Yuri & Yaoi: Your Thoughts

[Hello Purvis]

2. Do you enjoy or dislike yuri? How strongly do you feel about that?
Short answer = I hate it. As anyone who knows me has seen, I have a vehement dislike of yuri, most of it stemming from a phase in which I just got fed up with seeing it everywhere. Before hand, I never really found it that interesting to begin with.

Really? I remember a year or so ago you were talking about it in IRC and said you used to like it, then you started to really get extremely pissed about slash fictions and doujins and such and it went on to poison the well for the whole thing.

Not calling you out, mind, just looking for some clarifications in my mental topography.

[Bias Bus]

Really? I remember a year or so ago you were talking about it in IRC and said you used to like it, then you started to really get extremely pissed about slash fictions and doujins and such and it went on to poison the well for the whole thing.

Not calling you out, mind, just looking for some clarifications in my mental topography.

Nah, it's cool.

I never truly 'liked' yuri, though I might have said I was 'okay' with it even though my notion of being 'okay with it' could essentially equal up to indifference. Basically, I had a more neutral opinion towards yuri back then; not disliking it as much as I do now but, not entirely liking it either.

[Naut]

1.
I don't dislike Yaoi by any means, but it's not for me. I have a horrible bias towards thinking relationships where guys are involved are pretty hollow, and I much rather enjoy seeing feelings rather than sex or whatever, so I wind up not enjoying Yaoi at all.

2.
I'm obsessed with yuri. Which basically means I'm going to almost mirror Trance's post, at least in regards to yuri, so go read that again if you want my opinion. Even down to loving Strawberry Panic (though it's not my absolute favourite, which goes to Kashimashi; it has dumb elements in it but I think the feelings are the strongest in it, both anime and manga). And yeah, I've also scowered the internet for pretty much every Yuri anime ever, subtext or explict (though mostly not hentai).

3.
Yuri always.

4.
x2 Trance. Including the bits about Kannazuki no Miko and Sono Hanabira. >_>

5.
I have zero problems with same sex pairings and whatnot nowadays. I don't really think of them as much different from heterosexual pairings.

6.
Again, from Trance: "Yuri is not something I find sexually arousing, it is something I find incredibly mentally stimulating."

[JT]

Do you enjoy or dislike yaoi? How strongly do you feel about that?
The fans seem pretty annoying, but that's true for a lot of stuff, so, shrug.

Do you enjoy or dislike yuri? How strongly do you feel about that?
:justasplanned:

Assuming the pairing you've witnessed is well-written/well-drawn, what is it about yaoi and/or yuri that makes you enjoy it or dislike it?
Not much to explain, I just really like ladies touching each other. Even just kissing is enough to cross my wires.

How do you feel about actual, flesh-and-blood same sex pairings?
Like most non-assholes, I have a pretty permissive attitude toward homosexuality and alternative sexuality in general. Sexual attraction comes from the spine - it's not a choice, or a facet of your personality, so I don't really see the point in judging. Also FUCKING 3D PIGS MAKE ME SICK

Are there any other caveats you'd like to add?
I'd like to add those caveats if you get what I'm saying

[NekoNekoRex]

Had a post to go here but it got eaten by data vampires, so I'll put up  short version

1. I'm okay with this, although I wouldn't read too much, and I avoid the ecchi.

2. This is something I would support.

3. Yuri, I tend to dislike male parts in my ecchi anyways.

4. Assuming non-ecchi, I'm a pretty tolerant person overall, enough that there isn't many things that I can bring myself to hate with a passion. When it comes to manga, I'll read anything that isn't on the side of "sappy romance fic", so it generally boils down to "I'll read it because it's well written, not because of the content"
That said, I really don't care much for shipping or what-have-you, Romance is a genre I generally don't enjoy too much, I just don't have a problem with it, either.

5. I don't have much prejudice against gays, although I don't like people invading my personal space too much, so I only tolerate the flamboyant types to a point.

6. I have a few friends who aren't bi, per se, but they don't really care about gender, more about personality in other people. They're special. I've learned quite a few things from them, to say the least.

