The Subculture of Yaoi As a Social Bond Between Women Amy Ann O'brien
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View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Georgia State University Georgia State University ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University Anthropology Theses Department of Anthropology 11-21-2008 Boys' Love and Female Friendships: The Subculture of Yaoi as a Social Bond between Women Amy Ann O'Brien Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/anthro_theses Part of the Anthropology Commons Recommended Citation O'Brien, Amy Ann, "Boys' Love and Female Friendships: The ubcS ulture of Yaoi as a Social Bond between Women." Thesis, Georgia State University, 2008. https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/anthro_theses/28 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Anthropology at ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Anthropology Theses by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. BOYS’ LOVE AND FEMALE FRIENDSHIPS: THE SUBCULTURE OF YAOI AS A SOCIAL BOND BETWEEN WOMEN by AMY ANN O’BRIEN Under the Direction of Jennifer Patico ABSTRACT In this thesis I argue that the yaoi community addresses a gap in subculture studies through the ways in which women use the genre to socialize. Yaoi is a genre of Japanese animation and comics which focuses on romantic relationships between two men and is directly geared towards women. Through ethnographic research in the United States, I look at how the women I interviewed conceptualize their participation within the community and what yaoi means to them. The women within the yaoi community are not rebelliously opposing the mainstream as many subcultural theories suggest, but are instead carving out a social space for themselves and others who have a distinct taste for the yaoi genre. INDEX WORDS: Thesis, Subculture, Youth Culture, Yaoi, Women, Gender, Identity, Sociality, Consumption, Cultural Anthropology BOYS’ LOVE AND FEMALE FRIENDSHIPS: THE SUBCULTURE OF YAOI AS A SOCIAL BOND BETWEEN WOMEN by AMY ANN O’BRIEN A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in the College of Arts and Sciences Georgia State University 2008 Copyright by Amy Ann O’Brien 2008 BOYS’ LOVE AND FEMALE FRIENDSHIPS: THE SUBCULTURE OF YAOI AS A SOCIAL BOND BETWEEN WOMEN by AMY ANN O’BRIEN Committee Chair: Jennifer Patico Committee: Emanuela Guano Megan Sinnott Electronic Version Approved: Office of Graduate Studies College of Arts and Sciences Georgia State University December 2008 iv DEDICATION This thesis is dedicated to my parents, Michael and Carol O’Brien, who continually supported me in all my academic endeavors regardless of how “offbeat” they were. I dedicate this to them for all the advice, love, and motivating pep talks they provided which made this project possible and for the examples of hard work and perseverance they both exemplified throughout my childhood and on into adulthood. For all those moments when I felt overwhelmed and they expressed unwavering confidence in my capabilities, I am thankful. In particular, for the words my father once told me which have since been a source of continual motivation: “If it was easy then everyone would do it.” It has not always been “easy,” but your presence and support has made this path less difficult. With love and appreciation, I thank you both. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I would like to acknowledge and thank all the women involved in this study as none of this would have been possible without their friendship, support, patience, and openness. I was fortunate enough to make many friends throughout the course of my research and I treasure those friendships which were facilitated by this project. In particular, thanks to Sydney who helped me “stumble” into this project and officially converted me to the “dark side” with a fateful high-five. Also, a special thanks to Monica and Jordan for all their time and help. I would like to thank Dr. Jennifer Patico who always encouraged me to push my research to the next level and dig a little deeper. For the continual guidance, feedback, and support to pull all the threads of my research together into a tighter knot, I will always be grateful. Without her advice this project would not be what it is now. I would also like to thank my committee members, Drs. Guano and Sinnott, who helped shape this thesis with their constructive feedback and thoughtful input. I would like to thank Drs. Kozaitis, Glover, Margomenou, McCombie, White, and Williams. The anthropology department provided a supportive environment during my time at GSU and I am thankful for all the words of encouragement and help from the faculty. I would also like to thank my sister, Sunny Shaw, for her support as a sister, friend, and proofreader throughout my time as both an undergraduate and graduate student. To Kim Wescott, my roommate and fellow classmate, who spent countless hours helping me talk through my research ideas, I would also like to extend thanks. All of the impromptu pool games, Guitar Hero sessions, and the like provided much needed breaks! We got this! Additionally, I am thankful for all of my friends who provided support and understanding during these past two years, in particular the wonderful friends I have made during my time at GSU, Jake Rook, Katie Saracen, and Jane Johnson. Thank you all for your support throughout these past two years. