Danmei

Danmei (Chinese: 耽美; pinyin: dān měi; lit. 'indulging beauty') is a genre of literature and other fictional media, originated in China. Danmei is typically created by, and targeted towards a heterosexual female audience. The term itself means "indulgence in beauty" and symbolizes the romanticizing of male–male relationships, from a female perspective.[1]

The term danmei is borrowed from the Japanese word tanbi, which means "the pursuit of beauty".[2] The literary genre is also based on the Japanese BL manga literature after its global spread and integrate local homosexual tradition and perspectives. It was introduced to China through Taiwanese translations in the early 1990s.[3] Some describe this literature as a promiscuous uke, which is "a sea that receives all rivers."[2] Danmei emerged from fiction produced by an underground fandom. It is currently considered a cultural movement because it serves as an alternative to real queer literature, which does not exist in China, and plays a role in the formation of homosexual identity in the country.[4]

The Chinese government classifies danmei with explicit erotic scenes as pornographic content. Pornography is illegal in China although the exact laws regarding its possession and distribution are blurry.[5]

Characters

The main character in Danmei is male, in rare cases, the story will be told from the point of view of the female character. Characters in Danmei are usually divided into Top and Bottom. A top is usually a person who engages in the penetrative role during sexual activity.[6] A bottom is usually the receptive partner during sexual penetration.[6]

Most female readers prefer to read novels from the perspective of Bottom characters. However, there are still cases where the story is told from Top's perspective. Normally, Top has more masculine features than Bot and is often the active person in the relationship. There are also character stories that both play the role of Top and the Bot role in the relationship.

See also

References
  1. "Slash fiction Click bait_Homoerotic fiction is doing surprisingly well among straight women". The Economist. 2015-11-14.
  2. Lavin, Maud; Yang, Ling; Zhao, Jing (2017). Boys' Love, Cosplay, and Androgynous Idols: Queer Fan Cultures in Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press. p. 16. ISBN 9789888390809.
  3. McLelland, Mark (2017). The End of Cool Japan: Ethical, Legal, and Cultural Challenges to Japanese Popular Culture. Routledge. p. 164.
  4. Feng, Jin (2013). Romancing the Internet: Producing and Consuming Chinese Web Romance. Leiden: BRILL. p. 58. ISBN 9789004222052.
  5. Jacobs, Katrien (2012). People's Pornography: Sex and Surveillance on the Chinese Internet. Intellect Books. ISBN 978-1-84150-493-3.
  6. Underwood, Steven Gregory (2003). Gay Men and Anal Eroticism: Tops, Bottoms, and Versatiles. Psychology Press. ISBN 978-1-56023-375-6.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.