WELL. The first anime I ever watched was a yaoi anime, and the first two fandoms I was in were predominantly yaoi-based, so...yeah, I have thoughts, but my thoughts now are a little to different to my thoughts then. (I'm kind of lumping slash fanfic based on manga/anime in with the actual shounen-ai/yaoi animes themselves in my definition here.)
Like Ji I am PROFOUNDLY ANNOYED by the whole seme/uke distinction and the importance that is placed on it, such that saying (to use a more familiar example) 'Doctor/Master' is actually very different to calling it 'Master/Doctor' and tells you straight off a) who's pitching and who's catching, to be crude about it, and b) what the overall dynamic between them will be, ie. one where the power and/or dominance is very definitely uneven.
I haven't ever bothered to analyse the whole trend for girlish appearance and often girlish behaviour in yaoi -- it was a whole new bewildering and eye-opening world when I was sixteen, as my early LJ entries will attest to in the most horrifying manner -- so although I know it's a terrible and inaccurate portrayal, of real homosexual relationships, I also find myself unable to judge it too harshly because of what it does in terms of the aforementioned eye-opening. Sure, these girls have no idea what real gay men are like, but at least they approve of their relationships and their right to have them.
Er. My thoughts on yaoi in general are obviously very disorganised. It may be more helpful/clarifying to ask me about specifics or personal experience.
no subject
(I'm kind of lumping slash fanfic based on manga/anime in with the actual shounen-ai/yaoi animes themselves in my definition here.)
Like Ji I am PROFOUNDLY ANNOYED by the whole seme/uke distinction and the importance that is placed on it, such that saying (to use a more familiar example) 'Doctor/Master' is actually very different to calling it 'Master/Doctor' and tells you straight off a) who's pitching and who's catching, to be crude about it, and b) what the overall dynamic between them will be, ie. one where the power and/or dominance is very definitely uneven.
I haven't ever bothered to analyse the whole trend for girlish appearance and often girlish behaviour in yaoi -- it was a whole new bewildering and eye-opening world when I was sixteen, as my early LJ entries will attest to in the most horrifying manner -- so although I know it's a terrible and inaccurate portrayal, of real homosexual relationships, I also find myself unable to judge it too harshly because of what it does in terms of the aforementioned eye-opening. Sure, these girls have no idea what real gay men are like, but at least they approve of their relationships and their right to have them.
Er. My thoughts on yaoi in general are obviously very disorganised. It may be more helpful/clarifying to ask me about specifics or personal experience.