The BL genre rarely portrays gay relationships realistically, tending to depict characters in more imaginative ways for the consumer's entertainment. Consumers of BL are generally straight women, not gay men, and they care more about seeing hot guys kissing in their BL than anything else.
Most of the time, the BL genre is applied to BL works include:
- BL manga BL漫画
- BL doujinshi BL同人誌
- BL anime BLアニメ
- BL geemu BLゲーム
BL games. - BL shousetsu BL小説
BL stories.
A great number of BL are parodies of other works, although BL with original characters also exists. In most cases, a BL doujinshi will feature a "ship," a gay couple of two male characters of a given series. Generally, this couple of male characters are not gay in the original story, and the BL fiction just sort of makes them gay because someone wanted to see the two of them kissing, dating, and doing gay stuff.
Originally, the term BL was used exclusively as a genre. Authors of manga and doujinshi that featured gay ships as the main theme would use the term BL to advertise their works and attract the attention of their consumers, who then started using the term BL to discuss these works with other fans and to search for new works of the genre.
With the spread of the term, however, it's become a little more complex than that. Today BL refers to any sort of gay fantasy or anything that contains gay relationships of the imaginary kind. In other words, BL in Japanese is synonymous with "gay shipping."
BL Acronym
BL stands for "Boys' Love." It is, clearly, loaned from English. However, people never say "Boys' Love" in Japanese. They prefer to say BL, because it's short. When a longer version is wanted, booizu rabu ボーイズラブ is used instead. This is just the phrase "Boys' Love" written inThe termstands for "Boys' Love." It is, clearly, loaned from English. However, people never say "Boys' Love" in Japanese. They prefer to say, because it's short. When a longer version is wanted,ボーイズラブ is used instead. This is just the phrase "Boys' Love" written in katakana
What BL Looks Like?
Although there's no formal definition or rule, BL manga and doujinshi are often seen featuring the following:
- Young characters. Always under 30. Often around 20. Sometimes even in high-school.
- Bishounen 美少年 characters.
Androgynous looking or effeminate guys, long head hair, no facial hair, no body hair, little muscle, no fat, etc. - Ikemen イケメん characters.
Literally "hot guys." - Tons of blushing, shying, etc.
- Forbidden love nature.
Guys who can't be in love with other guys, assumptions of unrequited love, specially because the other guy is straight, etc.
(no, I'm not kidding)
A great number of shoujo manga authors are also BL authors. A great number of shoujo consumers are also BL consumers. So the aesthetics of BL match the aesthetics of shoujo, and what's demanded in shoujo is also demanded in BL.
Who Makes BL?
In general, it's women that make BL.Most BL is doujinshi, and a lot of BL doujinshi is made by authors who are also professional shoujo genre. The shoujo authors are mostly women, so you can guess that the BL authors are mostly women, too.
In an exquisite example of this, the premise of the yonkoma manga Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun 月刊少女野崎くん is that the protagonist, Nozaki-kun, is a guy, but he's also a shoujo mangaka 漫画家. Certain day, Tomoda 友田. He then draws the BL doujinshi below, thus becoming both shoujo and BL author.
Note, however, that there's no rule that says you have to be a professional mangaka to make BL. In particular, BL consumers, women, and sometimes high-school girls, inspired by the perverted world of BL start drawing BL themselves or writing BL stories (lemon slash, sometimes fanfics).
For of these BL authors this can be a very troubling since for either stigma or shame, they would rather not risk their BL fantasies being found out, specially not the fact they're actively involved in creating them, either by drawing doujinshi or by writing BL. A notorious example: in Nichijou 日常, character Mio draws BL. She literally loses it when her hobby is found out.
