Multifandom: Your daily dose of Saltiness

FUJOSHIS: when they're going too far, when it gets problematic

I wrote this a while ago and forgot to publish oops. Idk where in this book it will show up if it's somewhere in the middle surprise bifch it's me from the future. Okay bye read pls byeee

now lemme get this out of the way real quick: I know fujoshi has been reclaimed as something that isn't just used for extreme "fans", like it's often also used for people who just enjoy BL content. Bc the definition:

Fujoshi= Girls who enjoy yaoi (a genre in Japan that contains sexual and/or romantic relations between two men)

But in this chapter imma seperate the two ksjd yeah I'm making my own definition. But it's okay I'm not trying to write an essay.
So fujoshi to me here is extreme fan which spills over into "real life", and who sees "bl" as a thing they're  obsessed with instead of the actual person behind it. I would also include fetishization of nmlm and mlms (nonbinary men loving men/ men loving men) in this category.

and BL fan is just someone who enjoys watching series or other gay content for multiple reasons. There is a very thin line between a bl fan and a fujoshi tho. Especially when they're a straight / heterosexual bl fan. To lgbt fans it's mostly abt representation.

SO. I've watched my fair share of BLs. Series like TharnType, theory of love, until we meet again, 2gether, sotus, yk the popular ones rn. Or HIStory, although I've some problems with those bc they do be having the stepbrother trope and questionable consent so I kinda gave up with HIStory (but watch HIStory 3: trapped, that's the best!!). I've seen quite some bad ones lately , yeah see the last chapter on history 4 for my rants, so I kinda backed off on them🙃. That's how much I hated history 4 ksjd

So here's things BL fans do that can get problematic, and which can blur the line between bl fans and fujoshis or even cross it:

1. Only watching BL content to base your knowledge of mlm/ nblm relationships off
Just watching bl content,  is not problematic in my opinion. Even if you're only watching bl series, only read bxb novels or stories. I mean if people can watch only straight couples (aka just every movie ever ffs) then you're also 'allowed' to watch and read only gay couples. Like who wants to see straight ppl on ur screen no thank u, not for me.

When it gets problematic: is when you actually believe that it reflects the real world or you're trying to actively manipulate the real world/ your surroundings to fit a bl story. I'm especially talking abt the Taiwanese and Thai stories as it contains many over the top 'cliches' which wouldn't really happen irl , or which portray that every male character is gay.

I think as long as you can seperate the BL world and the real world you can watch these contents all day.
I mean hell, I'm guilty of almost only reading bxb and gxg only. And for series I usually enjoy the non straight couples the best. Like literally all my fave couples are gay. Only hoped there would be more girls but there's serious representation issues there 😒. Yes I will never shut up abt the lack of sapphic stories yk me.

2. Watching it too young / shaping your morals
So this is actually kind of the same point as the first one but this is more specific. So I'm 22 now and when I was 11-15 there weren't many strictly bxb series lemme tell u that. Hell, the only BL series I actually know are Thai and Taiwanese. But other series had one or 2 lgbt characters and that's it so I couldn't really watch it at a young age.

I want to say there's nothing wrong with watching it when young. Bc I think it's important to see that there are multiple sexualities when you're young. I mean if we only had learnt that there are more sexualities and that it's okay to not be straight then maybe we would've had less confusing, less self hatred and less comphet don't we, my fellow gays🥲

So exposure? Yeah good thing.
It gets problematic tho when your impressionable mind gets too influenced by these series. Especially bc it's harder to seperate fiction from reality. Lemme tell u rn. Even if you might say you're sooo mature for your age, you're not. You actually get a sense of maturity no younger than 18. Trust me I know the difference. So no if youre 14, you're not mature. And that's okay ofc. But this also makes someone prone to believing things and as many manyyyy (too many) BLs have questionable consent, I'm a bit concerned abt what it teaches very young people. I mean newer series are kind of getting better at this, I mean lovely writer is perfect for it.
But many have some questionable scenes. That is why although I think it's extremely important to watch shows that have lgbt characters / storylines, I think it can also be very damaging if that's the only content they'll watch.