i just don't buy into the idea that women like mlm media because it allows one to remove misogyny from the equation. I can see the "taking yourself out of the equation" part but that's true about all fictional romance. that's not even to get into how many transmisogynistic tropes exist in the genre
Jan 22, 2026 17:52i think the real reason is simple: its the most accessible form of queer media largely due to the fact that its made by women for women as wish fulfillment and not as a reflection of the reality of gay men's lives, and the combo of comphet and desiring to see Something queer draws queer women to it
i was having this discussion w a trans guy i know about the "lesbian fujoshi" phenomenon and he was like "so are they all just closeted trans men?" and i was like well, sometimes yes, but sometimes no lol. its just a massive subculture that a lot of people who are figuring things out stumble into
but by and large the biggest demographic in these types of fan spaces have always been bisexual women. i really just think its because they want Something that subverts gendered expectations around romance but are still taught to view men as the ultimate objects of desire. That's really it
