there are some really vile people trying to interact with this post, claiming that “fiction and reality are two different things.” i’d like to add a source that suggests that the brain is more susceptible to thoughts vs. actions than we think it is, and i hope OP finds it as important as i do.
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.
*telling people to knock it off is not leisure time, trust me. i’m speaking about people who enjoy their interactions around child abuse.
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