Is it normal for a guy to like BL?

[rocket]

Face it, you're gay. Hard gay!

Might as well hoist the rainbow flag and start enjoying it! (^_-)

[JQuartz]

Face it, you're gay. Hard gay!

Me or the guy chisa-chan was talking about? Being such a vain person as I am I'll just assume you're talking about me.

Anyway I'm not gay, it's just that I heard a somewhat funny argument from a friend of mine in the past that kind of made me support gay relationships. This is what my friend told me:

Straight men should support gay relationships cause it'll reduce the number of eligible bachelors in the world thus reducing the competition in the dating game.

I hope all the good men are gay, kekeke...

[Jake]

Anyway I'm not gay, it's just that I heard a somewhat funny argument from a friend of mine in the past that kind of made me support gay relationships.

I'd heard a similar kind of statement in "all the gay men are pretty and all the lesbians are ugly, making it easier for us regular-looking people to get laid", but in my experience neither side of that is true, either...

...but to be honest, there's a much better reason to support gay relationships. Unfortunately I can't remember who I heard it from, but I certainly agree - something along the lines of: "two men sleeping together - regardless of whether you think they're going to hell or not - aren't hurting anyone else, so why persecute them? Think of all the things you enjoy doing that don't hurt anyone else. If you don't stand up for everyone's freedoms, then you don't really believe in freedoms, you just believe in being convenient."

[DaFool]

Straight men should support gay relationships cause it'll reduce the number of eligible bachelors in the world thus reducing the competition in the dating game.

On a corollary note, there's a reason why I should be actively shunning depictions of beautiful lesbians. It means that guys will have more competition from hot chicks for dating hot chicks. (And majority of them will no doubt not want their activities to be viewed by male eyes ). I mean, the more beautiful, feminine entity will almost always win in the end (See statistics on guys who get married).

The ratio on this planet is already too close to being tipped in favor of too many men (One Child policy, female infantacide). If rampant lesbianism is tolerated, then it will be a sad day indeed for straights. Which is ironic since I kinda find the idea appealing, but I know I'm just shooting myself in the foot.

Ah, sorry, the topic was about BL. I like traps, but only in anime. In RL, there are too many remnants of masculine traits that turn me off the idea in a heartbeat. But in anime, they have to be traps / really feminine crossdressers -- and pretty darn good at it too -- if they're not, then it's pretty much unisex and androgynous which is the society I live in (all jeans-wearing, thin asians), so there's no appeal for me.

[papillon]

The ratio on this planet is already too close to being tipped in favor of too many men (One Child policy, female infantacide). If rampant lesbianism is tolerated, then it will be a sad day indeed for straights. Which is ironic since I kinda find the idea appealing, but I know I'm just shooting myself in the foot.

You just have to learn to share.

Also on my list of things I should do someday - a poly-friendly relationship game! (Twincest and harem endings don't quite count if they only happen at the end rather than you having to carefully balance relationships to get there.)

[rocket]

But in anime, they have to be traps / really feminine crossdressers -- and pretty darn good at it too -- if they're not, then it's pretty much unisex and androgynous which is the society I live in (all jeans-wearing, thin asians), so there's no appeal for me.

What about cute but clearly masculine boys in really feminine outfits?

*blinks innocently*

Whaaaaaaaat?!



Classic traps and girly (unwilling?) crossdressers do combine the (if you're into that sort of thing) benefits of futa, with remote plausibility. In a way they can improve your odds, because not only do they not actively persue the pool of hawt chixors, but as potentially hitable they increase your selection set.

*blinks*

If you're into that sort of thing... (^_^);;

[monele]

Seishirou "Seiko" Kotobuki from Lovely Complex... Now that's a trap I'd happily fall for XD

[Otaku Dash]

Seishirou "Seiko" Kotobuki from Lovely Complex... Now that's a trap I'd happily fall for XD

OMG Lovely complex rules!! *is currently addicted to it and waiting for episode 23 to come out *

And yes... it's a really well amde trap O.o though parts of it were given away when Risa said "You understand males the best Otani" And "Seiko" going all "He understands males best!?" XD Probably the reason the expression "everyone is gay for "seiko"" came up XP

But yeah... a hella of a trap there... people gotta be carefull nowerdays O.o *laughs*

[DaFool]

What episode does he make his appearance? (I dropped the show when I was prioritizing what to watch when I don't have much time.)

Traps are very appealing because they understand guys the best, being one themselves, while at the same time they are really going all-out in expressing femininity, something which many girls today are hesitant about in our unisex world.

