Maggi64

Ok, I got this discussion group up and running. And I want to invite you all to join in.
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Why Do Women Love BL? Discuss Your Reasons

I think it's terrific that you found a way to live honestly with yourself as a gay man, and that you did so while healing the relationship with your ex wife, as well as maintaining a loving relationship with your kids. Plenty of divorced hetero dads cannot manage that, so bravo!

As for this show and when it's set, if that girl is going to marry one of the gay guys, Archie or Kelvin, then the sex scene would have to be in the past, cuz I watched the trailer and the sham marriage is already over in the present.

We only met Damien and Hayden in the Prologue, but the trailer shows Archie and Kelvin too. We see how the mother of one of them is telling her son's lover that he's hurting his own son with a gay relationship. And he responds that she's the one who hurt her own son by separating him from his true love in high school. It's a good trailer.

Tokyo in April ends in two weeks, but then this one starts. And we still have the adorable one starring the man now known as "Mr. Potato Chip."

I had said to Jp below that I don't mind this accidental kiss as much as the Slip-And-Catches (SAC) because SAC's are there to suggest that men can only touch if it's unintentional -- god forbid it be intentional! I also don't mind the kiss in this show because the synopses indicates that it's a primary plot point that will generate some confusion/drama hereon. In other words, it's not just a toss in kiss to get 2 hetero men to touch as it is in all those Thai BL's.

How about the set design in this show? Compare it to Cherry Blossoms After Winter where the 2 college boys lived in an apartment that looked like a Furniture Store Showroom. You and I both couldn't stop remarking on how the set designer for that show needed to be shot, lol.

Ah, ok, so that sex scene was set in the past before the guy from the gay couple got married to her. Then we would shift to the present when the sham marriage is over and Kelvin and Archie hook up again. We'll find out in 2 weeks, but it was bugging me now, so thanks.

BTW, I think of you now whenever I see stories about gay men getting married and having kids. I suspect Asia is still in the place that Kansas was 50 years ago and, hence, gay men feel pressured to marry and reproduce.

But the gay couples are Damien & Hayden and Kelvin and Archie, and the girl called this guy Shawn. Oh well, we'll find out in 2 weeks.

As for the kiss, yes, drunken kisses can be cliched, especially if it's one of those things where gays can only touch if it's an accident via booze or a SAC (slip and catch). But the synopsis indicates that this kiss will actually be integral to the plot. That should be interesting!

But she called him Shawn. The gay couples are Damien & Hayden and Kelvin and Archie. BTW, I love how Hong Kong citizens have British names. So much easier to remember them!

I sent you a friend request and will message you later today. I am doing it on the Community Page under the General Discussion page. Thank you for your interest!

I'm starting the group in a couple of hours and I want to invite you so that you can offer precisely the kind of comments that you did above. In fact, copy/paste that to post on my Discussion page later on! I'll friend you and then invite you when the group gets going.

I found a place in the General Discussion part of the Community page. I'm going to do it there. Thank you!

Thank you so much! That really helped and it's where I just started the Discussion Group. It's up an running, so come join. I would love to have some gay men!

Terrific! I just started it on the community page that the person above recommended. So go look for it. Or I'll message you. I'm sending a friend request right now.

As an American New Yorker who was married to a Muslim Moroccan for ten years I can personally verify what you'd said to be true. My ex was college educated and from a wealthy family. And he DRANK and went to NIGHT CLUBS and TOUCHED WOMEN. So did his brothers and cousins. Back in 1998 he even threw a party at the Plaza for the 2nd son, Prince Moulay Rachid, when he visited NYC. Guess what? The Prince drank too. And he had his pick of hot, American women tossing themselves at him.

The fact is, rich Muslims live a completely different lifestyle from the lower income ones who strictly follow the Koran. This is common knowledge in Arab countries. Hell, the fact that rich Muslims in Iran were so free and Westernized was what allowed Ayatollah Khomeini to overthrow the Shah of Iran in 1979. The lower classes had a bloodlust for the rich Persians who they felt not only oppressed them economically, but were "bad Muslims" to boot.

In short, everyone in these countries knows full well that the rich playboys act like Westerners. So all these netizens crying foul over the depiction of an Arab prince drinking at a night club are full of shit. It's simply one more case of people enjoying the opportunity to be self-righteous and pull a powerplay via their keyboards at home. Netflix should just ignore them, because indulging netizens only makes their lust for keyboard powerplays worse.

It seemed as if he'd been out drinking, and slipped and fell while drunkenly searching for his keys or something. Once he hit the floor, he simply stayed there and took a nap, as very drunk people are wont to do, lol.

But I guess we won't know until Ep 1 airs in 2 weeks. MDL says there are 5 eps, but it doesn't say how long each episode is. Does anyone know? I hope they are not all going to be a mere 15 like the prologue was.

