Hey Guys, Today We Discuss:

[Solstis]

Yaoi

I was going to reply in the female gamers thread, but that this is bogged down more than a Monty Pythonian castle built on a swamp.

Yaoi is cute!

Uh, yeah, okay.

Yaoi is today's Aunt Jemima.

Though, if you wanted to look at it, Yaoi could be considered a hyper-sexualization of the male form, thus a strike for modern feminism.

Then again, I'm pretty sure that most feminists are against female pornography, so I'm not sure where male pornography falls.

Anyway, I don't not typically find yaoi attractive (nearly grotesque manipulations of physical attributes), but is probably considered thrilling because of the control/voyeuristic dynamics. Claims about observing lovely relationships or male x male bonds aside, it's still voyeurism. When I look at porn, I am perfectly aware of how awful it is to be doing so. Yes, people are selling themselves and I am treating them like paperweights in my quest for satisfaction.

I've seen the argument that yaoi is somehow a purer mode of expression. What? You're still objectifying someone. Something tells me that a yaoi fan-girl would have difficulties dealing with an actual gay couple.

It's a modified version of the male gaze, placed yet again on a minority population. Thanks a lot, yaoi fan-girls.

[Fleur-de-Lis]

On 2007-12-25 22:53, Solstis wrote:
Though, if you wanted to look at it, Yaoi could be considered a hyper-sexualization of the male form, thus a strike for modern feminism.

I would agree with this if the stuff was in fact marketed to adult women, and not pre-teen girls. As a former bookstore manager, I was always curious why Viz Media could get away with it, but Larry Flint wasn't allowed to publish Penthouse for Kids.

[Sord]

On 2007-12-26 01:59, Fleur-de-Lis wrote:

On 2007-12-25 22:53, Solstis wrote:
Though, if you wanted to look at it, Yaoi could be considered a hyper-sexualization of the male form, thus a strike for modern feminism.

I would agree with this if the stuff was in fact marketed to adult women, and not pre-teen girls. As a former bookstore manager, I was always curious why Viz Media could get away with it, but Larry Flint wasn't allowed to publish Penthouse for Kids.

It always seemed to me that parents are rather ignorant of what a lot of stereotyical manga actually contains. Most people know what Penthouse is. Not so many peopple know what [obscure half japanese title] is, especially outside of the younger generation. And unless it's actually rated for 18+, wrappers and warning stickers are never put on them (at least not at book stores around here, sometimes, even when it is, they still aren't there.)

[Fleur-de-Lis]

Yeah, I spent 2+ hours, 3 days a week, shrink-wrapping every manga title we received. All it succeeded in doing was littering my salesfloor with plastic. We were never able to implement an effective system for preventing underage sale while I was an employee.

And I suspect that a substantial portion of parents, if they were to know what goes on in said manga, still wouldn't care. Parent apathy is rampant in this community.