Yaoi is a genre of manga and anime defined by its focus on male same-sex relationships. I was in late elementary or early middle school when I first discovered yaoi.
Manga, though, was a different–albeit much more complicated–story. I read comic books from a young age, but in terms of other gay men, all the medium really offered me was Wiccan, Hulkling, and Northstar. To put it succinctly, I came out “pre-Glee” and almost a decade before Iceman. As few queer characters as there are today, there were even less back when I was growing up. When I’m surrounded by bigotry in society, it’s nice to see examples of people like me simply being allowed to exist. Ever since I was a kid, I’ve sought out media starring gay characters.
