"Proshipper" is a term that was originally used to
define anyone who likes to ship characters. Since its creation, it gradually became an umbrella term. Today, it is generally used to identify anyone ranging from an actual proshipper who simply likes to ship characters, to someone who believes that writing explicit content about fictional characters is okay, to someone who simply supports pedophilia.
There is usually a lot of variance in their beliefs in what is right or wrong about fan content and character depictions. Many are advocates for terms such as "Dead
Dove: Do Not
Eat," and "Don't Like, Don't
Read" - which are
fanfiction terms that basically say "If you don't like this ship, or how these characters are portrayed, don't interact with it." Modern "proshippers" generally tend to believe that an individual should manage their own preferences instead of criticizing the creator for depicting it.
Many "proshippers" do consider things such as "shota" (sexual content depicting
children younger than
12) - and other similar content - as going too far. However, many other "proshippers" believe that it isn't the
job of participants in a fandom to police others, and that if there is policing of what is morally right or wrong in fandom, it should be done by the platform hosting the
work.
Many "proshippers" do not use the term themselves, or identify as
one. It is generally a term used by others to
label someone who they believe falls under the term of a "proshipper."
Person 1: "
Oh, I'm a proshipper."
Person 2: "Woah, careful- what exactly do you mean by that?"
Person 1: "I'm
fine with people shipping characters, and I'll just control what I, myself, look at."
Person 2: "...Yeah, that's
fine, but be careful throwing around that term."
