>>279870233
Romance needs that masculine fire. Even a moderately masculine man fills the role better than any woman (generic harem leads are giant vaginas and don't count as "moderately masculine"). When you try to play girl-on-girl romance straight, it feels hollow, fake, melodramatic, frigid, and generally just ugly.

Yuri baiting and sexual yuri are both threesome baiting for men, which is perfectly natural, and subsequently, feels natural to the audience. That's why they succeed while romantic yuri fails.