documenting the BL fan experience
I was maybe 12 and was beginning to question my identity (sexuality and gender), and it was the first time I related to something and felt like I “belonged”, like something clicked and I realized I was different. Since BL is “common” in Japan I…
My first BL introduction was around 2000. The Internet was still pretty limited in my country and my family was one fortunate enough to have access. I was around 10 years old snooping around the web, where I was able to find a closed group…
Gei comi is a bit heavier and with more sex than BL, less bishounen, but I like it. It feels too real sometimes. I don’t always want to relate to stuff, sometimes I just want to vibe.
— 23, He/Him, Japan
There was a time when most cons were cancelled and merch wouldn’t ship due to some trade b.s. Not to mention I was a queer child with secret interests that I didn’t want my family to know about (still is that way). So the internet…
I’ve learnt very very basic katakana, so if the guiding katakana is given in a BL comic, I am able to follow it, although it does take me some time to decipher it. —20, She/Her, India
The depictions in BL are often exaggerated and don’t always reflect real life. It is a work of fiction after all. I know that as heterosexual person, my understandjng of LGBTQ relationships to not be as deep as an actual LGBTQ person. As long as you recognize that and don’t generalize, or impose things on people, just enjoy what you like.
— 23, She/Her, Indonesia
No, I don’t use fujin terms personally, but I tag my accounts as fumuke, since I usually only focus on mlm. — 22, He/Him, Venezuela
Sometimes people will call me a fake or say that I am not allowed to read BL because of how I identify and my gender assigned at birth. Most people are okay with how I ID though. — 18, He/They, Jamaica
BL gives me solace but as a person who needs to recharge from ALL real life things and people. From the very beginning, I separated myself from fiction very strictly and BL is simply one of the art forms I enjoy. Fujoshi are so stigmatized but my best fandom and real life friends have always been fujoshi. No exception. They’re all warm and tend to be very accepting and lend their ears to my issues. Back when I was a teen a trans fujoshi helped me a lot with my issues and helped me calm my anxiety about transition etc.
— 21, They/Them, Cambodia
I’m a bi man, and I use Fudanshi. People like to use my mlm identity in discourse, as long as I agree with them (otherwise I don’t count). I like m|m representation in BL, it’s fictional, it’s for fun! It doesn’t need to be 1:1…
