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I know straight guys that watch the odd bit of yaoi/shounen-ai/reverse harem for kicks. A decently done title of that type that has a reasonable story and hilarious interaction between the guys and looking FAB-ulous is watchable. The anime club I go to is mainly guys and they found Ouran to be a title they quite liked. I've watched Gravitation and I found that to be amusing and funny. And amazingly, the most hetero-hot blooded males in the club at present want Junjou Romantica to be played. But yes, yaoi does cater to women well - manga sections at the two stores in town certainly point out their yaoi sections. And when I see women buying them, they're not recluses or anything - they're pretty, smart-looking women. But there are guys out there who find some of it watchable because if it is outrageous in the right way, it's funny. And according to some women I've spoken to, they've said that there a re a reasonable amount of lesbians that find yaoi amusing/readable. There's a manga title called My Girlfriend's A Geek, which is about a couple where the female is a hardcore yaoi fan who keeps forcing her fantasies and thoughts onto her boyfriend. It's quite funny. However, something like Star Driver is not the type of show the guys I know being found to be FAB-ulous at all. A title like that seems to be oriented towards the females for that aspect.
Whereas whenever yuri gets mentioned, they go cold. Although Rose of Versailles, which has a bit of that and they liked it, but mainly because that title was dramatic and FAB-ulous. But the majority of yuri titles are clean, refined and more serious. THAT is why I think yuri doesn't go as well - because it's taken a bit more seriously/purely and doesn't have anywhere near as much the outrageous behaviour that yaoi does, or not in the way men get their kicks. Yuri isn't gratuitous or loose most of the time. It's more about being aesthetically cute and pretty, setting a warm, fuzzy mood and has more drama rather than outrageous. Your red-blooded guy isn't that likely to read it. Hell, as crazy as it sounds, the red-blooded ones I know are more likely to look at something yaoi that yuri. Try explaining that one. Also, I don't think gay men are as likely to read yuri as lesbians are to read yaoi. Still, there are straight women who read yuri and get kicks out of it - I know some IRL and online. But personally I get a very nice feeling when reading something like Girl Friends or Aoi Hana. But they're not titles I'll find comapny with except on an online forum.
But Ash and Triple_R have a point - yaoi gets more graphic than yuri and plays up the humour. The majority of yuri titles seem to flirt with the idea of a graphic scene then either do one late or a partial one. Yaoi doesn't seem to shy away from it once action gets going. Whereas there's almost always a 'is this something I should be doing' aspect that is prevalent in yuri which leads to the relationship being more awkward and less action happening.
I think it all comes down to aesthetics and the vibe. Yaoi seems to attune with more people than yuri does, for various reasons...Anime fans seem to like humour and insanity more than a serious story. So something like that could explain why yaoi goes more than yuri. If yuri had more 69ing, graphic scenes and 'in-relationship' content rather than spending most of the series in the 'will they or won't they' phase, I think guys would like it more. But I don't think that fits in with the Japanese mentality or society, since they heavily value cuteness and don't like carnivorous women in general.
As for which I prefer, I think the sig says enough.
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