Did anyone ask for this post? No. Am I, the resident multishipper of this corner of Tumblr, gonna speak on it anyways? Yeah. Bc I feel like it deserves to be said.
Some people on the internet need to remember that boundaries aren't universal among friends, particularly nonsexual boundaries, PARTICULARLY boundaries with shipping.
Guess what! Some people don't like being suggested ships with any of their characters beyond what is already acknowledged/stated as canon. Shipping is a very fun activity but not everyone and every media you come across HAS to have shipping. Hell, a lot of them don't need that for the plot of the media to be relevant anyways.
I completely understand the concept of noncanon shipping or exploring those dynamics, don't get me wrong. I love that shit, I think it can be a great way to explore character personalities and in some cases can even feel therapeutic. However some people online- especially SMALLER creators with a SMALLER fanbase- need to still be respected in their boundaries, especially with shipping. And off topic-ish, that respect of boundaries should extend to the creators of larger media creations as well.
I'll say this as someone who loves the 'art' of shipping: its gotten completely out of hand in my opinion. Creators can't win. Someone doesn't care about ships? Huge massive shipping wars. Someone doesn't want to see anything about ship possibilities? People still bring it up. Hell people who encourage multishipping with standards??? A gay man gets shipped with an aroace gal.
What's worse is that media revolving around shipping seems to completely overshadow anything that doesn't. I mean look at Heated Rivalry for gods' sake, its become so prevalent that people are doing talks about it being akin to a cult and my professors are doing detailed, informed research on it. All because these two men are gay for each other. I feel like the media's response to that centers around the apparent value of shipping, sex, and fetishization of homosexuality. Not to mention things like My Hero Academia- most of its popularity comes from the shipping side of the fandom (which let's be honest, is almost the whole fandom), and how could I forget good ol' TADC, where the creator has said MULTIPLE TIMES that there is no canon shipping and people can ship wtv they want, but STILL has to address the violent shipping wars because people just can't accept that others have their own opinions. And god, the overlap between shipping and sex is absolutely ridiculous, they feel like twins of Chaos and Destruction. I mean I've already made a post on the oversexualization/pornification of practically everything, I'm sad I feel as if it's necessary to make this post on shipping too.
I realize that I'm probably giving off conflicting vibes between what I'm saying here and how I usually am, because yes, I am generally a "have fun, don't be illegal, and let live" kind of person when it comes to shipping. But here's the big thing: I only explore ships in media where I know the creator is chill with it. A lot of my friends have tighter boundaries than me, and that's good! Please, have strong boundaries and do not feel like you gotta be chill about everything! Boundaries don't exist to be overstepped, they exist so the media creator doesn't completely hate what they made because their online community ignores avoiding things that clearly make the creator uncomfortable. Like I said earlier, we have to respect creators of ALL kinds, and their boundaries with their work. We do NOT need to post if we think two characters would be a cute ship or not if the creator already states they don't want to see it (note: difference between affirming it won't be canon and not wanting to see it)
Idk man it can be disheartening, and I realize I'm probably spitballing here. But so many amazing stories get overshadowed because of the fact they either have a couple who most of the fanbase ships, or they don't and then a lot of audience goes and explores other stuff.
Shipping and sex can be really fun, don't get me wrong. Both are, for better or for worse, critical parts of online media as a whole. But I think it's gotten to a point where instead of a hobby, it's become an addiction. It's seeped into real life with real-person-fiction. A lot of people can't look at some characters without thinking of a ship in some way or form. And a lot of people aren't able to drop it so easily if a creator asks for their audience to not ship; in some extreme cases it becomes so ingrained in a person's life that it actually becomes dangerous. I've heard of people hurting themselves over their favorite ship splitting up. Hell I used to even be like that when it came to me and a friend's character, and the breakups (even if temporary) felt as if I was being broken up with irl.
What I mean to say by all that is, that's not normal. Or, it shouldn't be. Do I think audiences of media should be free to (legally) ship and not be attacked bc of it? Absolutely, live, let live, and don't feel completely restrained or restricted to a ship you might not like. But do I also think that, if a creator doesn't want to see content of a particular ship then you should, I dunno, maybe not? Or at the very least, keep it to yourself. People forget the power and use of imagination, being able to have practically anything they want given to them through the screen.
Ok I think I'm starting to run out of points here, but I think I've made most of them. Shipping culture is completely out of control. It's no longer just a fun activity for people in fandom to enjoy; its something that causes wars, discomfort, objectification, and is practically a drug that a lot of audiences are so addicted to that they can't drop it or keep it to themselves when a creator asks them to. Creators, big and small, aren't respected in their boundaries, and people normalize that disrespect and addiction furtherance by being like "It's the internet, I have free will, you can't do anything about it". Yeah, you have free will, why are you using it to hurt others???
Idk. It's one thing to not know abt the boundaries beforehand and change things once you learn about them. It's another to blow completely past boundaries you can see so damn easily.
Idk. I think that's all I have to say. Moral of the story, there is a shipping and sex addiction widespread on the internet, and we need to respect creator boundaries more.
