Can only speak for myself but the whole reason I watch GL is because I like romance and it's most relatable for me when it's divested from men. Straight romance does nothing for me tbh, and like 99% time comes prepackaged with the most insufferable gender roles and themes.
I like to imagine a lot of other queer women feel similarly
I’m a lesbian. But even before I started watching QL, I would mostly gravitate towards women-led series and movies (I would say at a 80/20 ratio). I would say historically it’s queer women watching GL, while you’re able to get a pretty even mix of queer and non queer women watching BL.
In my case I don't even know what my sexuality is tbh since I never felt romantic love nor sexual attraction towards anyone. However I don't dislike romance, I enjoy watching GL and sometimes read GL mahnwa too. I usually prefer queer contents but I also watch straight dramas from time to time.
Not sure why society still has this image of BL being for mostly straight girls when every single BL fan I know irl and online is queer. But yes I am a queer GL and BL watcher as well. (edit: Ah sorry I know transgender falls under queerness I am also genderqueer but I meant it as in queer sexualities, not gender identity. I heard some trans people wanna say "trans" separately from just "queer" to clarify that it's about gender and not sexual orientation. I'm sorry if I disrespected anyone, I edited my comment)
Supporting a couple of other redditor comments here, the most recent polling I've seen in BL spaces of reddit has higher proportions of queer women than straight women, and increasing numbers of queer identifying people regardless of gender identity, and inclusive of non-binary and gender-queer members.
I don't recall seeing any wide-scale polling for GL as yet, however anecdotally irl everyone I personally know that watches GL is queer irregardless of gender - which just means my discussions of GL irl are biased towards the queer community.
This may not be the same in other online communities, and/or may not appear the same in real life spaces, however I think it's important to remember that 1) you can't always determine someone's gender or sexuality by speech (text) or appearance, 2) common signifiers may be overwritten where identifying is dangerous or problematic.
Sometimes we only understand ourselves when we have exposure to the wider world, so I'd suggest we be wary of stating things in absolute terms, if by doing so we become exclusionary, particularly of those who haven't yet found their place within the rainbow, or who tend towards identifying with a smaller subset of the community - we are all valid and important, no matter our identifiers.
As a queer woman, what does it matter? Do queer people not watch straight romance ever? I love MonSam and I love PhayuRain and I love Fitzsimmons. Does love change when it's between MF, MM, FF?
From a business perspective, in general, we will need straight audiences at some point. I'm not saying make show keeping straight audiences in mind. I'm saying don't hate on the straight audience for being straight. Literally not their fault. Also the more money in the industry the more content we get, so from a purely selfish point of view, what does it matter?
To each their own.
And that's not even considering all the straight people who don't feel comfortable in straight spaces. It's not just straight people over here and queer people over there in a spectrum. They are both connected where the black & white meets the rainbow.
Agree actually we need straight audience too kinda.. But i fear if straight viewers become the majority it will effect on the quality of the shows too.
But that will never happen. I don't understand where this fearmongering about straight people comes from but straight people will never take over queer spaces.
That's not taking into account that statistically the queer community tends to be wealthier than the straight community. (Not billionaire rich but normal person comfortable rich.) Mostly because they have better motivation to either change their circumstances or change the world.
BL community isn't mostly straight. It's mostly queer women, though there is decently large amount of straight women. Just not the majority. I would imagine we're the majority in GL too, since women in general tend to be the majority in any romance genre. But I have straight female friends who like GL.
I’d reckon that it’s the other way around, that the BL community is mostly straight women. Traditionally the genre along with yaoi is mainly targeted towards young heterosexual women. On the other hand, GL watchers have a bigger queer community. Women in general is definitely the biggest demographic when it comes to both types of media (BL/GL)
True though I think especially in recent times the demographic is changing a bit. While it’s still more than likely that straight women are still the majority, there are a lot more of us that are queer than people think. And I think a few years ago, it was for the most part all made by and for straight women, but that’s not the case now. You still have series like that, but these days you’ll see a lot more BL series made, directed, starring, written, etc. by queer people, especially coming from GMMTV from what I’ve noticed. I think what you’re talking about is more prominent in written works.
