Graphic novels and comics originating from Japan are called Manga and are hugely popular throughout the globe, including the English-speaking world. The popularity of Manga has inspired a large body of work of fan fiction, whereby individuals will draw and construct their own stories based on the original characters and storylines. These fan fictions have become hugely popular in their own right and do not necessarily follow the original content other than in image. They may alter the characters themselves, the storyline, or often will completely divert from the genre of the original work, for example inserting romantic or fantasy narratives in what was originally an action or adventure story.
One particularly popular subgenre of fan fiction is referred to as "Boys Love" or "BL" for short, and is predominately of interest to heterosexual women, garnering the name Yaoi. Yaoi is a portmanteau of the phrase "yama nashi, ochi nashi, imi nashi," which translates in English as "no climax, no fall, no meaning". The phrase is a self-mocking descriptor highlighting the lack of typical storylines, there being no climax to the characters' story arc, no fall or overall struggle within the plot, and therefore no meaning to be garnered from a narrative.
In essence, Yaoi removes male characters from their original storylines and places them in a new context that centres solely on pornographic sex scenes for the enjoyment of heterosexual female fans. These fans have acquired the name of Fujoshi. The original spelling of Fujoshi is 婦女子 with the first character 婦 (fu) translating loosely as "respectable" or "married woman". By changing the first character to 腐 (fu), the phonetic enunciation of the term does not change; however, its meaning differs. This new fu means "rotten" or "fermented" and is a derogatory self-connotation that conveys a sense of being "ruined" for enjoying homosexual male content. The younger of these fans typically enjoy more explicit content while the older generation are more interested in the romantic storylines. Fujoshi consider themselves part of a sexual minority and it is important that their sexual preferences be known and defined with regard to Yaoi in the virtual world, often resulting in loyalty to specific authors and artists.