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You may have noticed a few changes around here at YaoiSuki. That's because we've moved to a new host, and in the process upgraded and altered a bunch of our features (most notably: embedded wiki and better forums). Unfortunately, we lost our user database in the move, so those of you who were signed up will unfortunately need to sign up again. It's a pretty painless process though!
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[Column] The Dark Side of the Smut: Rape in Yaoi |
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Written by Jen Parker
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Wednesday, 24 January 2007 |
Not all of yaoi is light and fluffy like Only the Ring Finger Knows or Challengers. Much of it contains molestation, coercion, or rape of some kind. In fact, it might not be unfair to suggest that most explicit BL touches on at least one of these themes.
This isn’t the case in spite of what fans want, of course; it exists exactly because it is what many fans want. So why is that?
Note in advance that this article is written based on observations and admittedly minimal research where I’ve indicated it. I make no claims on being an expert on anything here; this is merely an editorial column and these are my observations. Note also that I will make some very broad generalizations here, and that there are certainly exceptions to them.
{mos_sb_discuss:20}
Okay, that shit out of the way, let me say first off that yaoi is effectively a fantasy genre. Homosexual relationships are generally nothing like what’s depicted in these manga and anime. One of the things that makes the genre unique is the fact that it is a female fantasy of male homosexuality.
That fact also makes it an object of some curiosity in the media, as you’ve no doubt noticed-- there are any number of articles that try to solve the mystery of why girls are so into boys on boys. But of course, there’s no single simple solution to the equation; there are just too many variables.
But the existence of rape and molestation is one variable that can’t simply be discounted. And, like the rest of the genre, rape in yaoi is also a fantasy-- a rape fantasy. And like any fantasy, it bears little or no resemblance to the reality.
Rape in yaoi is usually a result of extreme lust and/or love; the rapist commits the crime because he literally cannot stop himself from expressing said love or lust physically. Want evidence? How often have you seen a seme say something along the lines of “I’m at my limit,” which translates to “we either need to stop or I am going to fuck you silly?” I feel like I see it or something similar once every other series or so at least.
Additionally, the victim of this rape is usually converted at some point into a willing participant. Sometimes it happens mid-coitus when the physical pleasure kicks in; sometimes it happens later when an uke “realizes” that they actually enjoyed, wanted, and/or invited the sexual interaction.
So in yaoi, rape is usually a crime of passion, lust, love, etc. (Except when perpetrated by someone other than the main seme, in which case it is evil.) In reality, rape is an act of violence and hate, power and domination. Yaoi rape is fantasy.
Surveys say that 10 to 13%* of women regularly have fantasies that involve rape or force. And that’s just the women who admit to it. Now, there are those who foolishly think that a woman having rape fantasies means that she wants to be raped. This is obviously not the case. But is it so hard to imagine the appeals of a story in which one character is so incredibly loved and desired that his lover literally can’t help himself? Of course, that only covers women who identify with the uke, but it’s equally easy to see why a reader who identifies with a seme might some aspects, like perhaps the eventual turning/convincing/seduction of the uke.
So, there you have it: women have rape fantasies. As yet another form of fantasy/escapist manga, yaoi contains elements of rape, force, etc. And yet, people go nuts over why girls would like such a thing-- even while I researched this article, I found comments that talked about how only a crazy woman could have a rape fantasy, why would she want to be raped? The original version of this article was posted on TheOtaku.com, and if you look through the comments on that page here you’ll see similar responses.
I apologies if this gets lecture-y, but if you’re tempted to think that way…allow me to again state that having rape fantasies doesn’t mean a woman wants to be raped, nor have any studies shown that only crazy women have them or that there’s anything wrong with having them. Keep in mind that if 10-13% of women have rape fantasies, that’s close to the estimated number of homosexuals in the world. Not common, but hardly disturbingly deviant.
* 10% comes from Wikipedia, who seem to be citing David Knox's 1984 study "Human Sexuality: The Search for Understanding" (which also says that 36% of women say that they have had a rape fantasy). 13% comes from a study in Glenn Wilson’s book The Great Sex Divide.
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 17 November 2007 )
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