Do you know the Fujoshi and Fudanshi? Have you ever wondered why so many women like yaoi? If you are an otaku, you must have noticed at anime events or on the internet a large fanbase of girls who are fans of anime and manga of the Yaoi genre (shonen-ai or BL).
For those who still don't know, yaoi is a genre of homosexual romance between men. What makes women like this genre so much? In this article, we will unravel the secret of the fujoshi.
It is worth noting that there is a difference between Yaoi and BL that many westerners do not consider. Generally, a Yaoi is considered an explicit content, but most of the time Fujoshi only like the BL (Boys Love) or Shounen-Ai novels, we use the term Yaoi because of its breadth, but that doesn't mean that the girls mentioned in this article watch explicit scenes.
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Why am I writing about fujoshi?
Women who enjoy yaoi are called fujoshi, which means poor/corrupted; this term was designated by themselves. Some are indeed lost and consume this material uncontrollably. The fact that a girl reads these works does not mean she is LGBT.
Why this question? I notice that the number of men who like the genre yuri is much smaller than the fanbase of women who like the genre yaoi. It's common to find at events girls wearing shirts that say I Love Yaoi and things like that, but nothing about the yuri genre.
I cannot see grace in yuri, much less in yaoi, besides going against my principles. Understand, have principles or dislike it is different from having prejudice! The fact is that we should not include women in this world because not all anime fan girls like this genre, some hate it! Each person has their tastes and reasons to like or dislike something.
Another important thing that we need to highlight is that most yaoi works are written by women. So it is obvious to think that the yaoi genre was made more for women than for homosexuals. Researching in various places on the Internet, I will try to answer why fujoshi women like yaoi.
When we talk about yaoi, people think of sex. However, yaoi in general is just a romance like shoujo, some go further, but it is not usually heavy like a hentai. So one cannot belittle women or call them perverted just because they say they like yaoi. There are levels that are shounen-ai (light), yaoi (medium), and lemon (heavy).
What makes a girl like yaoi?
Something that catches the attention of girls in yaoi works is the number of yaoi anime and also by the great fanservice.
Another key factor is the simple fact that it is a taboo. Most of these works show a forbidden and impossible love or a great plot and difficulty. People are attracted to things that are considered different, secret, and forbidden. Some researchers claim that BL (boy love) is a form of escapism for women trapped in Japan's traditional and limited world.
O yaoi is a stuffed dish for girls, a harem full of mysterious and secretive men. The protagonists of BL works are not usually those failed and shy shoujo protagonists who can’t talk to women. Perhaps this is a big reason for women
Although shy, honest, and vulnerable men fail to attract women in real life, this is one of the reasons women enjoy BL. This genre shows that men aren't always alpha males and strong as mainstream media promotes. It's a shame many of them don't choose men like that in real life.
Women also put themselves in the place of one of the protagonists or even both protagonists in the work. Sometimes they want to feel aggressive or ive in their real relationships and immerse themselves in this world. Other Japanese women said they enjoy reading these works on trains in Japan to repel men.
Fujoshi - Why do girls like yaoi?
We can conclude that women like yaoi just for the history and the fact that it is much more developed than the simple shoujo. Many BL works don’t even have kisses, they are just about feelings and difficulties. For some reason, women find it cute.
For many women, the BL genre is something that works only by reading in a manga and not in anime. They don’t care so much about what happens graphically, they want to know about the plot and the feelings expressed between the characters. Their difficulties, their struggles, and desires.
The anime doesn't even need to be shonen-ai or yaoi, it just needs to have a bunch of shirtless boys. Will this be another main reason? If you want to know more about the life of a fujoshi, we recommend watching the shoujo anime Watashi ga Motete Dousunda. Girls can self-identify as soon as they realize their tendency to ship men.
The origin of the term Fujoshi
We have already mentioned the meaning of the term fujoshi where [腐] means poor, fallen and corrupted, but there are some curiosities regarding this term that we have not highlighted yet.
The term fujoshi was first used as a misogynistic insult on the popular online forum 2channel around the early 2000s in communities of anime and game fans.
They got this term because they were shipping male couples in works where the homosexual relationship was not present. They got that term because some said they were unsuitable for marriage.
This was not the first term used to refer to girls who like to read homosexual relationship works.
In the past women were called kifujin [貴腐人] which meant something like noble woman. All referencing a character nicknamed ochufujin [お蝶夫人] from a 1972 manga series Ace wo Narae by Sumika Yamamoto.
The term fujoshi around 2005 appeared in a Japanese magazine to refer to the female Otaku, Just a few years later the term began to segment into the Yaoi world.
Fudanshi - Men also like Yaoi
It's somewhat obvious that gay men also like Yaoi and Boy Loves. Since we've mentioned the entire article on Fujoshi, I think it's worth briefly quoting the masculine term fudanshi.
The fudanshi (腐男子) is the male version, meaning the guy who is a fan of yaoi. But it doesn't necessarily mean that he is homosexual; many also just enjoy the romances.
Although the Yaoi works are aimed at girls, men generally like these works because they do not oblige and preach aggressiveness, authoritarianism and dominance.
Fudanshis would be men who don't want or can't accept masculinity, but that doesn't mean they like men, they still prefer girls.
Men often sympathize with crossdress in anime.
What is your opinion on the matter? What do you think of the genre? Are you a girl who likes the genre? Do you consider yourself a Fujoshi? Comment why you like this genre.
