Boy’s Love (BL) manga and literature has seen a rise in popularity as of recently. Their first wave of popularity, in the 70’s, made the genre a breakthrough in Japanese markets. In the 90’s, its popularity spread to neighboring Asian countries and became a significant genre. Around the 2000’s, Japanese manga started being imported in places like the U.S. The development of Japanese BL is comparable to the Slash (m/m) culture in the U.S., starting in the 60’s with Star Trek. Now, we can see even countries like China producing live-action BL dramas, their most globally successful being The Untamed (2018).

One of my favorite BL manga is Sasaki and Miyano (2022). It depicts a wholesome, budding high school romance, and the portrayal of the main couple in that manga felt refreshing. For example, the main character, Miyano, is a high schooler that likes manga and is socially awkward. Anyone can empathize with how he stumbles over his words in front of a crush or fails to hide the manga he reads. The gay characters in this manga don’t fall into the stereotype of only being flamboyant or feminine. Instead, they are average high schoolers that have many flaws and insecurities they need to overcome. It’s a well-done, realistic story, and it stands out compared to many other BL manga.

Japanese markets, especially manga, have significantly less censoring than western markets. This opens the opportunity for anyone in Japan to tackle topics usually considered controversial in the western world. Because of this culture, most of the authors for the BL genre being straight women is widely accepted, and the fetishistic nature of the writing is not immediately called into question. For these characteristics, any BL mangas get criticism for being unrealistic. People who write this genre tends to portray gay romance in a world without sexuality-based discrimination. Depending on their reasoning to write a gay romance, such authors exclude any homophobia because of a lack of firsthand experience or exclude it precisely because they want to create an idealized, fantasy version of romance. Either way, while there is an abundance of gay representation in Japanese manga, most do not carry the same reservations and care that American media must have when depicting the same subjects.

Another form of LGBT media in Asia is the Chinese Danmei, like BL in that the male leads are romantically involved with each other. The genre’s defining feature is being set in the ancient world of Chinese cultivation. One popular example is in 2022, the first translation of The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation debuted and became a New York Times bestseller, later adapted into a television drama called The Untamed. Danmei is wildly popular genre in China, with most of its popularity driven by female fans. Sociologists explain the appeal as a form of rebellion against China’s strongly sexist society. While reading The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation, there is one scene with the male leads going out drinking, leading to one getting drunk and sleeping on the floor. It is a small scene, but it is meant to show the unknown side of a usually uptight and righteous man born in a noble family. When I try to imagine the same scene for a noble-born female lead, it is not believable at all. There is no way for a noble lady to get drunk and fool around in the same way without ruining her reputation or being taken advantage of. To write the scene the same way for a female lead, we need to change the fundamental structure of Chinese society. For some authors, that is the point of writing Danmei rather than any other genre.

It is no wonder why there is so much viewership of BL content that comes from women. Even now, women are not free to express themselves the same way men can, even in fiction. BL, whether Chinese or Japanese, provides an unconventional way to give women a glimpse of an ideal, fantasy life free from the expectations of society.