#but sure this is the white fujoshi website

[cherrysnax]

and maybe im sensitive and maybe im easily agitated and maybe im reminded how little of us it really is on this website but seeing white mfs call this place the white website without a sense of irony or shame is pissing me off

[emmawang]

Week 5: El Paquete Semanal

The sparks of inspiration kindled me this very ordinary morning when I was brushing my teeth and listening to my subscribed uploader in Bilibili, a Chinese version of YouTube. This uploader, consisted of two girls, calls the pair “let’s chat something.”  

Their black and white profile photo without any facial organs seems self-assuming and even intimidating at the first glance. What might they chat about? Local feminist practices? Dark fairy tales?  

Yet quite jubilant as they are, their contents are mostly BL-novel recommendations. Their videos usually follow these steps: one will chat about character settings of the protagonists, plot spoiler warning, plots, ending with comments from the other girl.

BL, the acronym for Boys’ Love, is a genre of fictional media featuring homoerotic relationships between male characters. Originating from Japan as the Yaoi culture (or Fujoshi culture, Fujoshi as the female consumers of BL), this fad came to China in the late 1990s with an increase in popularity in the 2010s.  

Just like locals in Cuba have limited access to the Internet, so is BL media suppressed in China. In 2015, laws prohibiting depictions of same-sex relationships in television and film were implemented in China. Reasons behind the prohibition include anti-pornography, violation of copyrights, and protection of masculine hegemony. Of course, these laws cannot stop Fujoshi from creating and seeking their entertainment. So where can they go?

I put together a ‘Paquete Semanal’ for Chinese Fujoshi.  😊

The official account of “let’s chat something” in Bilibili: https://b23.tv/DjHQAK     

I put their videos in the weekly package, because (1) they update weekly so my consumers can chase them as a series (2) their videos help form the sense of solidarity in the Fujoshi community with bullets comments from other viewers.  

2. Literature: http://www.jjwxc.net/

Jinjiang, a website hosting vast amounts of literature, is the nest for famous Fujoshi writers and sensational IPs (Intellectual Property.) Literature ranked top deserve spots in the ‘Paquete Semanal.’

3. Erotica: https://i.haitangshuwu.com/

Although JJ is a go-to web for BL novels, you can see from the bottom of the web that it is under government censorship. After all, who does not love pornography, and the spice of trespassing laws?  

4. Manga: https://yandanshe.com/blwj/

But BL manga webs all face this danger of coercive shut-up once spotted by government censorship. Some will change names or IP addresses, while some just vanish forever.  

5. Radio dramas: https://www.guangboju.org/bl/  

6. Films: https://www.soupan8.com/file/31968597

Unfortunately, no websites are curated for BL films, but well-known films, for example, Addicted 上瘾, Guardian 镇魂, The Untamed 陈情令, are attainable via Baidu pan. An insider with knowledge of the latest BL films is needed to fulfil this downloading mission.  

7. Anime: http://danm8.com.cn/forum.php

8. Community: https://sakura-bbs.top/      

9. Music: https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1ns411U7VW/  and https://music.163.com/#/album?id=2092772&userid=9216686  

10. Game: https://blgamesworld.net/  

This should go together with instructional tutorials to install the game.  

11. Dōjinshi: cosplays and birthday celebration pictures for characters. Writers will post pictures not included in the books for special occasions on platforms including Twitter, Sakura Community, etc. This reminds me of a huge problem, how to establish more interactive communications between Fujoshi and BL media producers, just based on a Flash-drive. Surely, I can follow demanded writers on Twitter and screenshot their moves, but the communication will always be delayed and intermediated.

12. To solve the problem above, VPN is necessary. Technology: https://www.szh47j.com/REWWSNU  

13. For books that one really loves and just wants to hold the paper book in hand, (Taiwan) websites that sell comics: https://www.kingstone.com.tw/  and https://www.books.com.tw/web/sys_cebbotm/cebook/1503?loc=menu_th_784_002  

14. Manga Apps: http://app.blmh.win/  

15. News: https://weibo.com/p/1008086265fb47fff26a2d6bd2540d6c440afe/super_index#_loginLayer_1633555794223    

Putting the content above together challenged me, for I realized in my process how limited knowledge I have of the Fujoshi community. Because the products of BL media include different types, I tried to stand in their shoes to exhaust my imagination of what or how they may consume. Another challenge is: I run out of links, even knowing there must be more content. The human resources and information exchange needed for such infrastructure building are beyond my competence. ‘Paquete Semanal’ is a brilliant individual idea as well as communal efforts. Specialists in certain types of media searching and network of collection and distribution are essential in forming the weekly package in an organized and timely manner. Like said in the video, “it’s a business.”

References:

Davis, Rebecca (5 June 2020). "China's Gay Rights Stance Can't Derail Demand for LGBT Films". Variety.