Exploring sexuality through Yaoi comics

The Japanese Yaoi and Yuri comics have amassed a cult following in a world where homosexuality is still fighting for equality and recognition, writes Pallavi N B

Yaoi in the beginning was a sub-genre of the Shojo genre (girl’s comics) of Manga. Over the years it developed into comics that show homoerotic relationships between men. Yaoi has for a long time been discouraged by gay men — the objects of the content — for being grossly unrealistic of how gay men are represented. Though gay men have specifically expressed their discontent with the creators of the comics, it’s overwhelmingly women who continue to read and enjoy the genre.

What is Yaoi?

Yaoi as a genre showcases a few common plots and themes, just like how cis-heteroromantic films have movie cliches, for example, the rich boy and the poor girl falling in love or the strong independent cold man and sweet warm woman falling in love and vice versa, Yaoi has one major cliché, the Seme (top) and the Uke (bottom) who most definitely fall in love by the end of the story. Most Yaoi comics are sexual in nature and define which of the two characters in the relationship are a top (Seme) and a bottom (Uke).

A Seme in these tropes is almost always someone who is bigger, stronger, and more masculine than the Uke. A Uke in these tropes is almost always softer, smaller, and more feminine than the Seme.

The top and bottom indicate the sexual domination of the people in the relationship over each other. The top being sexually dominant over the bottom.

Common themes in Yaoi include rape, fetishising younger men and non-consensual (noncon) and dubiously consensual (dubcon) sex.

A lot of Yaoi comics have noncon and dubcon sex which almost always ends in the Uke enjoying such behaviour despite it being grossly misleading and dangerous in real-life situations. They are not genuine in their representation of a gay relationship. The shows based on these comics and the comics themselves are obsessed with the power dynamics between the two main characters — Seme and Uke.

When these roles are not too black and white in real life who is dominant or submissive in the bedroom doesn’t necessarily reflect their behaviour outside of it but Yaoi does not reflect this, making it an unrealistic representation of gay relationships but this representation is not far off from the realities of women in their everyday lives. Often having people undermine you because you are a woman, expecting submissive behaviour and being a ‘good girl’ is something that all women can relate to but are tired of.

Why do people enjoy it?

When asked why they enjoy Yaoi, Medha, an avid reader of Yaoi said, “I enjoy Yaois because of the tension. It’s one of the few things in life that gives me joy. We know that love is indomitable and because of that it feels so good to see people being reluctant to accept each other and then when they finally get together it gives me a sense of satisfaction.”

When asked what they think about the dubcon and noncon concepts of Yaoi, they said, “I think the noncon and dubcon stuff is wrong but I enjoy it. The noncon and dubcon elements add spice to the story. When asked why they wouldn’t prefer Hentai over Yaoi, they said, ‘In Hentai they don’t represent women properly and that’s why it makes me uncomfortable but I also haven’t explored Hentai much. If I find friends who read Hentai and are into it, I probably would read it as well.”

Sneha, an occasional reader of Yaoi, says, “I haven’t read many but I only read those that are considered unproblematic, like Cherry Blossoms After Winter because I’m not comfortable reading noncon and dubcon comics.”

Aakrithi says, “I don’t necessarily read Yaoi for the erotica, I read it for the romance. I like the yearning and the efforts both of them take in being together. I like the plots better than the sex.”

Yaoi readers understand the problematic tropes that Yaoi projects but at the same time enjoy the comics due to their erotic nature, some also enjoy it just for the romance.

Yaoi readers just enjoy reading Yaoi as it objectifies men and this is what we call the female gaze. Due to the majority of the demographic who read Yaoi being feminine, we see that it is a product of feminine desires and not a representation of gay relationships.

Yaoi and Yuri have exploded onto the international Manga scene and become a commercial success. Thought to have been started by fan-fiction and early Doujinshi, these Japanese comics have amassed a cult following and become genres in their own right.

In a world where homosexuality is still fighting for equality and recognition, what is the attraction of these Manga and why are they gaining popularity today?

There are many reasons why these Manga could appeal to people. It’s thought that Yaoi Manga gives women and girls an outlet to explore their sexuality.