Animators harness the power of yaoi for union campaign

The Animation Guild, a union made up of more than 5,000 workers across the animation industry, is at the bargaining table right now, negotiating a new three-year contract with Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. The guild’s previous contract expired on July 31, and after the first week of bargaining ended on Aug. 12, the guild and the AMPTP did not reach a new agreement. The current contract has been extended to September, allowing for another week of bargaining. 

As the animators and AMPTP bargain over job security, AI protections, streaming provisions, and more, union members continue to raise awareness of the fight — and have now harnessed the power of yaoi to spread their message across social media. 

First: a primer on yaoi

You see, when one fictional guy likes another fictional guy very very much…

Yaoi originated as a term for Japanese boys’ love stories specifically created for the female gaze, like Given and Crimson Spell. However, in the West, yaoi was historically more of an umbrella term for any male-male content coming from Japan. Nowadays, it’s grown in fandom spaces and basically any gay male relationship can be called yaoi, even if it’s not from anime or manga. And the relationships don’t even need to be canon:  House M.D. can be toxic yaoi, for instance, and so can Anne Rice’s vampires.  

It’s a genre that’s turned into a catch-all term for gay shipping. But how does it relate to the animation guild? 

The tale of Pink Husband and Green Husband

In order to spread awareness and garner support from fans of their work, a few animators with Animation Workers Ignited, an online community in support of the Animation Guild but not officially affiliated with the union, got together to make some informative videos. One of these focused specifically on generative AI, which is a huge concern at the bargaining table. The video follows a concerned parent (voiced by Gravity Falls’ Alex Hirsch), who is fearful about his child consuming weird AI content, as he learns about the Animation Guild from a smooth-talking, self-assured union organizer voiced by Adam Conover (Adam Ruins Everything).

Hirsch and Laura Serrano Miralles, the director of the short, had a brief exchange on X, where they jokingly suggested names for the character. Miralles dubbed them “pink husband” and “green husband,” which led to storyboard artist Moss Lawton chiming in and asking if anyone had drawn yaoi of the two characters yet… 

“Someone got close but not enough and I’m WAITING,” wrote Miralles.

Then a brave soul (aka animator Jess a.m.) answered the call. 

Soon, #UNIONYAOI became a whole thing, with artists — some affiliated with the guild, and some just allies at home — sharing their versions of the two characters deeply, madly in love. There are meme redraws, general shipping art, and even some fan videos 

Animation Workers Ignited is fully in support of the trend, reposting some of the artwork and video edits. The memeficiation of the yaoi ship became an instant easy way to get the union’s concerns in front of more people, by fully indulging what animators do best. 

Eventually, it became a global effort when the official Canadian branch weighed in. 

People on X are calling for those who enjoy the #UNIONYAOI content to “pay the yaoi tax” — aka donate to the mutual aid fund that directly supports animators (and specify that the donation goes to TAG 839).  

The Animation Guild is set to return to the bargaining table on Sept. 16. You can read more about the current state of negotiations on the official website. And if you join in on the #UNIONYAOI trend, remember to pay your yaoi tax.