1.
fujoshi; female fan of boys' love (BL) manga, anime, and fiction
A woman or girl who enjoys manga, anime, novels, and other media depicting romantic or sexual relationships between male characters. The term originated as self-deprecating humor within the fandom.
彼女は自称腐女子だ。
She calls herself a fujoshi.
腐女子向けの同人誌がたくさん売られていた。
Many doujinshi aimed at fujoshi were being sold.
腐女子という言葉は、もともと当事者たちが自虐的に使い始めたものだ。
The word 'fujoshi' was originally used self-deprecatingly by the fans themselves.
A playful respelling of 婦女子 (women and girls), replacing 婦 with 腐 (rotten, decayed). The joke is that fans are "rotten" due to their interest in male-male romance fiction. The term originated as self-deprecating humor within the BL fandom community.
ETYMOLOGY:
- 婦女子: women and girls (the standard word)
- 腐: rotten, decayed — used humorously
- The "rotten" label reflects the community's playful self-awareness
RELATED TERMS:
- BL (ボーイズラブ): boys' love — the genre of male-male romance fiction
- 同人誌: doujinshi — self-published fan works, often featuring BL content
- 腐男子: fudanshi — the male equivalent; a man who enjoys BL content
- 推し: one's favorite character or person to support
CULTURAL NOTE:
The term has become widely known in mainstream Japanese culture. While originally self-deprecating, it is now used more neutrally, though it can still be considered rude if applied to someone without their consent. The BL genre is a major segment of Japanese publishing and doujinshi culture.