documenting the BL fan experience
I think here in the Philippines the more mainstream BL fandom is into Thai BL now, but there’s a large following of the “traditional” Japanese BL manga/anime since a lot of us grew up with general anime/manga. — 29, She/Her, Philippines
On one side, it was because of piracy that I was able to find BL content in the first place (downloading anime and manga, and later on doujinshi). When I got into online fandom, nobody debated where the content had come from, we never stopped…
When I first discovered BL fandom: “Glomp rawr XD Yaoi means stop my butt hurts”. Now fandom has chilled out, BL is more readily available for consumers and talking to people is a lot more easy. Though the fandom online is a lot more angry about things. The real life people I talk to just enjoy what they enjoy and don’t worry about other people’s tastes.
— 27, He/Him, New Zealand
I grew up in the era of Ai No Kusabi, Kizuna, FAKE and Ayano Yamane. I read Tokyo Babylon and X/1999 as queer (at the very least deeply queer-coded) and works like Utena and Neon Genesis Evangelion were revolutionary to me. BL wasn’t easy to…
My country seems to have some people who are now aware of the BL genre, some started reading it. Vicious commentary is everywhere. But I have found some people who read not only manga, but [BL] literature as well. I wouldn’t have realized people existed…
The first mlm ships I started shipping came from Homestuck, which came with lots of fanart and fanfic. Then I got into the Free! fandom and started reading BL. I remember people kept talking about Junjou Romantica and the likes, although it did feel like those things were out of style at the time. There was also Love Stage, but I don’t remember if it occurred around the time I first discovered BL. I mostly used tumblr back then when it came to non-original BL fandoms, and also occasionally searched for BL art.
— 25, They/Them, Vietnam
BL can be easy to find. But not in English. Online comic sites like Lehzin and Tappytoon toon are making it easier as they offer translations. But an annoying payment system makes it hard to enjoy. Pirating has led to publishers realizing there’s an audience.…
There’s a lot to be said about availability privilege when it comes to media and content. We need to have a talk about people who live in places and countries without the privilege to access these things. The industry around distribution heavily affects all fans.…
First experiences with BL: Yu Yu Hakusho and Prince of Tennis doujinshi and fanart back in 2003-2004. The first BL manga I bought was “Only the Ring Finger Knows”— very silly and romantic. I liked so many things about BL and shipping— the distance from my own identity/lived experiences allowed me to explore ideas of sexuality, gender, and romance more easily, the coming out narratives were touching and acted like a guide for me, the community was so fun and completely open. Initially, I wasn’t part of the fandom as a whole, I suppose as I was quite young. But I often met other anime fans online and in real life who liked BL and I always got on really well with them. BL fans were often more creative, open-minded, and passionate in my opinion. I spent a lot of time on msn, yahoo, and gaiaonline. Mostly it was a pleasant surprise to learn that someone you met was also into BL (and usually Girl’s Love, too, at that time).
— 28, She/They, USA
Fandom is still mostly on the internet, we don’t really meet except for friends who I knew before and we discovered we both liked BL. When I was living in France I would go to conventions, expos or in cafes to meet friends who liked…