[Seppo Hovi]

Eh, I rarely read either for sexual entertainment. But I occasionally do so, and I'm not too picky whether it's yuri or yaoi whenever I want some fap material. It's the art; if the doujinshi/manga is well drawn and has good art, I might find it a lot more appealing than some hardcore yaoi. Or yuri. Well drawn stuff just somehow turns me on. I guess it has something to do with my personality and stuff, but I never cared so much for porn in the first place. I've spent my time with it, that's for sure, but I never had time to grow picky with it. It might be well drawn abs, well drawn sexual organs or well drawn pretty much anything. As long as it's well drawn, and especial bonus points if the style somehow resembles paintings. I love oil color paintings and I would fill my apartment with them, had I got the money.
Now that I think of it, there might not even be a need for erotic content, or such. Okay, well drawn male bodies do turn me on, but I remember a couple of times I masturbated purely to some landscape thing, mainly because of I found it spectacularly beautiful.

In any case, I don't dislike yaoi, nor yuri. However, as I rarely read either for sexual entertainment, I may not be the best person to ask about this for.

I originally read a lot of yuri, and I still do. (Yeah my name in the replay uploader probably gives me out on this) While I do not find girls that much as a sexually arousing thing, I deeply enjoy the cuteness and emotion several more lighter yuri manga tend to have. I don't enjoy reading hardcore porn that much, since there is rarely a plot, and the amount of cuteness is lessened. Sex scenes within yuri don't make me drop the book, tho', since as long as the plot exists with some cuteness, I don't mind there being a bit of erotic content in the middle of it. However, I don't want to be the porn to be the main thing about the literature I read.

I started reading yaoi a bit after I got into yuri. Okay, I admit, I was a bit prejudic about yaoi in the first place, since there were a couple of yaoi fangirls in my school back then and I found them really annoying. I still find a lot of the general yaoi (and yuri) fangirls of the ages 13-17 rather annoying, with all their babbling and talk and Harry Potter slashes and such. However, I decided to experiment with yaoi a bit and see if the content itself was as bad as the fans. Turns out it wasn't.
I actually liked several yaoi manga with good plot, and there were a few with a deep meaning behind them. I found it awesome, and also found the sex scenes arousing for a reason I was not entirely sure about back then. The main reason for my reading of yaoi is cuteness as well, though it's a bit different than the yuri cuteness, it still is cuteness, and I do enjoy it.

I'm okay with homosexual pairings in the real life. It took a long way of understanding if it was normal or not, many nights spent crying why couldn't I just be like the others. Since I really don't like how the modern community and rising of children, not to mention media, encourages the "normality" of heterosexuality. But maybe I shouldn't get started on it.
I also would love to have Finland allow homosexual marriages. While I'm totally okay without it, having never really understood the church-system, I know some people who'd really love to have an actual wedding within a church. But Finland doesn't yet allow that, but hopefully it'll change. Same goes with the adoption rights, but the future is looking rather bright for those.

[Aya Squawkermaru]

1. Do you enjoy or dislike yaoi? How strongly do you feel about that?
I have no qualms with it, but it's not something I actively look into. Granted, there -have- been a few times where I would watch an anime and think "those two guys would be cute together", but that's about the extent of it. While I don't think there's anything objectively wrong with it, homosexual activity amongst males is kind of a turn-off for me, simply because it's my own gender. Some intimacy is fine, but when it goes as far as some people like to take it, it does tend to evoke a negative reaction in me.

2. Do you enjoy or dislike yuri? How strongly do you feel about that?
I like yuri a bit more than yaoi, but again, it's not a big part of what I look at or think about. I think I just prefer it because it doesn't hit as close to home. Plus, girls don't have freaking weird fingers and facial structures. I'd just rather look at a picture of a girl than a guy, regardless of connotation. Male bodies are freaking weird.

4. Assuming the pairing you've witnessed is well-written/well-drawn, what is it about yaoi and/or yuri that makes you enjoy it or dislike it?
Again, I'm mostly neutral, but... If it's cute, that's a plus? I guess? I dunno. :/

5. How do you feel about actual, flesh-and-blood same sex pairings?
Same rules apply. Absolutely fine in my book, but I'm not going to treat it any differently than a heterosexual pairing.

