Rythyme made a point in our conversation, “BL as a genre despite its shortcomings has always been, at its core, both queer and transgressive and it's hard to draw those lines between what's made for the ‘BL fangirl’ vs the ‘queer person’ bc those boundaries are super blurred” And i agree with that statement, because many of those BL fangirls the genre was aimed at turned out to be queer people later in life.
It was mind blowing, specially because they are from a whole different culture than mine, and as my older sister who is in their age range said: “you’re watching/learning queer history.” It was both touching and a great learning experience.īL is a genre that can be multiple things at once (like any other), but what lends itself to the blending I mentioned before is that we are not only seeing the industry as a whole growing with its fanbase, but also the fact that more LGBTQ+ voices are getting involved in the making and distribution of it. It was hard to put into words, but hearing what these older queer/gay men had to say about this show, their lives, their experiences, the differences between their youth and today. Watching his reaction/review videos to the show, along with his peers who are also queer men, specially for the final episode, has been one of the best experiences of my life. That has a lot to do with the Director of the show, P’Aof, a very talented director, and an out gay man.
It is 100 percent a BL, ticks all the boxes, but it is also 100 percent a coming of age, nuanced love story between two boys that tugs at your heartstrings and makes you want to go through the joy and anxieties of falling in love. I believe BL media is and should be qualified under LGBTQ+ media. That does not mean that there isn't just fanservice for the sake of it out there, not every piece of media has to be nuanced and whatnot (we all like chicken nuggets every once in a while people, don’t lie, five course meals are not always where its at), but it does mean that there is more media that lands in the blended space. So i was having a lovely conversation with about the current rapid evolution of the BL industry, specially in Thailand - looking at the impact KinnPorsche is having, everywhere, at the moment - and it led us to a path where i was able to articulate something i’ve been thinking about or a while in regards to BL as a genre and how it relates to (and is) LGBTQ+ media.īL might have its roots as a genre made for fangirls as fanservice, but the reality of it is, it is ALSO queer media and as the world at large embraces LGBTQ+ identities(i use the term embrace loosely here, we are all aware of the hurdles we face still), the lines have blurred into what people consider just BL - as fangirl fanservice - and LGBTQ+ content. My mind can’t seem to make itself up on what any of my characters look like. To elaborate, I’ll be out and about and walk into a coffee shop-as you do-and I’ll see a beautiful fair skinned barista with long, crisp snow colored hair falling silkily over her shoulder and down to her waist her thick-boned features give her hard, striking appearance with a sharp jawline and wide doe-like eyes, and when she asks what I’d like all I can think is “!!!” because she instantly made me think of the duotagonist of the book I’ve been writing forever.īut then, later, I’ll go out to eat with my mother and when the waitress appears to take our order, my brain will go “!!!” as I take in her shinning, chocolate curls cascading down her back and framing her delicate, fae-like features, highlighting her slanted, dark eyes, and pulling out the dark, rich, mocha tone of her satin skin, because she brings to mind the exact same character! I have a character creation problem… my character’s always seem to be race-fluid? And I don’t know why?