|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Thu Jan 19, 2006 11:55 am
~:: Useful terms and definitions ::~
Here are some helpful definitions and info that might make your yuri life a little easier. I'll also include short essays on relevant topics related to definitions and usage of yuri fandom terms.
If you would like to add to any of these definitions, or change them, or if there's a new term you'd like listed, or even if you just want to question or discuss, please don't do it here. Instead, use this thread for all that stuff.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jan 19, 2006 11:58 am
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jan 19, 2006 12:16 pm
Shoujo-aiPronounced: Show-joe ah-ee Also written as: Shoujoai, shōjo-ai, shōjoai, 少女愛 Shoujo-ai is a Japanese term that literally translates as "girls love" or "girl love". In Japanese it is 少女 or "shoujo" for girl and 愛 or "ai" for love. In Japan it is rarely used because of its similarity to shounen-ai, which is used for ******. A native Japanese speaker would interpret the term as referring to romantic or sexual love between an adult and a little girl, and it would have no relationship to lesbianism. English speakers have appropriated the term for their own use, and the best theory I've heard for why is because it stands out pretty well, which makes using it in web searches easier. When you search for "shoujo-ai", you are far less likely to have spurious results than when you search for yuri or girls love. There is no standard definition for what shoujo-ai means in English. The most common usage is that it means lesbian content in stories, images and art that it romantic in nature, as opposed to pornographic, but the details on this vary widely. In this guild, we do not bother with a specialized term for pornographic content, partly for political reasons and partly because there is no pornographic content so there's no need for a specialized term for it. Therefore, in this guild, we use shoujo-ai synonymously with yuri, and see no distinction between the two terms. See also: Yuri, GL, shounen-ai
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jan 19, 2006 12:27 pm
YuriPronounced: You-ree Also written as: ゆり, ユリ Yuri is a made-up word based on the Japanese word for lily (百合). Because it is a made up word (it is only derived from 百合, it is not the same word), it does not have a kanji, and is written in kana. In Japan, yuri is used by hard-core anime fans to describe any lesbian content in stories, images and art, ranging from celibate romance to hard-core porn. It is not widely used in mainstream Japanese culture. English-speakers borrowed the word, but many have changed its meaning to refer to sexually explicit lesbian content or lesbian pornography, and not just any lesbian content - although there is a lot of disagreement about the details of whether the content has to merely explicit, or actively pornographic. These people generally use shoujo-ai as the sister term to mean non-explicit or non-pornographic lesbian content. In this guild, we do not agree with having a specific term for lesbian pornography (or explicit lesbian content), for two reasons. One of those reasons is political, but the other is practical: no explicit or pornographic content is allowed on Gaia... so there's no need for a term for it. Therefore, in this guild, we follow the Japanese usage of the term, and treat yuri as synonymous with shoujo-ai - both terms mean any lesbian content. (Incidentally, Yuri is also a popular Russian name, written as Юрий in Cyrillic. In fact, it's the name of a Russian hero, Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin (Юрий Алексеевич Гагарин), the first man in space. Think about it. There are a bunch of Russians walking around proudly with a name that many English speakers would translate as "Lesbian Porn". God, I love languages.) See also: Yaoi, shoujo-ai, GL
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jan 19, 2006 12:37 pm
Girls love/girl love/GLIn Japan, this term is used in the mainstream for anything lesbian, at least as far as popular literature, anime and manga goes. It covers everything from completely celibate emotional relationships to hard-core lezzie sex. Hard-core anime fans prefer the term yuri, which means the same thing to them, but the general public prefers GL. In English-speaking circles, this term is rarely used. When it is, it is usually used in concert with yuri and shoujo-ai to describe a spectrum of explicitness or pornographic content. Normally it goes GL, shoujo-ai, yuri in order of increasingly "adult" content - but it's never made clear whether this is increasing explicitness or increasing pornographic content. Most English-speakers avoid the term, however, because of its similarity to girllove or girl-love, and its implications for ****** style="color: indigo"> See also: Yuri, shoujo-ai, BL
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jan 21, 2006 10:03 am
