#shippping

In recent years, I’ve come to realize that a lot of fandom spaces have an insurmountable influx of people who just cannot go without shipping at least 2 people. And not just shipping, the urge to defend against and dismember anyone who doesn’t share the same views or ship or headcanons. The Amazing Digital Circus fandom was RUINED by the amount of shipping drama there was, among other things, and I watched from the sidelines as it seemed to multiply tenfold overnight RIGHT after gooseworks tweeted that there would be no romantic intent in the show between the characters present. It’s like if you tell people today that there is no romance in a piece of media, they’ll feel the need to shoehorn romance in and then make it everyone’s problem. MOTM is also a victim of this, to a lesser degree, but EVERYONE has to ship SOMETHING and it’s become so suffocating to me that I have to try and avoid MOTM posts just to be able to breathe on Tumblr. Luckily, no one fights over those ships and are very respectful for the most part, which leads me to not abandon all hope, but it is just STRANGE how much I am surrounded with art and media that feels like it always HAS to have some kind of relationship and sexual media to prosper. but it is not without its problems and demanding ship material is included!!

Now, I know romance and shipping culture has always been a thing in fandoms and is basically one of the strongest pillars fandom spaces lean on. I am also highly aware that shipping drama was a thing long before I was even alive, all of these things have been here. But it has never been this BAD. People never used to dox other people or send death threats or harrass to this scale before over ships that aren’t even canon. This insane growth in toxic shipping culture has fascinated me, because… why?? Why is EVERYONE all of a sudden so obsessed with romance between made up characters? Even to the point where just saying you like when two characters are friends is cause for an uproar. I think back to the early undertale fandom, when aus were just beginning to gain traction, and all of the FUNNIEST and most memorable comics and fanfics were ones where the different au sans were hanging out, being silly, and platonically going through the motions and learning about their respective polar opposites. These cartoons led to deep conversations amongst people and gave the original characters different mirrors and filters for people to reflect on their arcs in the original game and grow more introspective povs. And no one doxxed each other when ppl shipped diff aus or didnt ship diff aus, at least the bullying wasn’t at such a wide scale.

But now, I can barely find any platonic fanfics and comics or media of any sort that doesnt get left behind, abandoned, harrassed out of the world, or just end up romantic anyway in the end. They are very few and far between already these days. I have even experienced this mental lazer focus mysef on romance, shipping, and gratification through my characters and for example: every time I used to see bendystraw I wanted to scream my fucking head off-it pissed me off and for my own reasons I have never liked the ship. I NEVER say anything about it tho bc thats fucking rediculous, i know how to respect other people and the old saying goes, “If you have nothing to say, don’t say anything” a GOLDEN rule that I wish the entire human population would abide by, honestly. I am sharing this though to show how STRANGE it is that we are feeling so strongly and getting physical reactions from MADE UP PEOPLE ON A SCREEN. After some self reflecting and turning into an adult, my frontal cortex went: hey, hold up, it’s all fake. Tf u mad a, gurl? And now I can appreciate the bendystraw art-still dislike the ship but it doesn’t make my chest tighten to see it come up on my page.

My observations on this is that this all started growing slowly like a cancer when covid forced everyone inside and online. And is now coming to a head.

Something I heard too is that a lot of cliques of ppl that weren’t online nearly as much before are also now online. Our internet spaces are being melted together from the sort of clean cut separations that kept everyone of similar interests happy.

And no one is dating irl. 

Birthrate crisis left and right, social media and dating apps full of A.I. and catfishes, a lot of old school romantic values being forgotten in this new digital era, everything being so expensive that dating, third party spaces, and general enjoyment is impossible for the average person. Not to mention that work life balance has been so terribly destroyed that free time is a luxury. Romance is a luxury, and everyone’s mental health and ability to socialize is so out of wack from the lack of time and affordable medical and mental resources. 

My theory is that people of all ages are seeking that romantic gratification through online internet characters and shipping. We, as a generation, are sexually frustrated and emotionally neglected mammals, a lot of us would have been dating and experimenting as tweens, teens, and young adults. I am 22 and have never even shared a kiss, or a hug, romantically with anyone. I have never been on a date. While I was working part-time jobs I couldn’t imagine what dating would be like because I was bitter and angry all the time with no time or energy to enjoy anything life had to offer bc I had no money! I live at home! I got a new job recently and It’s like a breath of fresh air, I finally have the ability to budget and schedule my life, and it feels like I am building something finally instead of scraping to get by with a good work/life balance. Couldn’t be more grateful.