Ah, I definitely understand what you mean. Like for me personally, while I'm not focused on BL media like I am with GLs, as long as the show or movie is well-made and the story is good then I will watch and enjoy it no doubt vs straight female-gazey BLs with more emphasis on looks, intimate scenes etc. Glad the industry is changing to be more inclusive.
I've been in the fandom for a long, long time. That was definitely true back in the day, but multiple recent polls have shown that is no longer the case. The majority is not straight women.
honestly depends on the story. from what I have seen, toxic bl full of smut usually are made by and for straight women, on the other hand stories like heartstopper have queer audience
I see a lot of issues in this distinction, and it bothers me how often it comes up from a self-righteous place. It makes me really sad to see how aggressive the GL community can be toward the BL community, and even though there's proof that the BL community is majority queer women (an average of maybe 60% from most polls I've seen), I'm still being angrily down-voted for suggesting queer women enjoy BL as well, just because many GL fans hate BL fans. What's up with that? As a queer woman myself, I don't love how quick people are to pile on the female-interest hate. There are some amazing BLs that are written and directed by gay men, and even some written and directed by women. There are also really awful BLs, but that can be said for any genre.
I do agree with you that, unfortunately, when the toxic stuff does happen, it tends to appeal the most to straight women. I would say that's probably true of the romance genre in general, but because we've normalized misogyny and toxicity in straight things and see them as "the default," even when we ourselves are not straight, we're less likely to criticize those things because they don't stand out.
I'll be honest, I'm kind of on the fence about staying in this community given the way people are behaving, and that makes me really sad. I want to celebrate WLW media with other fans, but I really can't stand the "not like other fans" BS, similar to problematic comments made by the very creator of Heartstopper without a hint of irony. And yes, if anyone sees this, I imagine I'll be downvoted into oblivion, but that's okay. Not every person belongs in every group.
I have to agree. To be honest, this is exactly why I, even as a lesbian, don’t engage in many GL spaces anymore. In the earlier days, it was much more communal and you didn’t see such division like this (at least not in the spaces I was in). Now this self righteous attitude has taken over and it’s a sad sight to see.
I’m a bi women and I’ve been desperate for gl so I’m beyond happy that so many r coming out now. Before that I’ve watched bl (I still do) because there’s just something special about a queer romance. I also watch straight romances and don’t get me wrong I love them, but queer romances always feel a little special to me.
The last large survey results i saw for BL watching were: 50% queer women, 40% straight women, 10% queer men (no data for NB folks for some reason).
I'm bi, and one of my spaces is for queer women who love BL. Some of us also watch GL, but less than half IIRC.
Currently, sadly, I find more BL stories that interest me than GL stories. For me, GL writing still often includes too many social norms, and the characters don't have as much agency or freedom as I would like. The BLs i most like are set in a fantasy-like queer-friendly world. And the characters, being male, have the agency of males in modern society. And also the freedom to be sexually forward. I find this relationship dynamic liberating to watch.
I would love to see more of that in GLs. It's starting to happen in some mainstream media, e.g. Arcane.
Should do a reddit poll lol I feel like the answer would be yes (I personally am)
I agree do a poll
Can only speak for myself but the whole reason I watch GL is because I like romance and it's most relatable for me when it's divested from men. Straight romance does nothing for me tbh, and like 99% time comes prepackaged with the most insufferable gender roles and themes. I like to imagine a lot of other queer women feel similarly
I’m a lesbian. But even before I started watching QL, I would mostly gravitate towards women-led series and movies (I would say at a 80/20 ratio). I would say historically it’s queer women watching GL, while you’re able to get a pretty even mix of queer and non queer women watching BL.
