I don't mean to say that bisexuals are closeted gays/lesbians, but it surely can be a more comforting label for some (many?).

At any rate, good luck with your parents. At the end of the day, it's your life, you really don't need your parents' permission or acceptance.

[SandraMJ]

Ahh I see, certainly many people would feel more comfortable thinking that, as it's also generally more accepted by society too (and in fact I've found that many members of the LGBT community often hate on bisexuals, because they have it easier than the rest)

Thank you, I no longer live with them, so I doubt they'll ever hear of it anyway ^^;

[serenitysquirrel]

Because it's still recognized as risque and deviant behavior. It's that little extra thrill like a teenage sneaking things by their parents. It ALSO means you get two men for the price of one and no boring vaginas in the way.

As it is becoming more accepted, more people are getting into it. Think of it along the lines of big boobed girls and tentacles.

[infectedbloodcomics]

In other words, it's perfect for bourgeois, repressed and insecure youngsters? That's about the description that comes to mind when reading your words.

[serenitysquirrel]

To a degree, though from my friends who table at yaoicon, there's a ton of women in their 30s-40s into it. And there's many gay romance novels written by adult women. It's just the flip side to girl-on-girl.

[infectedbloodcomics]

Ok, I'll change that to bourgeois, repressed and insecure people, mostly female. A little bit like those drooling all over crappy Fifty Shades of Grey.

[serenitysquirrel]

So out of curiosity, do you think the same about guys who flip on the lesbian porn?

[infectedbloodcomics]

There is no such thing as lesbian porn, there are only straight guys doing porn with fake lesbians in it (who look disgusted and completely clueless about 101% of the time). Even lesbians who claim to do lesbian porn seem to have come out of a straight man's titillating fantasy.

Well, just to be clear: I think porn sucks all around.

[serenitysquirrel]

Fair enough, though not exactly the answer.

sigh Ok, so there are exceptions to all rules but in general, the male brain is programmed for the visual. For the imagery and the sounds and to hell with the story. That's why magazines and videos are marketed to them far more than women.

Women in general find story more pleasing. They need to know more about the characters and want to fantasize about them and dream up things in their head. This is why they get marketed romance novels. A few are actually really interesting. But for some, crap like 50 shades is good enough. There are womanxwoman romance novels as well.

BL, Yaoi, Gay Romance, and even anime like Free! are marketed to a female audience.

Now some of it really is porn. It really really is. It may be artistic and pretty, or well worded, but that's just what it is. On the other hand, some of it also has long sweeping story-lines at the front as the star of the story with the gay premise being only secondary or tertiary.

I think part of the issue is that the original question is still fairly broad. Or maybe all the comments broadened it. Hmm... but in guessing that they meant 'BL' as 'gay romance of any kind' it really is a big blanket.

Also, it's popular in some places, not others. Really depends on the community and where you look.

[infectedbloodcomics]

OK, here's my more direct answer: I tried reading GL stuff and found the exact same patterns as in any kind of porn: it's not for lesbians, it's for straight guys who would love to join in the action.