Yaoi Zine

Yaoi Zine is a biannual, multifandom non-fiction zine compiled and published by tshirt. It's about yaoi, but in a loose, tongue-in-cheek sense of the word:
Each individual contributor is encouraged to define "yaoi" for themselves, and pieces arguing that non-m/m ships can or should be considered yaoi are welcome. Contributions have included meta essays, fanart, comics, poetry, and other fanworks.
Print copies of each issue are sold at cost, and PDF copies are made available for free on the zine's webpage on Neocities. Contributors also receive complimentary print copies.
==History==
tshirt's motivation to create a "yaoi zine" for themself and their friends is explained in their editor's note in Volume 1:
==Issues==
===Volume 1===
The first issue of Yaoi Zine was published in February 2023@tshirt3000 (Feb 20, 2023). great news everybody! its here its here!... (Tweet) Accessed Oct 21, 2023. in a single 96-page volume. It contains contributors' responses to the question, "What was the yaoi that changed your life?" Additional art by tshirt and Cyan is also included, along with a reprint of the cartoon "La puissance ou la jouissance?" by Copi (1971).
==== Contents ====
Fanworks published in Volume 1 include:Most contributions were untitled. All contributors are named according to how they were credited in the zine.
*Untitled essay by Julian shipyrds (Arthurian Legend)
*Untitled essay by Elliott queerapika (unnamed manga)
*CLOUD STRIFE and the YAOI IDENTITY by Sully glowtoads (Final Fantasy VII)
*Untitled essay by Acernor (FAKE, Ranma 1/2)
*Untitled essay by Juniper H chemiosmotic (Revolutionary Girl Utena)
*Untitled comic by Pearl (Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch)
*Untitled essay by Zarinthel (Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint)
*Untitled fanart by Kile (Gintama)
*The Endemic Species of A(cat)suki Cats by insy (Naruto)
*attack and dethrone god: how kingdom hearts made me an atheist by Dee “Exed” wichables (Kingdom Hearts)
*Untitled essay by Cody, Cyan’s boyfriend (Warrior Cats)
*Untitled comic by Anonymous (Fullmetal Alchemist)
*Untitled essay by Romane izanyas (Yu-Gi-Oh!, Naruto, Fullmetal Alchemist, D.Gray-man)
*Untitled essay by Parker spidercycle (Ace Attorney)
*Untitled essay by Hyde (Yu-Gi-Oh!, Kagerou Project, Blood Blockade Battlefront)
*Untitled essay by Xtine (Hetalia: Axis Powers)
*Untitled essay by Daffy damientiamat (The World Ends With You)
*Untitled essay and fanart by tshirt (Ai Ore!)
*Untitled fanart and essay by táo (Magnet)
*Untitled essay by Ki (BBC Sherlock)
*Untitled essay by Crossy (Teen Wolf, MCU, Ice Age)
*Entremet by Wawa (Hannibal)
*Untitled essay by Cyan (The Sisters Brothers)
*the yaoi that broke my brain by max, age 31.txt by Him Tortons (The Magicians)
*Untitled essay and fanart by tshirt (The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System)
*My Two Cents on Phill and Myeol by voski wayshuh (Immortal Days)
*PUPPYSHIPPINGOLOGY 2002 TO NOW: A RETROSPECTIVE by CEL (Yu-gi-oh!)
*Untitled yaoi theory chart by iplidl (non-fandom-specific)
*Untitled comic by iplidl (non-fandom-specific)
*Is This Love? by simk (non-fandom-specific)
===Volume 2: The Analysis Issue===
The second issue of Yaoi Zine was published on July 15, 2023. At 180 pages, it is nearly double the size of the first volume; print copies were perfectbound like a book. The cover of the zine is a parody of an academic article hosted on JSTOR, a reference to the issue's theme: for volume 2, contributors were asked to provide their "finest anal/ysis" of yaoi. As the editor's note puts it, this issue is about "reclaimed dark academia": 
It contains additional illustrations by tshirt and simkjrs. 