Basically, take a shoujo 少女 manga, replace the girl by a guy, then you have an averagemanga.(no, I'm not kidding)A great number ofmanga authors are alsoauthors. A great number ofconsumers are alsoconsumers. So the aesthetics ofmatch the aesthetics of, and what's demanded inis also demanded inIn general, it's women that makeMostis, and a lot ofis made by authors who are also professional mangaka 漫画家 specializing in thegenre. Theauthors are mostly women, so you can guess that theauthors are mostly women, too.In an exquisite example of this, the premise of themanga月刊少女野崎くん is that the protagonist, Nozaki-kun, is a guy, but he's also a漫画家. Certain day, Nozaki-kun plays a dating sim game and ends up shipping the protagonist of said game, who could only date the girls, obviously, with his best friend, a guy, called友田. He then draws thebelow, thus becoming bothandauthor.Note, however, that there's no rule that says you have to be a professionalto make. In particular,consumers, women, and sometimes high-school girls, inspired by the perverted world ofstart drawingthemselves or writingstories (lemon slash, sometimes fanfics).For of theseauthors this can be a very troubling since for either stigma or shame, they would rather not risk theirfantasies being found out, specially not the fact they're actively involved in creating them, either by drawingor by writing. A notorious example: in日常, character Mio draws BL. She literally loses it when her hobby is found out.
Who Likes BL?
The BL genre is made "for women," josei-muke 女性向け, and this is very important.
Websites which sell products online, manga, doujinshi, games, visual novels, etc. often feature a josei-muke 女性向け section where BL products can be found, together with other products also made for women.
Apparently, gay men tend to not to likebecause of the unrealistic way it depicts gay relationships. So most consumers ofare actually straight women. And most authors ofare also straight women.Websites which sell products online, manga,, games, visual novels, etc. often feature a女性向け section whereproducts can be found, together with other products also made for women.
BL genre are often called BL couple.The women (and men) who are fans of thegenre are often called fujoshi 腐女子 and fudanshi 腐男子 respectively, meaning "rotten girl" and "rotten guy." This is because some part of you (probably your brain) must be rotten for you to see two normal guys who are just friends with each-other ang fantasize they are a gaycouple.
Lately, social games, casual games, browser games, smartphone games, etc. have come to target fujoshi by having a cast filled almost exclusively with "hot guy" archetypes. For example: Touken Ranbu 刀剣乱舞, whose characters are pretty much all men.
Plenty of female otaku オタク are, that is, plenty of femalelike. This contrasts with male, who don't necessarily like lesbian fiction (at least not at the same ratedo). A number of anime, manga and games are particularly popular with thesebecause they contain-able pairings.Lately, social games, casual games, browser games, smartphone games, etc. have come to targetby having a cast filled almost exclusively with "hot guy" archetypes. For example:刀剣乱舞, whose characters are pretty much all men.
Something that isn't BL but is made "for fujoshi," (and maybe the elusive fudanshi, too), is sometimes called fu-muke 腐向け. Note that fu-muke isn't the same as josei-muke. All fujoshi are, by definition, women, but not all women are fujoshi, and not all products made for women are BL.
In the west, when a non-manga, anime or game does an exquisite roundabout type ofin order to appeal to, that's called a "fujobait." Often, fujobait appears in the form of an unnecessary number ofcharacters, or guy characters having too much drama with other guy characters, or basically anything that looks like it's trying to giveideas for future
BL Doujinshi
BL are fujoshi for fujoshi.These doujinshi don't need to be parodies, there is BL with original characters, but most of the time the BL doujinshi are parodies featuring a ship of characters from a given manga, anime or game.
In some extreme, sad cases, an anime that's not even popular with its intended audience, children, ends up becoming extremely popular with fujoshi in a sick twist of fate, then spawning a disgusting amount of gay fiction from the depths of hell itself.
A lot ofare doujinshi 同人誌 created byforThesedon't need to be parodies, there iswith original characters, but most of the time theare parodies featuring a ship of characters from a given manga, anime or game.In some extreme, sad cases, an anime that's not even popular with its intended audience,, ends up becoming extremely popular within a sick twist of fate, then spawning a disgusting amount of gay fiction from the depths of hell itself.
(basically imagine Harry Potter was a flop and its entire fandom disappeared except for the gay fanfics)
This all happens because fujoshi takes shipping BL way too seriously.
