A Cat's Blooming Rose | General Terminologies - Glossary for Yaoi Terminology

Hello, while I was surfing some message boards, most posters are all asking "What is yaoi" and some refers to yaoi and shonen-ai like they are the same. We must separate them because in reality, they are separate words and though they have common ideas, both words are not enough to fully define the others. That is, they have slight differences that make it an error to use both words interchangeably.

Major Terms

Boy Love- Boy love is the over-all umbrella term for any relationship between two men. No matter what the situation is, for as long as it involves two men in love, it should be termed as "Boy Love"

Yaoi- This term is still related to Boy Love. However it is more explicit. Calling a story yaoi without a lemon is pointless. If so, then please see the next term. PWP Fanfictions, comics, manga, doujinshis and movies belong to this term. Any scene that contains sexual intercourse, rape and any scene that depicts explicit actions in general are involved in this one. Most likely, it would be labeled as "rated M" or higher. Popular examples are: "Ai No Kusabi" and "Papa to Kiss in the Dark" and some scenes in "Sukisho"

Shonen-ai - This is my favorite section of Boy Love. Shonen-ai is lighter in its over all atmosphere. Friendship, dating, light kissing and slight groping belongs in shonen-ai. Mostly, media that belong to this are rated PG and up. Popular Examples are: Gakuen Heaven; Sukisho

Shotacon - Shotacon is a subgenre of Boy Love where it deals with actions involving pre-adolescent children. Most are paired with older ones or others are paired with boys at the same age. Popular Examples are: Boku no Pico, Pico to Chico, Pico to Chico to Coco, Enzai

Furry/Yiff/Anthropomorphic - A Boy Love section where the characters are given animal-like characteristics. The uke might be a human with fox ears and tail, and the seme might be a werewolf. Naturally, the most common example is "Loveless"

Minor Terms

Uke - From the term "ukeru" which means "to receive", the uke is the bottom of the relationship where he assumes the submissive role. This term is usually used in times when they perform sexual intercourse however, it generally applies to their relationship and the role they play.

Seme - From the term "semeru" which means "to attack", the seme is the dominant one in the relationship. He is usally the one who penetrates the uke during coitus.

Note: Some relationships do not have fixed roles. Sometimes, the seme might be the uke next time or in some cases, the seme is seme in terms of their relationship while this same seme might be uke on the bed...

Love - It is a complex emotion formed by bonds and trust that develops into mutual understanding and deep feeling of care and a sense to give one's self to the other. Love may or may not exist. No one has ever known.

Lust - Lust is desire uncontrolled. Brought about by hormone and sexual urges, it is pure attraction with no care and strings attached. Lust is general perceived as love by most writers when it's is NOT.

Hopefully, love and lust is clearly differentiated. Love and Lust are never the same. Do not equate the other with the other. More terminologies are coming soon...