Yaoi is a category of Japanese animation and fiction that centers on the homoerotic affair between male characters. The genre is regularly written by female writers and its targeted audience is of female readers who embrace the boy love storylines as they are also known as. The characters are usually drawn as pretty men who fall under two character types: the uke and the seme.
The uke character is the softer, gentler male character while the seme is the more aggressive of the two. Nevertheless, these generalized role types are not always consistent. To maximize the intensity of the storylines, some creators have adopted the switching of the roles where the uke character takes on the seme tendencies and the seme becomes the uke.
The popularity of yaoi among women has gradually multiplied due to its distinct take on relationships. This is in part due to the unchanging boy-girl archetypal relationship in anime and manga which fairly quickly loses its’ appeal for some girl fans. For these types of fans, they find that the boy-boy relation is much more exciting and gratifying for them.
A few fans also get joy in writing and crafting their own yaoi stories. They take non-intimate characters and alter them into romantic, sexual relationships. For instance, the recognized action anime, Naruto, has been the concentration of a number of fan produced yaoi stories.
Yaoi maybe a minor section of the Japanese animation and fiction community then again it has lent its self to recognized yearly conventions and products. Just about every year in San Francisco, in the month of October the annual Yaoi Convention (otherwise known as Yaoi-Con) is hosted. On this site, enthusiasts gather for 3 days to share their enthusiasm and love for yaoi with other liked minded folks.
During the other months of the year, fans can order yaoi merchandise like yaoi books, shirts, character goods, accessories and other unique gear from a yaoi shop.