Proshippers V Antishippers10/06/2026
What even is a Proshipper and an Antishipper?
Correct me if I’m wrong but I hear so many different definitions for these things. Does Pro stand for ‘pro’ as in being for something or is it short for problematic? And are the things that get lumped in with Proshipping actually problematic if so?
I am under the impression that Proshipping is closely tied to the principle of ‘ship and let ship’ and the AO3 principle of ‘don’t like, don't read’. If so, then I would consider myself a proshipper by these standards.
Now, do I ship family members or underage characters with overage characters, or any other ships that are morally reprehensible?
Nope, not at all and I too will feel uncomfortable knowing that people ship those kinds of things in the fandoms I’m in (looking at the Romrem shippers in the Sanders Sides fandom), but do I agree with the common sentiment of Antishippers that these fics or content including proships should be removed from websites like AO3?
Hell no.
I say this because AO3 specifically is an archive. It is not designed to be moderated based on the value or moral integrity of the works present on it. It serves as a safe haven for fic of all kinds, and was actually set up to be that from the very beginning.
AO3 was started by Wincest shippers.
Yep the brothers Dean and Sam from Supernatural.
It was actually the second most popular ship in the fandom at the time after Destiel (as far as I know, don’t quote me).
The Antiship movement was alive and well back then too, with Fanfiction.net having very strict rules about what can be posted on their website leading to massive purges which took out chunks of fan works at a time.
These rules didn’t just apply to the morally questionable content that may be found in fics. If your fic was deemed ‘low quality’ by enough people and reported then it could just get taken down. If your fic had song lyrics in it or if your fic had a level of comment interaction where you include other people’s OCs that they request you use (very popular in Hunger Games fics), then your fic could be taken down.
And a lot of these slights weren’t found out by Fanfiction.net moderators, rather it was mostly the work of the independent group ‘Critics United’. Critics United went after all kinds of fics with the above ‘infractions’ but they’d especially go after fics with any level of smut, since mature content wasn’t allowed due to FFN’s guidelines.
Now these guidelines weren’t due to any moral stances on FFN’s part, rather it was because FFN wanted to receive revenue from Google Adsense and mature content and anything that could raise copyright complaints would hinder that revenue.
But for Critics United? This was a matter of morality and superiority. They saw their enforcement of the rules of FFN as a noble effort when in reality it was brigading and harassing authors that they personally had a problem with or felt that their work should be taken down.
Harassment, bullying and targeted mass reporting, even if it comes from genuine and understandable criticism, should not be the manner in which you attempt to resolve your issues with a creator.
If we look at these today (especially younger fans who didn’t use fanfiction.net in its prime) we might think that the FFN rules are wild and wacky, but it was this kind of arbitrary enforcement of rules that caused the founders of AO3 to want to make a space where you didn’t have to worry if your fic would get taken down based on the quality or content of your writing.
I understand the discomfort that the Antiship movement is experiencing, especially in this day and age when the idea of morality and being pure in the eyes of others online is so important to be seen as good within trigger-happy online spaces. But, I think that their rhetoric, while good in meaning, is inherently dangerous.
Where is the line drawn for this specific standard of what is morally bad and what is morally okay?
I’d argue that morally none of this content is harmful because it is fictional.
And please don’t start me on the whole ‘but fiction normalises things in reality so we need to treat it like it’s real’. That’s not how normalising works. And besides, the people who like these kinds of content (especially in smut) do so because they’re morally questionable and taboo. They aren’t trying to normalise it, they're just trying to not get socially stoned for it.
My biggest worry is that if you try to censor spaces like AO3 then the goal post becomes easier and easier to push.
If we’re getting rid of the ‘obviously bad’ stuff first then who’s to say they don’t go after non-con next? I’ve heard plenty of people in the fanfiction and traditional book communities make the argument that non-con and dark romance normalises rape.
So if we get rid of that then what’s so different between non-con and other forms of harder kink?
And at that point it would just be kink in general, I mean there isn’t that big of a leap.
And then it’s only vanilla sex because that’s the only moral way to depict it.
And at that point wouldn’t most queer fics fall outside of a classic vanilla concept?
See how easily it is for a very well meaning starting point to get co-opted?
Ultimately, I think that the argument itself between Proshippers and Antishippers causes the most problems for Antishippers.
By arguing about the morality of the content, it only causes this content to get dragged out into the public town square from the niche corners of the internet where Proshippers congregate.
Most Proshippers are not trying to flaunt content they know is not everyone’s cup of tea and will often keep to their own communities both for other’s sake and their own. Same goes for most communities that have content they know can be confronting or even triggering.
I’d personally say that it’s often Proshippers that have the best tagging etiquette on AO3 because they are very aware of how the content is not for everyone. They only want it to reach the people looking for it and make it very easy for those who don’t want it to scroll past or filter out.
That’s what ‘Dead Dove: Do Not Eat’ is all about!
All in all, I just get upset at the idea of censorship on AO3 in this wider political climate because in areas like fandom where we should always strive to be loving and inclusive, I do not want to see us start to reflect the harsh and negative sentiments of American Christian Nationalism.
But yeah, ultimately this is just people arguing online instead of just choosing to scroll and like what they like.
But in writing this aren’t I just as bad as the rest of them?
- Astryl
PS. If you read my opinions on the vast majority of Proshippers and then think ‘Oh well this person must also be advocating for this Proshipper who doesn’t tag properly or who does say that ‘x crime’ should be normalised’ then I’m afraid you have very much lost the plot.
Just because I said that people who eat pancakes are okay even if I don’t like them does not mean I advocate for people who also don’t like pancakes to be force fed by those who do.
If you genuinely think that I am making that argument, I’m afraid you have no media literacy and should brush up on some critical analysis skills.
Or don’t I can’t tell you how to live your life.