Neurological Imprints of Boys’ Love Culture: Shaping Sexual Orientation Identity in the Digital Age’s Young females

Abstract

AbstractWith the omnipresence of social media, Boys’ Love (BL) culture has found a burgeoning audience among young females. While this cultural phenomenon offers a platform for self-expression to some, its potential implications remain underexplored. This study investigates whether immersion in BL culture impacts the process of young females forming self-recognition and identification of sexual orientation. Employing an fNIRS-based experiment focusing on the prefrontal cortex, we compared the neurological responses of young females within and outside the BL media cocoon when exposed to sexuality-related stimuli. Our findings revealed significant neural differences in the experimental group viewing BL images compared to the control group. These results provide fresh insights into how BL content may shape our cognition and attitudes, emphasizing the need for guidance in content consumption among young females.