Hello! With All The Discourse Going On In The Kirby Tag I'd Like To Clarify Some Things. I've Seen A

Hello! With all the discourse going on in the Kirby tag I'd like to clarify some things. I've seen a lot of arguing without actually saying what or why this is I think a lot of people are confused, I'm going to try to help.

What is "pro-shipping"?

Proshipping is the idea that disliking a ship does not mean you have to be against those who ship it. It's used as a way to say that everyone is entitled to their own ships and opinions and that's okay!

Hold on... why is that bad? Everyone seems to hate that.

While the premise is good, unfortunately "proship" is a term that has been adapted to excuse inappropriate and harmful content. For example, people who ship incest, pedophilia, abusive ships, and more have been using "proship" as a way of saying "Hey it's all fictional, I can do whatever I want!" This is not okay.

Wait! I support people's rights to ship whatever, but I definitely don't support that!

Then don't use the term proship. Do not be a proshipper.

But I want to use the term anyways! If it's used correctly enough we can reclaim the term.

No. The best way to deal with people who ship incest, pedophilia, etc, is to block, report (where appropriate), and ignore. If you believe people have the right to ship whatever they want but you do not support this harmful content, then you're just a decent person and you don't need a term for it. Save yourself the trouble and detach yourself from the term.

But my therapist/doctor/parent/friend said that it's okay...

We cannot expect every person to understand the nuanced meaning behind words and terms we invented in specific contexts. This person may be trying to help you, but they don't actually know how the word is used. That's not always their fault, especially if they learned it from someone who doesn't understand how it's in harmful spaces either.

This is your sign to move away from the term proship for good. If you misunderstood the meaning and you had good intentions, it's alright! You can move on! The internet is complicated and it's easy to get the wrong idea from something.

If you see a proshipper, block and move on! Stop harassing people, they do not need more exposure.

But from here on out, know that the proship term is used to excuse shipping incest, pedophilia, abuse, and more. It is not acceptable. We do not support proship in the Kirby community.