Boys’ love in the Chinese platformization of cultural production

Authors

  • Lin Zhang University of Turku

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3983/twc.2024.2445

Keywords:

Loss of autonomy, Platform dependency, Platform governance, Vagueness

Abstract

Boys' Love (BL), a subculture centered around same-sex male romances and eroticism, has become increasingly integrated into mainstream commercial culture in China. However, the genre explores homosexuality and pornography, which are considered taboos in China. BL has thus become situated at the intersection of the economic ambition of digital giants and the authorities' increasingly ideological control. I discuss the position of BL in Tencent's pan-entertainment ecosystem to highlight the results of platformization and the impact of the vague framework of platform governance.

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Published

2024-03-14

Issue

Vol. 42 (2024): Fandom and Platforms

Section

Article

License

Copyright (c) 2024 Lin Zhang

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