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ellos ^^ i'm currently 16 and i found out about yaoi when i was i think about 12 if not then i was 11 XD i originally stumbled upon it on a fanfiction site. it was an alternate ending for a Harry Potter fic. at that time i didn't like it >>...i found that fic recently and reread the chapter, i realized that i didn't like it because it was poorly written XD im pretty sure it it was written better i would have liked it.

a few months later my two friends introduced me to anime *dances* and ffn! >> and proper yaoi as well so i started to read it when i was about 12. i started to actually buy yaoi manga when i turned 14.

i tend to only like fanfiction and not fanart unless it's drawn really well then i like the fanart otherwise i tend to basically ignore it >>;

i dont see why yaoi manga have little "parental advisory" labels on them or say that the person has to be like 18+ to buy it seeing as the people at borders and barnes & noble really dont care and let you buy it anyways.

um...there're arent too many fans that annoy me...tho..i really dont like the yaoi-bashing "fans" i find them to be rather immature. i think that people should be open to gay and lesbian relationships seeing as its already 2007 and homosexuals have been around for a loooooong time.

XD i can be a "squeeeee" type of fan depended on what pairing im reading. if i find it really cute then i do squee heart

i read a few different yaoi genre's, i like just about anything XD fluff and hardcore included. tho only stuff i dont like are the angst/rape/abuse/etc yaoi fics...i just dont enjoy reading those >> they tend to make me a lil bit depressed rather then giving me that warm fuzzy feeling from reading a cute fanfic.

start at the age of 13 and is now 15 going on to 16 mrgreen

I'm glad to know that I'm not the only adult around here who wonders why the heck such young kids get into yaoi.

I've been more accepting of underaged kids engaging in yaoi ever since I was torn a new one at the other yaoi guild. However I still have the same curiosities and concerns as I did before as to how and why kids get into it. I'd freak if my 11 year old sister got into it.

Anyway. There sure are alot of different reasons people are giving. Many of them seem to have some basis in Gravitation.

Am I the only person here who hasn't read/seen it?

I'm currently 15, and I got into yaoi around...13? Maybe, I dunno. It's been forever it seems like. I first got into it by picking up the manga "Demon Dairy" by accident. It looked interesting, so I went home and read it, and liked it (this volume didn't have any "fluff" content, and I could have sworn Ranef was a girl). A few months later I was in the library and looked the title up on the internet, and discovered that it was a boy-luff manga. After that, I tossed it in my closet and never picked it up for years (mostly because I thought it was gross at the time, and I had no idea how others would react). A while later, my friend and I were searching for a new role play, and she suggested we try yaoi. I had no idea what this was, and once she told me, something in just...sparked my interest xD Anyway, after that, I became a fan.

I was always worried someone would find out, because I was younger at the time and figured that they'd kill me if they discovered it >.>
When I was that age, I stuck to the fluff side of yaoi. I think I would have freaked if I read some of the stuff, back then, I do now xD
Really, I think maybe...11-13 is too young to read such things, but it really just depends on your state of mind. If you're 13 and have the maturity of an 18 year old, then by all means, try your luck.

As for the sites that restrict you from going in because of your age, that's a smart idea. I mean, if kids wonder onto such a site, Y!Gallery wouldn't want to get in trouble for it later. I'd love to go on that site myself, but I'll have to wait a few years xP The thing I really want to do is go to YaoiCon D: I just figure I'll be too old to care by then xP

I don't..."Squee". I only do that around my brother, because he accepts by yaoi fandom (for one, he likes yuri, so he can't talk). Otherwise, no, I'm forced to keep my fandon to myself .___. Only my mommy knows about it, and even with her, I won't let her see my books/drawings/fanfictions x3

I like any of the genres...fluff is good on some occassions, but I'm a perve, so I like the hardcore stuff x]
Of course, I was a little taken back when I accidentally ordered "Yaoi Hentai" o__O Yeah. Wow.

And that concludes my rant.
8D

Were you drawn into yaoi because of anime or some other way, like Harry Potter perhaps? I was drawn into yaoi because of a popular slash pairing in an anime. I got sucked in via the 3x4(Trowa/Quatre) pairing in Gundam Wing. I was 14 at the time and really didn't go for it at first... but along the way I just got desensitized more and more to it and began to enjoy it.

Was if fanfiction that converted you, or maybe fanart? Fanfiction did it for me all the way. I kept looking up Gundam Wing fanfiction and almost everything I cam across was yaoi. Eventually I just came to love it.

Do you find that you're discriminated against because of your age? At 20? Heaven's no. Most people respect me.

Do you feel that perhaps you're not mature enough to deal with some of the content? Not at this time no. I've pretty much grown out of my immaturity, I never flame a fanfic I read that I don't like and things like that. Generally if I get upset with something I am reading or seeing I hit the "back" button.

What age do you consider to be mature enough? Hmm, I would say maybe 16 and up... 15 is pushing it a little but it is possible.

Are there fans that annoy you? Oh of course there are. Mostly the immature little 12 year olds who run around screaming about the stuff and have no idea what they're talking about. You know the ones I am talking about, can't spell to save their lives and grammar seems to be lost on them -_-

Are you angry that places like Y!Gallery won't let you join because of your age? I was a bad little girl and lied about my age all the time on websites, so I was never angry at them. Even if I hadn't been bad and lied I still wouldn't be mad. Those restrictions are there to protect youth, looking back I know I shouldn't have done what I did.

