Do Japanese gay men read BL? What do they think of women who read BL?

A thread, summarizing an article.

The chief editor Ryu-san of Barazoku, a gay specialized magazine, answered some questions on the topic of BL, fujoshi and gays.

"Yes, we read BL." He said. "In BL, there are lots of tropes similar to old romance dramas. Like wall slam, pushing someone on a surface by force."

"I guess you could say that is feminine. It depends on every guy whether they like BL. But of course, prejudiced content that just treat men like a toy are not liked."

In the 1980s, there was a clash between women who read Barazoku and the gay people.

Back then, the women wanted a fantasy of a pure gay relationship, that was not calculating like a m/f one. They wrote a letter saying "the models on barazoku are all ugly and gross", pissing off the actual gay people. They did not want the ideal of a "thin, pretty man" pushed.

Ryu-san said, there are 2 types of "fujoshi" (woman who likes BL). The first one tries to push their fantasies on real people. The second one makes sure not to hurt real gays with their fantasies.

"It's more about manners and politeness, rather than fujoshi or not."

There is a generational gap on stances they have on BL. "Older gays sometimes dislike BL, because the image of it in the 80s stick with them. There are some that hate anything "feminine". But younger gays who read BL, "fudanshi gays", exist. Because there are more otaku nowdays."

"Otaku gays like that can read and write BL."

Other gay people were also interviewed.
"I've never read it, not interested."
"It was unrealistic so I couldn't relate or be interested."
"I read it just like porn."

Amiya Yuki, the representative of a coming out organization, was also interviewed. He often gets recommendations from 2 of his fujoshi coworkers.

"I like manga, so I read BL too. I like adolescent manga. I prefer certain art styles, BL or not. There are many high quality BL."

The people who had bad experiences with fujoshi all say the same thing-- They were insensitive, and strangers. They were asked about what kind of sex they have, they were told they always wanted to meet a gay, etc etc.

A food place owner, who was told about how fujoshi worry about whether enjoying BL is hurting gay people, said this.

"Do some fujoshi get worried that it's rude to gay people? If they're going to worry, they can be our ally! Some gay people fantasize about straight dudes too."

"Both fujoshi and gays are allowed to have fantasies. All of us live our lives while sometimes being an inconvenience! Sometimes fujoshi can meet you for the first time and say "what kind of sex do you have?" But we can show them how real gay people are, and turn them allies."

"If they say 'that's not according to my fantasy!' that's troubling, but fujoshi or not, some people just don't have an understanding of gay people."

"Some gays benefit from BL, because can spread awareness and understanding! It comes down to how we use BL to help gays!"

sources: https://withnews.jp/article/f0160503001qq000000000000000G00110101qq000013366A https://withnews.jp/article/f0160504001qq000000000000000G00110101qq000013368A