UK Fujoshi / China Yaoi
Understanding Japanese “Boys’ Love” manga from a UK perspective – British Academy (2011-2013) / Understanding Yaoi/Boys’ Love Chinese Fandom – Yao Zhao PhD (2020)
Purpose
Yaoi, Boys’ Love (BL), slash and danmei are all popular culture designations (Japanese, Anglophone, and Chinese) for male-male romance and erotica largely by-and-for women. The material spans both original and derivative work, typical forms including sequential art (manga/comics), videogames, anime, fan fiction, and fan art. This project seeks to understand the global BL audience and related issues.
Process
We use interview and survey methods. Our surveys are open and can be found here: Anglophone and Chinese. The abstracts of our articles and conference papers can be found in Outcomes below in English and and in Chinese translation.
Danmei Fandom Survey (Chinese): https://www.wjx.cn/m/3989081.aspx
BL Fandom Survey (English): https://leeds.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/blfandomsurvey


Outcomes
Publication Abstracts (English)
Find out morePublication Abstracts (Chinese)
Find out moreImages
Dr Baohong Liu, Louise Walton, Professor Anns Madill, Dr Yao Zhao
Flier autographed by Keiko Takemiya. 25th August 2019, Foyles, London.
See article here.
New study suggests female paraphilias are “hiding in plain sight” by Eric W Dolan in PsyPost Feb 2022. Read here.
Dr Yao Zhao being awareded her PhD from the University of Leeds
Image create for PhD materials coprighted to Yao Zhao
Professor Anna Madill and Dr Tien-yi Chao
Professor Anna Madill at the British Library manga exhibition May-August 2019
Professor Anna Madill and Professor Liheng Fan
The original first page from ‘Song of the Wind and Trees’ (Kaze to Ki no Uta) by Keiko Takemiya at the British Library manga exhibition