Thailand’s erotic Boys Love TV dramas are a hit with Indonesians, gay and straight

BL TV series are Thai romance dramas depicting relationships between male characters, inspired by yaoi, a Japanese form of homoerotic fiction enjoyed by women

In Indonesia, where homosexuality is frowned upon, LGBT people have found positive reinforcement by seeing gay relationships portrayed as normal

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The Thai Boys Love TV show 2gether: The Series has a strong following among Thai and international fans. Photo: YouTube

Published: 2:00pm, 11 Oct 2020Updated: 2:00pm, 11 Oct 2020

Six years ago, Jakarta resident Reza Pahlevi, 36, had sunk into a depression, believing he had no prospects of finding love as a gay man in conservative Muslim-majority Indonesia.

But watching a subgenre of Thai romance dramas depicting erotic relationships between male characters, known as Boys Love (BL), helped the urban professional find acceptance.

“My first ever Thai series was Coz You’re My Tee, which was a corny teenage drama but it somehow made me feel better,” said Pahlevi. “For the first time, I felt it was OK not to have anyone in my life. The rest is history. I started watching What the Duck 1 and 2. These TV series provided comfort food for my mental well-being.”

The BL subgenre is inspired by yaoi, a Japanese form of homoerotic fiction featuring a romance between a masculine and feminine boy, which are often created and enjoyed by heterosexual women.

Between 2014 and 2020, around 57 series were produced and released in Thailand under the BL genre. LINE TV, the free streaming platform which has been broadcasting BL dramas since 2016, has more than 30 series stockpiled for future release. The platform’s figures show its BL audience share has risen from 5 per cent to 34 per cent since 2019.

These shows are screened on mainstream TV stations during prime-time evening slots in Thailand and later streamed on YouTube, reflecting the Southeast Asian nation’s relative tolerance towards the LGBT community.