#again i'm not even that invested in it but good golly the hate thrown at people who like it is so dang bothersome to me

[marshmallowgoop]

Hey goop hope you’re having a great time and your posts are great I keep getting ship shamed for liking Senketsuxryuko (and sometimes even iramako) but you defend them and adore Senketsu and Ryuko platonicly and defend those who love them romantically keep up the great work

Heh, I got the worst sunburn in my life, on my face, right before a convention that I cosplayed at, but this vacation’s still been a blast, thank you!

You bring up something I’ve been meaning to write about: I really hate ‘ship shaming, but I also dislike the idea that people shouldn’t be critical of ‘ships. There are many, many reasons to dislike Ryuko/Senketsu or Mako/Gamagoori (or literally any ‘ship ever), and it’s totally fine to talk about those reasons! But when the ‘ship criticisms stop being ‘ship criticisms and instead become personal attacks on anyone who likes the ‘ships, I just can’t ever see that as okay. There are ways to have constructive discussions without saying that anyone who likes such-and-such is disgusting and gross and should die.

On top of the obvious ways in which these attacks are harmful, they’re also harmful in that they tend to promote the idea that there is only one way to experience a text and anyone else’s experiences are invalid. Using the Mako/Gamagoori example, I have to admit that personally, I’m not really that invested in the pairing. However, I can also see how the coupling appeals to people. Gamagoori is canonically multiracial (discussed here, a bit down), and as a child, he was bullied for his mixed heritage. From what I understand, it’s common in Japan for people who don’t look Japanese to be treated as outsiders (That Japanese Man Yuta has some videos on the topic, such as this one and this one), and though Gamagoori does work his way into a position of power that demands respect, he clearly cherishes when a girl not only treats him as someone who belongs, but also as an equal. Immediately in their first on-screen interaction in episode 4, Mako gets right up in Gamagoori’s face and speaks her mind to him no matter the status difference between them, and Gamagoori takes note! This girl doesn’t hesitate at all to treat him like family.

And really, Mako is so comfortable with Gamagoori! She’s eager to jump into his car, is profoundly honest with him—perhaps overly so—and loves spending her time perched up on his shoulders (which is a love reflected not only in-show, but also official art and merchandise). How nice that kind of behavior must be for Gamagoori, who’s so used to being treated as an outsider to be ridiculed or feared! Mako is someone who doesn’t think of Gamagoori in either light, and that means the world to him.

From Mako’s side, she also has a history of being disrespected and belittled—even by Ryuko!—but Gamagoori never treats her in such a way. Whereas Ryuko promises Mako snacks to stay out of the Festival battle in episode 18 as though she’s a bothersome child, Gamagoori wholeheartedly trusts Mako to help out. How nice that kind of belief and faith must be for Mako, who’s so used to being thought of as an incapable nuisance! Gamagoori is someone who truly respects Mako, and that respect motivates her to act even in the toughest of situations.

Then there are all the other elements of the pair, too. Mako definitely shows interest in women, so it’s more than plausible that she’s bi or pan, and—though I can’t exactly speak personally on the matter, as someone unsure of her sexuality—I’ve often heard the sentiment from people in those groups that they feel like “lesser” members of the LGBT community if they are involved in an opposite-gender romantic relationship. For Mako to be in a romantic relationship with Gamagoori, while still very obviously being into women? That could be really, really meaningful to someone, just like the fact that Gama/Mako is canonically interracial and is filled with so much respect could.

And for other people to call these folks “gross” and shame them for relating to and enjoying the text in these kinds of ways? It deeply, deeply bothers me, and it’s hurt me personally. I’ve definitely felt shamed (even if not directly) for liking Ryuko/Senketsu; “Kill la Kill fans would rather ‘ship a girl with an article of clothing than admit she has romantic feelings for another girl!” is a common belief, and while there are a myriad of problems with it (such as the fact that hey, it’s possible to love more than one person romantically and also SenRyuMako is the Most Canon Kill la Kill ‘ship), this kind of attitude also tells me that how I relate to and enjoy the text is wrong and nasty, and, well, I just find that profoundly unfair. I’ve discussed my preferences for Ryuko/Senketsu in the past (point 6), but why should I have to defend my very morality just for loving a fictional character pairing? Why do I feel like I have to go into deep personal stories to “justify” my ‘shipping preferences? It’s absolutely, utterly ridiculous!

I’m a lot older than many folks on Tumblr now, but I can only imagine how awful I would feel going through all this kind of Discourse as a young teenager. People have always been cruel on the Internet, but I think this trend of “shaming people but it’s okay because what they like is Bad” is fairly new, and I despise it so, so much. It’s not helpful, it’s not progressive, and it leads to messages like these, which make me so sad.