Do you feel this genre often fetishizes/objectifies the males depicted? – moreover: do you feel objectified yourself? Offended? How accurate are the portrayals in these manga/anime? Is this true LGBT representation or does it actually serve to hinder promotion of LGBT rights in some ways? Would you feel uncomfortable around someone who self-identifies as a "fujoshi?" Also: What about shounen-ai?
I think this is incredibly interesting, and I'd love to know more about it. But it feels very much like a direct question as opposed to a topic. My recommendations would be to rephrase it so that an article could be written about it, and define some of the words which people may not know. – Connor Gregorich-Trevor9 years ago
Agreeing with Connor, rephrasing this would help the future writer to be guided into NOT writing commentary. Topic title should be like Yaoi a representation of gay relationships or romanticized fantasy... and are we talking about yaoi and sexual content? – Jill9 years ago
I think women objectify men in gay fetish porn the same way men objectify women in porn. And I agree that people in these portrayals are rarely true to how people actually are. This can set LGBT rights back in same ways, especially when gay men are always sexy with six packs and not just regular, ordinary men. I don't know much else about what you are asking, so I can't help much with this, but those are my thoughts on the objectification of gay people. I am not really offended by it, but I think it's detrimental to peoples' self-esteem and LGBT rights to a degree. – Robyn McComb9 years ago
I'm wondering if men who are into M/M works truly appreciate yaoi or shounen-ai, due to how characters are represented in these works. Or if they also appreciate bara more, which is produced primarily by gay men for a gay audience. Personally, as someone who identifies as male and queer, I am into yaoi, shounen-ai, and bara, but I find it problematic in how some characters and relationships are portrayed. I think that a certain type of body is being objectified in each genre, but that is how these genres cater to their respective audience. It can be damaging to those readers/viewers who identify as LGBT, and may not fit that specific portrayal.
Some shounen-ai works I have read/watched do a decent job in showing how gay relationships form, and touch upon the struggle that gay or bisexual people face in coming to terms with their sexuality and identity. – Sean Navat Balanon9 years ago
I think it's helpful, as someone who likes shounen-ai, to reflect on how these young women came to like genres like yaoi. I'd argue that it's due to the popularity of shounen manga and the intense male relationships within them (take NaruSasuNaru, or Light x L). Because these relationships never become romances, fans find other series to fill in for their characters. Popular male on male romances adhere to many tropes, many of which can be traced back to the original shounen manga the characters are derived from. – ChristelleMarie9 years ago
perhaps it would be best done as a comparison piece between the portrayal of gay men and other fetish images of both men and women. Classic daydreams of both men and women that stereotype others. – Jutor9 years ago