| Summary: | 碩士 === 國立臺灣大學 === 圖書資訊學研究所 === 106 === Boys’ Love (BL) is a fiction genre that depicts homosexual love between two male characters. Most authors of BL are women, and most readers of BL constitute of women. However, there are still some male readers of BL in Taiwan. Most of the research on BL reading focus on female readers. The reasons why male readers enjoy reading BL, which is usually popular with female readers, is less known.
This study investigated why male readers like to read BL and the difference in the pleasures of reading BL between male and female readers. This study interviewed 21 male BL readers in Taiwan and analyzed data by adopting a grounded theory approach. Eighteen of the 21 male BL readers self-identified as being attracted to men (including homosexuals and bisexuals, etc.). Three of the 21 male BL readers are not attracted to men (including two heterosexuals, and one who had not experienced love or felt attracted to anyone before).
In this study, male readers who are attracted to men are immersed in the homosexual love stories and feel a sense of love. They enjoy reading BL because of their desire for romance and the consolation for failed romantic relationships. Furthermore, they can resonate with BL because of their sexual orientation and they may also affirm their sexual orientation firmly. On the other hand, male readers who are not attracted to men love reading BL because reading a sweet story can make them feel happy and relaxed. They also like to read about the equal relationship between gay couples and the sensitive feelings of male characters.
In addition, some male readers experience a sense of incredulity when reading BL. In spite of the feeling that some elements of BL seem unreal or “out of place,” male readers are still attracted to reading BL for the reasons mentioned above. Firstly, based on their life experiences living as men, they find it strange that male characters have so much internal conflict and interact with each other so intimately. Secondly, based on their personal experience of homosexual love, they feel that some plots are too fantastic and unreal. For instance, male characters can confirm their sexual orientation without much time or consideration; heterosexual characters can fall in love with men easily, or they sometimes do not seem sincerely in homosexual love; other characters can easily accept homosexuality without doubt. Furthermore, according to their understanding or experience of homosexuality, male readers feel that the love relationship and sex scenes do not closely reflect the homosexual love they see in real life.
This study also compared the pleasures of reading BL between male and female readers. Some of the pleasures of reading identified by Lin (2011) do not occur in the reading of male readers. Based on the reader’s gender being male, the pleasure of resisting negative female stereotypes, and the pleasure of reversing the stance of men staring at women were not experienced by male readers in the study. Moreover, based on their sexual orientation of being attracted to the same sex, male readers do not experience the pleasure of wallowing in the love stories between two men and rarely feel the sense of taboo when reading BL.
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