Hey all,
The long-awaited graphic novel week is here! Today’s topic – Yuri:
Yuri is the yin to Yaoi’s yang… or is it the other way around? From Wikipedia:
As of 2009, the term yuri is used in Japan to mean the depiction of attraction between women (whether sexual or romantic; explicit or implied) in manga, anime, and related entertainment media, as well as the genre of stories primarily dealing with this content. The wasei-eigo construction “Girls Love”, occasionally spelled “Girl’s Love” or “Girls’ Love”, or abbreviated as “GL”, is also used with this meaning. Yuri is generally a form of fanspeak amongst fans, but its usage by authors and publishers has increased since 2005. The term “Girls Love”, on the other hand, is primarily used by the publishers.
In North America, yuri has initially been used to denote only the most explicit end of the spectrum, deemed primarily as a variety of hentai. Following the pattern of shōnen-ai, a term already in use in North America to describe content involving non-sexual relationships between men, Western fans coined the term shōjo-ai to describe yuri without explicit sex. In Japan, the term shōjo-ai (少女愛?, lit. girl love) is not used with this meaning, and instead tends to denote pedophilia (actual or perceived), with a similar meaning to the term lolicon (Lolita complex). The Western use of yuri has broadened in the 2000s, picking up connotations from the Japanese use. American publishing companies such as ALC Publishing and Seven Seas Entertainment have also adopted the Japanese usage of the term to classify their yuri manga publications.
Ana Vitski (she of the many spoons) will be interviewing the Lily Girls later today. :)
So are you a Yuri fangirl? Do you read any Yuri, and if so, what’s your favorite? Where would you like to see things go in the Yuri world?
We have a great line up this week, including six topics and four special events:
Thursday, August 27th:
All Day: Yuri
12 PM PDT: Interview – Lily Girls – Lesbianism in Anime
Friday, August 28th:
All Day: Really Graphic Graphic Novels
Saturday, August 29th:
All Day: Breaking into Graphic Novels
Sunday, August 30th:
All Day: Is My Story Right for a Graphic Novel Treatment?
8 AM PDT: Interview – Arshad Ahsanuddin, Pact Arcanum – Adapting a Novel to Graphic Novel Format
It’s gonna be a great week!