Auditory Space For Women

Since the new century,online radio drama has come into being as a new form of radio drama with the rise of the Internet.The online radio drama adapted from BL fictions is especially popular with female audiences.The popularity of online BL radio drama reflects the complex blending of hearing and vision in an era of visual culture,as well as the organic imbrication between auditory culture and the female-oriented IP industry.This thesis discusses the mode of production,circulation and consumption of online BL radio drama,the formation of an auditory space and affective economics dominated by women,the particularity of fans of online BL radio drama,as well as the significance of online BL radio drama in Chinese female-oriented IP industry.This thesis is divided into five parts.The Introduction section defines the basic concepts,reviews existing studies of radio drama,auditory culture and BL culture,and outlines the purpose and significance of the research.The first chapter introduces the theoretical framework and research methods of this paper.The second chapter explores the production mode of online BL radio drama.The online BL radio drama has gone through three stages of development,which results in the current co-existence of commercial and non-commercial production system.Online BL radio drama is in the middle reaches of Chinese female-oriented IP industrial chain and plays a guiding role in the early stage of IP development.However,BL radio drama that features male voice actors has caused controversy over gender inequality in the voice industry.In the third chapter,I focus on the shaping of soundscape and its relationship with female desire.The coding of online BL radio drama has the characteristics of ’audio-visual’ blend.Its erotic expression is both realistic and implicit,building up a queer public space for women to enjoy their private pleasure.The fourth chapter analyzes in-depth the consumption mode of the online BL radio drama.The development of online BL radio drama has promoted the celebritization of voice actors,the rise of seiyuu fans,and the pairing up of male voice actors.Online BL radio drama provides an emotional consumption space,in which the new relationship between media producers and fans promotes the benign development of radio drama.The Conclusion summarizes the characteristics of online BL radio drama,and looks into the future of female-oriented IP industry and the audio industry.