Popcxqueen

Thank you!!!

Again, thanks for your comment, and for the links. (I don't mind long comments btw.) It's getting late here, so I'll take a look tomorrow at the links you provided.

But I did want to respond to a few things.
Namely: "I wholeheartedly agree that we need more media by and for queer people! But I think you and I might have different definitions of what that means. To me, "by and for queer people" means... well, it was created by a queer person with queer people in mind. To me, that does not mean "wholesome, no problematic content allowed!"'
First let me say, YES, that's the definition I meant as well. Media created by a queer person with queer people in mind. That's exactly what I meant by that. Not "wholesome, no problematic content allowed!"' Not at all. And I'm not sure how else to say it.
I'm finding it hard to convince folks on here that just because I find the overuse of sexual violence in tv shows repulsive that I am not a Puritan, I'm not a moralist, (whatever that means), I'm not trying to police what other people watch, and that I only want to watch G rated stuff. Because that just ain't true. I watch some pretty kinky shit and enjoy the hell out of it. I am a full-grown adult, after all.
But there's a real difference between two CONSENTING adults (or more than two adults, frankly, I'm not here to judge) and what we've seen in this drama and what I've seen way too much of over the years. (Btw, I don't mind watching sexual activity between two consenting high school students either - as long as it's consenting.) I don't mind age gaps (as long as there isn't too much of a power imbalance), I don't mind infidelity (I don't love it but I'm not opposed to watching it either), and I think erotica, filmed well, can be absolutely stunningly beautiful. I am NOT a freaking prude like some other asshole commenter on here called me. But there is no convincing me that rape, and using a substance and a power trip to get what you want, is a good use of a storyline. Because I'll never agree.

" "BL is almost exclusively written by straight women." Are you saying they're straight women because they have identified themselves as straight, or are you assuming their sexuality based on the content they enjoy?"
I'm saying that historically BL's have been written by women (straight or closeted, as you quite rightly reminded me), for generally, a women's audience.
https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2019-05-26/boys-love-authors-discuss-the-impact-of-lgbt-awareness-on-bl/.146936
Academic scholar Akiko Mizoguchi has been researching this for twenty years and she says this: "historically, BL has been written by and for women, describing the genre as “women's fantasies.” However, she noted that this has been changing as BL's popularity has broadened beyond its initial niche status. It appears that rising LGBT acceptance in Japan has decreased the stigma associated with reading BL, especially for men. "
(I wish I could get the rest of her articles in English...)

These aren't by academics:
https://electricliterature.com/why-are-so-many-gay-romance-novels-written-by-straight-women/
https://www.gaystarnews.com/article/yaoi-gay-manga-by-straight-women-for-straight-women/

Like I said earlier, I'm also interested in reading/watching the links you provided. I'm connected to a university so I'd like to see academic links as well, if possible. (I've been having trouble finding those so that would be helpful.)
I have read about the origins of the word "fujoshi" so the YouTube link you left will be interesting, I'm sure.

"It’s important to hear from actual BL fans themselves." I agree, of course! I have been reading a lot from BL fans, but also BL critics, who are also important to listen to.

Lastly (tonight), "Straight people aren't the only ones allowed to like bad things without it defining their sexuality." Again, I agree! I'm not sure how we got here. It could be that I'm not making myself clear enough, and I'll try to do that more tomorrow. Let me try a different way for now.
I hate when sexual assault is used as a plot point- on anyone. American soap operas have used that plot device for years and it's f*cking tired as hell by now. I don't want to see women getting sexually assaulted to move a plot forward or so she can then declare her love for her rapist (1980's General Hospital and Days of our Lives soap operas used this plot) and I don't want to see men getting sexually assaulted only to fall in love with their attacker either.
I'm curious how many people here would be ok with this HIStory storyline if one of the characters was a woman. I've actually heard a person say that assault is different when it's two men. And that's a person who watches a LOT of BL. That's scary. And wrong. And that, in my mind, has not as much to do with one's sexuality as with caring more about being entertained, no matter the cost. A remaining question for me is this: what does it say when straight people defend the use of rape in BL's because it's fun (for them) to watch?

The rest of your questions and comments I want to think about before I answer. Again, thank you for taking the time to comment.