BL Shipping
An important part of BL is the practice of shipping. (no, I don't mean shipping doujinshi to their homes, I mean the other kind of shipping)
The very definition of fujoshi is a girl who ships BL. Not just a girl who likes BL. A girl who ships BL. They will see a normal couple of guys, friends,
(Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever seen an officially gay character in anime. Like, with a boyfriend. Well, to begin with girlfriends and boyfriends in anime are already a rarity.)
Thewill ship, that is, root for the gay love of two male characters in a series that most likely do not and sometimes would notlove each other.The very definition ofis a girl who ships. Not just a girl who likes. A girl who ships. They will see a normal couple of guys, friends, nakama 仲間 , in an anime and just start fantasizing they are somehow deeply in gay love with each-other despite it being obvious to any sane person they're just normal straight characters, and not the ultra-rare gay character.(Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever seen an officially gay character in anime. Like, with a boyfriend. Well, to begin with girlfriends and boyfriends in anime are already a rarity.)
I'm not even joking when I say fujoshi will ship for two arch-enemies, the protagonist and the antagonist, to fall in gay love with each otherHell, they'll even ship side-characters, even background characters. Basically, they just want to see every possible couple of pretty guys kissing, disregarding all the rest. If things went the way fujoshi want, humanity would disappear in a generation because all the guys would be gay.
For those in doubt of what shipping means, please watch this educational documentary:
Seme x Uke Couples
BL authors and consumers have come to writing the main pairing of characters in the story with an x in the form ofHaving gay ships of parodied characters as its core content, Japaneseauthors and consumers have come to writing the main pairing of characters in the story with an x in the form of seme x uke 責めｘ受け (top first, bottom second). For example:
- Naruto x Sasuke ナルトｘサスケ
Naruto is top, Sasuke is bottom. - Sasuke x Naruto サスケｘナルト
Sasuke is top, Naruto is bottom.
In Japanese, these pairings, BL or otherwise, are called CP (another two letter abbreviation!). The word CP stands for "Coupling." (Yes, seriously. It could totally be Character Pairing, but it was Coupling instead. Just why?) The Japanese katakana version of that word would be kappuringu カップリング
Frequently found with the word CP is the word moto neta 元ネタ, "original story," which indicates the manga or anime where the characters in the BL parody come from. (Evangelion, Death Note, etc.)
This sort of thing also exists in the west (apparently shipping in an universal concept). The Fanlore Wiki has a page regarding these pairing names In Japanese, these pairings,or otherwise, are called(another two letter abbreviation!). The wordstands for "ouling." (Yes, seriously. It could totally be Character Pairing, but it was Coupling instead. Just why?) The Japanese katakana version of that word would beカップリングFrequently found with the wordis the word元ネタ, "original story," which indicates the manga or anime where the characters in theparody come from. (Evangelion, Death Note, etc.)
Non-BL BL
Although the term BL is normally used as a genre for works that exclusively deal with gay shipping, sometimes BL is used by fujoshi to talk about non-BL works as if they were BL. That is, to say something contains some BL, or looks like BL.
This can be thought of as imaginary doujinshis. Without even writing a story on it or drawing a manga about it, some fujoshi out there have already used their rotten brain to decide their BL ships on some pure, innocent anime for children.
For example, in Shingeki no Kyojin 進撃の巨人, "Attack on Titan," a number of guys have relationships of trust (Eren x Armin) or rivalry (Jean x Eren) or are such good friends they're always together (Reiner x Bertold) or even have some sort of authority-subordinate relationship (Ervin x Levi) or... huh... Connie x... Connie x... idk, they're both bald or something? (Dot Pixis x Connie)
So when such anime have so many doujinshi-able, BL-able guy x guy relationships, fujoshi end up calling such fiction BL, even though it's not really BL genre.
I mean, Shingeki no Kyojin is full of girls doing stuff, Mikasa, Krista, Annie, the potato girl, Hanji... is a girl, right? The author certainly didn't draw a BL manga, but that won't stop fujoshi fans of calling it one.
