i shouldn't have to blog about this (the proship debate with actual reliable sources)

i'm REALLY fucking tired of this and i wish it would just die but since the rest of the trifecta (a term given to dana scully, daviecantdance, and i by some people for being against proship) has posted about this, and certain figures haven't shut the fuck up about it since - i think i should as well with some of my personal experiences

to introduce myself, hi - my name is carmilla, i'm a writer and illustrator of dark fiction involving, well, dark topics. many of my stories involve abuse, toxic relationships, and real life phenomenon that is categorized as being immoral, dark, and in most cases illegal. while i do write darkfic, i must clarify - i do not condone, romanticize, or glamorize anything in my stories. while i do cover plot lines such as stockholm syndrome, learned helplessness, trauma bonding, and uncle tom syndrome (also known as fawn response), it's important that readers know that this is not a projection of any condonement.

i am also a victim of a heavy topic within some of my stories - CSA and CP production. this does not trigger me to talk about it, be made fun of, etc etc so don't try. when i was around 7 years old, i was molested and pictures were taken of my body - the man was caught with the pictures but i have never gotten justice for the innocence that was taken away from me that day.

my dark fiction works are not meant as a personal coping mechanism, but more as a personal comfort for those who have gone through similar traumatic experiences, and a cautionary tale to those who have never experienced such horrors.

i have held anti-proship and darkship views ever since i was young - starting initially with media such as shota shota island. i was not "indoctrinated" into this. no outer influence convinced me it was bad, it was just my moral compass. and this should not be "insane" or "crazy" to believe. 

initially, i would just ignore stuff like this like the common abortion debates on here, because as someone who's never had to have an abortion or been around people who've had to have abortions - i don't believe it's my space to talk on. but proship and darkship media is the deliberate romanticization of abuse, immorality, and toxicity.

now, i am not a holy roller, bible thumper, or anything like that. i base my arguments off of scientific research, scholarly papers, and neurobiology. we are wired to not want to be attracted to animals, siblings, children, etc

to start; the definition of pedophilia.

oxford dictionary's definition taken from google: "sexual feelings directed towards children." it is not specified to be exclusive to real children.

wikipedia's definition: "Pedophilia (alternatively spelled paedophilia) is a psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a sexual attraction to prepubescent children." it is not specified to be exclusive to real children.

national library of medicine's diagnostic criteria of pedophilia: "Over a period of at least 6 months, recurrent, intense sexually arousing fantasies, sexual urges, or behaviors involving sexual activity with a prepubescent child or children (generally age 13 years or younger); The fantasies, sexual urges, or behaviors cause clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning; The person is at least age 16 years and at least 5 years older than the child or children in Criterion A." it is not specified to be exclusive to real children.

it is not incorrect to believe pedophilic attraction extends to fictional media - which many pedophiles use to "substitute" real abuse.

pedophilia is believed to stem from an incorrect "wiring" of the brain. many pedophiles that were offending and non-offending have exhibited lower interest in adults and higher interest in minors. child pornography offenders are more likely to be pedophiles, fictional or not.

now, the definition of proship and darkship. i will not be using fanlore as a source as it is more in favor of proship instead of a neutral stance.

"pro-shipper" according to wiktionary: "One who supports a specific ship or shipping in general." "One who supports a ship or shipping deemed problematic (e.g., due to incest, age differences, abusive dynamics, etc.), and/or believes in the freedom to create and consume fanworks with such elements."

"comshipper" according to wiktionary: "One who supports a ship with elements deemed morally complex or problematic, such as a power gap, or a relationship between a mortal and an immortal."

"darkshipper" according to wiktionary: "Synonym of comshipper."

now, this doesn't seem bad at first glance, however, shipping is the depiction of two or more people in a relationship - romanticization. romanticization leads to glamorization and desensitization. because proship and darkship includes dynamics such as family x family, adult x child, feral x human, abuser x victim - this is romanticization of real world problems, which then leads to desensitization of varying degrees in individuals. just like how porn desensitizes viewers to sexual violence, proship and darkship desensitizes viewers to sexual abuse. there is very little study on pedophilia as a whole and study on "proship" is nonexistent, so i will form my own thesis right here on spacehey.

proship/darkship's audience

now, despite proship's deliberately adult themes, most proshippers i have encountered on here are minors. now, obviously, children's brains are not fully developed; they are still learning and exploring things, especially during teenhood. childhood is the prime time for one's brain to be negatively affected by sex, trauma, or abuse. CSA victims are at substantial risk for becoming offenders themselves. i do not believe children of any age should be exposed to public adult spaces, especially kink and sexual fantasy - which proship falls under.

proship/darkship as a coping mechanism

a significant portion of proshippers consume this media as a coping mechanism - however, it is a deliberately unhealthy coping mechanism. coping mechanisms are defined as methods (thoughts and behaviors) used to manage stress (whether traumatic or everyday life.) healthy coping mechanisms can include meditating, reading, listening to music, or journaling - however, unhealthy coping mechanisms deliberately eat you up and destroy you from the inside (or the outside). consuming proship content is considered an impulsive or risky behavior in the umbrella of unhealthy coping mechanisms. this may also be comorbid with isolation or other forms of emotional self harm.

the pipeline from viewing to offending

the study of child porn consumption (fictional and real) leading up to real life abuse has been documented. there is a link between CP consumption and child molestation, most often due to the desensitization from viewing - similar to one becoming "resistant" to lighter doses of nicotine and requiring more to feel better. for example, tsutomu miyazaki (the otaku killer) owned an ASTOUNDING amount of horror videotapes and hentai - this is what is believed to have desensitized him to the point of committing crimes. richard ramirez (the night stalker) was believed to have been influenced heavily by his older brother's bragging about his war crimes (including rape) during the vietnam war, ramirez being exposed to real photos of these crimes committed by his brother.

the legality of fictional child abuse material

(this entire section sources this wikipedia article)

fictional child abuse material is illegal in australia, canada, ecuador, estonia, france, ireland, italy, new zealand, poland, russia, south africa, south korea, switzerland, united arab emirates, and the united kingdom. this means it's a sex crime, no exceptions. the only places where it is completely legal are brazil, colombia, denmark, finland, germany, japan, and mexico. however, "gray area" countries such as argentina, austria, chile, netherlands, spain, sweden, taiwan and the united states mean that people can still be arrested and convicted for having fictional child abuse material - it just depends on each individual case. most cases only limit it to "realistic" materials or "depictions of real life children." however, in the united states specifically (where proshipping emerged as a term), people have been charged or convicted for cartoon child abuse materials - such as lolicon or shotacon. the PROTECT act of 2003 (also dubbed the amber alert law) also enacted 18 U.S.C. § 1466A into law:

"Section 1466A of Title 18, United States Code, makes it illegal for any person to knowingly produce, distribute, receive, or possess with intent to transfer or distribute visual representations, such as drawings, cartoons, or paintings that appear to depict minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct and are deemed obscene."

"drawings, cartoons, or paintings." you read that correct.

my conclusion

yes, with all of the research i have, i'm a firm believer in the idea that proship is just another stepping stone to abuse. i believe in science, not feelings, and science says that pedophilia is a mental illness that is only aggravated more by content like lolicon, shotacon, proship, etc. please shut the fuck up and stop replying to comments with your google drive folders and twitter posts now. i don't care for anything that isn't a legitimate research or archival website.

- carmilla