Thanks for downloading!
1National Chengchi University, Taipei, Taiwan
2Faculty Member (On leave), Department of Political Science, University of Santo Tomas, España, Metro Manila
*[email protected]
Boys Love TV dramas ride a transnational wave across Asia, similar to South Korean popular culture. Their evolution from vulgar origins to demure adaptations, along with participatory activities of producers and audiences, engages the state and society regarding issues of gendered identity politics. This paper traces this evolution through Chantal Mouffe’s agonistic pluralism model of democracy, where advocacies for the marginalized gain space to speak up. The Boys Love wave crested during the lockdowns of COVID-19 as people socially distanced themselves and resorted to the internet for social engagement and encountered Boys Love streams advocating for gendered acceptance. The author used qualitative analysis of 60 academic literature studies covering the Boys Love campaigns spanning the second half of 2010 and the early years of 2020. Findings show that the Boys Love subculture includes counter-hegemonic practices and discourses that engage against hegemonic social norms and government institutions on gendered identity politics.