==== Contents ====
===== Personal Essays =====
* Yaoi is for people who bit their peers in childhood by tama
* Kroger Shoppers and Butch4Butch: Failures of Categorization, Failures of Desire by Julian shipyrds
* The Seme/Uke Quiz (2008) by Solar
* ON YAOI AND AUTHENTICITY by roland
* The Bottom of the Line by Romane izanyas (Durarara!!)
* Accepting Yaoi Is, Itself, A Form of Yaoi by Leo @hellspawnmotel (Homestuck)
* INHERITING MY FRIEND’S HIGH SCHOOL YAOI COLLECTION by kirbystarflower
===== Poetry/Shorts =====
* messages i’ve received from samson
* THE HOLE by sully glowtoads
* Label the Yaoi Creatures by theo
* The Divine Cells by andi & flap (Cell of Empireo)
===== Other Essays =====
* GIRL YAOI by tshirt with chris (The Housemaid, The Handmaiden, Memento Mori)
* girl yaoi 2: 2 girl 2 yaoi by chris (The Housemaid, The Handmaiden, Memento Mori)
* Plausible Deniability Yaoi: A Webnovel Listicle by simkjrs (various webnovels)
* Adam Sandler Yaoi by Elliott Queerapika (Uncut Gems)
* Realist yaoi, escapist yaoi, and reparative reading of fanfiction as queer praxis by shrimpchipsss (Haikyuu, Mo Dao Zu Shi, The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System)
* Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System and Homosocial Triangles by shrimp-chipsss (The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System)
* Die with Honor by Zarinthel (Umineko When They Cry)
* Juxtaposition of Holes: Examining Emptiness by Ryan (Gintama, Revolutionary Girl Utena)
* The Orochi Revisited: A Close Application of the Neo-Jungian Draconic Framework in Gintama by kilelele (Gintama)
* What are we Doing to our Beautiful Ukes?: Disciplined Yaoi Bodies by Al @actualhamlet
* this title is too long to print by 🐒 (Revolutionary Girl Utena)
* Yaoi Ship Flowchart by xtine @GALNAX
* Yaoi Round Table: Yaoi vs Reality feat. tshirt, elliott queerapika, sully glowtoads, zarinthel, crossy, kilelele, and shrimpchipsss
* 
=== Volume 3: Yuri Zine ===
Yaoi Zine volume 3, which was titled Yuri Zine, was published in January 2024 in a single volume of 160 black-and-white pages.@bao3bei4 (Jan 9, 2024). YAOI ZINE VOLUME 3 IS HERE! AND ITS YURI! Tumblr post. Accessed January 9, 2024. (archive link) It features yuri-focused "essays, art, fiction, poetry, collage, rec lists, playlists, and more" contributed by 29 authors.Yuri Zine order page on Tshirt Zines storefront. Big Cartel. Accessed January 9, 2024. (archive link) The cover art was drawn by CEL@taichichasers and additional art was provided by Suedeuxnim, shrimpchipsss, Alexis TheSwordWizard, simkjrs, and tshirt.
