Why are gay/lesbian ships so popular?

[Tilgoreth 1,915]

This isn't meant too be offensive. I just noticed that in a lot of fandoms there seems too be way more gay or lesbian ships than straight ones. Even if the charcters their shipping are mostly likley straight. Personally I do the same thing. Unless it's something obvious like Arkos I usually don't ship it. And keep in mind I'm a straight white dude. I am a very liberal person and would describe myself as progressive, though that's not really why I ship mostly gay ships. FlutterDash, WhiteRose, Lapidot, etc, you get the point.

 

I guess it is at least partly from prompting from the show itself. Subtle teases that are either blatantly explicit or just designed too be there because "oh my god the fans will go crazy for that lesbian tease". Even if that tease is only a charcter touching a womans hand. So what do you think?

Edited June 17, 2017 by Tilgoreth
Wanted too add a new image. The new image is the one at the top.

[Kyoshi Frost Wolf 40,291]

Two things I can think of: 1. Sexiness factor. This one is pretty self explanatory. Some peeple might find those kinds of couples to be, well, sexy, and gravitate to those. 2. The lack of same sex relationships. There are hardly any gay couples in shows, cartoons they are essentially non-existent. So people probably like to fill the gap and add in their own same sex couples to the mix. This also can add relatability to those who are also LGBT. 

[K.Rool Addict 718]

Looks like Kyoshi-kun beat me to it >.> Was pretty much exactly what I was gonna say.

...

Hmm, it appears I do not have much else to say o,o

Welp, let's try and grasp at straws, shall we? (^.^)/)

13 minutes ago, Tilgoreth said:

And keep in mind I'm a straight white dude. I am a very liberal person and would describe myself as progressive, though that's not really why I ship mostly gay ships. 

I'm a straight white dude too. But I definitely consider myself on the exact opposite political/ ideological spectrum as you. Probably one of the biggest raging conservatives you'll see this side of everyone's favorite angry, racist, jewish hambone.  

That being said, I don't really take issue with the prevalence of lesbian/ gay ships. In fact, I support a few myself: Namely, Rainbow Pie, for MLP at least  I also kinda like (dare I say it) Applebloom x Diamond Tiara D:

[Scrubbed user 3,415]

Because of the ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) you see in it.

[Tilgoreth 1,915]

55 minutes ago, Kyoshi said:

Two things I can think of: 1. Sexiness factor. This one is pretty self explanatory. Some peeple might find those kinds of couples to be, well, sexy, and gravitate to those. 2. The lack of same sex relationships. There are hardly any gay couples in shows, cartoons they are essentially non-existent. So people probably like to fill the gap and add in their own same sex couples to the mix. This also can add relatability to those who are also LGBT. 

Yeah I can understand both those reasons. Though personally for me sometimes the relationships between two female best friends are more developed then the relationships with their boyfriends. So it's easier too enjoy the lesbian ship in that regard.

36 minutes ago, K.Rool Addict said:

Looks like Kyoshi-kun beat me to it >.> Was pretty much exactly what I was gonna say.

...

Hmm, it appears I do not have much else to say o,o

Welp, let's try and grasp at straws, shall we? (^.^)/)

I'm a straight white dude too. But I definitely consider myself on the exact opposite political/ ideological spectrum as you. Probably one of the biggest raging conservatives you'll see this side of everyone's favorite angry, racist, jewish hambone.  

That being said, I don't really take issue with the prevalence of lesbian/ gay ships. In fact, I support a few myself: Namely, Rainbow Pie, for MLP at least  I also kinda like (dare I say it) Applebloom x Diamond Tiara D:

That pic you linked too is scary as hell! Why is Diamond Tiara pinned down? Bro their like twelve!  Actually when I used too be a massive conservative I didn't really like gay ships. Then I realized what a homophobic jerk I was. And that is at least partially why I do like gay/lesbian ships, you know because I'm a massive progressive liberal.

[ZethaPonderer 2,196]

Because the amount of exposure that people WANT to see gay relationships is huge in comparison to straight couple ships? That and people being Pro-LGBT (Though I do feel sorry for Transexuals so they have my support in the nearest future).

Meh, don't get any of the sexy factor out of gay relationships tbh. It's not sex if there is no penetration involved. Gay male couples have an advantage on this one, not so much for gay female couples. Either way I don't find it hot at all in comparison to straight couple relationships.

Not trying to offend anyone here. To each there own. You do you, I do me. Hopefully we both don't have to end up doing each other.  

Edited June 17, 2017 by ZethaPonderer
Grammatical Errors. Fixed

[Zyrael 1,471]

1. because they're hot

2. You only see straight pairings in canon, typically. Even from shows outside the U.S. Which is annoying as hell, tbh Even if there is a non-straight character in the mix, they're typically a minor character with no real potential to be a love interest for the main character(s)

[K.Rool Addict 718]

8 minutes ago, Tilgoreth said:

That pic you linked too is scary as hell! Why is Diamond Tiara pinned down? Bro their like twelve!  

Lol, I think the scenario was Applebloom fell onto Diamond Tiara "accidentally". You can tell by her rather distressed face that it wasn't intentional (at least, she doesn't want it to look intentional xD). 

10 minutes ago, