Of course, what this post needs is the typical disclaimer. This is a very brief list of 3 things that I think yuri needs more of. I’m not trying to speak for everyone here, I promise!
But here are my thoughts.
More Happy Endings
No, I’m not talking about massages.
We could really stand to see more lesbian couples stay together beyond high school and/or college. Being able to observe these girls grow into women and mature as individuals and as a couple would be wonderful and serve as excellent role models for those in less fortunate situations in real life.
Really, those who claim that these girls are just “fooling around” or are just “going through a phrase” should do us all a favor and keep it down, please.
Of course, that would be quite different compared to what one usually associates with yuri, which could be described as melodramatic and/or tragic depending on the series. Some people are drawn to aforementioned tone or mood, as well, and may find more cheery and “warm” series to be boring in comparison. Your mileage, of course, may vary.
A Positive Depiction of Bisexuality
People have their own reasons when it comes to intimate activities, of course, but a lesbian who have slept or sleeps with men is still a lesbian. It just means she probably happens to also be bisexual, or likely is open-minded and willing to experiment. She still likes girls at the end of the day and she isn’t any less of a lesbian and, no, she isn’t “impure” for having been with men before. EDIT: It all has to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, of course, since everyone is different. I’m talking about the scenario in which women, who are drawn to other women, sleep with men and thus are labeled straight. It’s silly.
And someone who is bisexual doesn’t automatically want to sleep with everyone, alright? People who are bisexual still have standards!
What I’m trying to say here is that sexuality isn’t merely black or white. Of course, your mileage may vary.
EDIT: This is, however, assuming that a lesbian is a woman who is drawn to other women and that the term isn’t mutually exclusive in regards to bisexuality. I’m sorry if I’ve worded this improperly.
Inclusion of More Transgender Characters
I sincerely hope for this to one day happen, but there are transphobic anime/manga/visual novel fans out there.
Furthermore, I would dare to say that some authors and/or studios may simply not “get” it. Even series that are bold enough to tackle these important issues may miss the mark and get a few things wrong. I myself admit I’m not the most informed and would greatly appreciate it if you ever call me out on my ignorance so I can learn from my mistakes.
Thank you for reading.
The Lily Garden 
100% agree. Too much of Yuri, for having been a termed actually coined by the lesbian community in Japan, is all male gaze focused. Give me a happy ending, give me bisexual characters that happen to prefer female partners, give me transgender characters that are actually trans not ‘traps’. Totally agree.
LikeLiked by 1 person
There is another point I would like to add to this: commitment. What I mean by that is so many of the “Yuri” shows we get are soft yuri, like Yuru Yuri or ambiguously implied, (Think New Game, or Amanchu!, which YES second season is out, HYPED!!! … any way, back on topic…) that is gets on my nerves. For every Citrus or Candy Boy we get, there are a shit tonne more soft shows that either leaves the question ambiguous or never fully commit to giving us any confirmation. If your going to have yuri, then by all means, have the courage of your convictions and give us something concrete other than what we have to use our yuri goggles to see.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sorry, that was me, dunno why it didn’t post my info…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hm, that’s strange. Sorry about that.
LikeLike
More commitment would be great!
We can only cross our fingers and hope that it happens, though. I think the writers and the studios prefer the ambiguousness for the most part.
LikeLike
Seems like reasonable demands to me nii-san.
Especially about bisexual characters.
Talking about yuri, I just read Candy and I really really liked it, do you think you can help me find some more fluff yuri nii-san? (Yup asking for recommendations~)
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Auri. Did I phrase the part about bisexual characters weirdly? I hope not.
Hmmmm I’m not so well-versed in fluff yuri, Auri. Will have to dig around! Glad to hear you loved Candy, though!
Best of look with cram school ;__;
LikeLiked by 1 person
You didn’t! It made perfect sense to me, so either it was on spot or our wavelength just matched nii-san!
I’ll leave it to you then~
TTOTT
I’ll take all I can get….
LikeLiked by 1 person
Phew, that’s a relief!
Hmmmm I would recommend Kase-san. The name has changed several times and it’s been published in several different magazines but it should be easy enough to find. The only problem is it’s ongoing…
;___;
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ongoing huh?
Oh well, 39 becomes 40.
I’ll be trying that soon~
><*
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, yes, and yes.
More happy aendings would be most welcome, especially in terms of showing women maturing together. The whole ‘just a phase’ things always serves as an annoyance for me.
I’ve been calling for positive potrayals of bisexuality for years, so definitely agree here. I would say though that I disagree with your wording slightly. I doa gree that a lesbian who has slept with men is still a lesbian; for one, they may have been unsure of themselves when they did so, and still coming to understand their own sexuality. That in itself does not make her bisexual though. You can be bisexual and in a lesbian relationship mind you. I apologise if that all seems a little nit-picky, I was bisexuality officer in my old job, so I kinda drop into ‘careful with the wording’ mode some times.
Absolutely yes to more trans characters! I for one would like to see that cover the spectrum of the term too. Show those who wish the transition, and thsoe who don’t. Show non-binary people. And most importantly, show that all trans people are, first and foremost, people, just like everyone else.
LikeLiked by 1 person
At this point it’s almost expected which is unfortunate.
Yeah, was rushed for time and left out a few key words which has seemed to have caused several misunderstandings. It has been updated!
I’m all for that, yes!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yeah, I thought that may have been the case. No harm done 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
“a lesbian who have slept or sleeps with men is still a lesbian. It just means she’s bisexual”
Someone that sleeps with both genders isn’t “gay but happens to be bisexual” – they’re bisexual. Seriously, you can’t call for more positive treatment of bisexuality and then simple erase it that way. Nor can you say “sexuality isn’t black or white”, right after you’ve simplified it down to “gay or not gay”.
LikeLike
Sometimes people sleep with others despite not being attracted to them. That is the specific case I was referring to. Or maybe they’re uncertain and they try things out to see if it clicks. And even if it didn’t, then they’re still lesbians despite the experience.
I am under the impression that the term lesbian does not mean a woman who is exclusively into other women. There can be overlap into bisexuality. There can be confusion. So I don’t really see what you’re trying to say here, sorry.
LikeLike
Well, I am not that enlightened when it come to yuri in particular but I wholeheartedly agree with everything nonetheless. 2 and 3 is universal really for all lg(btq+) relationships in anime and manga and as for point one; isn’t that a common trope in all high school anime/manga? “Oh, we can’t continue this relationship after high school because ‘this or that’.” and then they don’t see each until a school reunion ten years later. It’s stupid. I feel it is especially important in lgbtq+ anime/manga to show that it is real and not, as you write, fooling around and experimenting.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Glad you agree. Yeah, that cliche should stop…
The situation is a bit tricky since anime is ultimately fiction but these situations and feelings really are real.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great points. I hope yuri manga and anime will include more of these in an acceptable way.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you. I sure hope so, too.
LikeLiked by 1 person