Despite increased knowledge of the genre among the general public, readership remains limited in 2008. 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.
