The Yaoi Shelf
Join hosts AuthorCarola and AichiYume in a fun jaunt to The Yaoi Shelf: an exploration of yaoi, shonen ai, and boy's love while discussing tropes, media criticism and more along the way. Grab a seat and get comfy, welcome to The Yaoi Shelf.
Omegaverse Explained: History, Tropes, and Gender Politics
In this special spooky season episode, hosts Amanda and Carola discuss omegaverse in BL. We'll go over the history of the subgenre, its tropes and the problematic gender politics hidden just below the surface. So grab your suppressants of choice, and prepare for some knotty behavior: Welcome to The Yaoi Shelf.Join hosts Author Carola and AichiYume in a fun jaunt to The Yaoi Shelf: an exploration of yaoi, shonen ai, and boy's love while discussing tropes, media criticism and more along the way. Grab a seat and get comfy, welcome to The Yaoi Shelf.Important Links: https://theyaoishelf...
The 2016 Fandom Wars
In this month's episode, hosts Amanda and Carola go back in time and delve into the history, impact and legacy of the 2016 Fandom Wars. We'll discuss where we were, what happened and how the ripples of this catastrophic event are still felt in fandom and culture to this day. Buckle up and grab yourself a drink and a snack: this episode is a long one.
Join hosts Author Carola and AichiYume in a fun jaunt to The Yaoi Shelf: an exploration of yaoi, shonen ai, and boy's love while discussing tropes, media criticism and more along the...
An Intro to BL Smut Writing
In this month's episode, Amanda and Carola discuss writing BL smut, how their writing journeys have evolved and their stance on AI in creative endeavors.
Join hosts Author Carola and AichiYume in a fun jaunt to The Yaoi Shelf: an exploration of yaoi, shonen ai, and boy's love while discussing tropes, media criticism and more along the way. Grab a seat and get comfy, welcome to The Yaoi Shelf.Important Links: https://theyaoishelf.carrd.co/Support The Show: patreon.com/TheYaoiShelfOur 18+ Discord: https://discord.gg/kKGRWgt6RSupport The Hosts as Writers: Amanda’s AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/us...
The Twittering Birds Never Fly Birthday Special - The Yaoi Shelf
In this month's special episode, we celebrate our birthday month by reading podcast favorite: Twittering Birds Never Fly (Saezuru Tori wa Habatakanai)! We'll discuss the themes, characters and the moody atmospheric world created by Kou Yoneda!
Join hosts Author Carola and AichiYume in a fun jaunt to The Yaoi Shelf: an exploration of yaoi, shonen ai, and boy's love while discussing tropes, media criticism and more along the way. Grab a seat and get comfy, welcome to The Yaoi Shelf.Important Links: https://theyaoishelf.carrd.co/Support The Show: patreon.com/TheYaoiShelf
Real Person Fiction (RPF)
In this month's episode, hosts Amanda and Carola discuss Real Person Fiction: the ethics, the history and our experience with RPF as fans.
oin hosts Author Carola and AichiYume in a fun jaunt to The Yaoi Shelf: an exploration of yaoi, shonen ai, and boy's love while discussing tropes, media criticism and more along the way. Grab a seat and get comfy, welcome to The Yaoi Shelf.Important Links: https://theyaoishelf.carrd.co/Support The Show: patreon.com/TheYaoiShelf
The Mainstreamification of Fandom- BONUS Episode: Paging Dr. Thomas
The Yaoi Shelf welcomes Dr. Thomas Baudinette for a deeper discussion on the mainstreamification of BL and yaoi. Together, we explore how Boys’ Love evolved from a niche fandom genre into a global media phenomenon, and the cultural conversations that came with it.
From commercialization and changing fandom spaces to representation, authenticity, and the impact of global audiences, this episode examines the complexities of BL’s growing visibility in modern media culture.
Join hosts Author Carola and AichiYume in a fun jaunt to The Yaoi Shelf: an exploration of yaoi, shonen ai, and boy's love whil...