BL vs. Yaoi
BL and yaoi, is strictly pornographic, while the other, BL, is only often pornographic. That is, BL can be just gay romance without any porn in it, just gay kissing, gay dating, etc. but yaoi can't, yaoi must be porn. So:The difference betweenand yaoi やおい is that, even though both are made for women, one,, is strictly pornographic, while the other,, is only often pornographic. That is,can be just gay romance without any porn in it, just gay kissing, gay dating, etc. butcan't,must be porn. So:
- BL
Gay story. Sex optional. - Yaoi
Gay sex. Story optional.
All yaoi is BL is hentai. That said, a lot of BL is pornographic.
Note that in the west yaoi is used to refer to any and every sort of gay drawn porn, disregarding whether it's made for women or not, or has a story or not.
Also, in Japan the term BL is actually a lot more common than the term yaoi, despite yaoi being an older term than BL. Japanese people rarely say yaoi in Japanese. It's actually westerners who know some Japanese that make the mistake of saying it, because in the west "yaoi" is a common word, so they wrongly guess the Japanese still say yaoi too. So if you want to say "yaoi" in Japanese, you should say BL, not やおい.
Allis hentai 変態 , but not allis. That said, a lot ofis pornographic.Note that in the westis used to refer to any and every sort of gay drawn porn, disregarding whether it's made for women or not, or has a story or not.Also, in Japan the termis actually amore common than the term, despitebeing an older term than. Japanese people rarely sayin Japanese. It's actually westerners who know some Japanese that make the mistake of saying it, because in the west "yaoi" is a common word, so they wrongly guess the Japanese still saytoo. So if you want to say "yaoi" in Japanese, you should say, not やおい.
BL vs. Shounen-Ai
BL andThe difference betweenand Shounen-ai 少年愛 is a a pretty big one.
First off, BL stands for "Boys' Love," but that's in English, not Japanese. In Japanese, with the Japanese alphabet, "Boys' Love" would be written as booizu rabu ボーイズラブ, but that's not actual Japanese words, it's just how you write a foreign word using Japanese letters. To say the English phrase "Boys' Love" in Japanese, using Japanese words, that'd be shounen ai 少年愛.
The problem likes with this: shounen and "boy" are not the same thing.
In Japanese, a shounen is, technically, someone underage. Not specifically male. The kanji of the word shounen 少年 is literally "little" or "few," as in sukoshi 少し, and "years," as in nen 年. Most of the time, shounen refers to underage boys. Read it again: "underage boys." Not just "boys." Because in English, you can call someone over 18 a "boy."
Pederasty
As one could guess, shounen-ai means "pederasty." That is, "love for (underage) boys," or, also, "love between (underage) boys." Because shounen always refers to someone who's underage.
So shounen-ai isn't the same thing as BL. For two huge reasons. First, it can refer to real pederasty. Not fictional pederasty. Real pederasty. IRL. Second, it refers exclusively to pederasty. The word BL also refers to gay shipping with adult characters only. So shounen-ai is closer to shotacon ショタコン than it is to BL.
History
In the past, circa 1980, before BL was a word, the word shounen-ai 少年愛 was a actually genre.
As one would expect, it actually dealt with drawn underage characters. In other words, shounen-ai pretty much meant "underage BL." Apparently, at the time shounen-ai wasn't used towards romantic relationships but mostly towards strong emotional connections, platonic love, etc. between boys.
But then the BL term was made, circa 1990, and people started saying BL and stopped using saying shounen-ai. Once again, note how BL should be synonymous with shounen-ai, but isn't. My guess is, when a Japanese person heard the word shounen-ai, they knew it referred to pederasty, because, duh, it's fucking obvious, it's in the word, shounen, "underage." But then they heard BL and were like "wtf is BL?"
So I think maybe because BL was such an alien English word, people weren't quite able to grasp its nuance. So they forgot about it. Suddenly BL referred not only to gay fiction containing underage characters, but also to fiction containing adult characters.
