A search for fun, love, or equality : boys' love fiction and fans in China

In this research I address the phenomenon of female fans’ fascination with online boys’ love fiction in China, and the discussion centers on the questions of why these women are interested in the boys’ love theme, why they prefer boys’ love to traditional heterosexual romance, and how they define and identify with male–male relationships in the boys’ love fiction. Through focusing research on a popular Chinese online-fiction website for women (www.jjwxc.net), I use historical review, online observations, and content analysis of online boys’ love fiction to collect data on my research questions. Understanding female fans’ expectation of and attitudes towards love and romance and analyzing the content of boys’ love fiction allow for a comprehension of the interactions of gender, sexuality, identity, and culture in shaping these women’s practice and choice of boys’ love genre in China.