State your opinion of yaoi.

what do you think of yaoi?
For those of you that don't know, it's stories of gay male relationships. It can be in manga, fanfiction, and anime. (duh) but I just want your opinion. what is it about it that draws some people to it? What makes it so interesting? Is it cool to read about gay people? (I have nothing against gay people) From what I've heard, it's mostly a female audience.

I'll express my opinion: It's okay as long as everything you read or watch stays in your mind. My friend got so obsessed with yaoi, she began thinking that it would be nice if every cute Japanese or non-Japanese guy she met were gay. It is not nice! It was shameful to think of people in that way. It got to the point where she took a picture of a dog humping another dog, and she wanted me to 'check them' to see if they were both males. that was so humiliating. As it turned out they WERE males, and that only made it worse, for she accidently took the pictures using my camera. (MY camera!!) Ahem, anyway, please give me your opinion on yaoi. I have nothing against yaoi fans, except for my friend because of that crazy incident.

I can't state my opinion on yaoi, but I can state my opinion on your friend. Your friend is obviously a teenager or a person with a teenage mind.

Teenage girls cut their wrists just because she can't have an older brother, or pretend she has a penis because her mannish outfit can't make her a man, or dig deep down in homosexual manga and annoy her friends with pornographic animals. Believe me, I was a teenage girl once. She'll get over it in about...3 years, I think. Or if she finds a boyfriend to date, maybe she'll overcome it sooner.

Until then, either wait and tolerate, tell her you're annoyed and will break up your friendship unless she decides to keep it for herself, or enjoy yaoi with her.^_^

My stance on yaoi is that of any other form of expression: if it harm none, do what ye will.

On a personal note, I am quite fond of yaoi -- or anything pertaining to homosexuality in general -- due to my bisexuality. I am able to easily relate to the various subjects contained within such content. Consequently, I find validity in myself because I am being somewhat acknowledged as person.

It is difficult to watch any television shows that contain un-stereotypical gay males, or listen to music that speaks of gay love, and I am yet to uncover any bisexual characters in any form of entertainment whatsoever. Thus I turn to yaoi that features "normal" (so to seak) gay or bisexual characters. As I mentioned earlier, this gives me an odd sense of belonging or a kindred feeling.

As far as females are concerned, this is a bit more complicated. Stereotypically, a homosexual relationship is dramatic, intense, passionate, and "exotic" to those not partaking in one. It comes as no surprise why girls gravitate towards yaoi for these very reasons.

Yaoi contains the basic premise of various sources that most females are typically drawn to: love, drama, passion, heartbreak, and so forth. These elements -- combined with males -- equate to an ideal form of entertainment for an average female.

I also look at it from a male perspective regarding lesbianism. A typical male teenager will tell you that lesbians are "hot" or that they enjoy the visual stimulation of seeing two females together in an intimate manner. I suppose it all has to do with the human mind, fantasy, imagination, and wonderment of something that is foreign.

Just my two cents.

I am also curious as to how others view yaoi.

What are other opinions on yaoi?
Do you like or dislike it?
Why do you like/dislike yaoi?

Anyway, I ask these questions in regadrs to a personal perspective on yaoi, and I am not prepared to engage in any political or religious debates about homosexuality.

Thank you, Rez Chick, for asking such an interesting question. ^_^

I really love yaoi. Heck, I even write it ^_^ I have 3 friends that are bisexual, and it's all good. They don't mind that I'm straight as a pole.
I really hate it when people go "Eeewww, how gross," when really it is normal life for some people.
Like one of my friends, he lives in merry ol' England, he has a reader of one of his stories and the person says, "I love yaoi, but the fact that you're bi grosses me out." I mean, if you like it in the fanfictions, why don't you like it in real life?

okok you`r friend acts a little weird you realy have to talk to her
i dont dislike yaoi in fact i like it i like that men showing there real emiotoins i fhink its cute i am bio so i dont dislike yuri eirther
i dont understand that some people are agaisnt it
teenagers like when girls kiss ech ther (the alowd)
but not guys? pffff
and i dislike thet people are fhinking gay`s acticking are girlish that no true but about you`r friend she is hard core yeaoi friend you have to talk to her if it gets worse

what do you think of yaoi?