[Alfred F. Jones]

1. Do you enjoy or dislike yaoi? How strongly do you feel about that?
When I was first being exposed to yaoi, I was in the 7th grade, and I read all the volumes of Eerie Queerie that some of my friends had at middle school. Apart from that, though, I was never a fujoshi type of girl; guy-on-guy romance was cute and all, but it was yuri that held my attention. Thanks to Tiger and Bunny, though, I have become a shameless yaoi fan like whoa and now I ship Kotetsu and Barnaby like FedEx. I like yaoi quite a bit now, though I'm still more of a yuri kinda girl.

2. Do you enjoy or dislike yuri? How strongly do you feel about that?
I like it so much I wanna be in on it. A lot of the romance I read for years were stories about girls liking girls, and it STILL took me until I was in high school to realize that I am super queer-o-sexual. (Well, biromantic.)

3. If you enjoy or dislike both, does one bring out a stronger reaction than another?
Yuri, I guess, but only because I actively want to be a part of it and I couldn't be involved in yaoi by definition.

4. Assuming the pairing you've witnessed is well-written/well-drawn, what is it about yaoi and/or yuri that makes you enjoy it or dislike it?
Tortured characters and forbidden love! Romance is a stale and overdone genre (especially hetero romances with male main characters, because I'm sick of being expected to relate to that, plus it's also usually sexist claptrap), so anything that adds some spice to it is appreciated. When characters are gay, that brings up a whole host of societal issues that I find intriguing and draw me into the story.
And, well, guys and girls in love are both hot. (Straight men saying that 'male bodies are disgusting' is quite possibly the most unintentionally hilarious thing I've read all day.)

5. How do you feel about actual, flesh-and-blood same sex pairings?
I adore watching people who are in love (mostly because it is adorable and comical) and I want to see more of it. I like it so much that I want in!

6. Are there any other caveats you'd like to add?
A friend (maybe Iced?) once told me that he follows the CLAMP principle when it comes to writing: bisexuals all around! Which would be great. I wish more protagonists were open to the idea of romance with anyone, not confined to romance with just one gender or the other.

[nintendonut888]

(Straight men saying that 'male bodies are disgusting' is quite possibly the most unintentionally hilarious thing I've read all day.)

Icky Kanba germs. :ohdear:

Hmm, let's see...

1. Do you enjoy or dislike yaoi? How strongly do you feel about that?

Since my sister is a feverous yaoi fangirl who considers how shippable the men a valid reason to like a work of fiction, I've grown a dislike of yaoi over the years. I have nothing against two men loving each other, but I dislike seeing two men being paired together for the sake of it.

2. Do you enjoy or dislike yuri? How strongly do you feel about that?

I never really thought about yuri while growing up, but my changing taste in anime has opened me up to it a lot. I still dislike it when a close relationship is immediately relegated to a sexual attraction, because that oversimplifies what a relationship is.

3. If you enjoy or dislike both, does one bring out a stronger reaction than another?

For reasons I cannot fully explain, I prefer yuri over yaoi. Maybe it's due to the aforementioned learned avoidance of yaoi, but I simply get bored when I hear or read or watch it. Maybe it's because I'm heterosexual and have a predisposition towards learning about girls over boys. *shrug*

4. Assuming the pairing you've witnessed is well-written/well-drawn, what is it about yaoi and/or yuri that makes you enjoy it or dislike it?

Nothing, really. At least, nothing different than enjoying a heterosexual romance. If two people love each other, and they have an interesting chemistry, it doesn't really matter which sex they are for it to be enjoyable to watch.

5. How do you feel about actual, flesh-and-blood same sex pairings?

Go for it. I mean, love is a special thing, and shouldn't be limited by what genitals you were born with.