As to why someone would choose to use such a misleading word in first place instead of sticking to shounen-ai, it's probably because it's English and it sounds cool to Japanese people. Also words in katakana just look cooler in general. (Yeah, I'm serious, this is usually the reason)
Also worth noting that "June" (loaned from a french gay magazine) and tanbi were other terms used to refer to certain gay works of gay fiction at the time at the time. These aren't used anymore since BL basically replaced all of them altogether and became an umbrella term. Remember: it's pretty much even replaced yaoi by now.
Western Genre
In the west, shounen-ai is a genre that refers exclusively to non-pornographic stories including gay romance. So yaoi is exclusively pornographic, shounen-ai exclusively non-pornographic.Unlike its original Japanese meaning, western shounen-ai includes romance between two adults.
Probably, the word ended up in the west when it was still in use in Japan. But then shounen-ai stopped being used in Japan as BL got popular. The west didn't catch up. This is literally the same thing that happened with the term yaoi.
Nowadays, shounen-ai isn't really a genre in Japan. The word BL gets used, shounen-ai does not. And something is only classified as BL when the entire thing is BL, so it's not the same as western shounen-ai, which can be applied when there's some gay romance but that's not the entire point of the series.
For example, Loveless is classified as shounen-ai in the west, but in Japan it's not BL. This because it's not exclusively BL, it doesn't have focus on BL, but in some weird type of pokémon battles fantasy fighting. So it gets classified as fantasy, sci-fi, romance, etc. but not as BL.
Do note that there are anime which are classified as shounen-ai in the west, like Sekai Ichi Hatsukoi 世界一初恋, that also get classified as BL in Japanese. It's just that this isn't necessarily always the case.
Either way, shounen-ai is not a Japanese genre. It's a western genre exclusively. And western shounen-ai isn't the same as Japanese BL, nor is it the same as Japanese shounen-ai. It's a goddamn mess.
If shounen-ai does appear as a tag or genre, it appears together with BL. For example:
So one could imagine that= "Boys' Love" =. They should be the same thing. Synonymous. However they are not the same thing at all!The problem likes with this:and "boy" are not the same thing.In Japanese, ais, technically, someone underage. Not specifically male. The kanji of the word少年 is literally "little" or "few," as in少し, and "years," as in年. Most of the time,refers to underage boys. Read it again: "underage boys." Not just "boys." Because in English, you can call someone over 18 a "boy."In the west,is a genre that refers exclusively to non-pornographic stories including gay romance. Sois exclusively pornographic,exclusively non-pornographic.Unlike its original Japanese meaning, westernincludes romance between two adults.Probably, the word ended up in the west when it was still in use in Japan. But thenstopped being used in Japan asgot popular. The west didn't catch up. This is literally the same thing that happened with the termNowadays,isn't really a genre in Japan. The wordgets used,does not. And something is only classified aswhen the entire thing is, so it's not the same as western, which can be applied when there's some gay romance but that's not the entire point of the series.For example, Loveless is classified asin the west, but in Japan it's not. This because it's not, it doesn't have focus on, but in some weird type offantasy fighting. So it gets classified as fantasy, sci-fi, romance, etc. but not asDo note that there are anime which are classified asin the west, like世界一初恋, that also get classified asin Japanese. It's just that this isn't necessarily always the case.Either way,is not a Japanese genre. It's a western genre exclusively. And westernisn't the same as Japanese, nor is it the same as Japanese. It's a goddamn mess.Ifdoes appear as a tag or genre, it appears together with. For example:
- 少年愛 / BL
- BL (少年愛)
Which, most likely, refers to BL including underage characters.
Also, although for most fujoshi shounen-ai is just a slightly restrictive term for BL, for some BL and shounen-ai are different things. Maybe because shounen-ai is an older term and the first shounen-ai manga were more classical romances rather than the modern gay-relationships-for-entertainment BL. Who knows?
