Transformative Works and Cultures has published its twelfth issue, entirely devoted to boys’ love fandom around the globe (full press release). There are some excellent articles on Hetalia, the politics of BL in Germany, character bots on Twitter, BL in China, dojinshi, the origins of the word fujoshi, criticism from Japanese LGBT activists on BL, and more. We’ll be posting some short bits of analysis and good quotes from the articles in the upcoming weeks. Enjoy!
Transnational boys’ love fan studies, by Kazumi Nagaike and Katsuhiko Suganuma
Doing Occidentalism in contemporary Japan: Nation anthropomorphism and sexualized parody in Axis Powers Hetalia, by Toshio Miyake
Rotten use patterns: What entertainment theories can do for the study of boys’ love, by Björn-Ole Kamm
Transplanted boys’ love conventions and anti-“shota” polemics in a German manga: Fahr Sindram’s “Losing Neverland”, by Paul M. Malone
Simulation and database society in Japanese role-playing game fandoms: Reading boys’ love dōjinshi online, by Lucy Hannah Glasspool
Reflection on Chinese boys’ love fans: An insider’s view, by Erika Junhui Yi
Where program and fantasy meet: Female fans conversing with character bots in Japan, by Keiko Nishimura
The possibilities of research on fujoshi in Japan, by Midori Suzuki
On the response (or lack thereof) of Japanese fans to criticism that yaoi is antigay discrimination, by Akiko Hori
Book review by Samantha Anne Close of “Mechademia Vol. 6: User Enhanced,” edited by Frenchy Lunning