I once asked a friend who is involved in the yaoi manga industry on this subject She explained that It's very cultural/social more than anything Mostly women write/draw these and the "no means yes" is very much fetishized in the way women are often treated there Sociological studies has it that it's a way for the women to deal with oppression I am not saying there's a strong rapeculture there but women as a whole in any Asian society are not meant to be equals They are meant to be married and have kids And often sexual harassment occurs and the society dealt with it in the way of put a band aid on it instead of fixing the problem For example there's a constant problem with drunken salarymen who board the train and sexually harass women Touching them etc There's so much reports of it and so bad that instead of teaching the men "you can't do that" they simply designate certain cars in the train (by painting it pink and calling it "women only" during rush hours) for female passengers Although I know this occurs here also in US of A Over there the misogyny is so open and obvious that women tolerate it IT is just what it is So when they do MM porn it's a way of displacing themselves A psychological way of dealing with it by replacing it with men Of course this is a very sociological look at it But the bottom line is it's simply something a lot of them find exciting They read other stories like this and they repeat it etc

I once asked a friend who is involved in the yaoi manga industry on this subject. She explained that: It's very cultural/social more than anything. Mostly women write/draw these and the "no means yes" is very much fetishized in the way women are often treated there. Sociological studies has it that it's a way for the women to deal with oppression. I am not saying there's a strong rape-culture there but women as a whole, in any Asian society, are not meant to be equals. They are meant to be married and have kids. And often sexual harassment occurs and the society dealt with it in the way of - put a band aid on it instead of fixing the problem. For example, there's a constant problem with drunken salarymen who board the train and sexually harass women. Touching them, etc. There's so much reports of it and so bad that - instead of teaching the men "you can't do that" -- they simply designate certain cars in the train (by painting it pink and calling it "women only" during rush hours) for female passengers. Although I know this occurs here also, in US of A. Over there, the misogyny is so open and obvious that women tolerate it. IT is just what it is. So when they do M-M porn, it's a way of displacing themselves. A psychological way of dealing with it by replacing it with men. Of course - this is a very sociological look at it. But the bottom line is - it's simply something a lot of them find exciting. They read other stories like this and they repeat it, etc.

When our manga came out - we were hammered by a lot of the same readers of this genre because the main character "didn't enjoy it (rape". And it upset them. They wrote in blogs and reviews that they were depressed for days. The violence and the non-con not being reciprocated as an act of love. Or clumsy way of showing love (as this is the common theme - that it's not really rape. because the aggressor really loves him, etc). So - the bottom line is, you really can't read JP manga/yaoi by Western standards. Because yes, they do fetishize rape fantasies. )

It would be interesting if any Japanese CR member could confirm this for us. Perhaps they could share their thoughts with us?

Hope my friend's explanation helps a bit with the article.