It really depends on the country though. In japan queer stories don't get GL/BL tag unless they're focused on romance and just get tagged by other genre tags. You'll find stories that focus on lgbt+ issues that have low romance or don't have any without BL/GL tags. I do kinda wish there was a "クィア" tag or something similar for those stories so they're easier to find :/
in LGBTQ+ there are a lot besides gay like trans- asexual what we do need is LGBTQ+ tag in general. it's just people in the comments were dissing the genre acting like BL/GL can't deal with queer issues like how LGBTQ+ does even though BL is queer and cable of doing it. I know there are many bad ones but people compliment the good BLS then forget they ever read those and diss BL in general.
I agree! I'm nonbinary and consider myself a lesbian/queer. I think bl/gl is queer in general and tbh while a lot of the fans can be straight-hetero I think most of them are queer in some way or another whether that be sexually/romantically or gender-wise. I also believe that these genres help younger queer people feel more in tune with themselves and discover more about themselves. There ARE comics that tackle the debilitating reality that it is to be gay, there ARE more in depth comics where the plot is more important than their relationship.
I also think people forget something: The biggest part in many people's lives is their relationships with people, especially romantically. Some people cannot handle being alone, are afraid of being denied/judged by others, and are wanting to be in relationships. While this doesn't apply to everyone, it applies to the vast majority. Romance tends to take up most of people's minds, even if they just watch movies. Why can't the story's focus be romance/sexual??? How does that make it any less legit or any less queer-oriented? Most gay people I know are afraid of being alone so it's not far fetched for it to be love-oriented.
yeah, also people (especially here in mangago) think that "guys don't love romance it's just a woman thing" even though most hetero romance anime that I watched are Seinen/shounen.
You are so right for that!!! I do know (this is showing my age) back when Bleach was still airing and coming out with new episodes the creator felt forced to add romance... But why would they need to add romance in a seinen/shounen series??? Maybe because the fan base (which is supposed to be mostly male) wanted to see the main characters end up with someone. Hmmmmmm LMAO
I'm just here to say it's fine if the main characters didn't end up with each other romantically but still queer. I'm fine with that. But I hate when people diss BL while they are on it by calling it a genre for "gay fetishizers" "BL focuses only on romance" and" only for straight women", even though there are BLs that like to focus on the plot rather than romance like God's ID Card, Mo Dao Zu Shi, Heaven Official's Blessing, Count Tachibana, Necromancer Survival, Tianbao Fuyao Lu, Truth or Dare, Gesshoku Kitan, A Trace of the Wonder. And as a queer woman, there are a lot of BL/GL that I relate to, like Her ShimCheong, Run Away With Me, Girl, Koimonogatari, The Best Smell, and Here U Are, Until I Meet My Husband. Yes, there are a lot of trashy BLs, but at the same time, there are a lot of good BLs about the queer experience. So I don't like when people are saying BL is not LGBTQ+. IT IS LGBTQ+ or can't tackle LGBTQ+ issues because it totally can. For example, there are queer creators who write BL/GL, and you are dissing them for choosing to create for this genre.