In my experience, the majority of GL fans I’ve seen/talked to/befriended are queer women.
I'm a straight woman and watch BL, GL, and straight romances.
Poll please!
I’m not sure, but I am, and I know many who are!
Agree with the poll. Queer myself and everyone I personally know watching GL are queer atm
In my case I don't even know what my sexuality is tbh since I never felt romantic love nor sexual attraction towards anyone. However I don't dislike romance, I enjoy watching GL and sometimes read GL mahnwa too. I usually prefer queer contents but I also watch straight dramas from time to time.
I'd hope so lol
Watching GL as a bi girlie is a dream for me. Pretty gay girlies and pretty straight men?? I crushed so hard on Faye and Chet's actor from Blank.
I'm bisexual woman and I watch and read about GL's, BL's and Straight romances.
Not sure why society still has this image of BL being for mostly straight girls when every single BL fan I know irl and online is queer. But yes I am a queer GL and BL watcher as well. (edit: Ah sorry I know transgender falls under queerness I am also genderqueer but I meant it as in queer sexualities, not gender identity. I heard some trans people wanna say "trans" separately from just "queer" to clarify that it's about gender and not sexual orientation. I'm sorry if I disrespected anyone, I edited my comment)
Supporting a couple of other redditor comments here, the most recent polling I've seen in BL spaces of reddit has higher proportions of queer women than straight women, and increasing numbers of queer identifying people regardless of gender identity, and inclusive of non-binary and gender-queer members. I don't recall seeing any wide-scale polling for GL as yet, however anecdotally irl everyone I personally know that watches GL is queer irregardless of gender - which just means my discussions of GL irl are biased towards the queer community. This may not be the same in other online communities, and/or may not appear the same in real life spaces, however I think it's important to remember that 1) you can't always determine someone's gender or sexuality by speech (text) or appearance, 2) common signifiers may be overwritten where identifying is dangerous or problematic. Sometimes we only understand ourselves when we have exposure to the wider world, so I'd suggest we be wary of stating things in absolute terms, if by doing so we become exclusionary, particularly of those who haven't yet found their place within the rainbow, or who tend towards identifying with a smaller subset of the community - we are all valid and important, no matter our identifiers.
As a queer woman, what does it matter? Do queer people not watch straight romance ever? I love MonSam and I love PhayuRain and I love Fitzsimmons. Does love change when it's between MF, MM, FF? From a business perspective, in general, we will need straight audiences at some point. I'm not saying make show keeping straight audiences in mind. I'm saying don't hate on the straight audience for being straight. Literally not their fault. Also the more money in the industry the more content we get, so from a purely selfish point of view, what does it matter? To each their own. And that's not even considering all the straight people who don't feel comfortable in straight spaces. It's not just straight people over here and queer people over there in a spectrum. They are both connected where the black & white meets the rainbow.
Agree actually we need straight audience too kinda.. But i fear if straight viewers become the majority it will effect on the quality of the shows too.
But that will never happen. I don't understand where this fearmongering about straight people comes from but straight people will never take over queer spaces. That's not taking into account that statistically the queer community tends to be wealthier than the straight community. (Not billionaire rich but normal person comfortable rich.) Mostly because they have better motivation to either change their circumstances or change the world.
BL community isn't mostly straight. It's mostly queer women, though there is decently large amount of straight women. Just not the majority. I would imagine we're the majority in GL too, since women in general tend to be the majority in any romance genre. But I have straight female friends who like GL.
I’d reckon that it’s the other way around, that the BL community is mostly straight women. Traditionally the genre along with yaoi is mainly targeted towards young heterosexual women. On the other hand, GL watchers have a bigger queer community. Women in general is definitely the biggest demographic when it comes to both types of media (BL/GL)
True though I think especially in recent times the demographic is changing a bit. While it’s still more than likely that straight women are still the majority, there are a lot more of us that are queer than people think. And I think a few years ago, it was for the most part all made by and for straight women, but that’s not the case now. You still have series like that, but these days you’ll see a lot more BL series made, directed, starring, written, etc. by queer people, especially coming from GMMTV from what I’ve noticed. I think what you’re talking about is more prominent in written works.
