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PaperclipPerfector  2d ago (text post)   1357 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for April 5, 2026

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

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The first thing that stands out to me is that the abstract uses "conservative" functionally as a slur, and among other points implies that proving something originates from conservative thought is in itself showing that someone is (morally) wrong.

The next is that the implication that anti- vs pro-shipper is the main source of harassment campaigns. At least in my experience, this is completely wrong; The great majority of anti-shippers just avoid the entire shipping fanfiction altogether. On the other hand, shippers are by their nature already involved and frequently highly emotional about which particular ship is the right one. Most of them still manage to get along despite differences, but if campaigns are started, it's by shippers who either consider one particular ship to be especially terrible, or vice versa by people who consider one particular ship to be so obviously true that all others are necessarily awful.

Finally, it's hard not to think that the authors major claim, namely that people’s fictional interests are not indicative of their real-life values, beliefs, and behaviours, is something they would disagree for other media, or even for the same media, but with inverted connotation. Think militaristic fiction, for example. Progressives have no issue implying that enjoying such media is problematic.

The great majority of anti-shippers just avoid the entire shipping fanfiction altogether. On the other hand, shippers are by their nature already involved and frequently highly emotional about which particular ship is the right one. Most of them still manage to get along despite differences, but if campaigns are started, it's by shippers who either consider one particular ship to be especially terrible, or vice versa by people who consider one particular ship to be so obviously true that all others are necessarily awful.

(Emphasis mine)

Before even reading the article, I think there may be some terminology confusion going on. "Antis" as I've seen the term used in the past decade or so are not people disinterested in shipping, they're people who are very much invested against specific pairings or themes, the ones you're talking about in the bolded part. The type specimen, for me, is the person who wrote "fiction is reality" about some Voltron fanfiction.

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