The Mainstreamification of BL and Yaoi
Yaoi has gone mainstream. It's never been more popular or easier to be a #fujo but is all that glitters truly gold? And what do we lose as this vibrant and diverse fandom becomes more and more part of mainstream culture? In this episode, hosts Amanda and Carola discuss the infamous New Yorker article about fujoshis, the Syundei situation and how being normiepilled isn't great for the BL community.
Join hosts Author Carola and AichiYume in a fun jaunt to The Yaoi Shelf: an exploration of yaoi, shonen ai, and boy's love while discussing...
The Shoujo to Fujin Pipeline
In this episode, hosts Amanda and Carola break hiatus to discuss shoujo's impact on the world of BL from the good, iconic to the morally questionable.
Join hosts Author Carola and AichiYume in a fun jaunt to The Yaoi Shelf: an exploration of yaoi, shonen ai, and boy's love while discussing tropes, media criticism and more along the way. Grab a seat and get comfy, welcome to The Yaoi Shelf.Important Links: https://theyaoishelf.carrd.co/Support The Show: patreon.com/TheYaoiShelfOur 18+ Discord: https://discord.gg/V5d7tAGvUt
How Fanfic Language Has Changed
In this episode, hosts Amanda and Carola discuss the longstanding BL tradition of fanfiction, how its changed over the years and some of the ways fanfic used to be written and approached.
Join hosts Author Carola and AichiYume in a fun jaunt to The Yaoi Shelf: an exploration of yaoi, shonen ai, and boy's love while discussing tropes, media criticism and more along the way. Grab a seat and get comfy, welcome to The Yaoi Shelf.Important Links: https://theyaoishelf.carrd.co/Support The Show: patreon.com/TheYaoiShelf
Our 18+ Discord: https://discord.gg/V5d7tAGvUt<...
The Vintage OVA Special
In this episode of The Yaoi Shelf, hosts Amanda and Carola discuss Yaoi OVAs, their importance in BL fandom and why we don't see OVAs like we used to.Join hosts Author Carola and AichiYume in a fun jaunt to The Yaoi Shelf: an exploration of yaoi, shonen ai, and boy's love while discussing tropes, media criticism and more along the way. Grab a seat and get comfy, welcome to The Yaoi Shelf.Important Links: https://theyaoishelf.carrd.co/Support The Show: patreon.com/TheYaoiShelfOur 18+ Discord: https://discord.gg/V5d7tAGvUtSupport The Hosts as Writers: Amanda’s AO3: ht...
How We Used to Keep Up with BL News with Special Guest: Tylor Starr
In the Season 6 Finale, hosts Amanda and Carola are joined by BL Industry Legend: Tylor Starr! We'll cover keeping up with BL news past, present and future!
Join hosts Author Carola and AichiYume in a fun jaunt to The Yaoi Shelf: an exploration of yaoi, shonen ai, and boy's love while discussing tropes, media criticism and more along the way.
Grab a seat and get comfy, welcome to The Yaoi Shelf.
Tylor's Links:
Twitter: https://x.com/hoshitylor
BluPetal: https://linktr.ee/blupetal
To Be a Contributor...
Fanservice & Queerbaiting
In this month's episode, Amanda and Carola discuss the somewhat controversial topic of fanservice and queerbaiting when it comes to BL, queer media, fandom and more.
Join hosts Author Carola and AichiYume in a fun jaunt to The Yaoi Shelf: an exploration of yaoi, shonen ai, and boy's love while discussing tropes, media criticism and more along the way. Grab a seat and get comfy, welcome to The Yaoi Shelf.
Important Links: https://theyaoishelf.carrd.co/Support The Show: patreon.com/TheYaoiShelfOur 18+ Discord: https://discord.gg/xTjVvf4E4X
Support The Hosts as...
