100% me

like I can see a predator watching how y'all justify minor / adult ships and feeling validated. they don’t just enact violence outside of the internet. they are real people who consume media just like you and me. those of you who ship children with adults share a space with actual predators

it’s also wild to me that y'all don’t think a pedophile could ever be an artist or writer. I guarantee you they are content creators you enjoy on social media. you’re giving them a space to safely express their interests and you validate their inclination to hurt real children when you promote “hebephilia” as healthy. every time you say “the technical definition of pedophilia is 13 years old and younger”, some adult freak feels better about being attracted to a 14 year old. saved by the bell huh!

you’re harboring actual predators, making them feel great about themselves, giving them a platform in fandom & the ability to harass minors into silence with that platform. it isn’t just desensitizing kids, it’s also desensitizing predators

this is an article about Alvaro Pascual-Leone’s neurology study at Harvard Medical. it’s actually almost a decade old at this point. in this study, he had a group play a simple piano exercise for one week, and he had another group only imagine playing the piano exercise for one week. in group one - the piano-practicing group - a new network of neurons blossomed in the brain to accompany the repetitive motion practiced on the piano. in the group that only imagined playing, the same thing happened. 

the brain can and does form new neural connections when you only imagine something, even if you take no action. it doesn’t mean that everyone who’s ever had a bad thought is now a criminal, but this is a legitimate study that suggests that a concentrated, sustained effort – like a hobby, or writing, or shipping – results in real, measurable structural changes in your brain. you shouldn’t even need a study like this to prove “you resemble what you surround yourself with,” but here it is.

as a survivor of CSA, i am 100% not okay with anyone engaging with this topic in their leisure time*, and i think that “shipping” is the lamest excuse i’ve ever fucking heard to engage in real, damaging behavior. an abuse survivor who ships “because they’re traumatized” doesn’t get a pass, nor should they consume or create this content. i hate it when this gets brought up because it’s victim-blaming, using severely mentally ill people you don’t even care about as props, and describes a tragic method by which a victim grows into a perpetrator.

nobody’s fucking shippy feels or orgasm is above scrutiny and condemnation, nor are these things above the well-being of other people.

-

Real pedophiles use nsfw art of minors to groom children in real life. They use the art and fanfic and shit you write to say “Hey look this character that is your age is doing this, so it’s okay!” They legit do this. I’ve had real life actual victims tell me they do this.

Trauma-based entitlement is very common in people who are abusive – the notion that “I had to go through so much, so fuck you, you just have to deal with whatever I do to you.” When that entitlement is thwarted, there is this notion of being defied, of being humiliated – of being shamed. This is what has been called “humiliated fury” – when insecurity, toxic shame and entitlement combine. That is a very dangerous emotional state.

So here’s a true story: my father, sometime in the 70s was looking for his first job. He went to the local McDonalds and told the staff, [manager’s name] said I was supposed to start today. They took his word for it and started training him and by the time the manager saw him and asked who he was, people just said “oh that’s the new guy.”

Somehow this actually worked. My dad worked there for a couple of years as a cook. He even won an award plaque which he had on the wall until the day he died.