Japanese Lesbian Lists 5 Things in Yuri Stories She Wants to Contest

A Japanese woman who goes by the nickname Janedo became a trending topic after a tweet she posted on March 16. She wrote the following: “Things that I, as a lesbian, want to contest in Yuri (manga and anime) stories.” Her tweet reached 1.5 million views and generated countless reactions from many people.

Since I found the topic interesting, I decided to bring her points here. If you’d like, you can also check out Janedo’s original tweet. She usually posts photos of herself (with her face censored), going out and spending time with other women (although her profile description is a bit sad, as she says she was cheated on by her girlfriend and now “dates” a doll).

She said:

① A lesbian wins over a straight girl with just one kiss.
→ In reality, even if they end up dating, she usually ends up going back to a man.

② The cute girl is the “top,” while the cool/stoic one is the “bottom.”
→ In real life, it’s usually the cool one who’s the top (seriously).

③ Lesbian (plays the boyfriend role) × Lesbian (plays the girlfriend role).
→ If it’s a romance between girls, why does there have to be a “man’s role”?

④ The caring older-sister type who spoils and takes care of you.
→ Seriously, that doesn’t exist.

⑤ A man gets involved with a Yuri couple.
→ That happens in real life too, and it makes you want to die.

For those who don’t usually follow the Yuri genre like I do (yes, I like Yuri), let’s explain each point:

① “One kiss turns a straight girl into a lesbian”

She’s criticizing a very common cliché in Yuri manga and anime: a straight girl instantly falls in love with another woman. According to her, this rarely happens in real life. Even when a relationship begins, many eventually end because the woman goes back to dating men.

② “Cute = top / Cool = bottom”

She says many Yuri series portray it this way for aesthetic reasons (or simply because it’s more enjoyable to read), while in her own experience the more serious and “cool” woman is usually the top.

③ “Boyfriend” and “girlfriend”

She criticizes the habit some fans or works have of treating a lesbian couple as if one were “the man” and the other “the woman” in the relationship. To her, that makes little sense since they’re still two women.

④ “The perfect onee-san”

A trope found in some Yuri works: the older, mature, caring woman who’s always ready to look after the protagonist. She jokes that women like that practically don’t exist.

⑤ “A man interfering with the couple”

She complains about male characters who appear just to interfere with a Yuri relationship. Her final joke is that this also happens in real life, and she uses the expression 「リアルでもいて氏ぬ」, which is a way of saying something like:

• “It’s unbearable.”
• “It makes you want to cry.”
• “It’s such a pain.”
• “It’s the worst.”

Out of the five points above, the only one I agree with is number five. I honestly don’t mind the other four appearing in Yuri manga since they’re works of fiction and don’t have to reflect real life. What I do think is that most Yuri series struggle to portray male characters well (and by “well,” I don’t necessarily mean positively—I mean in a way that fits naturally into the story).

I’ve said it countless times already, but Strawberry Panic is my favorite Yuri anime. Not a single man appears, all the “villains” are women, and it worked really well.

Let’s take a look at some of the reactions the tweet received:

• Yuri is fantasy!!!!
• “An older sister who lets you be spoiled” is an illusion…
• Can people stop mixing real-life lesbians with works of fiction?
• Yuri manga are fiction!!!! At least let fiction allow us to dream!!!!
• “A man getting involved in Yuri” is sometimes treated as a joke, but in the end it really means “a third party who doesn’t respect the sexuality of the people involved, keeps forcing heterosexual norms on them, and commits sexual harassment,” so there’s absolutely nothing funny about that in real life……
• Regarding the comment above, I always say that, whether it’s a Yuri couple or not, if someone deliberately gets involved in someone else’s romantic relationship, they deserve the death penalty.
• Yuri settings, or GL, often do the same thing: they’re basically shoujo manga that simply use the appearance of a woman × woman relationship. Since they’re still essentially shoujo manga, one of the two inevitably takes on the “man’s role.”
• You know, authors don’t create stories based on reality…
• If “letting you be spoiled” means “accepting every version of me,” then maybe someone like that really doesn’t exist. Everyone wants someone who comforts and takes care of them during difficult times. But a one-sided relationship only leads to destruction.
• I’m completely straight, but even I think, “Well, wouldn’t an older sister also want someone older that she could rely on…?”