Episode 176: Liang Ge

In Episode 176, Elizabeth and Flourish welcome Liang Ge, a PhD candidate studying Chinese boys’ love fiction (aka danmei) and its fans. Topics discussed include a history of danmei, ambivalence around gender and sexuality amongst its readers, and how fan culture has shifted with the huge success of several BL-adapted web series—and the subsequent crackdown from the Chinese government. They also respond to a listener letter about the recent meta episode, and (spoiler!) Flourish grows even more rigid in their definition of meta.