---- i like it. i think it's the best and the most harmless way to express female sexual fantasy.

what is it about it that draws some people to it? What makes it so interesting? Is it cool to read about gay people?

---- i'm a woman and i'm one of the yaoi fans. i didn't have a clue why i like it at first. later on i read some analysis on this matter, and they suggested that women are naturally attracted to it because this type of manga is full of cute guys & good-looking men. so they're naturally attracted to what they see. as for the sex scene, whether romantic or violent, it portrays deep desire of some women who fantasize to experience this themselves, but if they use female-male characters it'd make them feel inferior or being taken advantage of, while male-male relationship seems more equal. it's also nice to see cute guys break down and cry because he's having sex for the first time or being hurt by his lover boy. sounds weird i know. but this is purely for entertainment.. to exercise one's imagination and fantasy. i don't go out on the street thinking two men walking together are lovers. there's a big difference between yaoi couple and real life gay couple.

From what I've heard, it's mostly a female audience.

---- exactly. it's written by women and intended for female readers. haven't seen gay guy reading it so far. gay guy wouldn't like yaoi manga because yaoi manga tends to portray the uke (submissive) side to be too girlie. gay men feel that this doesn't do them justice. they're attracted to someone of the same sex, but they don't adopt all those female traits. also, while in yaoi manga there's a clear boundary who's the dominant and who's the submissive one in the relationship, real gay people are more flexible. they're quite versatile in their relationship.

i enjoy reading yaoi manga more than reading books about gay people. i definitely know gay people hardly ever behave like chracters in yaoi manga.

Hi, I just thought I would post and say that I totally agree with the points about how yaoi perhaps feels for bi-sexual men, in the post by "Imaginary Boy"

I am only bi-curious, but I can still relate to yaoi characters and the ability of the medium to safely mentally act out consensually platonic and lustful fantasies via them.

I find yaoi appealing, it does indeed feel like a kind of affirmation of my feelings, because of how it shows me that heterosexuals enjoy the thought of men feeling these emotions towards each other… which in turn, makes me feel good, because I then know these people will accept me as who I am.

I also like yaoi mainly because, on the whole, the men are not usually stereotyped as extremely masculine / harsh and ‘sex-only / no-romance’ type… and are also not usually shown as the; over the top, extremely feminine / camp / "floppy wrists" / girly voice type, which in regular western TV, are prevalent stereotypes, of which I can NOT personally relate to at all.

I love the thought of a good looking, toned, subtly reserved, respectful, intelligent guy, with stereotypically neutral “Nu-masculine” and “gender neutral” interests (for example artistic photography, drawing, computer gaming, skateboarding, surfing, technology / gadgets) while having a sensitive, emotionally caring and occasionally male focused lustful streak in him.

It hard to explain, but I think you get what I mean!

I'm a gay male and I really enjoy some yaoi. I understand it's actually geared towards women by women but the dramatic love stories of two guys, usually two completely different personalities, is very appealing to me. In America it's still pretty taboo to show any sort of gay romance in the media -- the only televised homosexuals are either stylishly making over somebody or succeeding in their carreer goals. The passion and intensity of a gay relationship are often left to the imagination.

Somebody mentioned never seeing a single bisexual anime/manga character I believe? Yuki from Gravitation was actually bisexual.

As for the Uke stereotypes - effeminate and whiney - they can be really funny or an irritating cliche. I tend to gravitate towards the tv shows because they can get comedy across better than a comic [in my oppinion]. If the yaoi is too romantic and mushy without any of the comedy or suspense that draws me in, i very quickly lose interest.

As for the phisiscal qualities of these characters, I do prefer the more natural style of drawing them. The "elven" or "nymph" approach is unrealistic and doesn't appeal to me.

I wouldn't consider myself a hard-core fan (i definately don't drool over gay dogs) but an anime or manga becomes so much more interesting to me when there's a gay character in the mix. That is, if he's cute. :3

Is it just me or does it seem that lesbians is fine for people- or at least easier to accept- than two men together? That bugs me so much.

