Spring is fetish season FINAL #12 – Yuri – Why haven’t I done this one yet?
Posted on | February 5, 2009 | 11 Comments |
Welcome one welcome all! You are the select few who have struggled to the very end of fetish season and will be rewarded by a Yuribou special feature; the final fetish season topic will be something sure to please all of my readers – it’s (about) time we dealt with the obsession that is the theme of this very blog – Girl girl loving…in other words – YURI GOODNESS!!
Yuri, shoujo ai, lesbian, there are many names for this material, yet they all mean the same thing – Hawt girls getting it on together. I would say “hawt or non-hawt”, but we all know that the girls in all lesbian relationships in any media are hawt with no exception. I mean, what use would a lesbian couple be if they weren’t hawt girls? And so in lies the question – Why exactly do men (and indeed some women) like to read and watch lesbians? Here I’ll be covering my views on the subject, discussing the difference between lesbianism portayed in Japanese anime versus Western media. Finally, I’ll be proposing a classification system for yuri manga and anime so you’ll never be caught short again!
Why lesbians are hawt – An exploration of an unquestionable truth
I remember watching a (Channel 5) documentary a long while ago on the different genres of pornography which proposed the interesting question – Lesbian pornography is far and away more popular than gay material, and it’s not just the lesbians that are buying it…why exactly are men fascinated by watching girls that have NO INTEREST FOR GETTING IT ON WITH THEM?
Good question, and one which I shall attempt to answer with a great deal of enthusiasm!
I shall be putting forth six hypotheses to explain this. My first three theories could be summarised with “Men are stupid and predictable” and the last three with “Lesbians are great”. Let us begin the exposition…
Men are stupid and predictable
The reason quoted by many (rather sceptical) magazines is the “I Could Be In There!” hypothesis. Women’s magazines especially love to explain the lesbian phenomenon with this… The basis of this theory is that men like to watch lesbians because they imagine that if they walked into the room, the two girls would suddenly forget about their TOTAL DISINTEREST IN THE OPPOSITE SEX and be all over them in a rather hawt threesome situation. The logic from this being: “All men fantasise about having a threesome –> This must be a pre-threesome fantasy”. O’ women’s magazines…have you ever lead us astray before?
Erm…yes…many times in fact. Although some men might like lesbian material for this reason, I don’t think that this is the majority by any means. Or perhaps I’m being too lenient on men and actually many people do subscribe to this shallow explanation.
One argument that you could make against this hypothesis would be that surely men would therefore prefer to watch threesome material rather than pure lesbian stuff? I guess that brings us onto our next factor – “Penis Envy”.
Speaking for my gender, our fragile self-esteem is easily bruised – and nothing is worse than watching another man in a situation which we ourselves would like to find ourselves in; for example in a threesome, in a fulfilling relationship with a hawt girl, or even eating a particularly nice pie. And so by limiting ourselves to relationships where there is nothing to be envious of is unthreatening and non-damaging to our fragile egos. We definitely don’t want to see and extra penis where lesbians are involved…especially one bigger than our own…
And last, perhaps the most simple (and I think the most poignant) hypothesis. Male logic being simple and straight to the point, one might start with the statement “Girls are hawt” and make the extrapolation that “Two girls are twice as hawt“, “Three girls are three times as hawt” and so on. They would however, be wrong. The hawtness does not increase geometrically, but in fact increases exponentially, plateauing quickly at values above two. Unless you like yuri orgies. Or logarithms.
Lesbians are Great
On the flip side of the coin, there are many reasons to like lesbian relationships. The most popular is the “Purity” theory – popularised by the countless Catholic school girl anime and manga. Many people, tired of normal relationships with sex obsessed men and their animalistic urges turn to yuri because it portrays a world of a “purer” kind of love. With no men for miles around, the girls are free to indulge in purely platonic relationships in the classrooms and hawt tribadism after lights out without a penis in sight. Bliss.
I discussed this theory in one of my previous posts on “Thoughts of common garden yuri”, in which I debunked the myths of Catholic school girls (much to the chagrin of many readers, unfortunately). But despite it being quite inaccurate to life (I don’t think many lesbian couples would consider themselves pure…) it is nevertheless one of the main reasons why I like yuri.
The other reason is because it takes lesbian relationships and portrays them in a “Perfect Relationship World” form where everything turns out for the best in the end. One might liken this to people being obsessed with Mills and Boon who portray heterosexual relationships in a rose-tinted cloud of fluffy-wuffy happiness and bunnies. And so if you prefer lesbian relationships to heterosexual ones, it’s only natural that you’d like to read stuff where they really do get together in the end (rather than get rejected, go emo and start writing a column for the Daily Mail, of course).
And last but by no means least, we come to my favourite – “Girls do it better“. By no means restricted to Japanese eromanga, this phrase could be said to be the catchphrase of all lesbian pornography anywhere. Porn being one of the only industries where women get paid more than men, it seems fitting that they have a genre where they don’t need them at all. The theory being that women, having a woman’s body, are more adept at pleasuring…err…other women. Makes sense? I think some women would agree…
So in summary, these are the six main reasons that girl-girl loving is so popular, beating man-man assraping hands down (except possibly in Japan) – Number 1: Men are losers and have fragile self esteem, 2: Lesbians are awesome. 3: FOUR BREASTS! That’s like…a BREAST OCTOPUS!!!
Ahem.
Join me again on Sunday (hopefully) for the culmination of this Fetish month special, where I explore the spectrum of yuri goodness and show you where you stand in the world of yuri fandom.
