CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS: BL (BOYS’ LOVE) FANFICTION CONTENT IN THE GAME LOVE AND DEEPSPACE FANDOM

Abstract

In its development, the 3D otome game Love and Deepspace has been deemed successful in attracting the attention of both women and men, but BL (Boys Love) fanfiction content created by fans of the otome game is often found. This discussion has caused debate among fans, due to the country's regulations regulate censorship of homosexual content. This study aims to analyze how Boys Love fanfiction in the Love and Deepspace fandom is reconstructed as discourse, how cognitive and social cognition in the fandom shapes its meaning and acceptance, and how such fanfiction represents negotiation and resistance against dominant norms.This study uses a qualitative descriptive method with a Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) approach according to Van Dijk, supplemented with analysis of the textual, cognitive, and social dimensions. The research data consists of five screenshots of Boys Love fanfiction taken from the X platform and Archive of Our Own (AO3). The results show that Boys Love fanfiction utilizes lexical and narrative strategies to normalize romance between men, including themes within the realm of fantasy and alternative cultural contexts. In addition, the social cognition of fandom acts as a mechanism that allows for the separation between the real world and fantasy, so that Boys Love fanfiction is not only a means of entertainment, but also a discourse practice that represents symbolic negotiation and resistance to restrictions on sexual expression.