A fudanshi (腐男子, ふだんし) is a Japanese term commonly used for a male fan of Boys’ Love (BL) media or imagined male-male fictional pairings. BL is a genre of Japanese media centred on romantic or sexual relationships between male characters.
The word 腐男子 (fudanshi) is a deliberate play on 腐女子 (fujoshi), the better-known Japanese term associated with female BL fans. Both use the character 腐 (fu), meaning ‘rotten’ or ‘decayed’, while 男子 (danshi) means boy or man. This creates the literal wordplay of a ‘rotten boy’ or ‘rotten man’.
That literal translation is only part of the meaning. The ‘rotten’ element is fandom wordplay rather than a judgment that someone is bad or immoral.
Importantly, fudanshi is a fandom label, not a sexual-orientation label. A man who enjoys BL may be gay, bisexual, straight, or another orientation. Enjoying BL does not by itself tell you which one applies.
Not every male BL fan necessarily identifies as a fudanshi, either. The word can be used as a self-description, but it should not automatically be applied to every man who happens to enjoy BL.
| Field | Answer |
|---|---|
| Japanese | 腐男子 |
| Hiragana | ふだんし |
| Pronunciation | fudanshi, or phonetically ‘foo-dahn-shee’ |
| Literal wordplay | ‘Rotten boy’ or ‘rotten man’ |
| Common meaning | A male fan of BL media or imagined male-male fictional pairings |
| Usage | Often self-identified; meaning and tone depend on context |
What Does Fudanshi Mean in Japanese?
The meaning of 腐男子 (fudanshi) comes from the same Japanese wordplay found in fujoshi.
The character 腐 (fu) means ‘rotten’ or ‘decayed’, while 男子 (danshi) refers to a boy or man. Put together, the term can therefore be translated literally as ‘rotten boy’ or ‘rotten man’.
The important difference from fujoshi is the second part of the word. 腐女子 (fujoshi) uses 女子 (joshi), meaning girl or woman, while 腐男子 uses 男子 (danshi), meaning boy or man. The result is a conventionally male-gendered counterpart to fujoshi.
In other words, fudanshi uses the same ‘rotten’ wordplay as fujoshi, but applies it to male BL fans.
Where Did the Term Fudanshi Come From?
Men have been engaging with male-male fictional relationships before the word fudanshi became established. Similar to fujoshi’s history, male BL fans are older than the term fudanshi itself.
The term developed as a male-gendered counterpart to fujoshi. As fujoshi became an established term in Japanese BL fandom, fudanshi provided a corresponding label for men participating in the same area of fandom.
Scholar Midori Suzuki discusses fudanshi in her research on fujoshi and Japanese BL fandom, using the term for male fans of fujoshi-oriented content. Patrick W. Galbraith also notes that Japanese men who read BL may be referred to as fudanshi.
However, the exact history of the word is less certain. The available sources do not establish a definitive first use, creator, website, or year in which fudanshi was coined.
Is Fudanshi a Gender or Sexuality Label?
Fudanshi is a fandom label, not a sexual-orientation or gender-identity category.
In conventional Japanese usage, fudanshi is gendered. It generally refers to a male BL fan, but the label does not tell you the person’s sexual orientation.
Are fudanshi gay? Not necessarily.
Patrick W. Galbraith’s University of Tokyo entry on fujoshi notes that men described as fudanshi are not necessarily homosexual. The evidence therefore supports a clear distinction: interest in BL is not the same thing as sexual orientation.
A gay man may be a fudanshi, but so may a bisexual or straight man. It is therefore not appropriate to assume someone’s sexuality simply because they enjoy BL or use the term fudanshi.
The same applies in reverse. Someone does not have to identify as gay to enjoy fictional male-male relationships. BL is a form of fiction, and a person’s interest in fictional relationships does not automatically tell you about their real-life identity or relationships.
Fudanshi vs. Fujoshi: What Is the Difference?
The conventional difference is simple: fudanshi (腐男子) is used for a male BL fan, while fujoshi (腐女子) is used for a female BL fan.
The distinction comes from the gendered characters in the two words: 男子 (danshi) refers to boys or men, while 女子 (joshi) refers to girls or women.
| Term | Japanese spelling | Literal gloss | Common fandom use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fudanshi | 腐男子 | ‘Rotten boy’ or ‘rotten man’ | Male BL fan |
| Fujoshi | 腐女子 | ‘Rotten woman’ or ‘rotten girl’ | Female BL fan |
These are the conventional meanings of the two terms, not rules that every individual must follow. Not every BL fan uses a gendered label, and some people may use the terms more flexibly than their conventional definitions suggest.
For a fuller explanation of the female-gendered term, see what fujoshi means in our dedicated guide.
How Should You Use the Term Fudanshi?
The safest way to use fudanshi is to pay attention to who is using the word and in what context.
Some men may describe themselves as fudanshi. Others may simply call themselves BL fans, while some may not use a fandom label at all. For that reason, it is best not to assume that every man who enjoys BL wants to be called a fudanshi.
It is also important not to treat the term as a shortcut for assumptions about the person behind it. BL fandom alone does not establish someone’s sexuality, their real-life relationships, or their attitudes towards real LGBTQ+ people.
Finally, the ‘rotten’ part of fudanshi is wordplay. It should be understood as part of the term’s construction rather than as a literal judgment about the people it describes.
For more context, explore our guide:
