Another theory states that it originally comes from the word 猫車 (“ nekoguruma,” which means a wheelbarrow) because when a person uses the wheelbarrow, it resembles the doggy-style sex position. “Pussycat” was then later shortened to キャット (cat) and transformed into the Japanese word for cat, neko. One theory states that the word originally came from the slang word “pussycat” and referred to a woman’s genitalia. There are multiple theories about the origins of this particular usage of neko. In this context, the word is not used literally but figuratively. “ Neko,” when used in the BL genre, is generally written in katakana characters (ネコ), much like how it is within the gay community in Japan. Due to the history of the term in Japanese LGBTQ communities, neko within the BL genre has come to refer to characters who are less dominant in a sexual relationship. Neko, in Japanese, simply means “cat.” However, this word’s meaning changes when used in Japanese LGBTQ communities.
