thinkingaboutjunk:

Litmus test for whether or not you, a female shipper, are fetishizing a male/male pairing:
Do you care about the characters beyond their physical appearances and the fact that they’re part of a male/male relationship? If you did not find them physically attractive, would you still be interested in their character dynamic?

If so, you’re fine! Shipping is fine! Shipping is okay!

But what about if: You enjoy thoughts of the characters having sex? You read sexual fanfiction? You draw sexual fanart?
What if you passed the first test and do those things? What if you failed the first test and do those things?

…This is also okay! A little more nuanced, but fine! Porn is this weird case where it’s hard to draw a line on what is morally “okay” but I think a good ground rule is, is it hurting anyone else? This goes for “real” porn and “fake/animated” porn. If your perceptions of actual human beings are being damaged by seeing fictional male characters as nothing but sexual objects, that is damaging. If you’re talking in public about real people being “yaoi” as if they’re on display for you simply by existing, that is damaging.

However as long as you can separate reality from fiction, enjoying porn is like enjoying any other piece of fiction. You can enjoy the visceral emotion of a serial killer on the hunt even though you would never kill someone, and you can enjoy watching two boys make out- but basic social decency says don’t stare at strangers IRL. That’s the line. Don’t involve people in your sex life without consent, which includes things like asking cosplayers to kiss for you, or referring to strangers using sexual terminology assuming they don’t know what it means.

Most of all remember that LGBT people are human beings, not objects. Straight men can watch women in porn, straight women can watch men in porn, gay or straight. The important thing is to know the difference between real life and fantasy and respect real people and their identities. Respect women! Respect LGBT people!

Ship responsibly!