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS v CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION 1 Background 3 Literature Review 6 Epistemology 16 Methods 21 Ethics 22 The Virtual Challenge 25 Conclusion 26 2. SITUATING YAOI: THE DISTINCTION OF TASTE 28 Women and Subcultural Practices 31 Coping with Content: Transgressive or Unconventional? 37 Subculture Theories and Personal Experiences: Reconciling the Divide 41 Consumption and Spectacle: A Contemporary “Safe” Place for Women 43 Yaoi: Tasteful Eroticism Versus Pornographic Depictions 45 The Romantic and Emotional Emphasis in Yaoi Relationships 51 Yaoi and the Self: Personal Reasons for Enjoying Yaoi 55 Legitimized Tastes: The Shota Subgenre of Yaoi 56 Conclusion 59 vii 3. CONSUMING BOYS’ LOVE: 63 THE APPROPRIATION AND CONSUMPTION OF YAOI Youth Subcultures and Consumption 65 Polymorphous Perversity and Accessing Yaoi 68 Consumption Practices: The Logistics of Purchasing Yaoi 71 Why “Consume” Tangible Yaoi Products? 79 The Social Skin: Yaoi Commodities as Demarcating the Self 81 Socializing Through the Consumption of Yaoi 88 Conclusion 90 4. SOCIALIZING THROUGH YAOI: WOMEN’S SOCIAL EXPERIENCES 92 The Yaoi Community: Imagined or Real? 94 Anime Conventions: Auge's Places and Foucault's Heterotopia 96 The Effervescent Effect: Conventions as a Social Ritual 103 Animazement: An Intimate Social Space Created by Yaoi Fans 110 Socializing Through Yaoi Outside of Conventions 116 Yaoi and “Others”: Broaching the Topic of Yaoi Outside Conventions 119 and the Internet Conclusion 121 5. CONCLUSION 123 Moving Forward: Yaoi and the Future 124 Yaoi and Women: Moving Beyond Gendered Expectations 126 Yaoi and America: Speaking to the Larger Social Sphere 128 In Closing 129 viii REFERENCES 132 APPENDICES Appendix A GLOSSARY 139 Appendix B INTERVIEW GUIDE 141 Appendix C IMAGES 143 1 CHAPTER 1 – INTRODUCTION Sitting at the tables outside Smoothie King on a Saturday afternoon, Cameron, Sarah, and I discuss yaoi as we sip our smoothies. Yaoi is a genre of Japanese animation (anime) and comics (manga) which focuses on romantic relationships between two men and may include sexually explicit content. Although I have only met Cameron once prior to this afternoon and I just met Sarah today, both women are friendly and engaging. In fact, despite the occasional question or topic that I bring up, the “interview” feels less like a structured event and more of a conversation between friends. I am continually surprised and touched at how willing yaoi fans are to talk with me about their experiences with yaoi. I found easy friendship and a welcoming camaraderie a common theme throughout my fieldwork in the yaoi community. During our conversation, Sarah jokingly comments, as some people sit down a few tables away, that we will most likely frighten them off. The comment is made laughingly as it is not our intention to frighten anyone away, but upon hearing our unusual conversation it is understandable why some people may be inclined to leave. As I began to delve into the reasons why women participate in the yaoi community, I was continually struck by the sociality involved be it through anime conventions, the internet, or spending an afternoon talking about yaoi with a few other people. How do the women involved describe their experiences as a member of the yaoi community? What motivations are cited for their continued membership? How do yaoi fans situate themselves in regards to the mainstream culture? How is the consumption and appropriation of yaoi used by fans? Lastly, in what ways do women use the yaoi genre as a way to forge and maintain social bonds? With the growing influence of Japan's cultural capital on the global stage, American youth are increasingly drawn to Japanese products (Allison 2006). The study of yaoi provides an 2 interesting intersection of contemporary youth culture. While the internet and online communities are increasingly visible, such as MySpace.com, the yaoi community exists both online through message boards and discussion groups and offline through conventions devoted to Japanese animation. These conventions act as a site of community building and material consumption. Online communities link the geographically dispersed yaoi fans and the conventions are then able to provide a tangible community. Additionally, yaoi is predominantly a woman's genre, which adds another layer of paradoxical behavior to the equation. The yaoi genre involves the blurring of gender lines since the men in yaoi titles are often visually sexually ambiguous and, in personality, the traditional gender roles of male and female are often transposed onto the two male characters.