Hi everyone 😭✨
First of all, I'm really happy to see someone else who enjoys shipping cartoon characters like I do, especially LGBTQ+ characters.
Honestly, I've felt pretty lonely about this for a while because I thought I was the only person who was interested in this kind of thing, so I'm really glad ChatGPT showed me this post. 👍🏻
But regarding all the comments, drama, stereotypes, and the huge amount of defensiveness in the replies... wow, guys, what's going on? 😭
First of all, I work with young children and I'm studying early childhood education, and I think there are quite a few misconceptions about children in these commentsChildren can absolutely develop crushes, attachments, and strong feelings toward other people, even if they don't fully understand what "love" or romance means yet. Their feelings don't suddenly become real only when they reach a certain age. Children experience emotions naturally; adults are often the ones who put labels and meanings onto those feelings.
For example, when I was in elementary school, I became really attached to one of my classmates, Fatima. I was constantly thinking about her, talking about her, and wanting to be around her. At the time, I didn't even know anything about the LGBTQ+ community, so I obviously didn't have the vocabulary to describe what I was feeling.
I wouldn't try to put a specific label on that experience now, but looking back, by the end of elementary school I realized that I didn't see her as just a friendThat's why I don't think it's strange for children to experience innocent crushes or age-appropriate romantic feelings. It's a normal part of emotional development, and having those feelings doesn't automatically make them sexual.
What is wrong is sexualizing children, exposing them to inappropriate content, or pressuring them into anything they aren't ready for. That's where the line should be
But simply shipping two fictional characters because they seem to have feelings for each other? I don't think that's inherently wrong. Especially when we're talking about an innocent, age-appropriate relationship. People naturally gravitate toward stories and character dynamics that they enjoy 🤷🏻♀️
And personally, I don't think every ship has to be taken as something sexual just because the word "ship" is being used. Sometimes people just enjoy the idea of two characters caring about each other and being cute together 😭🩷