hi p’abl! i know this has probably been discussed by you (if so please do link the posts you’ve made that talk about this) but i’m curious to know whether there are specific identifiers that mark a BL as being made through a queer lens or not. i have been watching BLs for a few years now but have only recently started critically analysing them and find it a little confusing to demarcate a BL into either of the two categories because sometimes the BLs that i think have some queer elements are considered to be made for the straights. as a queer person that also makes me uncomfortable thinking about whether the shows i love and the characters in them that i relate to have had their queerness tamped down and have been written to cater to a straight audience. are there any specific choices in the plot/characters that classify a BL as being ‘made for the straights’? i hope i made sense if you could provide a few examples from the 2025 offerings that would be great!!
For sure, here ya go (bold are the ones I think most apropos) :
Queer Stuff
Queer lens (from the director) and chemistry (from the actors) in BL
BL Linguistics & Queer Identity - I Am Gay versus I Like Men
Will BL Get More Honestly Queer?
Actually gay, not BL gay - the idea of “by queers, for queers, about queers,” the BL bubble, sanitized gay, and a queer lens
Touch & Daisy in Secret Crush On You - Queer Coded Language and 3rd Gender Identity
BL in Taiwan & Gay Marriage
Debating Queerbaiting in BL ( + Devil Judge… is it queerbaiting?)
BL Actors and the Assumption of Queerness - outing actors, coming out, being out, more: Is that BL actor actually queer?
So is it really fetishization? straight women loving bl
Some BL fans are sasaengs, and it’s a problem in this fandom
BLs That Highlight How Society Treats Queers
10 BLs That Are Honest to a Queer Experience
As for examples from 2025, here are some of my pulls for ones I noted in my review as particularly queer, queer lens, or queer allegory:
Caged Again
Gelboys
I'm the Most Beautiful Count
Eternal Butler
Heesu in Class 2
Therapy Game
Revenged Love (weirdly, but that friendship group)
Secrets Happened on the Litchi Island
That last probably being my top recommendations. Followed by Gelboys.
I will add, in response to this
"as a queer person that also makes me uncomfortable thinking about whether the shows i love and the characters in them that i relate to have had their queerness tamped down and have been written to cater to a straight audience"
Please don't forget us queers are also informed in our relationship to our own queerness by queer representation in pop culture and entertainment, regardless of the intent or target market of that content. And that's okay! It's a cyclical thing, not necessarily an us/them thing.
How we see ourselves (and how we have been taught to see ourselves) is multifaceted and multi-sourced. It is how we are raised, the culture into which we are born and live, but also the things we consume and the stories we enjoy. There is nothing at all wrong with seeing yourself in a character written for a different audience. Art is made to be in a relationship with the consumer, not a one-sided feeding mechanism.
Part of the importance of these stories is what we make of them: on our side of the screen. If you see yourself in that character, if that's what you want to be (or overcome), they are your character too. You're part of the equation.
For most of queer history that's what we had to do to see any representation at all. You're following a long standing tradition of your forequeers!
It's okay to like what you like, whether it is made "for you" or not!
It's just a good idea to try to understand how what you like can also impact who you are and how you see yourself, as well as how others see you.
Hope this helps.
FYI I pulled from my meta post which is here and has a large queerness section:
You have a lot of great meta posts, are they catalogued anywhere? Or any specific tags I should look at? I've been looking through your "his