ksk79:
@Tye, now that is extremely interesting (to me). Could you share the reason or reasons why you enjoy watching BL series?
I think this has been already discussed here earlier, but for me it's clearly: I am gay and I love guys. I am also especially attracted to Asian guys. So I love watching Asian guys make out and I can live in my dreamlands when I watch guys date, love, kiss, hug, have issues, etc, feel with them, cry and laugh. Because I can connect as I also love men. I love to watch a whole series that is concentrating on gay characters. In mainstream media gay characters are usually not the main leads (maybe if you watch a gay movie), or there are only rare gems like Heartstopper or Young Royals that are basically western BLs. Other than that they are often characterised as minorities with sad lives.
Funny enough: My last boyfriend was Thai and he didn't like BLs at all. He said he hates that overacted fictitious stuff (especially he meant Thai BLs) with the exception of "I told sunset about you" and the followup.
I know a lot of gay guys who watch BLs. It's not only made for girls, there is a large gay fanbase. Of course, isn't it obvious why?
@Tye, thank you for offering your perspectives. I have requested a friend request to your account, so we can DM each other, if needed. I do not wish to voice my views in this forum for BL fans. I still haven't recovered from an extremely crass attack from a female member in another forum for simply offering my opinion on a cultural aspect of a particular series.
It would be a pity if you let a rude person stop you from expressing your opinions. When people respond like that it's often because they're insecure about their own positions and someone expressing something contrary to these can often be viewed as a threat - it's immature and best ignored. For some people it gives them a sense of self-worth to proclaim themselves an expert in something they often know little or nothing about. I'm a 56 year old gay man, and I've had teenaged girls lecture me on gender and sexuality - it's acutually funny.
@jpny01, thank you for your reply. It is ironic, for me, that as a former high school teacher, I taught cyberbullying to those teens, but being at the receiving end of an extremely, uncouth comment, was and still is very jarring. I am content with being a consumer psychologist by reading other people's bold comments and deciphering their demographic and psychographic attributes. I stumbled upon this forum after being misled with gay-labeled series which turned out to be BL or M/M, which isn't my cup of tea for entertainment with useful gay-theme issues.
I can completely understand that. I do like BL, but there are times when I feel burned out on it because it's so formulaic and trope-ridden. There are a few that are truly LGBT rather than BL, and the BL audience usually intensely dislikes them.