The Summer Hikaru Died Special & The Bury Your Gays Trope
Join hosts Author Carola and AichiYume in a fun jaunt to The Yaoi Shelf: an exploration of yaoi, shonen ai, and boy's love while discussing tropes, media criticism and more along the way. Grab a seat and get comfy, welcome to The Yaoi Shelf.
In this month’s episode and in honor of the Halloween Season, hosts Amanda and Carola, discuss the hit horror series The Summer Hikaru Died by Mokumokuren, thoughts on the series and the pervasive Bury Your Gays Trope in media.Â
Important Links: https://theyaoishelf.carrd.co/
Support The Show: pat...
Sexual Politics- What Gets to be BL with Dr. Khursten Santos
In this month's episode, hosts Amanda and Carola are joined by BL academic superstar: Dr. Khursten Santos! We'll discuss the BL Odo, Dr. Khursten's research and what exactly gets to be BL?
Join hosts Author Carola and AichiYume in a fun jaunt to The Yaoi Shelf: an exploration of yaoi, shonen ai, and boy's love while discussing tropes, media criticism and more along the way. Grab a seat and get comfy, welcome to The Yaoi Shelf.
Important Links: https://theyaoishelf.carrd.co/
Our 18+ Discord: https://discord.gg/xTjVvf4E4X
Support...
The Katekyo! (Private Teacher!) Special
In this episode of The Yaoi Shelf, hosts Amanda and Carola discuss Katekyo! (Private Teacher!) by the manga legend Moegi Yuu!
Join hosts Author Carola and AichiYume in a fun jaunt to The Yaoi Shelf: an exploration of yaoi, shonen ai, and boy's love while discussing tropes, media criticism and more along the way. Grab a seat and get comfy, welcome to The Yaoi Shelf.Important Links: https://theyaoishelf.carrd.co/Support The Show: patreon.com/TheYaoiShelf
The SasuNaru Birthday Special
Join hosts Author Carola and AichiYume in a fun jaunt to The Yaoi Shelf: an exploration of yaoi, shonen ai, and boy's love while discussing tropes, media criticism and more along the way. Grab a seat and get comfy, welcome to The Yaoi Shelf.
In this month's episode, hosts Amanda and Carola celebrate their birthday month by discussing the pairing that kicked off the fujin journey for so many: SasuNaru! Important Links: https://theyaoishelf.carrd.co/Support The Show: patreon.com/TheYaoiShelf
The Women Who Created BL
In this month's episode, join hosts Amanda and Carola as they celebrate Pride Month by discussing BL's female roots, the women who helped create the art form and how a very decidedly female origin molded BL into what it is!
Join hosts Author Carola and AichiYume in a fun jaunt to The Yaoi Shelf: an exploration of yaoi, shonen ai, and boy's love while discussing tropes, media criticism and more along the way. Grab a seat and get comfy, welcome to The Yaoi Shelf.
Important Links: https://theyaoishelf.carrd.co/
<...
Queering Shonen Anime and Manga
In this episode of The Yaoi Shelf, hosts Amanda and Carola will discuss queering shonen anime and manga, queer theory and why so many of our favorite pairings come from decidedly non-BL series.
Important Links: https://theyaoishelf.carrd.co/
Support The Show: patreon.com/TheYaoiShelf
Discord: https://discord.gg/xTjVvf4E4X
Gay Sports Anime and Manga
In this episode of The Yaoi Shelf, join hosts Amanda and Carola as they discuss the emotional highs and turbulent lowers of sports anime that feels a little too queer not to notice! Join hosts Author Carola and AichiYume in a fun jaunt to The Yaoi Shelf: an exploration of yaoi, shonen ai, and boy's love while discussing tropes, media criticism and more along the way. Grab a seat and get comfy, welcome to The Yaoi Shelf.Important Links: https://theyaoishelf.carrd.co/Support The Show: patreon.com/TheYaoiShelfDiscord: https://discord.gg/xTjVvf4E4X
BL Misogyny
In this episode, join hosts Amanda and Carola in a discussion about misogyny in the BL fandom and in BL works, how to best combat it and the importance of dialectics in fan communities.
