A Relational Equality Bias: Women’s Narrative Engagement in Reading Chinese BL

Authors

  • Yanyan Zhou The Media School, Indiana University-Bloomington, USA
  • Tuo Liu Department of Psychology, Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg
  • Harry (Yaojun) Yan The Media School, Indiana University- Bloomington
  • Bryant Paul The Media School, Indiana University- Bloomington
  • Yuezheng Wang School of Journalism and Communication, Northwest University, China

Keywords:

BL, identification, narrative engagement, perceived equality

Abstract

Boys’ Love stories (BL) are a genre of male-male homosexual romance in China. The readers of BL typically are heterosexual young women. BL readers usually argue that they are fighting against traditional gender roles and at the same time promoting liberal social attitudes toward gay men. Some gay men and LGBT scholars criticize BL for reinforcing stereotypes. The current experiment assigned women participants to read either BL or heterosexual romances with identical plots and then self-report their reading experiences. Results suggest that women have a pro-BL bias, meaning they believe BL naturally depict more relationally equal romantic relationships than heterosexual romances. This bias leads to greater identification with characters and ultimately increases the narrative engagement with BL. These findings have important implications for understanding the effects of BL on stereotypical perceptions of gay men in Chinese society.  

Author Biographies

Yanyan Zhou, The Media School, Indiana University-Bloomington, USA

Ph.D. candidateThe Media School, Indiana University-Bloomington,USA1-812-325-8082

Tuo Liu, Department of Psychology, Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg

Ph.D. studentDepartment of Psychology, Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, Germany49-152-267-36517

Harry (Yaojun) Yan, The Media School, Indiana University- Bloomington

Ph.D. studentThe Media School, Indiana University-Bloomington, USA1-607-882-1571

Bryant Paul, The Media School, Indiana University- Bloomington

Associate professorThe Media School, Indiana University-Bloomington, USA1-812-856-2572

Yuezheng Wang, School of Journalism and Communication, Northwest University, China

Master student,School of Journalism and Communication, Northwest University, China,86-157-128-92526

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Published

2021-11-13

Issue

Vol. 15 (2021)

Section

Articles

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