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Who never ate his bread in sorrow,
Who never spent the midnight hours
Weeping and waiting for the morrow,—
He knows you not, ye heavenly powers

---Goethe


This blog is largely interested in feminist, queer movements, snide humor, internet memes, yaoi pornography, literary studies and men's fashion.

unhistorical:

On the Origin of Shipping

The term “shipping” is derived from the word “relationship”, although its exact roots are unclear. It is used to describe a phenomenon in which fans of a piece of fiction display their desire for two (or less, or more) characters to establish (or develop their already-established) romantic relations. The prevalence of shipping has boomed with the growth of the Internet, although shipping itself has probably existed as long as fiction has. 

Typically, the original coining of the term “shipping” has been attributed to fans of the science-fiction show The X-Files (1993 - 2002), centering around the relationship between the two lead characters, Fox Mulder and Dana Scully. The term is now used widely in fan communities of all types; since then, the phenomenon of shipping has grown exponentially, thanks to sites like FanFiction.net, LiveJournal, and even tumblr itself. 

The term “ship” as a noun is also interchangeable with the term “pairing”. Often, a portmanteau of the characters’ names is used to refer to the collective ship; for example, “shippers” of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson may refer to their ship as “Johnlock”. In other fan communities, some adjective or noun describing the ship, coupled with the suffix “-shipping” may be applied - most notably in the Pokémon fandom. Other fandoms have their own specific naming conventions. 

As fandom subculture has developed, however, the concept of shipping has become far more convoluted. Today, characters who are “shipped” together need not have ever displayed explicit romantic feelings for each other; they need not have even met; in fact, they may not even exist in the same universe. Some of these more far-fetched ships are referred to as “crack ships”. Other terms like “canon” and “endgame” are used to refer to ships that are unquestionably confirmed by the work of fiction itself, or by its creators. 

I hope that answers your question.

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I have sat for three years in the back of that choir room. Holding Mike’s hand or crying or smiling and swaying while everyone else was up there singing solos. Maybe I say something, most of the time I don’t. Team player all the way! I am tired of being silent. I am one of the original glee club members and I was singing “Sit Down, You’re Rocking the Boat” when Finn and Puck were still throwing slushies at us. So when is it my turn?

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Tina Cohen-Chang during Props (via hummelberryhudson)

THE VOICE OF REASONING!!

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