About

Toxic Yaoi is a descriptive tag that is used to identify the works of yaoi fiction that feature a romantic relationship between men that is toxic and abusive in nature and is often characterized by rivalry and mutual animosity. The tag has been used to describe multiple popular ships, with one well-recognized example being Bill Cipher and Grunkle Ford from Gravity Falls. "Doomed yaoi" is a related term that describes a yaoi relationship that is doomed to end. "Toxic yuri" and "doomed yuri" are female versions of toxic yaoi and doomed yaoi. Online, the term "toxic yaoi" has been used to humorously describe rivalries in real life and fiction and has appeared in various memes referencing the subgenre.

Origin

The term "toxic yaoi" has been used to describe works of fiction featuring a toxic romantic relationship between two male characters at least since 2022. On October 22nd, 2022, Archive of Our Own^[1] user GodsLittleCourtJester posted the earliest discovered work tagged "Toxic Yaoi," although it's likely that the phrase had seen earlier use. On July 27th, 2023, Urban Dictionary^[2] user Theyoaichance added a definition for "Toxic yaoi/yuri" to the site.

Several popular yaoi ships have been characterized as "toxic yaoi," with notable examples including Stanford Pines and Bill Cipher in Gravity Falls, Marvel characters Deadpool and Wolverine, and Jayce and Viktor in Arcane (fan art of Bilford ship shown below).

Spread

On August 25th, 2023, X^[3] user @fangfilet made the earliest notable post that used the term "toxic yaoi" in a humorous sense, using it to refer to the relationship and rivalry between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump. The post (shown below) garnered over 9,600 reposts and 79,000 likes in one year.

On December 8th, 2023, X^[4] user @notmaryshea used the term to humorously describe the relationship between Jesus Christ and his apostle Judas, writing, "the original toxic yaoi I know the fujoshis of jerusalem were gagged." The post (shown below) gained over 14,000 reposts and 66,000 likes in one year.

In early April 2024, following the release of the first episode of season two of Smiling Friends episode, jokes describing the dynamic between characters Charlie and James as "toxic yaoi" went viral. For example, on April 4th, 2024, Tumblr^[5] user dreamon-worshiper posted a MordeTwi meme that gained over 2,600 likes and reblogs in eight months (shown below).

In 2024, the rising popularity of the subgenre has been reflected in various meta memes posted on social media.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References