Incest stories (including so-called selfcest) appear significantly in danmei circles. Recent research has highlighted some recurring motives in these stories.
In these fan-made webisodes, it is much more desirable for the new DFFB to experience love among the subcharacters (brothers and sisters), or to love herself, than love the so-called Zha Chong (the scumbag LHC).
EGRET, LULU ZHOU 2017. DONGFANG BUBAI, ONLINE FANDOM, AND THE GENDER POLITICS OF A LEGENDARY QUEER ICON IN POST-MAO CHINA=LAVIN, MAUD; YANG, LING; ZHAO, JING JAMIE 2017. BOY’S LOVE, COSPLAY AND ANDROGYNOUS IDOLS: QUEER FAN CULTURES IN MAINLAND CHINA, HONG KONG AND TAIWAN, HONG KONG UNIVERSITY PRESS, HKU, 122.
Even though the next article’s main topic is original BL fiction but given that the collection they examine contains original as well as transformative BL fiction, this analysis can add to our understanding of incest tropes in fanfiction.
Our examination of Chinese father-son stories, however, suggest that incest plots in BL concern not only lighthearted sexual fantasy but also imaginary compensation for the lack of pure love in parent-children relationships, as well as an implicit social critique of the authoritarian parenting/governing style.
Ling, Yang; Yanrui, Xu. 2013. Forbidden love: incest, generational conflict, and the erotics of power in Chinese BL fiction. Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics, 4 (1): 33.
This early analysis seems to suggest that the erotic love, in this case, has the power to transgress the strict familiar roles an create a novel intimacy between the characters. (That the eroticism of love is allegorical or not is up to interpretation.)
Do danmei incest stories you have encountered seem to support this hypothesis? What’d your experience?
Is there a reason for danmei to be spelled as damnei here? It’s a novel way of spelling :0
No, that’s just my typo. Thank you for catching it.
I believe that anything is okay long as it’s consensual and that the people are genuinely in love and happy in the said relationship.
even incest? even pedophilia? even step-family members?? i’m sorry? but? there is a reason why it’s dangerous because IT CAN LITERALLY CAUSE BIRTH DEFECTS…. Also, there’s almost ALWAYS a power dynamic over the younger one BECAUSE OF FAMILIAL RELATIONS?? Father son relationships in this case may not do the birth defects, AND even in this weirdly romanticized way almost ALWAYS has the father GROOM THE CHILD! It’s so disgusting. You’re okay with this? This blatant abuse of power and taking advantage of someone who may have been traumatized by said parent? This ISN’T FICTION. This stuff happens in real life.
As I said “genuinely IN LOVE and HAPPY”. I think that it would be cruel to not let them be happy, if that’s how they are are happy. BUT HOW THEY DO IT IS A DIFFERENT THING. If it has any form of rape or traumatizing the child then it’s a different thing. And About pedophilia… I believe that the law is to be followed on this, because it’s quite accurate. I BELIEVE THAT A PERSON IS OLD enough WHEN they KNOW and UNDERSTAND what sex is and they know if they want it or not. (and as well that they are physically developed, like the age of puberty) And that may be at the age of fourteen or the age of thirty OR NEVER. And so the compromised age of 16(which it often is in many countries) is a good law.