Kristy's RPG 2000

Yuri

Yuri is usually, but not exclusively, used to represent explicit sexual relations between women - mostly drawn by men for other men -

In the same sense that yaoi (sexual relationships between men) is typically part of the shoujo (girls) or josei (womens) manga sections of Comiket, yuri is pretty much sold in the shounen (boys) and seinen (mens) part of the con. The fact that so much yuri is also hentai, or overtly explicit - what we would call pornographic - adds to the assumption that it's all sex, all the time.

The term shoujoai was created as an analog for shounenai (boys love) and, like its partner term, is assumed to be part and parcel of, again, shoujo manga.

Interestingly, it was probably created by an American fan and isn't really used in Japan - although they know what we mean when we use it.

Shoujoai typically represents romantic love between girls - sometimes with a physical component, sometimes not. The emphasis tends to be on the romantic over the sexual.

So, while not always, it's pretty common usage in western fandom to refer to non- explicit romance between women as "shoujoai" and explicit ones as "yuri," in the same way that shounenai and yaoi are coming to be used, pretty much standardly.

Yaoi

Yaoi = No climax, no meaning, no resolution.
American ficiton writers have translated this phrase to "Plot? What Plot?"

A related and well known phrase, that is common on the internet is "shonen ai" which means the same thing in general and translates to "boy's love".
Shonen ai is considered less graphic than yaoi.

Yaoi is a genre of shoujo in Japanese animation and comics, where the romance and sex is male-to-male rather thean female-to-male.

Yaoi first made an appearace in doujinshi (amateur) comics until the larger publishing companies caught wind of the massive money-making going on, and then they threw their hats in as well.

??Why do Women like Yaoi??

We could get psychological about it, and sit down and talk about the sexual double standards of American society, etc. but I find typing more .... convieniant lol In general women like yaoi because:

a. they can read about or view very attractive boys or men together (much as men enjoy reading about/viewing attractive girls or women together)

b. they are not threatened by the sex/violence because it is directed at other men, not women

c. the relationships in yaoi tend to be a lot more equal then in women-to-men relationships.

d. yaoi is artistic

e. yaoi is titillating and entertaining, and it is usually romantic.

f. theres more then going on down below ^_~