What can I say? I’m on a roll today baby! Coming at you with more information than a faulty radio station we are talking about Boys Love! *shrieks*
Love it or hate it, its here to stay! Roll the clip!
“Yaoi” or Boys’ Love is a term that originated in the 1970s as a subgenre to Shoujo manga according to Wikipedia. Boys Love/BL is a genre featuring homoerotic relationships between male characters. Yaoi is just one of many terms to reference to describe male-to-male romance, the words Shonen-ai, Tanbi, Shonen-ai and Boy’s Love are also used interchangeably. 
Just a side note, Yaoi is a lot more sexually explicit than Shonen-ai. Created by women for women, which is distinct from gay manga or “bara” which is created by male creators.
Homosexuality and androgyny have a history dating back to the ancient times of Japan. Dojinshi or self-published work emerged alongside BL as well, early works of Yaoi dojinishi were produced for Comiket which feature popular rock stars like David Bowie. Female illustrators began to create a name for themselves through Yaoi.
We’re going to cut it short here ladies, gents and non-binaries! Catch up on the rest in our latest issue of Brunch here:https://app.saturday-am.com/#/reader/51372/1817628
Until next time!
