Opinions: Hetalia + Fandoms

The difference Between Yaoi & BL

Here's something that has been bothering me for a while, and that's how many people mix up yaoi and BL.  Some people classify them under the same family or same roof when in fact, there's a clear difference between them. I, Redreddraws3, will help you understand these differences.

First let's talk about:

Yaoi

What is yaoi? Well, as most people know, yaoi is basically a genre in which the romance is focused on two boys instead of two girls or a girl and a boy. Yaoi's sister of sorts is Yuri, in which the focus is on the relationship of two girls. Simple enough right?

But what's the difference between Yaoi and BL? For one, what they focus on.

Yaoi focuses on the sexual relationship of two men. Sure, there is romance somewhere, but it's mostly focused on the sex. From what I've seen on the R/Yaoi subreddits, the pairing is usually two macho muscle men, a macho man muscle dude and a skinny dude who's more feminine, a stotic man and a sunshine dude, or two high school boys who are both skinny.

And y'know, I've realized a pattern here. From what I've heard from comments online, on different apps such as reddit, webtoon, and wattpad, and from my own personal opinion gathered from these comments, yaoi is mostly made by women for women. Aka, not a lot of women know how men work, how anal sex works, how dicks work, ect.

For example, self lubricating assholes. Baby that's not lube, that's diarrhea. Not to mention not preparing for anal sex before hand, such as cleaning yourself out or talking about it before hand. If this was a real life scenario, there would be shit covered on dicks and/or condoms. Also, condoms. If you haven't gotten tested for any sexually transmitted diseases, then wear a condom.

Also rimming aka eating out an asshole. You also need to prepare for that shit. Who's diet is so clean that their asshole tastes good? We all know college students mostly eat ramen, that stuff doesn't leave good results after a while.

So that's what I'm saying about women trying to write male characters. It's almost as weird and unusual as a man trying to write a female character. Aka, it mostly fails.

Also, one thing that bothers me. Female characters in yaoi. Why can't we have a single good female character in yaoi? It's always a girl who's out to destroy the relationship. Like, seriously what? In webtoons, when another character is introduced(usually a girl) there's always so much hate for her.

Usually I see comments like: "You whore!" "If she fucking ruins my ship-: "NOOOOO GO AWAY" "BITCH" and more harmful comments. Like y'all calm the fuck down. And I'm saying this seriously. I used to be one of those fan girls, and never again am I going back to the way I used to be. Hating a random character who has done absolutely NOTHING wrong, all because of your "pwREciOus sHWiP" is childish and the laziest/stupidest thing I've heard.

Now, let's talk about:

BL

What is BL? Well, BL focuses on the relationship itself. From the friendship to the lovers, or from the enemies to the lovers, or whatever tropes they're using. BLs are also made by women, but I think the writing and plot in BL stories are a bit more quality than Yaoi. I appreciate a good relationship. Especially if that relationship is built on a long lasting friendship or rivalry before they do the dirty. Something about seeing these two characters who we have seen grown from the start of the manga all the way to the middle or end is so magical to me, and it makes the sex mean a lot more.

BLs can have sex, and honestly, I find the sex in BLs more appealing. Just, the massive amount of feel good vibes I get from reading that I completely forget that there's sex is just *chefs kiss*

I think I've only seen a few amount of fanfics who manage to convey that feeling well. Even the fanfics built on sex make me feel good because of the amount of plot I get to read before my favourite characters do the dirty. Maybe in another chapter I'll recommend some.

I don't have much to say about BL since I think that if you want good quality plot with porn, you should search in that tag on those sort of websites for some, or look for recommendations.

Now let's talk about:

Classification

I've seen many people call themselves yaoi fans when in fact they like BL or people getting BL and Yaoi mixed up. So here's how to tell if you like yaoi or BL!

Do you like reading about relationships more?

Do you like reading about sex more?

Do you care for plot?

Would you rather read a story with a lot of sex or would you rather read a story with a lot of plot?

Do you like the idea of two guys together in a romantic way, or do you like the idea of two guys together in a sexual way?

If you said yes to more plot and romantic questions, then you probably like BL. If you said yes to more sex questions then you probably like yaoi. But don't take my word for it. It all depends on what you're exposed to and what you experienced from both sides of the MLM fandom.

I hope that helped with something at least, and I'll see y'all later! Have a good evening!