Join hosts Author Carola and AichiYume in a fun jaunt to The Yaoi Shelf: an exploration of yaoi, shonen ai, and boy's love while discussing tropes, media criticism and more along the way. Grab a seat and get comfy, welcome to The Yaoi Shelf. Important Links: https://theyaoishelf.carrd.co/
Our 18+ Discord: https://discord.gg/xTjVvf4E4X ...
The BL Economy and BL Economics
Welcome to the start of a brand new season! In this episode, Amanda and Carola talk about fujin spending power, the BL economy and how fujin and fangirls have always been the backbone of fandom.
Join hosts Author Carola and AichiYume in a fun jaunt to The Yaoi Shelf: an exploration of yaoi, shonen ai, and boy's love while discussing tropes, media criticism and more along the way. Grab a seat and get comfy, welcome to The Yaoi Shelf.
Important Links: https://theyaoishelf.carrd.co/
Support The Show: patreon.com/TheYaoiShelf
The Clueless Uke Trope
Join hosts Author Carola and AichiYume in a fun jaunt to The Yaoi Shelf: an exploration of yaoi, shonen ai, and boy's love while discussing tropes, media criticism and more along the way. Grab a seat and get comfy, welcome to The Yaoi Shelf.
We did it! An entire year of The Yaoi Shelf is in the books! In this episode, your hosts discuss The Clueless Uke trope, it's reign of terror and how to write better and more complex characters. Important Links: https://theyaoishelf.carrd.co/ Support The Show: patreon.com/TheYaoiShelf
Our Bad Taste in Fictional Men
Join hosts Author Carola and AichiYume in a fun jaunt to The Yaoi Shelf: an exploration of yaoi, shonen ai, and boy's love while discussing tropes, media criticism and more along the way. Grab a seat and get comfy, welcome to The Yaoi Shelf. In this month's episode, hosts Amanda and Carola run from their issues and into the arms of their favorite bad fictional men. We discuss the social aspect of loving not so great fictional men, why we keep going out of our way to say fictional and the implications of calling a fictional man "babygirl". Important...
The Performative Angst of Early BL Fandom
Join hosts Author Carola and AichiYume in a fun jaunt to The Yaoi Shelf: an exploration of yaoi, shonen ai, and boy's love while discussing tropes, media criticism and more along the way. Grab a seat and get comfy, welcome to The Yaoi Shelf.
In honor of Halloween Month, join hosts Amanda and Carola in a trip down memory lane where we discuss how edgy and problematic early fandom was, the need to prove yourself in fan spaces and the lingering scars from years of trying to act tough. Important Links: https://theyaoishelf.carrd.co/ Support The...
Queer Representation in BL and Yaoi
This episode is sponsored by: Filthy Figments! Check them out for diverse and smutty 18+ webcomics! filthyfigments.com In this episode, hosts Amanda and Carola discuss the history of queer representation in early BL and yaoi, how far we've come when it comes to queer representation and where readers can find the representation we are all so desperate for. Important Links: theyaoishelf.carrd.co Support the Show: patreon.com/TheYaoiShelf Our 18+ Discord: https://discord.gg/xTjVvf4E4X
The BL Con Scene
In this episode, hosts Amanda and Carola discuss the yaoi and BL con scene including it's past, present and discuss the fact that BL fandom has always been part of convention culture. Join hosts Author Carola and AichiYume in a fun jaunt to The Yaoi Shelf: an exploration of yaoi, shonen ai, and boy's love while discussing tropes, media criticism and more along the way. Grab a seat and get comfy, welcome to The Yaoi Shelf. Important Links: https://theyaoishelf.carrd.co/
Our 18+ Discord: https://discord.gg/xTjVvf4E4X
Support the Show: Patreon.com...
The Hetalia Episode
In this month's episode, to celebrate our birthdays: we're finally talking about Axis Powers: Hetalia, the fandom, the shipping, the less than stellar fan behavior and whether this titan of early fandom is worth watching!
