#bl fandom

So you know of those gays (usually white) that made dumb tiktok dancing to list of countries that legalized same sex marriage and list of countries that discriminate against LGBTQIA+ poeple as a way to say something racist. yeah i kinda got the same vibes from some comments regard how asian BL is homophobic just cause they don't live up to queer western standard. look, i'm not saying that some BLs and their creators don't deserve criticism regard how they capitalized/exploited queerness for an easy cash grab.

But people need to understand that Asian countries despite recent progress are still very much culturally conservatives. so when people says that thai bl is homophobic and all the characters looks like bunch of straight guys, which is true for some olders thai BLs i'm not gonna denied that. but after all this time and newer BLs generally being very queer and most of creators being out queer themself and poeple still making these comments, i'm annoyed.

And don't get me start on the actors. you don't know them! why are you making assumption and calling them queerbaiter just cause they acts in bl. like maybe they're straight, maybe they're not but what they're definitely doing is making queer content for you know, queer people here. so when you made halfass comments about their sexuality what do you think that made other queer people who still in the closet feels. and when you add the nationality to that, "these thai bl pair are this and that, this korean actor is so ungrateful for his bl past", etc. when our societies are still very much still in progress regard LGBTQIA+ acceptance. it make us living here feels fucking awful like somehow we're lesser queer than people in the west just cause we don't have citibank at pride or some shit.

And the shittiest in my humbled opinion are comments regard censored chinese bls. people do know like, that the creators making these bls are risking their livelihoods for this. that these shows getting make at all are miracles. yes it sucked that they're censored but they're still very much queer shows making by queer people who want to express thier queerness despite the chinese government being the chinese government. when people dimissing these shows as not belonging in queer media, you're also dimissing their creators and audiences as not belonging in the community.

Look what i want to say is that we're trying our best over here, and maybe our best are not up to your liking. the ways we talk and express our queerness maybe still can be perceived as problematic by western queer standard. but these media are our house and you're the guests. for people aren't shitty we appreciated that you're here engaging and loving our media, this is your home too and you're welcome in it. i can speak for myself that i very much love being here on tumblr and interacting with people from all over the world who love BL. but for people who are being shitty sometimes about asian bl.

Zhe Xu and Mi Jin the chinese CP from Kill to Love had their latest event reported to the police, apparently it got too crowded and that drew too much attention — organizers with the assistance of the fans managed to move the event somewhere else. They have what is perhaps the healthiest click of fans I've ever seen for a chinese CP, while everything was happening they were split and Zhe Xu was seen distraught but fans went to the rescue trying to cheer him up.

Saint came forth: it was indeed a hostile takeover with him losing everything, meaning his entire savings. His speech while showing resilience is another sad entry in the hall of stars that get swindled by suits. This puts all other recent exits from Idol Factory under a new light.

Veteran duo of thai actors voice their discontent with lack of work sparkling the debate about Talent vs Influence, with GMMTV being the battleground once again. This might indicate that after a tepid reception for their latest work things might be looking bleak in there. They are not alone in this, other veterans might be on the chopping block...

Wanna One fans finally pick up that one of theirs is heading into a very toxic and very morally questionable BL drama. Expect on-line discourse and lot's of anonymous complaints in korean forums. It doesn't have the budget to get the christian nutjobs moving thou.

Canadian BL Heated Rivalry got a 15-minute standing ovation at Cannes international release in most major markets (one should not worry because it seems it's going to be the most pirated show of the year). Three sex scenes per episode were promised.

You’ve got Tle’s best friend telling people watching his live stream to please stop trying to ship him with Tle because it’s disrespectful to Tle and Firstone who are very happy together, only to get confused and ask what he did wrong when the chat went insane because he thought they (TleFirstone) had already confirmed the dating rumours.

Then you have Babe live on TikTok being attacked by haters and Billy was popping into frame to tell everyone that he will block them if they continue on, Babe saying that the anti-fans are just mad because they’re (BillyBabe) real and not faking it. Pointing out the hypocrisy of how people don’t really want BL couples to be legit couples, because shipping culture is weirdly homophobic. Cut to Billy draped over Babe’s shoulders seeing more people tossing out slurs at Babe, claiming he ‘turned Billy gay’ like they somehow knew what his sexuality was before Babe came into the picture 🙄 Which had Billy blocking people claiming to be his fans because they were being fuckheads to his boyfriend. There was another case of this on IG with a Billy stan account attacking Babe and Billy just wrecking them, it was hilarious ngl.

And finally fricking Chance writing a love song about Guno, being so proud of it and his cute boyfriend that he constantly talks about the song during their recent lives like the simp that he is.

I grew up having things like this said to my face as a young queer by people who knew I read BL, and it made it that much harder to accept both my gender and my sexuality, which, ironically, BL helped me to process. So I have little patience for these kinds of statements regarding BL. They are invalidating of many people's queer experiences.

Here is my stance: BL is made for BL fans. It's not made "for the hets" or "for people who aren't queer." It's made for BL fans. That includes us queers. We are and have always been part of the audience that BL is made for.

BL authors and fans come in all different shapes and sizes. Trans men and cisgender men both read and produce BL media. Based on multiple surveys of queer BL fans the majority of fans, male or female, fall on the bisexual spectrum. (source)

There is more, in the link above, about BL demographics, under the "Misconception 2" tab, that I think is well worth the read.

Second of all, I think the idea that "some BL is made for queers and some BL isn't" is just a repackaged TERF talking point that BL is made for straight women. Let me be clear: I am not implying that people who say things like this are TERFs. But you are parroting TERF talking points and propogating their ideology by implying that the people for whom these shows are made must not be queer.

Under gender critical ideology, trans men in fandom are treated as ‘hetero sexual female fujoshi’ who consume too much ‘sexual gay male content’ only to later ‘come out as “gay trans men”’ (Anti-fujoshi 2023). Gender criticals refer to trans men (and by extension fujoshi) as ‘homophobic’ due to their belief that trans men are heterosexual women forcing their way into authentic (i.e. cisgender) gay male spaces (Anti-fujoshi 2023). (link)

Unfortunately, this concept has long since been picked up by people in the queer community who think they're fighting homophobia... and TERFs love it.

I hate fujoshi but we’re even more astounded how [social justice warriors] [took] our statements as some pro-LGBT agenda […] [and] swallowed our thinly veiled gender critical statements […]. We’re ‘transphobic’. (link)

Here are examples from fujoshi.info of TERF talking points regarding BL fans being cishet women. These are quotes from actual TERFs, and I am placing them under a cut because they can be triggering, even though this is only just a sampling. But statements like these are the roots of the idea that BL is made for straight women, and I want people to understand the implications of what they are saying.

To keep my conclusion above the cut, I just want to say that it is dangerous to play into this agenda by making claims about who BL is made for. KinnPorsche was made for me. Pit Babe was made for me. Kidnap was made for me. Queer people have always been part of the BL audience, whether the series reflects what any given person considers to be "an authentic queer experience" or not.