I did a pole in college once. Some 400 men and women were hand selected whether they opposed gay and lesbian or not. Most men and women put down "didn't care" and "it's okay by me". But those who did care didn't like the idea of any gays or lesbians at all. However, when it came to the real display of actors of 2 women kissing and grabbing each other, and 2 men kissing and grabbing each other, the men's pole suddenly changed dramatically. The women's pole didn't change much, but the men's were now putting down that they opposed gay more, lesbian ALOT less, and almost no one put down "didn't care" or "fine by me" anymore.

People are so wierd... What is it with men anyways?? Being a lesbian myself, I kind of feel disrespected by such responces from men of those poles. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy society accepts us (well, sometimes), but I can't help but feel violated because men accepts us more because they like the idea of two women getting it on. On the other hand, it's hideous for them to see other men grabbing and humping each other.

For those offended, I should note right now that there were a lot of flaws in our poles (for one example: the acting), and therefore, the study does not necessarily apply. :D

Some girls I know really like yaoi because they think it's love and relationship on a more sensitive and sentimental level. I'm not really into yaoi, but I remember the first time I watched it, I thought god had finally answered my prayers...haha joking. I actually think it's pretty okay though.

By the way, I found I mispelled "pole", which is supposed to be "poll" in the previous post.

I've been reading yaoi doujinshi and fanfictions since 8 yrs ago, when I was still a high school student. I can say I am addicted to those yaoi stories, but that only limited to good-looking boys and comics, fictional character. Yaoi in real life.......sorry, I don't offend, but not interested in that either.......

I'm a hardcore yaoi fan, I just love it. I also love gay men. From time to time I am a little perverted and I ask my boyfriend to ask my bi friend about his sex life with his boyfriend. Other than that and having dozens of yaoi doujinshis and a stack of dvds, I think I'm pretty normal...I think.

i love yayoi to .
im a bit of a emo kid and i think gay boys are unbelieveably cute. a few of my boy friends hve been bi and dont no y i love yayoi so much i just do!

omg sorry i put an extra y in yaoi gon i cant type

In my opinion, YAOI RULES! I love it, it's unrealistic, but then again, so is Harry Potter, and nobody can get enough of him.

Here's my theory:
Straight men don't want to look at naked guys, and straight chicks don't want to look at naked chicks. When the 'undesireable' person is eliminated and replaced so that there's a girl with another girl or a guy with another guy, it's naturally going to be twice as enjoyable. (Not making much sense but hopefully you catch my drift)

I'm a bi chick (sadly) and, again, to me Yaoi is just like Harry Potter, because it's so unrealistic. None of the gay men I've ever met are like the ones in yaoi, but I still can't get enough.

(funny how all of the emo girls (like me) claim to hate being called sterotypical but it seems like all of them love all things japanese, including yaoi)

Well.. I think that yaoi is okay I mean when I first started to like it I WAS obbsessed. But now after liking it for about two years, I'm more into shonen-ai. I guess us "fan-girls" like it because it gives you a rush.. [giggle]

I think I am a average 23yrs old female and I don't have any problems with yaoi. actually I own some yaoi manga... for me, I like the drawings (alot of cute lookin characters)... but that's just me. =)

My opinion on yaoi...Well, I don't personally care for it myself, but that's just me. I have no problem whatsoever with gay or bi people, a lot of them are really cool and funny and don't deserve the ridicule that they get. I used to totally be against it, but after reading these posts I really don't mind. It makes a lot of sense why people like it. The only thing that really ever bugged me was when people would write yaoi fanfictions with two straight guys. I can be very open minded, but I just didn't like the clearly straight men being turned into yaoi (Really because then I couldn't fantasize with them myself, me being straight). I have no problem with it when the two men are actually gay and meant to be gay. I've checked out some yaoi, but it just wasn't for me. To those who enjoy yaoi, have fun, enjoy, but try not to force homosexuality on those who aren't. Forgive me if this angers anyone, I hope I don't sound rude.

Yaoi rocks, luv