Best Yaoi Movies of 20th Century Hollywood

In a way, yaoi is defined by its observers: the viewer in the metaphorical cuck chair, the fujoshi in the voyeur’s throne. Yaoi only exists because we interpret it as such. A movie does not have to be intentionally queer in order to be yaoi; in fact, many of the yaoi-est movies are also the most hypermasculine heterosexual nonsense you’ve ever seen. Yaoi is not necessarily made in the writer’s room. Yaoi is born when you, the viewer, see two sweaty men clutching each other on screen and say to yourself “Are they… y’know?” 

In this collaborative project in the style of classic cut and paste, copied zines, we offer our takes on 19 movies made before the year 2000. Many are acclaimed classics; some are underrated gems.  We made this zine to both introduce folks to the richness and yaoi possibilities of classic movies; whether longtime cinephiles familiar with queer subtexts,  or young fujos looking for more material to sink their yaoifangs into.  Our sample size caters to our personal tastes, and reflects a fraction what’s out there, with a focus on western US/European media, but hopefully can serve as a fun introduction and celebration.

This zine was originally made for the 2024 SF Zinefest; we are happy to share with you all here in digital form!

— Allie and Vati (@angevinyaoiz and @Titilvatin)