I rarely get personal here, but I’ve seen people talking about shipping Dramione and not shipping them any more, and it prompted me to share my thoughts.
First of all, don’t put the equals sign between racism and pureblood doctrine, or shipping Dramione and a Nazi man/Jewish woman’s romance. Apart from huge ideological differences between the two, the biggest and most obvious contrast between them is that racism is real, and the Holocaust really happened, whereas pureblood supremacy only exists in the books and has never hurt anyone in real life because — what a surprise — witches and wizards aren’t real, and Voldemort had never been born. So please stop diminishing the tragedy and suffering of millions of people to justify your opinions and dislikes.
Don’t tell women what they can and cannot read. So many people think themselves woke and their actions politically correct without realising how terribly misogynistic they are in fact. Let women choose what they read, let them make a decision on their own, and don’t assume they can’t tell a difference between reality and fiction. Because — NEWS FLASH — they’re perfectly capable of differentiating between the two!
If you want to hold fictional characters accountable for their actions, at least be consequential and hold all of them accountable for what they’ve done, not only those who fit into heteronormative culture. Don’t omit LGBTQ+ characters, judge them too, they’re capable of making bad things as well and their being in a non-heterosexual relationship or being part of LGBTQ+ community doesn’t undo their deeds in that fictional world. The same goes for fictional women. Don’t excuse their actions if you decide to play morality police. HOWEVER. In the end, it is a fictional world, and they are all fictional characters, so you can root for them even if they’ve done horrible things (yeah, you can root for Lord Voldemort for all I care), just don’t be selective about your judgement to fit your agenda/make others feel guilty about who they like or ship.
Don’t make others feel guilty about or ashamed of who they ship. And don’t feel guilty about or ashamed of who you ship. There’s nothing wrong with you even if you like the most vile and twisted fictional characters.
Now on a more personal note. Why do I ship Dramione? Most of the time, I don’t know, I don’t think about it, I just do. Obviously, I love their dynamic, I love the enemies to lovers trope, and I love their bickering. Deep down I’m a hopeless romantic and love the idea of star-crossed lovers. And I simply enjoy brilliant writing that Dramione authors offer to fans. But if I reflect upon my reading choices, I believe they’ve got something to do with the fact that most men in my life have repeatedly disappointed and hurt me, and I’m not sure if I ever will be able to build a romantic relationship with another human being, especially a man. In fiction, everything is possible (and when you think of it, in reality too; life writes the craziest, most improbable stories). So let me have one of my favourite book heroines fall in love with a man who had been a prejudiced arsehole but redeemed himself and now loves her unconditionally and is someone she can always rely on. Let me have my imaginary utopian world in which a man is capable of a profound change.
And yeah, I read dead dove fics too. He that is without sin among you and has never seen a horror or a thriller, let him first cast a stone at me. (Don’t take this too literally; it’s not a sin to enjoy dark stories.)
Long story short: SHIP AND LET SHIP. Shipping should be about having fun. If you don’t like it, don’t ship it, but don’t try to take away fun from ships other people love, and don’t try to make them feel guilty about their favourite pairings.
And I can’t believe how some people still don’t get this.
pixelskylines
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germansingergirl
snowghoul
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