6. Are there any other caveats you'd like to add?

Well, to restate what I said, I think there's an annoying emphasis on love for someone = heterosexual/homosexual. When two girls are very close and are the most important people in each other's lives, that does not automatically mean they are hot for each other. Same for guys. It always exasperates me to see complex relationships boiled down to that, when they may genuinely be just close friends. That said, if it is indeed love, then yay. \o/

[Omba]

1. Do you enjoy or dislike yaoi? How strongly do you feel about that?
2. Do you enjoy or dislike yuri? How strongly do you feel about that?
3. If you enjoy or dislike both, does one bring out a stronger reaction than another?
4. Assuming the pairing you've witnessed is well-written/well-drawn, what is it about yaoi and/or yuri that makes you enjoy it or dislike it?
5. How do you feel about actual, flesh-and-blood same sex pairings?
6. Are there any other caveats you'd like to add?

1. Depends. If it's yaoi as in traps as in guys that look like girls, then I like it. A lot. As for general yaoi, there are some stories I like because of the way they are written and presented, but it's generally what you'd call not my thing.
2. I enjoy it, though I'm not all that much into it. Very much depends on the way it's written. For things that focus only the sexual aspect, it's not all that high up on my list.
3. Yaoi for sure, assuming it's trap yaoi.
4. I'm actually not quite sure what it is that I like about yaoi. For yuri it's pretty easy - cute girls are cute and two cute girls together are even cuter.
5. To each their own. I have zero problems with other people being in same-sex relationships, but I doubt I'd ever be in one myself.
6. Nothing in particular, really.

[MatsuriSakuragi]

1. Do you enjoy or dislike yaoi? How strongly do you feel about that?
I'm cool with it. I'm not really attracted to men at all, but I am attracted to love and stories about it. So I definitely enjoy it for its romantic qualities, but I don't get much of a sexual rise out of it. Nothin' wrong with that, though.

2. Do you enjoy or dislike yuri? How strongly do you feel about that?
Love it, love it, love it-- so much I'm kind of sad I can't be a part of it. :s
Many of my favorite stories have involved romance between two women (or at the very least, can easily be implied). As I said before, I'm attracted to love and stories about it, but at the same time I'm also very much attracted to women as well, so the notion of such a thing appeals to me quite a bit.

3. If you enjoy or dislike both, does one bring out a stronger reaction than another?
Yuri, for reasons explained above. I don't dislike yaoi by any means though-- both are great when written/drawn well and both can be unappealing when written/drawn poorly.

4. Assuming the pairing you've witnessed is well-written/well-drawn, what is it about yaoi and/or yuri that makes you enjoy it or dislike it?
I agree with a lot of what Ruro said earlier. It breaks societal norms and brings a fresher perspective to an overdone genre. I don't dislike heterosexual relationships, however-- but I think I often enjoy a good yuri story over a good het story simply because it's different from what I see all the time elsewhere.

5. How do you feel about actual, flesh-and-blood same sex pairings?
It makes me very happy to see them! Displays of love are a good way to bring a smile to my face, and I am saddened that society makes it difficult for some people to do that in public just because they perceive it as 'wrong', when it is anything but.

6. Are there any other caveats you'd like to add?
I wish there were more stories regarding characters in the transgender spectrum-- even if people often speak of LGBT this and LGBT that, it always feels like the T is simply tacked on to be inclusive, but still overall ignored most of the time. Since the concept of gender is one that isn't often clearly understood, it doesn't always occur to people that people who are designated male at birth can still be female in gender, and be attracted to other females, which would also fall under the yuri category (or vice-versa for people designated female at birth who are male in gender as well). Something I read recently that really, REALLY did a good job of this was Hourou Musuko/Wandering Son-- a story about two children-- one physically male who is female in gender, and one physically female who is male in gender, and it is a story of their lives as they grow up through grade school and discover themselves-- including the kinds of people they are attracted to, as well. It is far too common for stories to either treat transgender characters as punchlines to jokes or fetishized as 'traps', and I really hate that-- it implies that the person in question is intentionally trying to fool people that they are the opposite sex when in reality, that is not the case-- it's so uncommon for such characters to be treated respectfully and realistically in fiction. So yeah, I'd like to see that more.