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11 Responses to “Spring is fetish season FINAL #12 – Yuri – Why haven’t I done this one yet?”
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February 6th, 2009 @ 3:43 am
My reason for liking yuri is quite simple. I don’t like the way men look. The build of the average male is in no way pleasing to me. I prefer curves over muscle, and soft features just have greater appeal. This is the same reason I like futanari.
Also I hate “I Could Be In There!” reason, do people not get what lesbianism is. Put down the porn and get a dictionary.
February 6th, 2009 @ 11:53 am
Being “purer”, that’s not really fitting for the most~ remembers
One reason why I like yuri in anime/manga is that they often (often~~) have a nicer story than the usual ones ( Man meets 15 girls chooses one she dies hes depressive … sad end ). The second because its far more interesting for myself. And the third… uhm the first reson of your post fits very well for this one just another way round. (I could be in there~). And the fourth, I don’t really dislike men is just like the women a lot more. yay.
Jaden: A dictionary has no use… homosexual relationship between girls is even harder to understand… they would need to know whats a relationship.
February 6th, 2009 @ 11:45 pm
Well Ikenie fujin by hirohisa onikubo is sorta a manga that takes the yuri to another level but its mostly a story of men make a woman a sex slave and the yuri gets involved in the 2nd volume and more yuri in the 4th & final volume. but a good read filled with bdsm & scenes of yuri mixed in with 3P ^.^
I like yuri because I like to study fetishes that interest me ^.^
February 7th, 2009 @ 9:00 am
Yuri is a nice fetish, but often I feel that its less of a sexual fetish. Stories are deeper, emotions are explored, and that really appeals to me. Most other hentai involves sex and only sex, which is nice up to a point but a shame when so much more can be done.
I’d have to agree that the “I Could Be In There!†reason annoys me too. Firstly, the reason you explained, that if people like threesomes, why don’t they watch them? Secondly, it seems a bit harsh on the men. I mean, we don’t spend our time continually watching porn, pumping weights and comparing penis sizes. Loving feelings are a large part of why I like Yuri, and considering it entirely on a sexual basis seems way too shallow.
Also, hows the snow where you are? I’m out of England, and kinda gutted that I’m missing it!
February 7th, 2009 @ 5:09 pm
Hello Here’s A Lolicon Story If You Like It Theres More But Could You Add Me As A Fanfiction Link
February 7th, 2009 @ 9:04 pm
SK essentially nailed it for me. The stories are typically much more compelling. I’m also not a fan of the focus on a thrusting penis. In hentai you can loop those same 48 frames for like 20 seconds and it wouldn’t seem particularly out of place. That kind of mechanical repetition gets boring fast.
Also, off-topic, but:
“The hawtness does not increase geometrically, but in fact increases exponentially, plateauing quickly at values above two.”
I think geometric growth and exponential growth usually refer to the same thing. Instead of “geometrically” I suppose you wanted to say “linearly”.
I’m a dork. -.-
February 8th, 2009 @ 2:34 pm
One thing that’s fascinated me about lesbians for ages is that, of the three basic pairings, it’s the only one where the “aggressor” is giving pleasure, not receiving it. Even yuri-rape is about giving (unwanted) pleasure–it’s not really anatomically feasible to force a girl to eat you out.
That said, sometimes I think what’s really going on in me is that I’m some sort of transgendered, and bi. Most of my fantasies, and most of the erotic stories (my main form of pr0n) that I enjoy, are from the woman’s point of view, and many of them are about lesbians. As a guy, I’m definitely completely straight, but I often feel that I’d enjoy being a girl more, and that as a girl, I’d be bi with a preference for girls (Kinsey 4 or so, for those of you who know what that means).
February 8th, 2009 @ 4:08 pm
I Like The Toradora Picture So Much I’m Gonna Make It My Desktop Background
February 9th, 2009 @ 2:55 am
I enjoyed most posts so far, which had great vision. But now I feel the need to comment.
Yuri is like a mental training. It’s like a manual for girls. You can see what they want, what they desire. There is no better teacher. Seeing stuff from a yuri point of view and using the observed points enhances sex tremendously. Getting 7 orgasms in one session makes a bit of off-site ‘meditating’ worthwhile. Getting to know their needs and giving them what they want is a negligible effort on my side but great gains for them. Getting pleasure from pleasuring.
And I agree with yuribou. BREAST OCTOPUS. HELL YES.
February 9th, 2009 @ 9:21 pm
SK – The snow here is great! I’m loving it, but the commuters are grumbling ^^
Connor – Can You Stop Talking Capitalising?
MV – Yes, I did mean linearly. Sorry, my maths failed me…
Anonymous – That’s really interesting point, I didn’t think of it that way…you make a good case for that – and incidentally, I do know what the Kinsey scale is ^^
Asuka – Yes, apart from the fact that a lot of yuri is drawn by men, and probably ones who don’t have an enormous amount of experience…Reminds me that a lesbian used to do a column in FHM (in the UK) called “Letters From Lesbos” to pretty much the same effect. Till she married a guy. Phooey.
February 12th, 2009 @ 2:52 pm
Well, like the anon above, the main reason I love to see lesbians is that I wish to be in there – not as a man who steps into the fray, but as one of the women. I want to be having that experience, whether sexual or not, of being a girl with another girl. I’m sure this is a tiny segment of the population though and certainly not the reason why lesbian porn is so popular atm… but there’s at least two of us here!