I'm a somewhat atypical BL fan, but for good reason.  I'm a middle-aged gay man born and raised in the rural Midwest US and have been married since 2003 to another gay man born and raised in Zhengzhou, China.  How we met is a long story, but suffice it to say that there are threads of familiarity to my own experience in the BL genre.  It's pleasant reliving my younger days and I find BL to be a great escape for me.