This week, Melinda Beasi at Manga Bookshelf took some time to examine how Apple handles adult content in their iOS App Store. Beasi opened her article by recalling past concerns over how Apple has handled LGBTQ content, rejecting mild sexual LGBTQ content while allowing similar heterosexual content, seemingly without reservation. Apple has since embraced LGBTQ publishers, but Beasi’s article indicates that LGBTQ material may still be singled out by Apple, affecting manga publishers in particular.
Beasi goes on to report that some manga publishers have decided to not develop iOS apps because of Apple’s policies regarding content. Digital Manga Publishing developed an app, releasing manga that Beasi describes as “ranging anywhere from sweet, chaste romances to racy adult fare.” DMP recently sent a message to their followers indicating that they will soon be removing some of their yaoi, or boy’s love, titles from their catalog. Beasi investigated, learning that the material was being removed for mature content.
Beasi didn’t conclude definitively that the content was being removed because it involved same-sex relationships, but she spent some time analyzing manga pages in comparison to pages from DC Comics titles. You can read her full article and see the side-by-side comparisons here.
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