The Depiction of Love in Shounen ai and Its Appeal to Japanese Women

Abstract

This phenomenon of female favour in Shounen ai works, may show people a way to understand contemporary Japanese society. This article focuses on analyzing the reason why Japanese females are attracted to Shounen ai. The analysis will mainly focus on the emotional appeal for female readers in Shounen ai works, thereby explaining its attraction. The answer comes from research on the shaping of protagonists and story plots in Shounen ai works. This female desire to seek idealization in comics reflects how Japanese women are unsatisfied with the traditional gender role that they used to follow. The hypothesis that this article give out will be how idealized gender role, romantic relationship is the reason why Shounen ai works are attractive to female audiences. The gender role is idealized by shaping the main protagonists to have both male and female characteristics not only at outlooks, but also at innermost beings. This depiction brings satisfaction to female readers by free them from cultural traditional requirements, like jobs of reproduction. The romantic relationship is depicted with equality and other characteristics like precious, which are what female seeking for.