Is it yaoi? Women reading yaoi manga is an issue that interests me. In "typical" mainstream porn, there is a man and a woman, and the viewer - usually a man - looks at it and often imagines himself in the position of the man in the film or pictures. In traditional mainstream porn with no men in it (hustler, "lesbian" porn for straight men, strip bars) the action and shots are posed explicitly to show off attractive women so that men can desire them and imagine (desire) having sex with them.
Yaoi, which is commonly consumed by some friends of mine (and my wife) has no role for the woman to imagine herself taking. Do yaoi-consumers imagine themselves to be one of the men? Which one? The seme or the uke? Either? Both?
My theory is that the story interests the consumer as much as the dirty drawings. This is related to why women consume smutty romance novels. Women are turned on by something in the stories in yaoi and the stories in romance novels. It may be related to a gendered desire for a protector or provider; there's an element of relationship building (which implies emotional and physical support) in both romance and yaoi, and in yaoi, the physical support can often manifest as literal physical defense against attacks.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2006-08-15 01:55 am (UTC)Yaoi, which is commonly consumed by some friends of mine (and my wife) has no role for the woman to imagine herself taking. Do yaoi-consumers imagine themselves to be one of the men? Which one? The seme or the uke? Either? Both?
My theory is that the story interests the consumer as much as the dirty drawings. This is related to why women consume smutty romance novels. Women are turned on by something in the stories in yaoi and the stories in romance novels. It may be related to a gendered desire for a protector or provider; there's an element of relationship building (which implies emotional and physical support) in both romance and yaoi, and in yaoi, the physical support can often manifest as literal physical defense against attacks.