Behind online Y counterculture: The role fansubbing groups and social actors play in driving online Y counterculture

Abstract

In recent years, Y series and BL series have gained popularity in both Thailand and China, respectively. The Thai and Chinese offshoots of the same Japanese subculture constitute a counterculture as defined by Bennett (2014). When Y series have become subject to much more vigorous scrutiny due to their oftentimes problematic messages including their romanticisation of sexual abuse and fetishisation of homerotic relationships, the Thai Y fandom has instead gravitated towards Chinese BL content, which has earned more positive reception for the latter’s more nuanced portrayals of gay characters thanks, ironically, to China’s ban on queer representation on screen. In light of the burgeoning demand for Chinese BL, communities of Thai fansubbers – a portmanteau word made up of “fan” and “subtitling” – devoted to translating Chinese BL series gratis have surfaced. These fansubbing groups mostly operate on social media platforms which over the decade have been employed in the spirit of socio-political activism. Apart from Chinese Y series and Thai Y fans of Chinese Y series that have played a part in driving this Y counterculture, other social actors including Thai fansubbing groups, Thai Y audiovisual productions and their Chinese counterparts, Y novels, critical Y fans as well as Y publishing houses have also contributed instrumentally to spurring the Y counterculture on social media by stimulating public conversation about LGBTQ+ related issues that might subsequently effect social change.