yaoi
noun
movies, shows, literature, etc. portraying an intimate relationship between two men
What does yaoi mean?
Yaoi refers to a Japanese storytelling genre that depicts romantic, sexual, or occasionally platonic relationships between two men. While often associated with Japanese anime or manga, yaoi (sometimes capitalized Yaoi) has since come to refer to gay media (such as in TV shows, movies, or literature) from any part of the world. The genre has sparked controversy, earning a reputation that it is primarily marketed to straight women, with female fans earning the disapproving nickname fujoshi.
Examples of yaoi
Anime fans who are new to yaoi and don’t know where to start should try the romcom series Sasaki and Miyano that debuted on Crunchyroll last year.
—Steven Blackburn, ScreenRant, 7 Dec. 2023
... the most popular series among her teens is the fantasy-yaoi (boys’-love) mash-up The Summer Hikaru Died by Mokumokuren.
—everyone say Gael/Hanii is yaoi but their latest comic was a while ago ... and they probably don’t think they like each other in that way ...
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Where does yaoi come from?
The term yaoi comes from self-published Japanese comics (known as doujinshi), and is a portmanteau of yama nashi, ochi nashi, imi nashi (“no point, no climax, no meaning”). The word originally referred disapprovingly to doujinshi that often focuses solely on explicit homoerotic scenes rather than character development or plot.
How is yaoi used?
Although a noun, in typical use yaoi functions similarly to an adjective and has become synonymous with queer, in the sense "characterized by sexual or romantic attraction to members of one’s own sex."
They’re so yaoi coded. I hope they get to work together more!
—Go for It, Nakamura-kun!! benefits from the genre’s recent explosion of popularity with recent yaoi-style mainstream hits like Heated Rivalry, offering a sweeter, hilarious, yet equally relatable alternative.
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Yaoi is commonly used by fandom communities for such queer relationships, especially with the phrases “doomed yaoi” or “toxic yaoi.”
No one warned me that this piece of media is peak Doomed Yaoi™ and that I would leave the cinema as a changed person. Pete and Ray have bewitched me.
—Oh, and House and Wilson’s relationship just oozes with psychosexual tension .... Nearly 20 years after the show’s premiere, it’s not just a medical drama; it’s toxic yaoi.
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