The appeals of gay erotica to young girls in China.
By Jennifer Liu
Despite Juilie Zhang’s busy study schedule, the postgraduate student reads erotic gay fiction at least four to five hours a day.
“I love reading stories about two men falling in love, overcoming difficulties together and breaking social norms. This is what I expect from love. Stories about boy-girl pairings only position women as companions assisting their male lovers in becoming successful. Women are always in a secondary position rather than the leading protagonist,” the 26-year-old girl says.
“Also I want to take a break from books I read for studies. I just want to stay in my dormitory and read gay fiction. I even stay up late to read,” the PhD student researching in electronic science says.
Zhang often associates the stories with her own breakup experiences. After experiencing two breakups, she is reluctant to date again. She finds comfort in reading online gay fiction when she undergoes hard times.
“The kind of love described in fiction is what I expect for my own romantic relationship which I do not find in real life. These fictions also help me escape from reality,” she says.
“So I see very clearly that gay fiction is a beautiful world constructed by women. It is like heaven for lovers,” she says.
Sharing Zhang’s interest in erotic gay fiction, university student Liu Chang also spends at least five hours a day reading gay fiction online.
“I feel so excited that I have to prevent myself from screaming when I read stories with love scenes about two boys flirting or kissing,” the 19-year-old student says.
Liu says her favourite story is titled The Children of Fire Dancing. The story is about a top student and a thug. The two have strong feelings for each other. At first, they try to avoid seeing each other and refuse to admit the fact that they love each other and later they become a couple.
“This story showcases the great courage of two young men going against all odds just to be in love and stay together. That is very difficult in real life,” she says.
Liu seldom reads books related to her studies or other literary works in her free time.
“These gay fictions are more interesting than the readings required for my study. I spend hundreds of dollars buying textbooks, but I don’t like reading them. Most of these gay fictions are free online, and I just love reading them,” she says.
“I am fascinated by the description of subtle and sweet interactions between characters. The writing is so good that it makes me think that the fictional plot might be real,” Liu says.
Liu has never had a boyfriend, because she is concerned about dealing with loyalty problems and having an abusive relationship.
“I am ready to live alone for the rest of my life. I would rather read gay erotica than date a boy in real life,” she adds.
Like Liu, university student Rita Wang, 20, spends at least five hours reading gay fiction.
Wang shares that she finds descriptions of gay relationships very appealing. “Most stories are about two male lovers who have their ups and downs in their relationship. They grow wiser together after going through tough times together. I really like that,” she says.
“I feel happy when I read gay fiction, and what happens in the fiction world does not bother me at all. But if I have a real boyfriend, I might have to deal with many relationship problems. I can have a good life on my own reading gay fiction,” she adds.
Wang says she and her friends also got to know each other because of their love for gay fiction. Now reading gay fiction has become part of her life just like eating and sleeping.
She also points out that girls do not read gay fiction just for its pornographic element.
“The gay fictions are written by female writers who understand what girls think and like to read. When I read gay fiction, I imagine that I am one of those characters without dealing with the troubles of having a real boyfriend. This saves time and money compared to dating in real life,” she adds.
Professor Zhang Hui at the School of Sociology and Population Studies of Renmin University of China points out women enjoy reading erotic gay fiction because the writing provides space for women to have fantasies about romance.
“Readers can escape from real life in which couples have to deal with gender inequality. They can imagine having a relationship with the same gender. Gay fictions offer a compensatory pleasure, and provide both sexual and emotional satisfaction,” Zhang says.
“The fictions allow readers to observe emotions as a bystander, “she adds.
Zhang also points out that unlike relationships in real life, which are often bound by social expectations, these fictions only focus on emotional connections and romance between two characters.
Edited by Lunaretta Linaura
Subedited by Celina Lu
