Open AccessReflection on Chinese boys' love fans: An insider's view
Author(s) -
Erika Junhui Yi
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
transformative works and cultures
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 1941-2258
DOI - 10.3983/twc.2013.0424
Subject(s) - fandom , mainstream , insider , girl , rumor , china , sociology , subculture (biology) , perspective (graphical) , gender studies , media studies , moral panic , art , psychology , visual arts , political science , criminology , law , developmental psychology , botany , biology
The fandom of BL, as it is known in China, celebrates explicit homoerotic relationships between boys or men—fictional characters taken from mainstream media, real-life celebrities, and male personifications of day-to-day objects and animals, as well as original characters. Mainstream media reports on BL fandom and BL fan girls in China have never been favorable; this subculture and the fans within it are constantly represented in a negative and biased light. But because I am a BL fan girl myself, I can offer an insider's perspective. This essay is a reflection on my personal experiences and observations as a member of BL fandom, and a response to erroneous, stigmatizing claims and moral panic about this community in China