Of course, this doesn't work out in the real world, often overcompensating in behavior... often ridiculously frilly and even bitchier than their 'real' counterparts. (There are a substantial number of crossdressers in my country, with M->F the majority).

I think in the end the 'ideal trap' doesn't really exist, just like the 'ideal girl'.

In other news, lots of female avatars in MMORPGs are played by guys. I'm not into MMORPGs, but the idea of female role-playing is really cool. So to answer the original question, perhaps the uke in a BL story may serve as an avatar for guys into female role-playing. Which is not necessarily related to being gay or not. (I remember a comment from relatives that I could have made a good daughter since I was sweet and loving. But at the same time, I'd probably also rape the world if given the chance.)

[rocket]

I remember a comment from relatives that I could have made a good daughter since I was sweet and loving. But at the same time, I'd probably also rape the world if given the chance.

LOL! That deserves to be immortalized in a sig.

Back on topic, it seems that there's a spectrum here which ranges from Seiko / Jun (No way there's a ***** under that, I refuse to believe it), through Hayate to traditional bishie.

"Everyone is gay for Seiko / Bridget / Jun" is funny, but its also true. Outside of hentai or theoretical knowledge, there's not a single distinguishing trait that makes these boys, boys. In other words, if it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and sits down to goto the toilet...

Which does not detract from my original thesis: If you're even talking about this topic you are totally gay!

[Hudzon]

Now this is my kind of topic! ^_^

Actually I don't think the OP is asking the question from a purely sociological point of view.
The way I see it, the question can be rephrased as "Can a man enjoy yaoi fiction while still retaining his masculinity and heterosexuality?"
And frankly, with one exception (see below), asking such a question is equivalent to asking "Can someone enjoy watching the movie "Silence of the Lambs" without being secretly a serial murderer themselves?"

What you watch and read doesn't define who you are. There can be a thousand of reasons why one reads yaoi, one of them being that he just wants a change from the standard male + female
relationships that most movies are flooded with.


Personally, I would be interesnted in BL simply for the fact that it's something that I haven't seen in real life before and I'd like to understand what it is and what the people involved in it are like. Plus, even in fiction BL is still quite rare so I'm attracted to it because of its scarcity and uniqueness.

Besides, why limit oneself to purely M + F relationships when there are so many other possible combinations of genders?

To conclude, unless he reads yaoi for the purpose of sexual excitement, there really isn't any reason to doubt his
sexuality. (Either that or we have quite a lot of closeted cannibals in the world.)

And now that I've finished with the serious part of my post, let me completely negate any signs of maturity that I might have shown by stating my adoration for traps!

Seishirou "Seiko" Kotobuki from Lovely Complex... Now that's a trap I'd happily fall for XD

Wow!
I'd love to meet one so feminine and passable in real life!
Hmm, but even if it did happen, how would I *know*...?

Still, kawaiii~~!

~Z

[rocket]

And frankly, with one exception (see below), asking such a question is equivalent to asking "Can someone enjoy watching the movie "Silence of the Lambs" without being secretly a serial murderer themselves?"

Doubt it...

And now that I've finished with the serious part of my post, let me completely negate any signs of maturity that I might have shown by stating my adoration for traps!

HARD GAY!

*ahem*

[boring]
Yaoi as a genre is tied together by the sexual component. The better question is "Is somebody who enjoys serial killer movies ,depraved?" Two obvious follow on questions are: Does that person enjoy serial killer movies exclusively (Warning! Danger Will Robinson!) and what is it that is so enjoyable about the serial killer genre (the suspense? the gore? the torture?) - different answers do elicit different judgments!

Yaoi is still even more complicated by the fact that it contains a sexual element that is not fully socially condoned. I think an even better example would be "Is somebody who enjoys Moetan a pedophile?" Not necessarily... but... you'd rag them about it wouldn't you?!
[/boring]

[monele]

I'd love to meet one so feminine and passable in real life!
Hmm, but even if it did happen, how would I *know*...?

Like this...

[JQuartz]

Like this...

But how can you be sure she's not a flat chested girl that isn't afraid to show her breasts? I don't think anything less than seeing the male genitalia would allow you to confirm that she's physically a male...

But just like DaFool said, people like her/him don't exist in real life.

[rocket]

Like this...

But how can you be sure she's not a flat chested girl that isn't afraid to show her breasts?

Musculature! That's what makes em so cute...

Oh.. wait... was that my outside voice again? ^_-