In the mid-1990s, estimates of the size of the Japanese yaoi fandom were at 100,000–500,000 people. The yaoi fandom consists of the readers of yaoi (also called Boys' Love or abbreviated to BL), a genre of male x male romance narratives aimed at those who participate in communal activities organized around yaoi, such as attending conventions, maintaining or posting to fansites, creating fan fiction or fan art, etc.
