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Why does it matter?
Let's start with a bit of fandom history. Do you know why AO3 was created?
That story is a very good example of why I am so strictly anti-censorship and have very little tolerance for anyone who isn't.
Before AO3, the main place for fanfiction was fanfiction.net. If you were posting anything remotely queer, you'd better add a "Don't like don't read" disclaimer to your fic if you didn't want to be harassed over how you "tricked people into reading gay shit". You'd still get gross comments, but people couldn't say they were "tricked into reading vile things" anymore.
At some point, however, some users lobbied to get slash (which was mainly gay ships) off the site. It worked.
AO3 was created in response to this, as a way to let any and every fanwork have a space.
Why does this matter? If you start standing for any amount of censorship, it will spread. Censorship is a slippery slope. Do you really think everyone who stood by you against "darkships" and "comships" have the same definition of that as you do? You'd be surprise how many people use that term for queer fiction.
My point is: do you really think the censorship will stop at just things you dislike, just things that make you uncomfortable? Spoiler alert: it won't.
Let's not forget that a few years ago, and for some people even today, the LGBTQIA+ community is equated to sexual predators. It isn't far-fetched to say queer fiction will get dumped in the "problematic fiction that we should ban" category. Especially with the current political climate.
Language
Darkship refers to a ship that covers dark, taboo topics.
Comship refers to complicated ships.
I'd love to give examples, but it varies so much from person to person that I can't really find any that people agree on. Which is why I personally don't use those labels at al, and tend to ignore them, because they genuinely don't mean anything to my brain.
Proshipping and profiction are synonyms, and stand for the belief that dark and taboo topics should not be censored in media and that people should be able to enjoy whatever they want in fiction in peace. In other words, anti-censorship values.
A lot of people are convinced it is short for "problematic shipping/fiction". It is actually short for "pro (as in "in favor of") shipping/fiction". It doesn't tell you anything about what someone likes in fiction.
Now, everything should be properly tagged and on platforms that allow good curation of content, as we don't want to put everything in front of people who might not want to see it, of course. For example, is youtube the place for porn? Not really no. There are better sites for that. But if the place fits it and has a way for people who don't want to/shouldn't see it to avoid it, you're in the good!
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DJSnappers
profiction. PRO As in "Yes! Good thing to have access to!" And FICTION as in "not real, safe space to explore many things, including but not limited to emotions, trauma, and straight up frisky feelings."
Exactly!!
by Kai The Foley; ; Report
I Have Autism 00
Every regime in history did so. Everyone who has studied history knows this. Nazis famously railed against p****graphy. But then suddenly, everything they didn't like was considered "p****ography" including LGBTQ.
Conservatives always rail against "wokeness" (whatever that is) as a means of stopping harmful ideology (like communism). Yet you already see that term broaden into anything they don't like in real time. Everything is "woke" now. Having a gay or black character in a movie is "woke".
There are some characters on the progressive side who want to do genuine good in censoring "hate content" and "misinformation". And while I would love to ban groups like the KKK or dangerous conspiratorial rhetoric, it's a horribly slippery slope. That power will be used for more than just that. Remember when Biden tried to start the "Disinformation Governance Board"? Imagine if he succeeded in doing that. Trump would get in office and then have access to a government entity that can choose what information is "correct".
Because plenty of people have good intentions in this, I don't think you need to go as far as to block or remove those who want it. Most of them just believe in punishing hate groups which IS justified. Many of them just want Neo-Nazis and KKK to be held accountable for their rhetoric (which has led to violence). Censorship is just the wrong way to do it.
Fully agree! I just don't think me personally blocking them is going far. I'm not saying everyone should do that, just that I do. We all only have 24 hours in a day, and I just prefer to spend that time wisely, which means I won't spend it arguing with them is all. ^^
by Kai The Foley; ; Report
I will add that I am focusing on fandom spaces in this post. The censorship in them isn't as much focused on hate groups as it is taboo topics like sexual assault etc being used in fics and art. And while it is the same basis, it has a very different effect to really want to censor fiction vs wanting to censor hate speech.
Though even then, hate speech is useful to recognise these patterns of hate when they arise in more dangerous way, so I still think censoring it isn't the best approach.
by Kai The Foley; ; Report
Additionally, since I've received IMs of people not quite understanding my responses here: I do think the KKK and such groups should be dismantled and their expressions highly monitored. I am talking about FICTION here, not real life hate groups or serious stuff like that, because taht stuff demands much more and much different nuance than fition does.
by Kai The Foley; ; Report