Going Global

Ah, Global BL. BL with origins from outside Japan. Or, as I see it: a mishmash of a marketing scheme and Japanese purism. Love it!

No. No I don't love it. I've never been a fan of calling Japanese comics manga or Japanese animation anime. I do not live in Japan, and unless I'm speaking Japanese, usage of those words are unnecessary. I am not trying to be a word Nazi like John Locke and demand everyone apply the same definition to each word or not have so many words for one definition. It's an unrealistic goal. In this particular case I am a bit perplexed as to why an extra word is needed to distinguish a product. At its core, BL is romance shared between males. Does this change if a Mexican is penning the story? No. So why is global necessary?

Some part of me believes this has to do with keeping Japanese products exotic. Seriously, doesn't Global BL sound like a cheap knock off of the real thing? But I can't follow that line of thought because I know the phrase came from within my own community. So I'm doubly puzzled since us fujoshi tend to be very accepting of all forms of BL because in the end it's all about the love, baby.

I just can't willing go along with the segregation of a genre based upon the origins of the creator, especially when there is no core distinction between what the Japanese produce and everyone else. Yes, there can be sci-fi BL, western BL, and  fantasy BL, but there is no global BL.