Follow us on Twitter! -https://twitter.com/yaoishelf Important Links:https://theyaoishelf.carrd.co/Our 18+ Discord: https://discord.gg/xTjVvf4E4X
What's in a Name? MLM Romance vs. BL vs. Yaoi & Shonen Ai
Join hosts Author Carola and AichiYume in a fun jaunt to The Yaoi Shelf: an exploration of yaoi, shonen ai, and boy's love while discussing tropes, media criticism and more along the way. Grab a seat and get comfy, welcome to The Yaoi Shelf.
In this episode of The Yaoi Shelf, hosts Amanda and Carola discuss naming conventions in the boy's love and queer media space, talk about how these naming conventions have changed and answer whether this all does or does not fetishize gay men.
Important Links: https://theyaoishelf.carrd.co/
Our 18+...
An Intro to BL Gaming with Special Guest: Blerdy Otome
Join hosts Author Carola and AichiYume in a fun jaunt to The Yaoi Shelf: an exploration of yaoi, shonen ai, and boy's love while discussing tropes, media criticism and more along the way. Grab a seat and get comfy, welcome to The Yaoi Shelf.
In this month's episode, hosts Amanda and Carola are joined by the super talented, Blerdy Otome, to discuss all things BL gaming! Important Links: theyaoishelf.carrd.co
Our 18+ Discord: discord.gg/hqURZnnf
Find Blerdy Otome: blerdyotome.com
Support Blerdy Otome's new microphone fund: https://throne.com/blerdyotome...
The Nakamura Asumiko Special
In this episode of The Yaoi Shelf, hosts Amanda and Carola talk about the career of famed mangaka Nakamura Asumiko, the perils of recommendations in especially early yaoi fandom and the performative angst that was a huge part of 2000s fujin culture.
Important Links: https://theyaoishelf.carrd.co/Support The Show: Patreon.com/theyaoishelfOur 18+ Discord: https://discord.gg/CtWwfkUY
Piracy and Monopolies
Join hosts Author Carola and AichiYume in a fun jaunt to The Yaoi Shelf: an exploration of yaoi, shonen ai, and boy's love while discussing tropes, media criticism and more along the way. Grab a seat and get comfy, welcome to The Yaoi Shelf. In this month's episode of The Yaoi Shelf, hosts Amanda and Carola discuss piracy in BL fandom, the death of physical media and the rise of corporate monopolies and why many are looking to the glory days of online piracy for solutions once more. Follow us on Twitter! -https://twitter.com/yaoishelf Support the show...
Purity Culture with Sam Aburime
Join hosts Author Carola and AichiYume in a fun jaunt to The Yaoi Shelf: an exploration of yaoi, shonen ai, and boy's love while discussing tropes, media criticism and more along the way. Grab a seat and get comfy, welcome to The Yaoi Shelf
We're back with our first guest of the year: Sam from the incredibly important Fujoshi.Info and of several academic papers to discuss purity culture and the future of BL fandom!
You can find Sam and their work: https://www.fujoshi.info/Twitter: SamAburime https://theyaoishelf.carrd.co/
Queer Shipping in Western Fandom Spaces
Join hosts Author Carola and AichiYume in a fun jaunt to The Yaoi Shelf: an exploration of yaoi, shonen ai, and boy's love while discussing tropes, media criticism and more along the way. Grab a seat and get comfy, welcome to The Yaoi Shelf.
We're back! Join hosts Amanda and Carola as they discuss the queer shipping side of some of your favorite Western fandom properties and finally do talk about SuperWhoLock.
Support the Show: Patreon.com/theyaoishelf
Join our 18+ Discord: https://discord.gg/Vj39Za4em5
Links...
Hauls and Haul Culture
In this month's episode and the final episode of 2023, we're gonna talk about hauls, haul culture, capitalism and what turned hauls from social fun to social performance.
