So the other day, I was reading stuff about what people think of the yaoi genre in general.
It is no surprise that the term itself is faced with contempt by anime enthusiasts and normies alike — saying that it is a problematic label used to justify someone’s “morally detestable” taste in manga. The consensus here is that liking the genre and labelling yourself as one “rotten boy or girl” (fujoshi/fudanshi) means that you are a person who is proud of fetishizing homosexual relationships. Although sounding compelling with little to no cracks, this argument is taking away many things that can be said about the genre by reducing it to mere “fetishization.” Doing so also means we fail to consider the importance of knowing its historical and cultural backgrounds.
Before we even get to fetishization, let us look at the genre's history. Yaoi, also known as “Boys' Love,” is a genre that’s been around for a while. It first emerged in Japan during the 1970s and was celebrated as a heavily satirical category and self-deprecating (hint: rotten?). Initially, it was regarded as part of the more popular shojo manga. This means the primary target audience was women; it is a genre predominantly made by and for straight women. Nevertheless, this is not always the case, especially at present. Levi (2008) even noted that many homosexual and bisexual fans identified as such over the years.
At first, the artists created fan-made stories — known as doujinshi in Japanese — based on popular anime and manga of various genres. These stories follow two male characters’ retelling from a popular show in a romantic relationship with one another. From there, the genre made a name for itself because of the sheer attention and popularity it garnered over the years and became a category of its own. Mizoguchi (2008) estimated that by the mid-2000s, BL had attracted one million Japanese fans, and Thorn (2004) noted that hundreds of thousands of women from Western countries expressed interest in Japanese homoerotic series during that time.
The popular narratives of the genre usually revolve around the revelation of one’s sexual identity, first love, and tragedies faced in life (Zsila & Demetriovics, 2017). Furthermore, the universal roles of the main characters commonly follow the seme and uke format: the ‘seme’ being the masculine, generally older, and dominant partner, while the ‘uke’ refers to the more effeminate and submissive partner, the one on the receiving end when it comes to the sexual nature of the relationship.
The most salient aspect of yaoi is perhaps the excessive usage of bishounen (gorgeous boys) as the main characters within the storyline. However, this aspect of the manga is not limited to the genre alone, shojo being one of those to use a similar depiction of characters. Another interesting part of it is the variation in the emotional theme that the characters have to face. Suppose regular shojo characters are used to the happiness vs tragedy dichotomy. Characters in yaoi do not stop there — they also deal with guilt and shame from engaging in same-sex relationships and alienation because they have to hide the relationship from those around them (Chou, 2010). These kinds of narratives and characters are depicted in popular yaoi manga such as Junjou Romantica or Sekaiichi Hatsukoi — both stories touch on internal conflicts within the relationship and their struggles in facing respective families’ approval of it.
I need to clarify that I would not say that the genre is entirely ‘unproblematic,’ seeing the rampant trend of rape or lack of consent from the submissive character, but I must emphasize that the genre is merely a work of fiction. If someone were to have a problem with it, I cannot help but think that maybe it is tough for them to enjoy what the media has to offer — seeing that there are many murders and other atrocities depicted in both written and visual media. So saying that it is only exclusively problematic when it comes to this genre would be illogical and unfair. Also, I would refer back to the previous statement: it’s just a bunch of fictional 2D characters, and I believe that the majority of the adult population can separate reality from fiction.
About the previous issue regarding the ‘problematic’ nature of yaoi, it’s important to note that the relationships in this genre are heavily idealized, meaning that it has nothing to do with real-life homosexual relationships; it is and never has been a representation of what an actual relationship would be like (Mizoguchi, 2008). I see many people dwelling on the fact that it’s ‘immoral’ because it might give the wrong idea about homosexual relationships and sexually objectify them even further. Though I can see where this is coming from, such as the struggles felt by members of the sexual minority groups in coming to terms with their orientation, it seems like these people from the other side so quickly adapt and consume their downplayed struggles in a lively manner as if it was theirs. However, this notion isn’t entirely true, especially in women who enjoy the genre.
Alternatively, yaoi has a meaningful role for women who have a hard time conforming to the mainstream sexual expressions commonly depicted by the media (Pagliassotti, 2008). Furthermore, Mizoguchi (2008) contends that the women who identify as a fan of the genre could benefit from the communities’ environment; they’re able to talk about and express their unconventional sexual desires and thoughts with one another in a confidential manner without the constant fear of being judged. Zsila and Demetrovics (2017) also found that the genre helps women by providing an appropriate medium for projecting and coping with specific gender-related struggles.
With that, I’d like to say that reducing someone’s interest in this specific fictional genre into one word — “fetishization” — would mean that we have failed to understand the complex and extremely subjective reasoning behind why this phenomenon occurred in the first place. Sexuality is a thoroughly intricate and nuanced experience; labelling it as such could mean that we’re robbing off that intimately personal experience that someone has. Hey, as long as their sexual exploration is not illegal or harming others, why don’t we leave these people to their own devices? After all, it should be something one can enjoy on their own without being shamed.
