Japanese culture

What does Fujoshi mean?

A fan (usually a woman) of stories about romance between men: a label that began as an insult and became a tribe.

  • Circulation: medium
  • Source language: ja
  • Translatable: yes

Definition

Fujoshi (腐女子) is rotten girl — irony about people who read BL. There is pride, there is stigma, there is a huge doujin market. Fudanshi is the masculine pair. The lexicon records the name the scene uses. It does not reduce a person to a fetish; it describes a place of reading.

Origin

Japanese 腐女子, 2000s, BL culture and Comiket.

History

From a reclaimed insult to international fandom vocabulary.

How it emerged

The BL reader needed a name the group could wear.

Usage examples

  • Fujoshi is a place of reading, not an automatic insult.

  • BL is not the reader's life.

Translations

  • pt fujoshi
  • en fujoshi
  • es fujoshi

Synonyms

  • BL fan
  • fudanshi
  • rotten girl

Related terms

Questions

What is fujoshi?

The reclaimed Japanese term for fans — usually women — of romance between men (BL).

Offensive?

It was born with a rotten tone. Many people wear it with pride. Outside the scene it can still sting.

Fudanshi?

The masculine equivalent.