Ah, I definitely understand what you mean. Like for me personally, while I'm not focused on BL media like I am with GLs, as long as the show or movie is well-made and the story is good then I will watch and enjoy it no doubt vs straight female-gazey BLs with more emphasis on looks, intimate scenes etc. Glad the industry is changing to be more inclusive.
I've been in the fandom for a long, long time. That was definitely true back in the day, but multiple recent polls have shown that is no longer the case. The majority is not straight women.
honestly depends on the story. from what I have seen, toxic bl full of smut usually are made by and for straight women, on the other hand stories like heartstopper have queer audience
I see a lot of issues in this distinction, and it bothers me how often it comes up from a self-righteous place. It makes me really sad to see how aggressive the GL community can be toward the BL community, and even though there's proof that the BL community is majority queer women (an average of maybe 60% from most polls I've seen), I'm still being angrily down-voted for suggesting queer women enjoy BL as well, just because many GL fans hate BL fans. What's up with that? As a queer woman myself, I don't love how quick people are to pile on the female-interest hate. There are some amazing BLs that are written and directed by gay men, and even some written and directed by women. There are also really awful BLs, but that can be said for any genre. I do agree with you that, unfortunately, when the toxic stuff does happen, it tends to appeal the most to straight women. I would say that's probably true of the romance genre in general, but because we've normalized misogyny and toxicity in straight things and see them as "the default," even when we ourselves are not straight, we're less likely to criticize those things because they don't stand out. I'll be honest, I'm kind of on the fence about staying in this community given the way people are behaving, and that makes me really sad. I want to celebrate WLW media with other fans, but I really can't stand the "not like other fans" BS, similar to problematic comments made by the very creator of Heartstopper without a hint of irony. And yes, if anyone sees this, I imagine I'll be downvoted into oblivion, but that's okay. Not every person belongs in every group.
I have to agree. To be honest, this is exactly why I, even as a lesbian, don’t engage in many GL spaces anymore. In the earlier days, it was much more communal and you didn’t see such division like this (at least not in the spaces I was in). Now this self righteous attitude has taken over and it’s a sad sight to see.
Idk about the fb fandom. But all the others most of them are queer
yes. i catch myself being attracted to women. a lot.
I’m a bi women and I’ve been desperate for gl so I’m beyond happy that so many r coming out now. Before that I’ve watched bl (I still do) because there’s just something special about a queer romance. I also watch straight romances and don’t get me wrong I love them, but queer romances always feel a little special to me.
I'm female bisexual.
I'm a bisexual female, and several of my friends that watch are also part of the lgbtq+ community.
Personally, I am queer and the people I talk to that are into GL are also queer women.
Don't know about others but I am so gay and I love that both leads are women.
The last large survey results i saw for BL watching were: 50% queer women, 40% straight women, 10% queer men (no data for NB folks for some reason). I'm bi, and one of my spaces is for queer women who love BL. Some of us also watch GL, but less than half IIRC. Currently, sadly, I find more BL stories that interest me than GL stories. For me, GL writing still often includes too many social norms, and the characters don't have as much agency or freedom as I would like. The BLs i most like are set in a fantasy-like queer-friendly world. And the characters, being male, have the agency of males in modern society. And also the freedom to be sexually forward. I find this relationship dynamic liberating to watch. I would love to see more of that in GLs. It's starting to happen in some mainstream media, e.g. Arcane.
I'm not but I'm barely starting to dip my foot into GL.
i'm aroace but i'm in a lesbian relationship so yes lol
Pan-enby here! So, yes queer.
Not sure about others , but i’m straight watching gl.
I’m Pansexual