But What Are Your Thoughts On Yaoi?
From Encyclopedia Dramatica
| This article needs moar thoughts on yaoi. You can help by adding moar thoughts on yaoi. |
A meme that stated at least 100 years ago last thursday in a thread in Fandom Wank, in which Bohemianfaerie sees the depiction of gay men in yaoi fanfiction to be serious business. Unfortunately for her, no one else did. The term is now used for when someone is going way off topic, long-winded with shit no one cares about, unfunny and in rare occasion, their actual thoughts on yaoi.
Contents |
[edit] How it all started
It began with a thread on F_W someone who posted their thoughts on the antiyaoi comm. Apparently, the idiot thought that being against yaoi meant being against teh gays. Hence being fandom wanked.
Anyway, Bohemianfaerie jumps in to defend the person being wank upon and the position she took with a long-winded and boring essay that was entitled--you guessed it--"My Thoughts on Yaoi"
[edit] Bohemianfaerie's Thoughts on Yaoi
[edit] Part 1
Although she BAHLEETED the original post, the F_W wiki has a copy of this rant archived for great justice and lulz right here:
"Okay, here goes...
I myself have always personally not been able to stand yaoi and similarly shounen-ai (at least the larger majority of it), not because I am anti-gay in any way or to any degree whatsoever, but more rather because I'm NOT anti-gay. In order to prevent to bringing on some exclamations of "you said what now?" accompanied by arched eyebrows in my general direction as a result of that statement, please permit me to explain exactly what I meant by that.
You see it's in fact because I'm so concerned about gay rights, the right for gays, lesbians and bi-sexuals (as well as the transgendered and transvestite) to be treated as equals, as in *exactly* the same as everyone else, that I tend to find myself put off, offended and sometimes outright disgusted by the very unrealistic depictions of gay characters and gay relationships in an overwhelming percentage of yaoi and/or shounen-ai series, fanfic, and doujinshi (especially doujinshi) out there.
The creators and writers behind yaoi manga/anime series (who are more often than not female, and after all yaoi/shounen-ai stories are written, drawn, and aimed predominantly at young girls and women), and especially their fangirls, tend to place more emphasis on the "kawaii, bishounen" factor than anything else of any great relevance or significance that would actually make these characters out to be relatable, believable individuals who just happen to be gay, rather than just, glomping, oft-whiney and bitchy effeminate characatURES of gay/bi-sexual/ and/or cross-dressing men that they are. Fangirls and yaoi artists alike treat these "pretty bois" (<-intentional spelling) like pretty little highly glompable playthings for other equally as pretty boys or sometimes just overly manly and obnoxious men (the exact opposite end of the stereotyping spectrum, still not that better when you really look at it because these "beefy macho jerks" semes are still usually done as charactures all the same), that in reality seem to really serve more as playthings to the squeeing fangirls that adore, sometimes outright worship them. They provide a means of living out the romantic (and) or sexual fantasies of (mostly) teenage fangirls than anything else.
Canon Yaoi series typically consist of plots revolving around the perfect, extra pretty and youthful-looking Marty Stu character: the bishie who's the object of every guy gay or seemingly otherwise in sexual orientation that's around him's undying affection and desires (example: FAKE, everyone seems to want either Ryo or Dee, but mostly shy and virginal Ryo). As well yaoi/shounen-ai series are usually on one extreme or the other in terms of the type of story; being either filled with copious amounts of mostly cutesy (or "kawaii") happy smiling sushiney sugar-coated fluff (like Gravitation, the kind of stuff I personally find positively nauseating) or unbelievable amounts of laughably ridiculous and derivative angst and soap-operatic melodrama (love triangles anyone? Or WildeFyre's FAKE fanfic, for an even better point of reference concerning overloads of angst). Then there's the disturbing amount of stories that feature rape that the manga-ka/fanfic authors try and pass off as "relationships" between characters, whether it's a guy eventually coming to fall in love with his rapist (!!) or the popular and just plain utterly cliched rape/comfort stories out there (that exist mostly in fanfic, but there are canon yaoi series that make use of this formula as well that come to mind). And don't even get me STARTED on the dreaded, disgusting "shota" sub-genre. *deep shudders* I really do NOT want to hear any arguments in its defense or support, they're always all the same and they never excuse the inherent wrongness of depicting pre-pubescent little boys engaged in sex and being seen as objects of sexual gratification and fantasy. I feel exactly the same way about lolicon, I should note.
To be concluded in next entry (damn entry-length limits)..."
[edit] Part 2
"In conclusion, I feel I have made it clear the many, multi-faceted reasons as to why I don't personally like most yaoi/shounen-ai and find myself constantly annoyed by the fandom surrounding it and its many pretty boy characters. I apologise for the sheer massive length of this explanation/rant but I've been keeping it pent up inside for so long now because of being afraid of how the rabid, overly-senstive fangirls would react and what conclusions they'd likely end up jumping to before they even read past the first sentence. Thank you for having read through all of this, if you have even managed to make it entirely through that is (and I wouldn't blame any of you if you haven't). Let it be known I find it perfectly acceptable if any (or all) of you don't happen to agree with me, you're entitled to your opinions and feelings as much as I am my own.
[edit] Fandom Wank's Thought on Her Thoughts
| —Iczer6 |
[edit] Bohemianfaerie's Thoughts on Yaoi 2: Electric Boogaloo
A few others were sarcastic in ther comments to explain moar; being a grade-A retard, Bohemianfaerie took it as a challenge to write even more:
"Er...yeah. Just further confirmation of what I already pointed out about the typical kinds of reactions I tend to get from rabid yaoi people, especially when it comes to the first anon who accused me of being on a "high horse" simply because I don't happen to care for badly done yaoi and tend to find it occasionally even trainwreckish, particularly certain kinds of it."
The ironic thing in all of this is: she's right. Yaoi *does* suck ass, and so do the fangirls. She just didn't get the point that Fandom Wank was not her personal army.
