Most people are into Slash or BL than they are into Yaoi.
Yaoi = harcore guy-on-guy buttsex made for women by women that involve original characters. Yaoi has little to no plot. The term "Yaoi" comes from the sayings:
yama nashi, ochi nashi, imi nashi
<TRANSLATION>
"no climax, no punch line, no meaning,"
or
"No peak, no point, no problem."
Yamete! Oshiri ga itai!
<TRANSLATION>
"Stop! My butt hurts!"
BL means "Boy's Love". The original term used in the 80's was Shounen-Ai, but it was disused and Shounen-Ai was then referred to mean "real-life pedophilia". BL focuses on the relationships of a boyxboy/guyxguy pairing rather than the sex.
Despite popular belief, Graviation and Loveless are NOT BL or Yaoi. They are strictly Shoujo with BL undertones, because the story as a whole do not focus on the relationship or the sex.
Slash = noncanon fanpairings between popular characters such as Naruto and Sasuke.
Most of the series that are labeled "Yaoi" that have been released in America are actually BL series. The only way to know which is which is with the content. If there isn't any sexual intercourse whatsoever than it's not Yaoi.
Yaoi and BL as well as Yuri are all made by women for women. Yes, Yuri is for women. Real lesbian anime porn is just part of Hentai. Yuri is basically the same as Yaoi. Just replace the penises with vaginas and that's basically it. Both have a same-sex character playing the man and the woman. Both are drawn in the typical pretty/beautiful Shoujo way.
True anime/manga porn made specifically for gay men is called Gei-comi. The major difference between Gei-comi and Yaoi is that Gei-comi is more hardcore and actually has bodily fluids. Think about that for a second.
Oh yeah. There's a third category attached to Yaoi. June. <pronounced "Joo-nay"> June is a combination between the two. Sexual intercourse and revolving around the relationship as well.
Also, Yuri has no subcategories like Yaoi. Yuri refers to both hardcore and softcore fluff. The term "Girl's Love" isn't used at all in Japan and "Shoujo-Ai" also refers to "real life pedophila".
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