Mpreg (male pregnancy) is a narrative trope where pregnancy occurs in male-bodied characters, commonly within fictional and fan-produced texts in BL (Boy’s Love) fandoms. This study discusses Mpreg as a discursive site where assumptions about gender, embodiment, and reproduction are negotiated, with queerness understood analytically as a mode of narrative disruption that unsettles normative associations between pregnancy, femininity, and cisgender female bodies. This study aims to examine how Mpreg narratives function discursively in online cultural spaces, particularly in how they reframe pregnancy and masculinity, without presuming that Mpreg represents feminist resistance or queer affirmation. Focusing on user-generated content circulated on platforms such as X, this research employs Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) grounded in feminist theory to examine how meanings of pregnancy, embodiment, and masculinity are contested. Iris Marion Young’s (1984) concept of pregnant embodiment is used as an analytical reference to foreground women’s lived experiences of pregnancy, while maintaining a clear distinction between these experiences and fictional Mpreg narratives. Young’s framework enables an examination of how pregnancy is discursively reimagined when detached from cisgender female bodies. Our preliminary findings suggest that Mpreg operates as a queer narrative device that destabilizes normative reproductive logics, yet does not consistently function as feminist critique. While some narratives challenge toxic masculinity and patriarchal expectations, others reproduce hierarchical gender relations through themes of control, sacrifice, and the instrumentalisation of pregnant bodies. These findings indicate that Mpreg’s sociocultural significance lies in its discursive ambiguity rather than in a fixed oppositional stance.

Authors:
Glory Emanuelle, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia
Florentinus Bryan Yusian Okta Putra, Universitas Diponegoro, Indonesia
Evelyn Sekar Rossary, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia
Mbulan Liyu Andadari, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia

About the Presenter(s)
Glory Emanuelle is currently embarking on a Master's degree in American Studies at Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

Connect on Linkedin
https://www.linkedin.com/in/glory-emanuelle

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