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owlectomySimona Stanzani, "My BL new-wave-ism"
Stanzani wrote a thesis on "Reconciliation of Binary Opposites in Japanese Manga and Anime" in 2001 as a student in London, analyzing such themes as "dreams and reality," "matter and spirit," "east and west," "past and future," "cultural heritage and daily life," and "man and woman." At that time she'd read a little bit of shounen ai -- "Song of the Wind and Trees" -- but didn't have a clear idea of "why do Japanese women like to read gay love stories."
She didn't enjoy the majority of BL because it was just too unrealistic, but finally in 2007 found "Sugar Milk," which was both realistic and stylish, with a keen sense of the everyday. She singles out Tokyou Manga-sha as working hard to bring in a "new wave" of BL, with a wider world view. Authors that exemplify this new wave include:
Kusama Sakae
Yamashita Tomoko
Aniya Yuiji
Kumota Haruko
"New Wave" BL is even more of a niche in Europe and the US than in Japan -- most of the BL that gets translated in the west is cliche stuff with hot aggressive semes and ukes with eyes like little lambs. In France, though, some gay-oriented publishers are bringing out BL that's more like gay manga, which tend to have more muscley guys. Also, it seems that more gay men and straight men read BL manga in the west than in Japan. In Japan, there's a historical division between "manga for women" and "manga for men" that has created a division between gay manga and BL manga, but that division isn't as strong when things get brought overseas.
"Yaoi originally came from shoujo manga, so it started out with the idea of giving dreams to girls almost like a host club, but from there it has evolved into something closer to gay manga, although it hasn't completely bridged the distance -- and probably neither side feels the need to completely bridge the distance." Having now read a little gay manga, I think that's pretty on point. The aesthetics are different and there's more of a sense in gay manga of sexuality as a thing that exists (I think there's still quite a bit of "we're not gay, we're just in love" in BL) but... they're not really that different.)
To Stanzani, the appeal of BL is, first of all, the idea that love isn't rational. She also hypothesizes that there's a longing for a more "gentlemanly" culture, and a reflexive reaction against the patriarchy, and a subconscious longing (brought on by absent or workaholic fathers) for a man who may be mean and aggressive but will protect you. [Yeah no, I no longer accept "because psychological problems" as a valid reason why people like BL. I have just seen too many people arguing "Look at what these women are reading!" about fantasy novels and romance novels and YA novels and it becomes a little moral panic that doesn't take into account the idea that some of these works might be good considered as art/literature, might be interesting in their own right.]
"BL is an oasis of the heart: it represents the freedom to take on the viewpoint of the uke, the seme, or a third-party observer."
Stanzani also appreciates the wideness of the genre: that is has room for both fantasy and historical and stories about doctors and lawyers and police and yakuza.
Stanzani wrote a thesis on "Reconciliation of Binary Opposites in Japanese Manga and Anime" in 2001 as a student in London, analyzing such themes as "dreams and reality," "matter and spirit," "east and west," "past and future," "cultural heritage and daily life," and "man and woman." At that time she'd read a little bit of shounen ai -- "Song of the Wind and Trees" -- but didn't have a clear idea of "why do Japanese women like to read gay love stories."
She didn't enjoy the majority of BL because it was just too unrealistic, but finally in 2007 found "Sugar Milk," which was both realistic and stylish, with a keen sense of the everyday. She singles out Tokyou Manga-sha as working hard to bring in a "new wave" of BL, with a wider world view. Authors that exemplify this new wave include:
Kusama Sakae
Yamashita Tomoko
Aniya Yuiji
Kumota Haruko
"New Wave" BL is even more of a niche in Europe and the US than in Japan -- most of the BL that gets translated in the west is cliche stuff with hot aggressive semes and ukes with eyes like little lambs. In France, though, some gay-oriented publishers are bringing out BL that's more like gay manga, which tend to have more muscley guys. Also, it seems that more gay men and straight men read BL manga in the west than in Japan. In Japan, there's a historical division between "manga for women" and "manga for men" that has created a division between gay manga and BL manga, but that division isn't as strong when things get brought overseas.
"Yaoi originally came from shoujo manga, so it started out with the idea of giving dreams to girls almost like a host club, but from there it has evolved into something closer to gay manga, although it hasn't completely bridged the distance -- and probably neither side feels the need to completely bridge the distance." Having now read a little gay manga, I think that's pretty on point. The aesthetics are different and there's more of a sense in gay manga of sexuality as a thing that exists (I think there's still quite a bit of "we're not gay, we're just in love" in BL) but... they're not really that different.)
To Stanzani, the appeal of BL is, first of all, the idea that love isn't rational. She also hypothesizes that there's a longing for a more "gentlemanly" culture, and a reflexive reaction against the patriarchy, and a subconscious longing (brought on by absent or workaholic fathers) for a man who may be mean and aggressive but will protect you. [Yeah no, I no longer accept "because psychological problems" as a valid reason why people like BL. I have just seen too many people arguing "Look at what these women are reading!" about fantasy novels and romance novels and YA novels and it becomes a little moral panic that doesn't take into account the idea that some of these works might be good considered as art/literature, might be interesting in their own right.]
"BL is an oasis of the heart: it represents the freedom to take on the viewpoint of the uke, the seme, or a third-party observer."
Stanzani also appreciates the wideness of the genre: that is has room for both fantasy and historical and stories about doctors and lawyers and police and yakuza.
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