i knew the reaction to this poll would drive me up a wall but nnghhh good god its really getting to me.
like it cant be "huh, is that the definition? well that makes this whole debate sound inane and unreasonable- i just want people to quit throwing rocks at each other!"
its, "thats not the definition, thats only what proshippers would define it as, im not a proshipper even if that is the definition because im not icky and gross im a secret third thing. im normal. proshippers are icky and gross even if i definitionally agree with them."
like the resistance. its sooo. frustrating. the point, of this poll, i can only assume, is to specifically confront you with the fact that youve probably been misled as to what ""proshipping"" is.
i dont have the history on hand, sorry. ill find it one day. but to my knowledge, sometime in the 2010s, the newer generation of fandom enjoyers started opposing "problematic" fiction, due to being children and learning about social justice and applying it rather aggressively. im pretty sure that was the start of it (speaking as a 2010s antishipper lol.) it wasnt enough to dont like, dont read, your kink is not my kink, all these old sayings from the gen before. because, this stuff wasnt just shipping. it was encouraging and facilitating real life harm. being neutral is choosing the side of violence type stuff.
proshipping up until that point didnt need a definition bc it was the default behavior. its literally "pro (in support of) shipping- ship and let ship." ergo, anti-harassment.
you might think "but what if i hate taboo stuff but i still think people should do what they want even if taboo stuff really really really really squicks me out?!".....thats being pro shipping.
it does suck that, by virtue of the fact that antiship as a term exists now, you cant really "just exist." i mean you can, but youll be put in one of these camps regardless. like for example if you say "im a third thing, idc, just dont romanticize problematic fiction" im going to see you as an antishipper, bc putting guards on what people Can And Cant Do In Fiction is part of the gawdamn problem. so. regrettably i think its important you understand how your views come across to other people.
like ive tried to figure out an even more neutral way to ask this question. "do you believe problematic fiction perpetuates real harm" maybe..? but the original point was that bloggers were getting shamed and harassed for their taste in blorboships, so proship as a definition came about to combat that.
its not like its a loaded, misleading definition made by le evil proshitters to confuse you lol. the antishippers who combat this definition, in my experience, almost always sidestep it, and answer a different question- justifying that harassment, instead of saying of course its necessary. "taboo fiction perpetuates harm" or something. or they insist its not *harassment* its just, aggressively entering someones space in order to insist theyre doing something wrong. i mean. its just having problems with pedophiles. why are you protecting pedophiles. are you a pedophile? <- somehow if you have this conversation long enough it becomes abt pedophilia
like gahhh if that sounds like im giving a biased exaggeration its because!! its fucking absurd!! youre like "ugh why are you framing the proship side as if its rational" but wont stop to think that maybe, it is rational?! maybe we have a point to this whole "ship and let ship" business?! but nooo...
incidentally.. i do have this site. i genuinely think its worth scrolling through even if you *are* a sure antishipper- remember, youll never find a neutral source. rather you need to read sources from a variety of opinions. so heres one. https://www.fujoshi.info/antifan-archive
i also tire of it being a thing we have to choose sides over. but this dichotomy was only created bc antiship behavior rose into prominence. until then, people only had to worry abt flame wars, general trolls, normal shit. of course not all proshippers agree with each other, have the same tastes, or even like each other at all... but if you definitionally agree with being "anti harassment"... well.. welcome to the club.