BL vs. Gay
As I've said quite some times already, BL is written by women for women. It's definitely not the term used for general gay manga, gay stories, or gay anime.
Manga that's actually gay, written by gay men, for gay men, serialized in gay magazines tend to be very different from BL.
So not all gay fiction is BL, women don't care about non-BL gay fiction, and gay men don't care about BL gay fiction.
As a result, some websites specialized in selling doujinshi will deliberately put BL in an area for women and non-BL gay fiction in an area for gay men. And then there's probably some gay fiction targeted at straight men, too. So somehow there's three distinct types of gay which makes this basically the most confusing mess I've ever tried to wrap my head around.
BL manga is more popular and common than actual gay manga, as weird as that may be.
To make it weirder, the above also means that some fujoshi have only ever encountered BL in their lives, never being exposed to other kinds of gay manga. So for them the term BL equals "gay manga." One such person realizing this discussed that in their blog: "if you draw gay sex, is it BL?"
Anyway, it turns out there are more women interested in gay manga than there are gay men interested in gay manga, (because, you know, there are more women than gay men) somanga is more popular and common than actual gay manga, as weird as that may be.To make it weirder, the above also means that somehave only ever encounteredin their lives, never being exposed to other kinds of gay manga. So for them the termequals "gay manga." One such person realizing this discussed that in their blog: "if you draw gay sex, is it?" 男同士の性愛を描いたらBL？
BL.Manga that are made for gays are often labelled with the genre bara 薔薇 instead of
Homophobic BL
Some gays and other Japanese LGBT people go as far as considering BL homophobic. (yes, really).This happens because the BL genre and the BL fans, fujoshi, care a lot about the stereotypical roles of the characters, who's top and who's bottom, which is often understood as gender roles: who is the man and who is the woman in the gay relationship.
This sounds like they're trying to view homosexual relationships through the lens of heterosexual relationships. It goes without saying that, if it's a couple of two men, there's no "woman" in it.
Personally I think that's kind of silly argument and they should just let the fujoshi ship whatever they want. Sure they may be getting it all wrong, but fujoshi effectively support homosexuality, at least more than your average person.
The Pixiv Dictionary entry on BL goes as far as saying the two genres,and gay, are different things entirely. Pointing out thatconsumers (women) don't like gay comics, and gay comics consumers don't likeSo not all gay fiction is, women don't care about non-gay fiction, and gay men don't care aboutgay fiction.As a result, some websites specialized in sellingwill deliberately putin an area for women and non-gay fiction in an area for gay men. And then there's probably some gay fiction targeted at straight men, too. So somehow there's three distinct types of gay which makes this basically the most confusing mess I've ever tried to wrap my head around.Some gays and other Japanese LGBT people go as far as consideringhomophobic. (yes, really).This happens because thegenre and thefans,, care a lot about the stereotypical roles of the characters, who's top and who's bottom, which is often understood as gender roles: who is the man and who is the woman in the gay relationship.This sounds like they're trying to view homosexual relationships through the lens of heterosexual relationships. It goes without saying that, if it's a couple of two men, there's no "woman" in it.Personally I think that's kind of silly argument and they should just let theship whatever they want. Sure they may be getting it all wrong, buteffectively support homosexuality, at least more than your average person.
The termis a genre of fiction that deals exclusively with gay fantasy. Male gay fantasy. Often,is pornographic, but that's not a requirement; there areworks which are merely romantic or dramatic, with just gay tension, gay kissing, gay dating, etc. but not containing any sexual scenes.Thegenre rarely portrays gay relationships realistically, tending to depict characters in more imaginative ways for the consumer's entertainment. Consumers ofare generally straight women, not gay men, and they care more about seeing hot guys kissing in theirthan anything else.Most of the time, thegenre is applied to doujinshi 同人誌 , however it can be associated with literally any sort of media. Types ofworks include:With the spread of the term, however, it's become a little more complex than that. Todayrefers to any sort of gay fantasy or anything that contains gay relationships of the imaginary kind. In other words,in Japanese is synonymous with "gay shipping."
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