Shounen-aiPronounced: Show-nen ah-ee Also written as: shounenai, shōnen-ai, shōnenai, 少年愛 "Shounen-ai" is a Japanese term that literally translates as "young man love", "young men love", "boy love" or "boys love". Native Japanese speakers use the term as a synonym for ****** - romantic or sexual love between an adult and a young boy. It is not used in reference to homosexuality as it is in English. In English usage, it is pretty much identical to shoujo-ai, except with guys instead of girls. That means that it's generally used to describe homosexual content in stories, images and other art. Often, it is used to describe homosexual content that is not sexually explicit (with yaoi being used as the companion term for sexually explicit content). See also: Yaoi, shoujo-ai, BL, boylove
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jan 21, 2006 10:18 am
YaoiPronounced: Yah-oh-ee (although, I am told many Americans pronounce it "yow-ee") Also written as: やおい, ヤオイ This is a made-up Japanese word that may come from the phrase " yama nashi, ochi nashi, imi nashi" (「山無し、落無し、意味無し」, or 「 やまなし、 おちなし、 いみなし」), which is often translated as "no peak, no point, no problem" (which would be related to the similarly tongue-in-cheek English term PWP). In Japan, it is used by hard-core anime and manga fans to refer to any homosexual content in stories, images and other art. Unlike as in the English usage, it has no connotations of explicitness. Native Japanese fan-fiction writers in rare cases use the term similar to PWP. As with yuri, English speakers are divided on the use of the term. Some follow the Japanese otaku usage and use it for any homosexual content. Others use it specifically to refer to sexually explicit or pornographic content, although they are usually vague on whether they mean simply explicit or actually pornographic. See also: Yuri, shounen-ai, BL, boylove
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jan 21, 2006 10:25 am
Boys love/boy love/BLAlso written as: boizu rabu, bouizu rabu, ボイズラブ, ボウイズラブ, ボーイズラブ This term is used extensively in Japan to describe any stories, images and art with homosexual content. It is the homosexual form of the lesbian term GL. The related Japanese term shounen-ai (which is just BL literally translated into Japanese) is used to describe ******, but BL has no ****** connotations at all. It is almost never used in English because it is similar to boylove or boy-love, which is used by ****** advocates to describe sexual or romantic love between an adult and a young boy. So, basically: JapaneseBL: homosexual content shounen-ai: ******: ******: homosexual content So watch out. See also: Yaoi, shounen-ai, boylove, GL
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jan 21, 2006 10:35 am
BoyloveAlso written as: This term is used by groups such as NAMBLA and the Catholic Church to refer to sexual love between an adult and an underage boy. Due to an unfortunate linguistic coincidence, it occasionally gets confused with boy love, or BL, which is used extensively in Japan to refer to homosexual content in stories, images and art and has no connection to ****** at all. See also: Yaoi, shounen-ai, BL
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jan 22, 2006 7:22 pm
LemonUsed to describe stories, shows or RP's that are sexually explicit. (Therefore, not allowed in Gaia.) The term is most often used for fan fiction. See also: Lime, orange, pineapple
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jan 22, 2006 7:23 pm
LimeUsed to describe stories, shows or RP's that are romantic, but not sexually explicit. Think PG-13. (Therefore, limes are allowed in Gaia.) The term is most often used for fan fiction. See also: Lemon, orange, pineapple
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jan 22, 2006 7:25 pm
OrangeRarely used, but refers to stories, shows or RP's that are romantic, but not sexual at all. Think G or PG. (Therefore, oranges are allowed in Gaia.) The term is most often used for fan fiction. See also: Lemon, lime, pineapple
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jan 22, 2006 7:26 pm
PineappleUsed jokingly to describe stories, shows or RP's that are not only sexually explicit, they're rather imaginative and kinky. (Therefore, definitely not allowed in Gaia. ^_^) The term is most often used for fan fiction. See also: Lemon, lime, orange
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jan 22, 2006 7:28 pm
WAFF
Stands for "warm and fuzzy feeling". Kinda self explanatory, a WAFF story is one that generates (or hopes to generate) a warm and fuzzy feeling. Can be used to describe stories, shows or RP posts. The term is most often used for fan fiction.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jan 22, 2006 7:37 pm
PWP
Stands for "plot? what plot?". It's used to refer to stories that have little interest in plot or character development, focussing instead on the "meat" of the story. It usually describes a story that throws two characters together for a romantic interlude with no real explanation or extrapolation. The term is most often used for fan fiction.
Note that the actual "action" does not necessarily need to be pornographic, or even erotic. In fact, it doesn't even need to be romantic at all. As an example using Star Wars, a story could be written where Han Solo and Boba Fett engage in a protracted duel. If the lead up to this duel is contrived and shallow, and there is no real point to the duel other than the fact that it's cool, it would be a PWP story.
The term is not often used in a derogatory sense. Rather, it is used jokingly, and very often by the author themselves.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
