Forum

Nami wrote:
Okay first of all, why does it automatically mean we are obsessed with gay men? Second of all, it's also a category in ph, u see some people have preferences.

The producers were not thinking about "hihi let's make them gay", they are just normalizing sexuality.

disintegration wrote:
It's time to stop pretending this stuff isn't just porn for teenage - mid twenties girls tbh.
It's safe for them to explore their sexuality i guess because the guys can't hurt them but what it does for how they view gay men... 
As if the sex life of a couple is something they are entitled to, having a gay BFF is like having a nice handbag, a status symbol, the guys having to live up to the stereotype...
It's just fucked up how it went from disgust to fetishisation

Holic wrote:
how does a person reading about a fictional character affect ur life in anyway?

Persona wrote:
x

Persona wrote:
the whole thing is rly complex I think. you have young girls who are beginning to explore their sexuality (which isn't an issue in itself) turning to something this as an alternative to other "common" methods of "exploring" sexuality (such as graphic live porn). Like you said, in yaoi maga, the boys can't hurt them. It's almost as if they are searching for an alternative to traditional gender roles in which they fear they will end up in in straight relationship, where their role is to be used and hurt. But then, so much yaoi mirrors straight relationships (masc/fem) and communicates that these roles ARE naturally, because they transcend even straight relationships. And like you said, it affects how they then view gay men (and lesbians) and how they interact with them in their real life. It also affects young gay boys and girls who wish to see media in which they are reflected, but end up reading something which pretty much affirms the masc/fem dynamic of relationships.

The answer would be to have something safe and slow available to girls (and boys) beginning to explore their sexuality without avert gender roles, both gay and straight. I couldn't tell you the answer tho

Persona wrote:
me writing this instead of my actual dissertation on female sexual fantasy = top procrastination

Nesta wrote:
As a general reader, I am just here to say that books/stories/words affect you and it easily can normalize problematic behavior, esp. through tropes or popular motives. Those values and expectations it shows you you take with you into your real life.