Yaoi, also known as Boy’s Love or 801, is an offshoot of shojo manga. Shojo is categorized by the primary audience: women and girls. Yaoi is focused on male homosexual relationships; however, it isn’t targeted toward a homosexual audience. That type of manga is called bara.
Yaoi is different from more traditional shojo storylines since it is focused on boys seeking love with each other as opposed to a girl seeking that of a boy. Yaoi stories deal with sexuality and violent emotions such as strong loneliness. Yaoi first appeared in the 1970s and sharply contrasted from the typical shojo focus on emotions and personal development. Yaoi is an acronym, by the way. It stands for: yama nashi, ochi nashi, imi nashi (no climax, no point, and no meaning). The acronym sounds sexual but actually refers to the story structures used in the sub-genre. It was said to be first used ...
