It's not *that* popular if you actually think about it, well maybe only a little bit in the "otaku" world yes, but when I look back again in the normal world... well, let just say that I just can't see any girl of my school reading yaoi LOL they would rather laugh about it like I kinda do... (I actually like yuri more, don't get me wrong I think it's more prettier... ^^ Not that I'm lesbian or anything. :/)

I think yaoi caters to what some women want to see. That's why the HBO show "Queer as Folk" was so popular, though it was a bit more realistic than yaoi. You get two good looking guys, stick them together, and have a romance. You don't have to worry about all that "real world" stuff like prejudice, and the characters (usually) get a happy ending. Reading yaoi, at least in my mind, is like reading a romance novel, only with two men. I personally will read anything except loli and shota, as long as it has a good storyline. I like a lot of seinen and sports manga since that's where my interests lie, and I tend to dislike shoujo that focuses on bubbly airheads and love triangles. Most of the people I know who like yaoi also like a host of other things outside of yaoi.