What does "Yaoi" mean? | NETWORLD

July 05, 2021 at 6:30 a.m.

You stumble upon the anime genre “Yaoi” and don’t know what the expression should mean? We’ll tell you what’s behind it and how you use it.

Here's what the expression "Yaoi" means. — Here you can find out what the term “Yaoi” means. (Source: actualtime / depositphotos.com)

That means Yaoi: yamashi ochinashi iminashi (without (narrative) climax, without punch line, without meaning)

The abbreviation “Yaoi” stands for the Japanese expression “yamashi ochinashi iminashi”, which translates as “without (narrative) climax, without punch line, without meaning”. The term describes a manga and anime genre in which the homoerotic relationship between the male protagonists is in the foreground. The genre is also referred to as “Boys’ Love”, abbreviated as “BL”, and “Shounen-ai” (not to be confused with Shounen)

associated.

Typically, “Yaoi” is called Subcategory of the Shoujo genre Created by women and aimed at an overly feminine audience. The male counterpart is called “gay manga” or “bara”.

Abbreviations in the quiz: What do IDK, BFF and Co mean? Test your knowledge.

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Origin of Yaoi

The term “Yaoi” was coined in the 1970s by Yasuko Sakata and Akiko Hatsu. At first, the term was a self-deprecating term used by the artist: inside and referred to early “Yaoi” works that typically focused on sexual and erotic representation. The development of the plot and the characters was a minor matter.

The “Yaoi” genre as a contemporary Japanese homoerotic romantic manga developed in the early 1970s as a sub-genre of the Shoujo manga. The “Gruppe der 24er”, active from 1969 onwards, including Keiko Takemiya and Moto Hagio, created works such as “In The Sunroom” (1970), which depicted male homosexuality and brought a wave of new topics and diversity. The creation of magazines like “June” in 1978 reflected the popularity of the new genre.

From the romantically oriented “Shounen-ai”, new stories such as the realistic manga “Banana Fish” developed after the 70s and 80s. In addition to professional “Shounen-ai” and “Yaoi” works, “Dojinshi” versions also quickly became popular, i.e. non-professional self-publishers who published mangas in the genre. To date, secondary works as “Yaoi” are widely used.

An increasing proportion of Shoujo manga began to incorporate “yaoi” elements into their actions in the 1990s. With the publication of these in North America, the “Yaoi” genre spread outside of Asia after the turn of the millennium. The new possibilities like streaming and SHE

increase the international offer and at the same time show the great popularity of the genre.

Shōnen Ai / Shounen-ai

A sub-category of the “Yaoi” genre is “Shōnen Ai” or “Shounen-ai”, which literally means “boy love” or in German also “childhood love”. Here the focus is more on a romantic than an explicitly erotic representation of love relationships. However, the term is often used interchangeably with “Yaoi” and “Boys’ Love”.

Historically, the term “shounen-ai” was associated with ephelbophilia and pederasty, but this changed with the development of the new genre in the 1970s. In the Shoujo context, the term described a romance between “beautiful boys”. Early “Shounen-ai” works are inspired by European literature, the writings of Taruho Inagaki and the Bildungsroman.