If you say the following:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jan-Poo
Don't make the error to think that hentai featuring lesbian sex is yuri, the two things have really nothing to do with each other.
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then it's also best not to use "yaoi" as a blanket term. Personally, I'd say that most of the BL titles (using the Japanese term for the whole genre for convenience) that are about 'romance' are still called 'shounen-ai' in the West. Though there are exceptions, which is why the 'yaoi' / 'shounen-ai' distinction is quite inadequate.
That said, I haven't kept track of how the Western fandom's usage of the terms has evolved. The impression I've gotten is that those fans that still use 'yaoi' as a blanket term typically focus on the kinds of works that term actually covers in Japanese (i.e. BL works focusing on the sex - "yaoi" is an acronym meaning "no peak, no point, no meaning" after all). I would say that these are the equivalent for 'hentai' works (whether heterosexual or yuri) directed at men.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Solace
That doesn't mean they don't exist, and those that do are generally pretty good, but many yaoi simply feel like a Josei story in different packaging.
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No. Definitely not.
Josei refers to works that target more mature female audiences and tend to feature more realistic relationships. Most 'yaoi' is targeted at 'fujoshi' rather than Josei audiences. The more realistic BL titles, the ones "that explore the complications and possibilities of the topic", can probably be considered Josei as well, and these women would probably read about a realistic/mature yuri relationship too...though the impression I've gotten is that most yuri is aimed at younger audiences...