Join hosts Author Carola and AichiYume in a fun jaunt to The Yaoi Shelf: an exploration of yaoi, shonen ai, and boy's love while discussing tropes, media criticism and more along the way. Grab a seat and get comfy, welcome to The Yaoi Shelf.
Support the Show: https://www.patreon.com/TheYaoiShelfOur 18+ Discord: https://discord.gg/WgsMwNKc7a
Follow us on Twitter! -https://twitter.com/theyaoishelf
Fujin BrainRot
Join hosts Author Carola and AichiYume in a fun jaunt to The Yaoi Shelf: an exploration of yaoi, shonen ai, and boy's love while discussing tropes, media criticism and more along the way. Grab a seat and get comfy, welcome to The Yaoi Shelf.
This month, hosts Amanda and Carola are here to talk about a very "serious" condition: Fujin BrainRot. We're going to talk about hyperfixation, why fujin sometimes go too far and how to best live with a brain that sees the yaoi side of everything. Other Links: https://theyaoishelf.carrd.co/<...
The Villain F*cker Special
Join hosts Author Carola and AichiYume in a fun jaunt to The Yaoi Shelf: an exploration of yaoi, shonen ai, and boy's love while discussing tropes, media criticism and more along the way. Grab a seat and get comfy, welcome to The Yaoi Shelf.Let's get spooky!
Join hosts Amanda and Carola in a very long and very informative conversation about villains, villainy and why so many of us want to sleep with the bad guy.
https://theyaoishelf.carrd.coSupport the Show: Patreon.com/theyaoishelf
The Antique Bakery Episode
Join hosts Author Carola and AichiYume in a fun jaunt to The Yaoi Shelf: an exploration of yaoi, shonen ai, and boy's love while discussing tropes, media criticism and more along the way. Grab a seat and get comfy, welcome to The Yaoi Shelf.
In this month's episode, Amanda and Carola talk about a podcast favorite: Antique Bakery by Fumi Yoshinaga.
theyaoishelf.carrd.co More places to listen- podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-yaoi-shelfPatreon.com/TheYaoiShelfOur 18+ Discord: https://discord.gg/mdp2h8KNr Where else can you find us? Amanda: Twitter- https://twitter.com/AichiYume ...
BL Fanfic Tropes
Join hosts Author Carola and AichiYume in a fun jaunt to The Yaoi Shelf: an exploration of yaoi, shonen ai, and boy's love while discussing tropes, media criticism and more along the way. Grab a seat and get comfy, welcome to The Yaoi Shelf.
In this month's episode, Amanda and Carola go back to their roots to talk about BL fanfic, writing conventions and discuss that while some things change, others remain the same. Follow us on Twitter! -https://twitter.com/yaoishelf More places to listen- https://anchor.fm/the-yaoi-shelf Patreon: Patreon.com/theyaoishelf 18+...
Representation in BL and Yaoi
Join hosts Author Carola and AichiYume in a fun jaunt to The Yaoi Shelf: an exploration of yaoi, shonen ai, and boy's love while discussing tropes, media criticism and more along the way. Grab a seat and get comfy, welcome to The Yaoi Shelf. In this month's episode, hosts Amanda and Carola celebrate their birth month by tackling the important topic of representation in BL and yaoi. Our Socials: https://theyaoishelf.carrd.co Our 18+ discord:
https://discord.gg/Fqz7kPTa
An Intro to BL Scholarship with Special Guest: Dr. James Welker
Join hosts Author Carola and AichiYume in a fun jaunt to The Yaoi Shelf: an exploration of yaoi, shonen ai, and boy's love while discussing tropes, media criticism and more along the way. Grab a seat and get comfy, welcome to The Yaoi Shelf. In this month's episode, Amanda and Carola are joined by famed BL and queer media scholar: Dr. James Welker, to discuss BL scholarship, his fantastic book Queer Transfigurations and why academia in the BL space is so important.
Where to find Dr. James Welker: Twitter: twitter.com/james_welker Research Twitter: blmediainasia Instagram...
