 As "yaoi" gained popularity in the United States, a few American artists began creating original English-language manga for female readers featuring male-male couples referred to as "American "yaoi"".The first known original English-language "yaoi" comic is "Sexual Espionage #1" by Daria McGrain, published in May 2002.Since approximately 2004, what started as a small subculture in North America has become a burgeoning market, as new publishers began producing female-oriented male-male erotic comics and manga from creators outside Japan.