BL was not a strange term for me. I live in a country where it's fetished. People call those who are into BL, Fujoshis/ Fudanshis. Which literally translates to rotten girls/boys. Originated from the country Japan, these people were once considered as outcasts and doesn't deserved of marriage or relationship. Not a surprise when same sex relationships itself is considered a sin.

But as tiktok say, If you're not ready for the day, it cannot always be night. 21st century came. Most girls found male to male attraction very fascinating. The fantasy of Manga and Manhwa were just boosters to their hidden fantasies when boys love Mangas sold out within the first hour of their release, they produced more. Still it was not enough to quench their thirst. So it was satisfied through live actions. BL gained popularity over Asia and quickly spread throughout the world. BL slowly got normalized in many Asian countries and a massive production of BL movies, dramas, books, music videos started. Influence of BL forced some business to queer bait. Like in K-pop where the members are supposed to act lovey dovey towards each other. Overtime BL became a market that's mainly targeted towards females and the members of LGBTQ+ community.

Do you know why females?

I found an article by Yaoi/Boy's Love researcher Mizoguchi Akiko-san and she said that if a woman is on a train seen reading explicit manga with heterosexual sex, she will be identified as easy; if the woman is seen reading a Yuri (lesbian) sex scene, she will be identified as lesbian and harassed. However, when a woman reads explicit sex between men, most straight men simply put on a head cube and act like it doesn't exist. This gives women an outlet that is free from male harassment.

Another interesting psychological aspect can be related to the fact that gay male relationships, don't objectify, disrespect, exploit, or abuse females. It's not showing women being used as male toys, it's not a genre that exploits women.

Many straight girls/women like romantic/sexual stories involving gay men because they are free of the stereotypical portrayal of women. It’s extremely pleasant to find a good story that doesn’t mangle its portrayal of your gender in some awful and offensive way. Stories about gay men rarely portray women in a way that drags a female reader out of the story.

For many female writers, spending some time in a sandbox where your main focus is on a homosexual male romance will allow you to flesh out your conception of male characters outside of traditional trope. It does a lot for storytelling.

If you think of a lot of the stories that kids grow up on in the Disney-fied verse, you end up with a lot of “hero man + damsel in distress” storyline. Like Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White and the list goes on.

So your brain gets stuck in these gender-defined ruts of what males do in stories and what females do in stories.

Changing the focus of the romance allows you to rewrite and re-imagine those roles, since you have to.

See men in a submissive position. In most heterosexual romance, you’ll see many story where man play the “aggressive” role. He’ll be stronger/ richer/ smarter than the women. Rarely you see the role get reversed. But in BL/yaoi, you can see men being pursued, chased and play “passive” role.

BUT ABOVE ALL PEOPLE! LOVE IS LOVE!

Favorite BL drama: To my Star (South Korea)
Current love: Bad Buddy ( Thailand)

Favorite Yaoi Manga: 19 Days
Current love: Payback, Under the greenlight
Recommendation (if you're a beginner): Here U are or 19 Days