English

Etymology

From pro- +‎ shipper.

Noun

pro-shipper (plural pro-shippers)

  1. (fandom slang) One who supports a specific ship or shipping in general, even in cases where a ship is deemed problematic (e.g., due to incest, age differences, or abusive dynamics). [since 1996]
    Synonym: shipper
    Antonyms: anti, anti-shipper, non-shipper
    • 1996 July 9, Chris Byler, “Re: 'PUSHER was a 'Shipper!! *gak*!”, in alt.tv.x-files[1] (Usenet):
      I think this whole thing is a semantic misunderstanding.. the anti-shippers and the pro-shippers are putting entirely different meanings into the phrase 'in love'.
    • 1997 April 25, Terry Luck, “Re: 'SHIPPERS SUCK!!!!”, in alt.tv.x-files[2] (Usenet):
      For all you pro-shippers and anti-shippers keep posting and debating. Someone is watching you.
    • 1997 November 24, Susan J. Daniell, “Re: Shippy parts lead into MOVIE!!”, in alt.tv.x-files[3] (Usenet):
      As a pro-shipper, I think it's gonna be a long season. Will spring ever get here?
    • 2020 October 13, Jessica Mason, “Hannibal’s Bryan Fuller Is Done With Your Anti-Ship BS”, in The Mary Sue:
      Things, let’s say, escalated very quickly, with pro-shippers and anti-shippers going at each other over all sorts of nonsense that was obviously a bit hard to follow.
    • 2021, Victor Larsen, "'It Makes Me, A Minor, Uncomfortable': Media and Morality In Anti-Shippers' Policing of Online Fandom", thesis submitted to Ghent University, page 16:
      Pro-shippers argued back that depiction was not endorsement, especially if creators tagged their works with the applicable warnings, such as “abuse” or “emotional blackmail”.
    • 2021, Allegra Rosenberg, "'Writing To Cope': Anti-Shipping Rhetoric in Media Fandom", paper presented at the Electronic Literature Organization 2021: Platform (Post?) Pandemic conference, page 7:
      What is seen by pro-shippers as simply the desire for everyone to be able to write, draw, and publish what they want, even if it offends or “squicks,” is viewed by anti-shippers as unforgivably harmful.
    • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:pro-shipper.

See also