The prologue managed to do lot in a mere 15 minutes. It established strong acting, directing and writing. I noted the expert writing in the dialogue between Damian and Grandma because it revealed something about their personalities as well as their backstories. The set design was also ace, as it authentically captured the look of a rundown building where an old woman on a fixed income would live. Best of all, there was instant -- bam! -- chemistry between the leads. This is backed up by the trailer which proves there won't be any dead fish kisses in this show.

However, I don't get why it opened with a hetero sex scene because it had nothing to do with the narrative that was set up thereafter. It was especially odd since neither character even appears in the MDL synopsis, which names only 2 gay couples. So who the heck was this guy Shawn and the girl he was diddling in that opening scene?

Guys, I want to start a discussion about the reasons hetero women enjoy BL's so much because I've been reading Queer Studies PhD Dissertations on this topic. However, it would not be appropriate to conduct such a discussion on a specific show's page. Where/how would I hold such a discussion on MDL? Do I do it on my Profile Page where it says "Feeds"? If so, how do people even know it's there? I mean, it's not like a page for a show to which people come automatically. Can someone advise me on this?

Guys, I want to start a discussion about the reasons hetero women enjoy BL's so much because I've been reading Queer Studies PhD Dissertations on this topic. However, it would not be appropriate to conduct such a discussion on a specific show's page. Where/how would I hold such a discussion on MDL? Do I do it on my Profile Page where it says "Feeds"? If so, how do people even know it's there? I mean, it's not like a page for a show to which people come automatically. Can someone advise me on this?

LOL, I actually addressed that EXACT point in our convo yesterday . I said that straight guys love lesbians in porn because it's a hot girl x's 2. Likewise, straight women love BL's because it's a hot guy x's 2.

We also touched on other, more serious reasons. It was a fascinating convo but grew too large to be on a page that was supposed to be about the show "Tokyo In April." Thus, I want to start a discussion group someplace more appropriate on MDL. I posted my question about this on the page for "Stay With Me" because it is the BL that is currently getting the most viewers and comments.

I want to do it on MDL because there are a couple of smart women here with whom I've already had this convo in comments here and there. It's just that we want to make it a specific topic on its own page and invite more women to engage in the conversation. The problem is that MDL does not have tagging, so I don't know how I'd make people aware of the convo. If I posted the discussion on the Feed section of my Profile page, how would people see it? Would I have to tell people one by one via messaging to go visit my Feed? That's what I don't understand.

Anyway, thank you for your reply. I appreciate your taking the time.

This is such a good reply that I want you to copy/paste it in the Discussion I am going to start on a separate page to pose the question, "Why do hetero women like BL?" This convo with you has been so fascinating that I want to open it up to others. I'll write to you when I get it up and running, and then, if it's ok, I want you to copy/paste your thoughtful, intelligent reply above. Then I and others can all engage together. I have a lot more to say, especially to your point about male characters being more fully written.

You see, I used to work in publishing and the rule was that women would read about male characters, while men would not read about female characters. As a result, more books were written with fully developed male characters simply to sell well. I am also an English Professor and, as such, can speak at length on the difference between how male and female characters are depicted. It just never occurred to me that this would be relevant vis-a-vis why women like BL, so thank you. It's so fascinating that I have lots more to say, but I want to wait until I get the page set up for this convo because we are touching on so many great things here that I'm sure more members would like to weigh in.

But for now I will say that you heard wrong about The Handmaiden because it is a VERY happy ending wherein the lesbian lovers fool all the villainous men and escape to begin their life together. It only gets dark insofar as the asshole men meet bad ends because the lesbian couple gets revenge on them. It might look like bad things will happen to the women for a while there, but that's part of the surprising twists and turns in the movie, so be patient and just wait for the good twists in the 3rd part of the movie.

I don't want to give spoilers, but since you heard it was dark I am compelled to qualify that these women get the best revenge on men that I've ever seen in a movie. They are portrayed as smart, strong, committed, and deeply in love. So it's a highly positive portrayal of women, and of gay women in particular.

Another gay love story with a happy ending where nobody dies is "Maurice." Surprisingly, it was made in 1987 -- ie, 36 years ago. After that, LGBT films regressed and we saw stories that killed the leads. "Maurice" was ahead of its time. Especially when one considers that it was based on a novel written by EM Forster in the Edwardian era when being gay was still illegal (he only showed it to friends and it was not published until the 1970's). E.M. Forster was, of course, a gay man, and the movie version of his book was directed and produced by two gay men, Merchant and Ivory. It really makes a difference when gay people control the story. If you want to see this then it's available online for free.

Guys, I want to start a discussion about the reasons hetero women enjoy BL's so much because I've been reading Queer Studies PhD Dissertations on this topic. However, it would not be appropriate to conduct such a discussion on a specific show's page. Where/how would I hold such a discussion on MDL? Do I do it on my Profile Page where it says "Feeds"? If so, how do people even know it's there? I mean, it's not like a page for a show to which people come automatically. Can someone advise me on this?