Fluidity in Diversity: Dimensions of Queer Textuality in the Yaoi Comic My Stuttering Sweetheart

Abstract

This article examines the construction of queer textuality in the LINE WEBTOON Yaoi comic My Stuttering Sweetheart, employing queer textuality as the principal analytical framework alongside concepts related to identity, embodiment, and gender expression. The study identifies three major analytical dimensions: (1) fluid identity—queer modes of political interaction and affective negotiation; (2) genderless dressing—queerness and corporeal freedom; and (3) queer ambiguity and contradictions within male–male relationships. The findings indicate that the dimensions of queer textuality are articulated through both narrative content and visual representation, producing subversive meanings that challenge established conventions of Thai BL literature. Instead of adhering to fixed sexual norms, the comic foregrounds unrestricted sexual fluidity. Queer subjectivity destabilizes assumed correlations among body, sexuality, identity, and desire, revealing fragmentation and a lack of coherence within male–male relationships. Through this destabilization, the text offers a counter-discourse to normative expectations of gender and sexual identity within Thai popular romance narratives.