Yaoi-Con
Encyclopedia
Yaoi-Con is an annual three-day anime convention
for fans with an interest in yaoi
-related anime
, manga
, and other aspects of Asian culture. It was founded in 2001 and typically takes place during the month of October in or near San Francisco. It is known mostly for its unique events that use volunteers known as "bishounen
". The bishounen are male volunteers who represent the attractive characters shown in Yaoi
manga, and run many of the events.
As with other anime conventions, Yaoi-Con has panels and workshops (with a yaoi twist), a 24-hour video room, a manga library, swap meet, a Dealers' Room filled with merchandise, a cosplay
Masquerade and an anime music video
contest. In addition, Yaoi-Con holds a fan fiction
contest, Bishounen Bingo, and its extraordinarily popular Saturday night fundraising Bishounen Auction. At bingo, and the auction, the bishounen volunteers put on shows and strip to entertain the convention goers.
Each year Yaoi-Con sponsors at least one Japanese yaoi manga artist
as guest of honor. And, as yaoi publishing expands in the U.S., the companies who attend Yaoi-Con have become interested in bringing guests with them. Guests of honor usually participate in question and answer/autograph sessions as well as sketch sessions where they demonstrate to attendees how they produce their work.
Because of the adult nature of its theme, Yaoi-Con requires all attendees to be at least 18 and checks the legal ID of all attendees upon registration. As of 2003, 85% of Yaoi-Con membership are female, and they are mostly heterosexual.
Anime convention
An anime convention is an event or gathering with a primary focus on anime, manga and Japanese culture. Commonly, anime conventions are multi-day events hosted at convention centers, hotels or college campuses. They feature a wide variety of activities and panels...
for fans with an interest in yaoi
Yaoi
In careful Japanese enunciation, all three vowels are pronounced separately, for a three-mora word, . The English equivalent is . also known as Boys' Love, is a Japanese popular term for female-oriented fictional media that focus on homoerotic or homoromantic male relationships, usually created by...
-related anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
, manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
, and other aspects of Asian culture. It was founded in 2001 and typically takes place during the month of October in or near San Francisco. It is known mostly for its unique events that use volunteers known as "bishounen
Bishonen
is a Japanese term literally meaning "beautiful youth ". The equivalent English concept is a "pretty boy".The term describes an aesthetic that can be found in disparate areas in East Asia: a young man whose beauty transcends the boundary of gender or sexual orientation...
". The bishounen are male volunteers who represent the attractive characters shown in Yaoi
Yaoi
In careful Japanese enunciation, all three vowels are pronounced separately, for a three-mora word, . The English equivalent is . also known as Boys' Love, is a Japanese popular term for female-oriented fictional media that focus on homoerotic or homoromantic male relationships, usually created by...
manga, and run many of the events.
Programming
Cosplay
, short for "costume play", is a type of performance art in which participants don costumes and accessories to represent a specific character or idea. Characters are often drawn from popular fiction in Japan, but recent trends have included American cartoons and science fiction...
Masquerade and an anime music video
Anime music video
An anime music video is a music video consisting of clips from one or more animations set to an audio track ; the term usually refers to fan-made unofficial videos. An AMV can also be a set of video game footage put together with music which is known as a GMV...
contest. In addition, Yaoi-Con holds a fan fiction
Fan fiction
Fan fiction is a broadly-defined term for fan labor regarding stories about characters or settings written by fans of the original work, rather than by the original creator...
contest, Bishounen Bingo, and its extraordinarily popular Saturday night fundraising Bishounen Auction. At bingo, and the auction, the bishounen volunteers put on shows and strip to entertain the convention goers.
Each year Yaoi-Con sponsors at least one Japanese yaoi manga artist
Mangaka
is the Japanese word for a comic artist or cartoonist. Outside of Japan, manga usually refers to a Japanese comic book and mangaka refers to the author of the manga, who is usually Japanese...
as guest of honor. And, as yaoi publishing expands in the U.S., the companies who attend Yaoi-Con have become interested in bringing guests with them. Guests of honor usually participate in question and answer/autograph sessions as well as sketch sessions where they demonstrate to attendees how they produce their work.
Because of the adult nature of its theme, Yaoi-Con requires all attendees to be at least 18 and checks the legal ID of all attendees upon registration. As of 2003, 85% of Yaoi-Con membership are female, and they are mostly heterosexual.
Event history
| Dates | Location | Guests |
|---|
Convention reports
- Yaoisuki's reports on the industry panels at the 2006 Yaoi-con
- "Yaoi-Con 2005: A Celebration of Female Fantasies," by K. Avila, Sequential Tart, Dec. 2005
- "Yaoi Con No. 5," by C.N. Scott, Sequential Tart, Dec. 2005
- "Yaoi-Con draws "Boys Love" Fans," by Ian Brill Publishers Weekly, Nov. 2005