- Invitation Status
- Looking for partners
- Posting Speed
- One post per day
- 1-3 posts per week
- One post per week
- Writing Levels
- Intermediate
- Adept
- Advanced
- Preferred Character Gender
- No Preferences
- Genres
- Urban Fantasy, High Fantasy, Epic Quest, Sci-Fi, Time Travel and World Hopping, Steampunk, Action/Adventure, Modern Drama, Mystery, Slice of Life, Romance, and many more.
I'm looking for reasons besides "It's hot lol herpderp"
Personally, I enjoy yaoi and yuri fiction equally, in fact I find myself enjoying and seeking it out more than I do hetero romance stories.
Thinking about it, I think my reasoning is split a few ways
1) Because of the social pitfalls and expectations of gay/lesbian couples today, stories about gay/lesbian relationships have an obligation to go deeper into the characters than a typical straight romance does. They almost require elements of self-acceptance, determination, and courage just to get the relationship GOING that straight characters don't normally need to as much.
2) It's a change of pace. I read, watched, and was subjected to straight romances all through my childhood and early teen years. Gay marriage wasn't even close to legal when I was a kid, and especially being raised religious, the very topic was considered taboo and disgusting among most people I hung out with. Reading romantic stories with the different dynamics of a gay relationship rather than the usual boy-meets-girl is refreshing and more interesting for me
3) Hetero romances (99% of the ones I've seen, and I've seen a lot) tend to featurehunky guys and feminine girls, neither of which do I find attractive or relatable. Even if a guy is portrayed as waifish or emo, he's still unlikely to be shown as wimpy or unreliable; the leaner, more bishie men seem to have the same strength and stoic nature of the hunky guys, just without the excess muscle. It may just be the selections I've read, but yaoi and yuri stories seem to feature more relatable, 'average' heroes and heroines, at least from my POV.
What about you? If you enjoy yaoi or yuri (manga, fanfic, or any other medium), what is it about it that you love?
Personally, I enjoy yaoi and yuri fiction equally, in fact I find myself enjoying and seeking it out more than I do hetero romance stories.
Thinking about it, I think my reasoning is split a few ways
1) Because of the social pitfalls and expectations of gay/lesbian couples today, stories about gay/lesbian relationships have an obligation to go deeper into the characters than a typical straight romance does. They almost require elements of self-acceptance, determination, and courage just to get the relationship GOING that straight characters don't normally need to as much.
2) It's a change of pace. I read, watched, and was subjected to straight romances all through my childhood and early teen years. Gay marriage wasn't even close to legal when I was a kid, and especially being raised religious, the very topic was considered taboo and disgusting among most people I hung out with. Reading romantic stories with the different dynamics of a gay relationship rather than the usual boy-meets-girl is refreshing and more interesting for me
3) Hetero romances (99% of the ones I've seen, and I've seen a lot) tend to featurehunky guys and feminine girls, neither of which do I find attractive or relatable. Even if a guy is portrayed as waifish or emo, he's still unlikely to be shown as wimpy or unreliable; the leaner, more bishie men seem to have the same strength and stoic nature of the hunky guys, just without the excess muscle. It may just be the selections I've read, but yaoi and yuri stories seem to feature more relatable, 'average' heroes and heroines, at least from my POV.
What about you? If you enjoy yaoi or yuri (manga, fanfic, or any other medium), what is it about it that you love?