Yaoi
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Yaoi (pronounced /jaoi/, sound like "Yah-Oh-ee" rather than "Yow-ee" or "Ya-oy", all vowels are pronounced), originally referred to fan manga (such as doujinshi) that focused on a homosexual relationship between two male characters, especially two bishounen - the manga equivalent of slash. The term is an acronym derived from yama nashi, ochi nashi, imi nashi, meaning "no climax, no resolution, no meaning.". Most Yaoi readers are female, as are most of the writers. Some have claimed that those enjoying Yaoi have difficulty expressing their sexuality but this is a highly questionable conclusion.
Nowadays, the term is often used in a general way to refer to male-male sexual or romantic content anywhere in the galaxy of anime, manga and fan fiction based on these; usually of a more hard-core nature than shounen-ai, sometimes going so far as to include hentai. This may be the reason why many erroneously believed yaoi stood for yamete, oshiri ga itai! ("Stop, my butt hurts!").
Some of the characters who are most common subjects of yaoi include: The boys of Gravitation; Kaworu and Shinji from Neon Genesis Evangelion; the characters of Gundam Wing, especially Heero and Duo; the boys of Wei Kreuz and Gensomaden Saiyuki; Vincent, Sephiroth and Cloud from Final Fantasy; and Subaru, Seishiro, Kamui, and Fuuma from X/1999.
Over the years, gay-themed comic strips inspired by and referred to as yaoi has been adapted as a sub-culture in North America, with writings and art displayed in websites devoted to it, and such. Notable American yaoi series include the web comic Boy Meets Boy by K. Sandra Fuhr, hosted on Keenspace.
If you ever go to Japan, Use the term "BL (Boy Love)" Rather than Yaoi. Yaoi is used in more western countries and is not as oftenly used as "BL".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yaoi
nad if u get on irc and ask 'what is yaoi' i have it on an alias... ^_^
