Boys' love dramas and viewer perceptions: a study on 2gether: The Series' impact on United States' female perceptions

Abstract

International programming has expanded beyond its initial bounds as a result of media globalization. Streaming platforms such as Netflix and YouTube have opened up new genres to a lot of the world. Partially due to the availability of Asian-produced television shows, the popularity of various genres has increased. The "Boys' Love" (BL) drama genre is highly favored in Asia, as it delves into the romantic connections between two males. While several Asian nations are currently making BL dramas, Thailand has been highly successful and has drawn viewers from around the world.Existing literature on BL dramas is limited; this is particularly the case while looking up Thai BL dramas, particularly the episodes of 2gether: The Series. Most studies focus on fandom behavior and reactions to BL dramas in nations other than Thailand, mainly China and Japan. Thailand is often considered the most successful at making popular BL dramas, which means that dramas from that region are more likely to have a greater influence on how viewers perceive shows in the genre. This study focuses on the Thai BL drama 2gether: The Series as the program of examination because of the popularity of the series and the increased possibility that viewer perceptions may be altered. The research conducted in this study will add to the expanding, if still small, body of knowledge about BL dramas. In addition, the study will shed light on how viewers—especially women from the United States—perceive Asian culture in relation to popular Asian-produced television. The study would be useful to researchers looking into the possible worldwide effects that the very popular BL drama genre may have on the BL community as well as social, political, and foreign policies. The study's findings will also provide light on how the BL community is stereotyped in BL dramas, and whether these portrayals reinforce or replicate viewer preconceptions of the BL community. The findings may help producers and content creators have a better understanding of how depictions may serve to perpetuate unfavorable perceptions about the BL lifestyle. To examine the consumption of BL dramas and its impact on United States female audiences' perceptions of the Thai BL community and whether the perceptions are reflected in Thai BL drama themes, this study will use a triangulation method--a combination of qualitative and quantitative research. To examine 2gether: The Series influences the perceptions of United States female viewers, a survey method will be used in the form of an open-ended questionnaire. The participants for this study are adult United States female viewers. A thematic analysis will be used to examine and identify the themes portrayed in the Thai BL drama 2gether: The Series. This will provide insight into the type of themes that are portrayed and the relationship between the themes and audience perceptions of the BL community.