Another year, another appearance at FujoCon, the virtual online convention for all things BL and queer media in Asia! Over the con weekend (24th to 26th June, CDT), I will be appearing in two panels and I would love to see people there as I discuss some of the preliminary findings for my research on LGBTQ fans of K-pop as well as some of my earlier work on gay Chinese fans of BL manga.

Here are the two panels I am joining:

MEET THE EDITOR AND CONTRIBUTORS OF “QUEER TRANSFIGURATIONS: BOYS LOVE MEDIA IN ASIA” (PUBLISHED MAY 2022)
SATURDAY 6.25 | 10:30PM – 12:00PM (CDT)
Hosted by Dr. James Welker (he/him)

In this panel, Queer Transfigurations: Boys Love Media in Asia editor James Welker and chapter authors Thomas Baudinette, Jungmin Kwon, Lakshmi Menon, Khursten Santos, and Peiti Wang will talk about their new book, which looks at diverse forms of BL media and its many fans in countries around Asia. After James introduces the book, chapter authors will each briefly introduce their chapter. Topics covered include gay men from China inspired by BL to go to Japan; how the BL genre became commercialized in Korea; BL fans in India; BL artists from Australia, Malaysia, and the Philippines; and BL fans active in the fight for same-sex marriage in Taiwan. There will be time for questions from the audience about the book and about each BL scholar’s research.

THE INTERSECTIONS OF BOYS LOVE AND K-POP: FROM IDOL SHIPPING TO WEBTOONS AND BL K-DRAMAS
SUNDAY 6.26 | 9:30AM – 11:00AM (CDT)
Hosted by Dr. Thomas Baudinette (he/him)

The fandoms for BL and K-pop have, since the inception of the South Korean idol music industry, been strongly inter-connected. Join scholar of BL, Dr Thomas Baudinette, as he traces the impacts of BL on the development of the K-pop industry and learn how idol shipping, webtoons, and K-dramas have all evolved to include lovely homoerotic content which satisfies fans of BL the world over!

Attendance at FujoCon is completely free, but you need to register in advance (deadline is 22nd June) via this link.