Are you a "squeeeee" type of fan or do you feel that you hold yourself with more maturity? I am fairly mature about who I am as a fan. However in the privacy of my own home, or with a very close friend I will slip back into a "squee" moment. I try to keep it to myself though.

What are your yaoi genre preferences (fluff, hardcore, etc)? sweatdrop As embarrassing as it is, I am a hardcore fan all the way. Although, I do like it when there is a little bit of fluff... like, fluff then hardcore or something. That's nice, I get the best of both worlds that way.

I'm fifteen right now , and as for me, I always, if I can help it, stick to manga that are OT or under rated. Put it simply, I only read things I know are suitable. Haha, I haven't read any "yaoi" manga. I also skip over any fanart/fanfiction that isn't worksafe.
It's my opinion that age ratings are there for a reason, and I know I couldn't deal with it anyway. *Shrugs.*

I first started liking it when I was about thirteen, since I picked up a book called Magic's Pawn by Mercedes Lackey, and I absolutely loved the relationship between Vanyel and Taylendel.
Then nothing much happened until September 2006, I decided I'd look at the picture post section of this one tiny forum I was a member of. There were pages of slash fanart, which pretty much surprised the hell out of me.
I went and read a DNAngel slash fanfic out of sheer curiousity. (It was good enough. Not a badfic. I'm surprised, actually.) And took to lurking around this guild. (Yup. It's the truth.) And, well, I joined a Naruto yaoi guild.
Which is where the whole of my rabid fandom got used up, leaving me mostly rational today. So I kinda only squee when I'm at home, or at my friend's house, and then only if it's something that I think is really, really cute/hot/etc. I wouldn't even want to otherwise.
Immature fans irritate me slightly.

Yeah, I know, it's kinda tl;dr worthy. sweatdrop I can remember all that stuff, though.

Haha, I'm not discriminated against because of my age. People always seem to think I'm a little older than what age I really am. I've been mistaken for a college student several times before. And, really, why would anyone at a till ask me if I was old enough to get an OT rated manga? Sometimes age restrictions on sites can be a little irritating, but I'll just wait half a year longer and then I can join Aarin Fantasy. lol

I think age varies from person to person, but age ratings are a rather good guide in terms of level of content.

Ohh, I've never read any hardcore, I really don't intend to. My favourite genre would probably be a bit fluffy and a bit angsty at the same time. So, slight flangst for me then. I don't like it when stuff is over-done. It just makes me roll my eyes.

I guess I sound like a bit of a weirdo, making sure of what I read myself. That's just how it is, for me.
My rambling account of how I came to like BL is done. 3nodding

Fwoosh!

xD That wasn't very... insightful... was it, Miss Sushii? No.
Let me rephrase this.
I'm 15 ^^ (yay underage!)
I'd say that I'm a bit... pervered, for my age, but it's no crime. I'd rather read explicit manga than do what the other kids do, like drink and smoke and do drugs... at least I'm not hurting anyone (except my wallet...)
Moving on. It all started when I was 13... my cousin told me about manga and how great it was. So I said "Okay, I'll give it a shot."
So I bought a magazine. I liked it. In the magazine, was an article about Shounen-ai. So I read this, and I thought "Hey, that's pretty cute. I wanna read some." So I set my mind on finding some... However, it took a while.
I'd been drooling over Gravi for a while, but for some reason I never bought it... o.o;; Anyway, I was still a bit limited to the SUPERFLUFF. But gradually, I moved onto yaoi... and now, two years later, I still like fluff, but I LOVE the hardcore stuff. :3 I watched some OVAs... read some new manga... and yeah. I'm completely hooked! My friends Kim and Zander (I converted zander btw. It took like... five minutes!) are fellow yaoi fans as well, so we tend to share everything <3 I regret nothing!
One of the best parts, is the reaction of society. I read yaoi in public (as long as my parents aren't around) and it's hilarious to see the faces of the other people on the train or wherever I am... talking about it in public too... I can understand that people are shocked to see a girl my age (I also look a lot younger than I am) talk about such inappropriate things in public without shame! And the cashiers at Borders... SO AWESOME. Seriously, I recommend going to the most vulnerable-looking cashier when you buy yaoi, because you're bound to get a hilarious reaction.

POW!

I'd say I was drawn in by the Sirius/Remus thing in Harry Potter. Still one of my favourites. So it was definitly fanfiction that started me off. I haven't found too much canon to my taste, to be frank.

I generally don't reveal my age, and people in RL know better than to judge me. I've recently (very recently) become 'legal' and I don't believe in bullshitting children, that includes censorship. If you're old enough to enquire, you are old enough to learn, and if you're not old enough to understand you don't understand, do you? Some would call that harsh, but restricted information = bad. Especially about sexuality. Even if it's unrealistic, people need exposure.

Perhaps if they weren't so closeted (Ha ha, I made a pun.) some of the kiddie fans wouldn't be so annoying. Hmph. I only squee where it is deserved. I.E. rarely.

And my preferences? Well. I don't mind a bit of angst, but I don't like media devoted to it. I can make enough myself.
As long as it's not too ridiculous, anything goes - shonenai, het or shojouai.
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