Vale~ || Bromance Sucks

Years ago, the production team of ‘The Untamed’ fought bravely to get around censorship and make a BL, refusing to settle for a mere bromance. Because of that, WangXian actually got married in the series. In this thread, look back at and become aware of the delicate choices the team made to keep the queer love alive, and understand why the growth of a pseudo-genre is unacceptable in a country that has just legalized LGBTQ+ marriage. #StopBromanceGMMTV

There are many other scenes like these that celebrate WangXian’s love in the series. The team could have delivered a bromance, but it took the risk to keep the love story. Back then, bromance was the costume BL had to wear to survive Chinese censorship. In Thailand, it’s a business choice. Today, Chinese production companies and actors have found a new path: shooting BLs made for audiences abroad, released on platforms outside China or as co-productions with other asian countries. But it wasn’t always like this. Taking a tool born from censorship and using it turns censorship into an aesthetic and takes several steps backward. This year there are 5, last year there were 2, and the year before, 1. How many will there be next year? How many companies will follow suit and start investing in this? It’s worrying. Bromance sells and exploits everything BL has: the chemistry, the couple moments, the events as a pair, the merchandise, the ship. The difference is that it doesn’t commit to any LGBTQ+ representation on screen, only to the imagination. Think about the concerns of the queer community. Think also about who’s watching. For a young LGBTQ+ person, the message bromance sends is that love between two men can be hinted at. The Thai BL industry, and this company in particular, helped make this love visible around the world and helped drive the conversation about marriage equality, including in several recent BLs. Watching that same retreat right when the law moved forward is a setback we can’t accept in silence. Friendship between men also deserves to be told, and no one is against it, whether in action, comedy or friendship series. The problem is casting pairs as ships, promoting them as couples, selling them as BL while saying they’re not, and then denying the romance when it’s time to tell the story. That isn’t a story about friendship. #StopBromanceGMMTV