call me the wokester but i think that judging others media consumption based on their gender and/or queerness instead of their behavior is a harmful form of essentialism

180

i feel like people are far too focused on the “man” aspect of it all rather than the fact that it’s a queer story. i want to consume a queer story of genres and specifics that i like and there only happens to be a mainstream bl of it. it also speaks to what is considered “palatable” for general audiences, which is where the major lack of wlw / non-male focused storylines come from. and that is the fault of people who view these types of media that refuse to admit that prejudice

113

It personally has never bothered me that much. I think it often comes from a lens of wanting to see men in a light they aren’t often portrayed as in media, like more emotionally sensitive and romantic. Idk, that’s how my straight girl friend thinks at least. We always share the latest bl anything we’re into.

111

so when I was in middle school I pretty much exclusively read mlm content. I'm aroace and it was a safe way to explore my sexuality without having to face the constant sexualization of women so idk men focused content can be a safe space because it shields you from the realities women have to live everyday and it makes many tropes less toxic in a way

86

maybe ppl aren't as awful as you think but i agree that there are definitely huge creeps on Both sides, not just men with gl

62

I don’t wanna be the wokester for bringing this up but non-man does include non-binary people that are attracted to men and involved in the gay community, but I do see your point about certain fandoms/groups fetishizing gay men or lesbians even if they’re apart of the community in another way, its gross and definitely affects how they treat the people that actually belong to those communities

58

In their defense, bl is one of the only content forms where women aren’t objectified or fetishized. A man watching gl stuff, which is either women being objectified for the male gaze OR the actresses are pressured into it by the patriarchal society that teaches them their bodies are for other people’s pleasure

43

idk i feel like a lot of fujoshis are just gay trans eggs. i figured out i felt connected to gay love of men before i even realized i was trans. can cishet women fetishize gay men? absolutely. but that comes from a dehumanization of gay people and refusal to advocate with/for us, not just from finding gay media enjoyable.

35

Half of the gl content out there is literally just objectified by men, it’s just straight fetish content with hints of incest. It’s so hard to find queer stories that I can actually enjoy, and most of them are bl’s anyways

32

I’m gonna be so real if a straight man decided he wanted to read yuri I don’t give a shit LOL like do what u want we need more yuri anyways

26

The history of bl stories in female spaces actually goes pretty far back. It stems from the lack of women in literature. Like many women didn’t feel comfortable reading about another woman’s sexual or romantic experience bc it was too intimate due to social culture etc. but two men made it ironically more comfortable. It’s also due to like cultural standing. In many straight stories there’s some power imbalance but having same sex stories typically male allow to have genders on the same balance

25

tf is bl and gl?

14

because it’s not that deep

10

As a woman that sometimes reads bl I agree and find it a massive red flag. There are bl obsessed people out there who don’t see them as actual relationships and are just obsessed with the idea of gay men.

7

(so much of the response to heated rivalry weirded me out because of this) WHAT WHO SAID THAT

6

There is def a point where it can be dehumanizing for people to watch exclusively bl or gl, but with the tragic lack of queer content a available, it’s not the priority to police other’s watching of media when those views might make queer media seem more profitable and therefore the amount increases

5

Its creepy when men read only gl because women are systematically oppressed and objectified by men. Women should be allowed to read yaoi as reparations

-5