What does fetishization even mean?
You know, I have seen the F word being thrown around carelessly over the Internet, but I wonder whether the term is used correctly. Fetishization does not merely mean that you enjoy reading or consuming something that the media offers slightly more than the general population. From a psychological perspective, a fetish can be seen as acquiring sexual gratification from an otherwise nonsexual object(s) (Lowenstein, 2002).
Specifically, it is a condition whereby a person consistently relies on the said object to stimulate their sexual arousal from time to time. This behaviour is learned through conditioning, such as when someone repeatedly sees attractive women wearing fishnet stockings and, as a result, finds the mere sight of stockings or legs (which was associated with the women) incredibly arousing. It is important to know that since it is a conditioned state, many fetishists find it impossible or extremely hard to feel sexually aroused without the presence of those objects. Lowenstein (2002) wrote about how it is not rare that those who elicit this kind of behaviour feel ashamed of it and, as a result, become socially withdrawn or isolated.
From a psychoanalytical standpoint, a fetish is thought to have emerged as a product of the Oedipus complex when faced with castration threats. The previous statement can be seen in two ways, (1) fetishes are a concrete manifestation of unconscious sexual fantasies that appears to resolve both the complex and castration anxiety, meaning that it can act as an enhancement of one’s sexuality and desire and escapism from reality (Rivera, 1997), or (2) they emerge as a defence against a purer expression of sexuality; meaning that it downplays what should have been manifested, as a form of defence mechanism (Bass, 2001).
Now that we have gotten the nonsensical stuff out of the way (lol), there are also theories regarding the phenomenon from a non-psychoanalytic approach. As a general rule of thumb, it seems that the basic premise of the occurrence comes from early life experiences which influence later sexual development. Such as the case of a man in a longitudinal study — where he experienced the onset of his sexual fetish when he was just five years old (Lowenstein, 2002).
Another study found that temporal lobe epilepsy or dysfunction in this area was related to fetishes’ development (El-Badri & Robertshaw, 1998). Furthermore, there is an emphasis that these fetishes came to be because of previous traumas experienced as a child. Such findings might be valid for those who have masochistic tendencies — where such behaviour may emerge as a result of having “iron-fisted” parents, making them feel as if the only way to avoid hurting their partner is through hurting themselves (Lowenstein, 2002).
Final say/TL;DR
With the previous explanations, then, does it mean that if someone simply enjoys reading M/M fiction in their free time makes them a fetishist? Moreover, they deserve to be perpetually shamed and ostracized (in a literal manner, cause they have done so themselves in a metaphorical way, haha) because of their slightly unconventional tastes in fiction? Of course not, or at least I do not think so.
It is not like these fans would purposefully go on the streets to relieve their sexual desires on random passersby. Please bear that in mind the next time you think about labelling someone’s pornographic preferences as an abnormality or “directly and purposefully” harming others.
Unless they blatantly say homophobic or ignorant remarks about same-sex relationships, rest assured, most of them are just regular women (or men) enjoying their slightly-outside-the-norm hobbies on the side. And who knows, maybe it is just a way for them to find like-minded people with whom they can openly share their interests without being patronized.
Further reading:
Bass, A. Difference and disavowal: The trauma of eros. Stanford University Press. (2001). ix, 309pp.
El-Badri, S R; Robertshaw, B A. Sexual fetishism associated with temporal lobe dysrhythmia and learning disability: Two case studies. British Journal of Learning Disabilities. 1998 Aut; Vol 26(3): 110–114.
Fetishes and Their Associated Behavior L. F. Lowenstein, M.D.1,2
Mizoguchi, A. (2008) Reading and living yaoi: Male-male fantasy narratives as women’s sexual subculture in Japan. Doctoral Dissertation. New York: University of Rochester.
Pagliassotti, D. (2008) ‘Reading Boys’ Love in the West’, Participations, Special Edition, vol. 5, no. 2. Online at http://www.participations. org/Volume5/Issue2/5_02_pagliassotti.htm (Accessed 27 July 2016).
Rivera, T. O fetiche, subversao de simbolo./ The fetish as a subversion of the symbol. Percuso: Revista de Psicanalise. 1997; 10(19)[2]: 13–20.
Thorn, M. (2004) ‘Girls and Women Getting out of Hand: The Pleasure and Politics of Japan’s Amateur Comics Community’ in W.W. Kelly (ed.) Fanning the Flames: Fans and Consumer Culture in Contemporary Japan. New York: State University of New York Press, 169–187.
Zsila, Ágnes & Demetrovics, Zsolt. (2017). Redrawing the boundaries of gender and sexuality: A psychological reconceptualization of the boys’ love phenomenon.
