Anonymous asked: Hello.:) I was curious about your views on yaoi and yuri. Do you believe they are a harmful fetishization of gay people?
This would seem to be a question based on Western consumption of Japanese manga; or, more broadly, of fan perceptions of ‘ships and relationships within manga. And while it’s certainly true that fandom can and does fetishize gay relationships in every form of media, both canonical and otherwise, I don’t know enough specifically about Japanese culture and the role of yuri and yaoi within it - both as terms in language, and as forms of manga - to draw a useful distinction between the Western usage, perception and fetishisation of same and how yaoi and yuri are actually viewed in Japan.
For instance: both the intended audience (which influences portrayal) and the actual audience (which influences reception) are critical to any diagnosis of fetishisation. And while I can certainly talk about how Western fans fetishise both anime generally and yaoi/yuri relationships specifically in that sense, without an in-depth understanding of how it all works in Japan, it would be impossible to make any sort of meaningful judgement - even generally - about the genre as a whole.
auroraborreal liked this
eurydice-rising liked this yellowxperil liked this
fozmeadows posted this