The editor's note for volume 3 reads:
==== Contents ====
* too yaoi to live, too yuri to die by bell @lowlybellbird (Naruto, YuruYuri)
* Can you see yourself as clear? by kirbystarflower
* "then they toyed and embraced and kissed" by Soph (The Tale of Kamar al-Zaman)
* Serendipity by 白雪花 (Flip Flappers)
* WH4TS 4 YUR1 >:O - i promise i don't kin terezi by xtine (Homestuck)
* Bury Your Gays in Ep. 1 by Allula (isekai yuri, My Next Life as a Villainess, I'm in Love with the Villainess)
* second generation himejoshi by verity (various)
* Getting Bent. by Alexis TheSwordWizard
* magical girl slash shipping by cyan @eltsia (Cardcaptor Sakura)
* TRUE SEEKERS MIGHT BE DAMNED (an annotated Madohomu fanmix) by Roland (Puella Magi Madoka Magica)
* the princess and her handmaiden attend a royal banquet by iplid1
* Beginner's Chart Starter Kit by kile1
* Victorian yuri and its descendants by tshirt (various)
* First interaction with yuri by zarinthel
* on the road by lil
* Prom Date by pigeon drawing
* are those two, you know, passionate friends? yuri, isolation, and growing up by zoe @miss_coverly (shoujo manga, Kakeochi Girl, Nana, Skip and Loafer)
* yuri theory: a workbook by tshirt
* Jealousy and the Dream of Innocence by simkjrs (Jennifer's Body, Mulholland Drive, Fire Walk with Me, The Handmaiden)
* Wlw genderswaps and the elusive promised land of toxic yuri by shrimpchipsss (Rule 63, Nana, Black Sails, The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System)
* Failing At Love As a High School Sapphic: On Reading SQ in Your Twenties and Going Nuts by @ahaybale and Dre (Tamen de Gushi)
* Birds of Gay by Julian shipyrds (Birds of Prey)
*embodiment: the transfeminine yuri of Shiki Misaki by Daffy damientiamat (The World Ends With You)
* something lingers by Anonymous
* He Will Never Emotionally Fulfill You by dan @godtiering (The Real Housewives of Beverly Hill)
* I Can Fix Her: Yuri as Character Development in Fire Emblem: Three Houses' Holy Kingdom of Faerghus by gnats (Fire Emblem: Three Houses)
* Here Comes the Airplane by Crossy (Honkai: Star Rail)
* MY REVIEW OF INTIMATE CONFESSIONS OF A CHINESE COURTESAN (1927) by sully glowtoads (Intimate Confessions of a Chinese Courtesan)
* "i don't consume f/f" bingo by bree
* some yuri manga recommendations by tshirt (various)
*CONSIDER: LOSS IS THE LOCUS OF YURI by horrors (various)
*Movies that are Yuri to Me by pigeon drawing (various)
===Volume 4===
Volume 4, which was themed "actual yaoi", enforced a narrower definition of yaoi and only featured works related to Japanese BL:
The cover art was drawn by iplid1.Yaoi Zine 4 PDF (2024). Via longposter on Neocities. Archived from the original on Nov 3, 2024.
====Contents====
*canis by sully glowtoads (Canis)
*yaoi poses by I'M GOING FUJO MODE
*slay or nay? by tshirt and xtine (NU:Carnival)
*nu:carnival and martha nussbaum: sexual objectification in my yaoi eroge gacha?! by sash @ineedacatchyna1 (NU:Carnival)
*11pm browsing Mangafox.com: yaoi/HontoYajuu by zarinthel (Honto Yajuu)
*farm grown, no pesticides, no artificial preservatives by sabrin (Ai no Kusabi)
*notes on contamination and complicity: sleeping dead and the politics of yaoi cannibalism by elliott queerapika (Sleeping Dead)
*shit happens: sweet pool, gender, and violence by tshirt (Sweet Pool)
*the technology of queer utopia: exploring dramatical murder’s vision of the future by al @actualhamlet (DRAMAtical Murder)
*cherry magic and the mechanics of virginity by shrimpchipsss (Cherry Magic)
*a recipe for homecooked yaoi: queer domesticity and what did you eat yesterday? by zoe @miss_coverly (What Did You Eat Yesterday?)
*desire, denial, and the fantasy of being able to say you had no choice by alatus @framrodia (The Cornered Mouse Dreams of Cheese and The Carp on the Chopping Block Jumps Twice)
*yaoi zine advice column by tshirt
==Notes==
==References==
Category:Multimedia Zines
Category:2020s Zines
Category:2023 Zines
Category:2024 Zines
Category:Yuri Zines
Category:Yaoi Zines
Category:Meta in Print