It spans a wide range of media, including manga, anime, drama CDs, novels, video games, television series, films, and fan works. It is typically created by women for women and is distinct from homoerotic media marketed to gay men, but it does also attract a male audience and can be produced by male creators. Yaoi ( / ˈ j aʊ i/ Japanese: やおい ), also known by the wasei-eigo construction boys' love ( ボーイズ ラブ, bōizu rabu) and its abbreviation BL ( ビーエル, bīeru), is a genre of fictional media originating in Japan that features homoerotic relationships between male characters.
The svelte, semi- androgynous physical features of the characters are typical of bishōnen (literally 'beautiful boys') common in yaoi media.
