the role of yaoi/anime bL in the “gay” tif (specifically tumblr/twt) community

submitted by gencritcurious from self.GenderCritical

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[–]Binah17 11 insightful - 1 fun11 insightful - 0 fun12 insightful - 1 fun -  (14 children)

I had no idea women were literally transing because of yaoi lol I've been a yaoi fan for years but I also enjoy romance in general (between men and women or women and women). sigh I love anime still but sometimes I think it was a mistake lol Some people clearly can't handle it.

[–]just_lesbian_things 8 insightful - 3 fun8 insightful - 2 fun9 insightful - 3 fun -  (13 children)

People transition because they want to. Let them take responsibility for their own choices. This is like saying white American boys shoot up schools because of video games. If Japanese cartoons make you want to pump yourself full of artificial hormones, then frankly, the problem is with you.

[–]slushpilot 9 insightful - 1 fun9 insightful - 0 fun10 insightful - 1 fun -  (12 children)

It really does sound like a flipside kind of "pornsickness" though.

Saying the problem is not in the drug but only in you is really oversimplifying.

[–]just_lesbian_things 8 insightful - 1 fun8 insightful - 0 fun9 insightful - 1 fun -  (11 children)

Anime is more than gay porn. It's essentially Japanese cartoons, though some would say it covers all Asian cartoons. There's as much, if not more variation in topics compared to western animation. Pokemon is an anime. Saying "anime is a mistake" is like saying cartoons are a mistake. At some point, people need to take responsibility for their own choices.

I'm a little tired of white anglophones blaming an entire medium of eastern storytelling just because some white teenagers are using it as an excuse to act out or whatever. This misconception is on the level of ridiculous older asians saying that homosexuality is western corruption. People need to get a grip. Anime didn't make white kids trans, and Hollywood movies didn't make me gay. Correlation isn't causation.

[–]slushpilot 7 insightful - 1 fun7 insightful - 0 fun8 insightful - 1 fun -  (10 children)

You said "let them take responsibility for their own choices"...

My point is that young people can easily develop unhealthy obsessions with media—especially unrealistic sexual/pornographic media—and I don't think it's wrong to point out the dangers of that. Mainly, I don't think you can simply blame children for falling headlong into these fantasies.

I'm not speaking against anime & manga in general, or even erotic art. But I really don't think teenagers should be consuming so much fantasy about relationships & sex at the exclusion of figuring out actual real-life relationships for themselves.

You're probably right that most people outside of Japan don't necessarily know about the variety of themes discussed in graphic media there. And that's part of the problem too: allowing unchecked, uncritical consumption of all of it it by children, without really understanding that some of it might be inappropriate for their age.

[–]YoutiaoLover 6 insightful - 1 fun6 insightful - 0 fun7 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

I agree with you. It's like saying: we all know knives can be dangerous so when children--who weren't warned about the danger--stab themselves with a knife, they are responsible for hurting themselves. Most of the time, children are victims and ended up this way because adults around them failed to supervise and teach them to separate reality and fiction.

My nephews and nieces watched YouTube since they were babies. At the age of 7 they go browsing the internet without supervision, watching and reading any content they want. Their parents and other adults are downplaying the dangers lurking in internet because "They're kids!" "Internet isn't as dangerous as you think." "What? Do you think MY kid is going to access porn or something? lol."🤦🤦🤦

Unfortunately parents like that are EVERYWHERE now. They're failing their children and I can't help but think that this generation is fucked.

[–][deleted] 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

That's my niece too. Years ago when she was that age I tried to warn her parents but got eye rolls.

[–]just_lesbian_things 5 insightful - 1 fun5 insightful - 0 fun6 insightful - 1 fun -  (7 children)

But I really don't think teenagers should be consuming so much fantasy about relationships & sex at the exclusion of figuring out actual real-life relationships for themselves.

Teenagers aren't children. There has always been fantasies about relationships and sex in media. And before media was as accessible as it is today, "teenagers" were getting married and starting families. The age people started having sex is going up, but mostly that's not seen as a bad thing. It's true that gen X and baby boomers had sex earlier on average, but whether that's good or bad is up for debate.

Moreover, the teenagers solely exploring sexual themes online are usually the ones who weren't able to find real life relationships anyway, speaking as someone who was one of those teenagers. The alternative wasn't me going out and meeting other teenaged lesbians, the alternative was nothing at all. I was the only lesbian I knew growing up and I was smart enough to hide it from my parents.

I was probably more exposed to sexual themes than het teenagers on account of how predatory people can be towards lesbians. I've ran into couples seeking threesomes in lesbian spaces since I was 14 or 15. Nevertheless, I think online was, in many ways, safer than real life. I was largely able to set the pace for what I felt comfortable seeing. If I didn't like something, I closed the window. If I didn't like certain words, I stopped reading. There's a choice. If there wasn't, most of my friends and I would be trans, considering we all grew up in the same way.

most people outside of Japan don't necessarily know about the variety of themes discussed in graphic media there. And that's part of the problem too: allowing unchecked, uncritical consumption of all of it it by children, without really understanding that some of it might be inappropriate for their age.

Nah, most people within the east Asian sphere know about the variety of themes and stories in anime. Most westerners who don't understand assume it's violence or porn.

[–]jet199 5 insightful - 1 fun5 insightful - 0 fun6 insightful - 1 fun -  (6 children)

"Teenagers aren't children."

What do you mean here?

A teenager is a pretty modern invention.

Certainly in law they are children.

Biologically the brain doesn't fully mature until we are 25. At 16 a person still has many childlike ways of thinking (they actually see the world differently) which adults don't have.

How does being a teenager mean they are safe to view porn when a child isn't?

[–][deleted] 8 insightful - 1 fun8 insightful - 0 fun9 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

My TIF niece isn't even a teenager yet and it got to her before she was even twelve.

I do a lot of adolescent health and they are definitely children.

[–]just_lesbian_things 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (4 children)

Teenager is a pretty modern invention. For most of human history, people handled adult responsibilities just fine at 16. In Germany, 16 year olds can drink and have sex. In USA, they can drive and join the army (with their parents' consent). Depending on your view on porn, some would argue that there isn't a "safe" age to view porn. But I'd certainly say there's a difference between a 16 year old, one who is legally allowed to have sex, viewing porn, as opposed to, say, a 6 year old, or even a 9 year old.

[–]slushpilot 5 insightful - 1 fun5 insightful - 0 fun6 insightful - 1 fun -  (3 children)

In most of human history girls were married off shortly after menarch. Great baseline to aspire to there.

[–]just_lesbian_things 4 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 0 fun5 insightful - 1 fun -  (2 children)

False equivalence. "Teenagers" being expected to and capable of handling adult responsibilities for most of human history does not mean we should marry girls off just after menarche.