About Yaoi

OK, fine -- "More About Yaoi." You may have noticed that I'm focusing the Reviews in Brief on yaoi manga. That won't be forever, but there are a couple of reasons for doing so now.

First, that's what I'm reading, and that's as much about me as about anything: when I encounter something new that interests me, I tend to immerse myself in it In this case, I've gotten totally addicted. (There's also the fact that almost everything else I'm reading is for review, and those things come under an agreement of exclusivity: they get reviewed for the sites that provided them, and only there.)

Secondly, and the major reason that I'm writing about them here, is that I think, in the realm of young adult literature, they're important. Fully realizing that the targeted market is teenage girls (and there are any number of commentaries on the reasons for their success there), I'm convinced that they are also important for teenage boys who may be questioning their sexual orientation, or simply trying to find something they can relate to as young gay men.

In spite of the fact that the conventional wisdom teaches that boys are all about hormones and getting their rocks off, anyone who stops to think about it knows better, or should: that's the model we present them, but the reality is that they are just as interested in romance and relationships as girls are, and there are vanishingly few resources there. (There was even a study published fairly recently that backs that up, if you're looking for scientific validation.)

There's also indication that dating is harder for boys to deal with -- they are hugely vulnerable in that area. Researchers ascribe this to limited communications skills among boys, and that's another area in which I think some of the better yaoi can be of value: the emphasis is on relationships, falling in love, and communicating those feelings as the key to success.

An excellent example of this is Hyouta Fujiyama's Lover's Flat, in which the conflicts are largely a matter of lack of communication. It's a graphic illustration, not only of what can go wrong, but how to set it right. I'd recommend that one, along with Fujiyama's Spell, Yaya Sakuragi's Tea for Two, and Modoru Motoni's Dog Style without hesitation to any gay teenage boy trying to deal with his own first attempts at love. (The lessons are equally valuable for young straights, but the interest is not going to be there.) (I might be persuaded to add to that list two by Makoto Tateno, Yellow and Hero-Heel (which I will be commenting on soon): although they involve slightly older men -- in their early 20s -- they describe many of the same conflicts and resolutions, even though the romance is not the "story" so much as it is in the others.)

Oh, and about the sex: big deal. The ones I've noted are really quite demure, and I'd be willing to guess that most teenagers know more about what's going on than is illustrated in these stories. Besides, we have a really sick attitude toward sex in this country that I think poisons our attitudes about relationships in general, and it's all to the good, I think, if young people can get some input that's a little more realistic and a little more intelligent than what they're otherwise going to get. A key factor here, and a major reason that I can't consider these thing pornographic in any sense, is that this is all keyed to relationships: pornography is about sex, yaoi is about love. It's that simple.

OK -- that's today's sermon.