First thingās first, we need to understand that mostĀ āproshipperā types arenāt going to come right out and specifically say that they write gross things, and theyāre definitely not gonna specifically say that they write abuse/incest/pedophilic stories that are clearly just for self gratification, so theyāre going to disguise their beliefs with vague words.Ā
For example, the wordĀ āproshipperā (or, as of more recently,Ā āprofictionā, both of which are used interchangeably) in itself is a dogwhistle meant to disguise their writing and beliefs, which they claim means that theyāre just all for people shipping and having fun in fandom, which on the surface sounds good! But itās just code forĀ āwe write gross things to titllate out audience and ourselvesā.Ā
(Please note that the reason I putĀ āproshipperā in quotes is because I believe that referring to them as such helps them conceal what they actually do, when they are pro abuse and should just be called that instead. I will never give in to what they want)
Other such dogwhistles you might encounter include, but are (likely) not limited to:
-Ā ādark fic/dark fictionā (sounds like theyāre talking about simple tragedy/heavier topics, but references their gross shit)
- the phraseĀ āseparate reality from fictionā and/or āI/we know how to separate reality and fictionā (weāre not even gonna get into the ableist implications of this phrase right now, but the issue is that these are issues people face in real life, and they are being portrayed as good and even sexy)
-Ā āantisā (people who speak out against them and warn others about them)
- The constant, repeated misuse and misapplication ofĀ ācensorshipā (someone telling you not to write about incest like itās cool and fun is notĀ ācensoringā you and it is disrespectful to actual victims of censorship)
- āpuritanā/āpurity cultureā/āpurity (or morality) policeā (all of which are bad because itās not being sexually conservative to call bad things out and be concerned about it, but I want to give special attention toĀ āpurity cultureā because it is a term thatĀ āproshippersā stole from victims of a very specific brand of Catholic/Christian religious misogyny and abuse and is misapplying and misusing to victimize themselves)
Like, if you see a post that says something along the lines ofĀ āI write dark fan fic but people donāt like that! The antis are trying to stop us artists from expressing ourselves! This is censorship!ā, or some other variation, stop and think about who theseĀ āantisā are and why they ādonāt like thatā, and youāll probably realized that theyāre writing material that is abusive, incestuous, and/or pedophilic in nature, and these pieces are written for the express purpose of titillation/sexual gratification.Ā
They are trying to assume the victim position and get people on their side, and people who are unaware of what they actually mean will see these posts (and people responding against them) and either assume theĀ āproshipperā is a victim and side with them, or assume that this is just some stupid internet slapfight and ignore it, and neither of those conclusions are good or helpful.
See, the overall problem with theĀ āproshipperā/āprofictionā crowd is that the topics they are so disrespectfully blasĆ© about are real things that happen to real people, and there is nothing wrong with making fiction that portrays thatā provided that you are respectful and appropriately condemn it.Ā
TheĀ āproshippersā donāt do that. Instead, they write fiction about these hurtful, real life traumas and turn them into smut fiction to gratify themselves and their audience, and they then use the language of academia and social justice to both obscure their true intentions and shame those who call them out.Ā
Itās gross, itās evil, and it needs to be recognized for what it is and called out.