Or...just a thought...ya'll have been telling us to just ignore it or stop watching, so I guess you could just ignore our comments too? (Oh, and not loving watching sexual assault does not make one a Puritan.)

Can you remind me where to find these subs? Like what is d-addicts address again? (I can't seem to find it anywhere after I cleared all the cookies away...) Also, has episode 6 been subbed yet?

Thank you for your comments, as they're helpful and I appreciate them.

Sexual violence shouldn't be normalized in media though, no matter queer or straight or non-binary. Game of Thrones got a huge amount of flak for all the rape and abuse heaped on character after character. (I've not seen Forbidden so I can't comment on that one.) And there are multiple advocacy groups in the US asking for fewer serial murder shows that depict women getting assaulted and tortured and murdered every week. It's an unpopular opinion to have right now but that has effects on people. It adds to the narrative that women exist to be assaulted and murdered onscreen, in terrible ways, week after week, for our entertainment and enjoyment.

I acknowledge your point about not wanting to apply a purity test to media about queer folks, and I actually don't want to do that. I hope we can keep telling stories about how queer Asian folks exist in the world. But I didn't make up the fetishizing comment out of thin air - that's an opinion that quite a few people are talking about right now (not just on MDL), and more all the time. BL is almost exclusively written by straight women. The world needs more queer media written by and for queer folks. (This goes for the actors, writers, and directors too...also, more media for lesbians and bisexual folks!!)
This is just one video that I found about this topic - I'm sure you've watched and read quite a bit about this, but for anyone else reading this comment, this might be helpful.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FD0hL_ujXqk

But back to your point about not wanting to separate BL and LGBTQ+ like heterosexual romance and shoujo manga, I would say that rape culture and physically abusive tropes appear in shoujo manga and anime more often than they should, and those need to be talked about too.

Is that really the main reason these dramas are banned? I thought it was the portrayal of LBGTQ+ characters (showing that they exist in the world.)

I've agreed with many of your comments on lots of other dramas, but not this one.

Sorry to bother your entertainment with pesky complaints about the normalization of sexual violence too often in BL's....(eye roll)

I'm going to do what I tell other people to do, and that's wait until the drama is over to rate it. (But it won't be in the 8's.)

It does for many of us. I know that that's a source of consternation for others on here, but it actually makes the show MUCH less entertaining. Because sexual assault is just not fun to watch.

I don't understand your question. "gay bashed?" What are you asking?

LGBTQ+ media is being produced in great quantities all over the world, (and have been for years) but they don't usually have the tropes and fetishizing fanservice for straight women that many (too many!) BL's from Asia have. It's media produced for the queer community, not straight women, which is very different.
(Also, Brokeback Mountain was not a "BL movie", and neither of the characters were married when they started their relationship.)

I hope we can get to the point where we say that each person gets to decide for themselves when to have sex with another person. It's majorly screwed up that this character decided FOR his stepbrother that it was time to have sex, and because they weren't moving fast enough (in his opinion), he sped up the process. That decision wasn't his to make, though, and that's why a lot of us have an intense dislike for that particular storyline in this drama. That was one character thinking he knew better than another and taking someone he supposedly loves completely out of the equation. That's not healthy - it's the complete opposite, actually - and it's not a good start to a relationship.

Well at least you admit that a character was actually "drunk and taken against their will." And for many of us here, being drunk and taken against their will is a hell of a lot worse than infidelity between two sober and consenting adults. Sober. And consenting.

I loved this - from beginning to end. Have a box of tissues ready but it has more meaning behind it than it just being sad.

I'm not sure what movie you watched if you thought Yokohama Ryusei was emotionless in this film. All kinds of emotions seeped out of his pores in every scene he was in....

This was very interestingly done - much more like a stage play than a film. The acting was extremely good - especially from the cats.

This was ok, but the main leads were just too pure and naive and the conflicts were unnecessary. However, (and as always), Ryusei doesn't disappoint, even with less than great material to work with.

This was adorably quirky! Yamaken's deadpan internal responses were on point and Ryo's ridiculousness was goofy but endearing.

Watching Haruma at the end was almost too much for my heart to take.