With this new job came a weight lifting off my shoulders. BREATHING ROOM. And with that, I could reflect on what I actually wanted with life and found some things

My friends are all broke, stuck with their parents, jobless, and miserable (like I was-I have the luxury of having a loving home life I just hate being a burden)

All they do is complain(no hate to them-all we CAN do is complain, we literally have no agency over what happens from now on bc the world decided to shit itself for us)

We have increasingly been talking and hyperfixating on our original characters and romance. Anything else is superficial and is there to fill the void

WE ARE ALL ROMANTICALLY STUNTED AND YEARNING

ALL MY FRIENDS ARE ONLINE-I HAVE NO IRL FRIENDS!?

I don’t even know if I want to date anyone. But I noticed I was thinking about it more and more now that I wasn’t highstrung with my financial situation bc I finally had a plan and budget, could actually plan dates if I wanted-I just don’t know anyone. At all. New state, and everyone I work with is old enough to be my grandparent. I’m still hurting for money, and honestly; people terrify me. Too many horror stories. It is also the fact that I probably want FRIENDS more than I want romance right now. I want companionship. And i think thats what everyone wants.

It’s just that things got so muddy in the waters, online spaces are becoming less sustainable and more like warzones, I don’t even want to post my art for fear of people CRUCIFYING me, and people are just sharing the misery they experience by having no real friends or lovers and using made up characters that aren’t even theirs to own in order to play out their fantasies and ignore the crushing lonlieness sweeping the nations as everything arounds us gets worse and we’re forced to just sit and ignore it for our sanity, which is dwindling anyway bc misery loves company and people are becoming more demanding and mean online.

I'm SERIOUS guys! Think about how WELL they would work together!

Agnes is lonely and just wants someone to see her. Pugsley doesn't seem to have many friends (if any) and kinda lives in his sisters shadow a bit.

Agnes would finally get someone who likes her crazy. Pugsley would finally get someone (outside of family) who understands him.

Ok, you may think that the 1950s wouldn’t have queer undertones. But after seeing the play and movie, it makes a crazy shipper say ‘WHAT!?’

Starting off in the beginning of the 1954 movie, Phil is desperate for Bob’s attention. I mean just desperate. Then we see Phil risk his life to save Bob. He then hurts his arm, and uses this as leverage to have Bob do favors for him. When Bob later goes to check up on his injured friend, Phil hands him a duet song and convinces him to perform it with him. During this scene, we also see Bob place his hand on Phil’s knee, who looks at Bob’s hand like it’s the best thing ever. Now, in the live adaptation of this, Phil’s flirting is super obvious. The show starts with them performing a duet for the army. Somewhere along in this number, Phil says ‘do you know how long it’s been since I’ve seen a girl? I don’t know but we’re standing awfully close!’ Then proceeds to give Bob a tap on the rear. This was probably intended as Phil’s lousy humor, but it makes you think from the very beginning that Phil is attempting to make a move on Bob.

Now, back to the movie version, we see them performing duets as a career. We all know that some times in duos, one starts to have a real offstage crush on the other. Now we see Phil trying to hook Bob up with a girl, but anyone who has ever crushed knows that masking it can make it less obvious. He also mentions marriage while in the changing room, I know he says to a woman, but his he not using that darn arm excuse AGAIN? When the duo goes to the sister’s act, he mentions that it’s cozier boy-girl-boy-girl. But who is actually comfortable sitting in close space with the guy you like?

As for the stage production, while they have this conversation, he is says to ‘put a little romance in your life’ while literally flaunting himself in front of him. Phil is really obvious in the stage production altogether. He flirts with girls to, which makes me think bi, or just really really straight-acting. It was the 1950s, it wouldn’t be uncommon for a person to pretend to be straight.

Now there is the iconic male sisters act in the movie. If you were a closeted guy in the 50s, and you saw an opportunity to lip sync a sister’s song with your crush, wouldn’t you? To be honest, I don’t know. I’m not that old. My answer is… probably? I don’t know, but that scene has a special place in my heart, regardless.

Let’s skip ahead for now, and go back to the 2006 Version. Sometime after they arrive at the inn, Phil remarks, ‘if you had nicer legs, and some personality, I’d marry you!’ Ok. WHAT!? I would marry you? Probably just more lousy Phil humor, but a coincidence from all the rest? Maybe not.

In the movie version, there is that scene where Judy convinces oblivious Phil to fake an engagement. Judy likes him, and he is like, hm, where could you find a man… like, hello! Does he just automatically count himself out because he doesn’t like girls in that way? Why does he seem so uncomfortable with the thought of dating a girl? Even if it’s not real? Maybe he didn’t mean to say his cocker spaniel, maybe he meant Bob…

Then finally, in the musical, during the male version of sisters, Bob returns the little spank, (only took the man ten years) Phil doesn’t seem particularly unhappy.