I’m not particularly anxious to stir up another yaoi discussion, but I thought this perceptive comment might be easily overlooked because it’s in a comments thread. Commenting on Chris Butcher’s post on yaoi, Alex Woolfson says
It’s interesting that “feelings of pain and longing” are often being attribued more to women than gay men by BL creators and that this perception is being used as a way to show the distinction between yaoi and gay comics. Certainly listening to Bronsky Beat’s Age of Consent as a kid and remembering now how much it resonated with me, it’s hard to imagine my “gay” feelings as a teenager and young adult (the age of many BL heroes) described as anything other than “pain and longing.” In many ways, this argument rings false to me, especially because as a gay guy I have no problem relating to the characters in these “just-for-women” works.
But that said, one of the reasons I am choosing to write “yaoi” works as a gay guy is because I believe that labeling something as manga and yaoi in particular does imply a stronger focus on relationships and emotions in the story, even if the story is an action-adventure one. And the fact that the intended “yaoi audience” is predominantly but not exclusively women encourages me as a creator to focus more on universal elements in my stories, hopefully making them fun for the whole family. So perhaps I am part of the problem, too. ;-)
(Alex’s home base is Yaoi 911.)
Brigid,
Thank you for your kind mention and words about my comment on Comics212. When I wrote that, I was sure that no one would ever see it because it was on an older post nobody else had commented on! But I decided to respond anyway because I’ve seen similar arguments about the difference between “yaoi” and “homosexual” works by respected and accomplished mangakas before, and wanted to offer up a different perspective.
Actually, it is a dream of mine to actually be able to have some in-depth conversations with these mangakas I admire so much about this. I’d love to open up the possibility to them that we — yaoi lovers and guys who love guys — have more in common than they might think. :-)
No problem, Alex. I thought your comment was spot on, both about the gender issues and the way Americans look at yaoi differently because we contrast it with our native tradition of gay comics (which I suspect are less prominent in Japan than here).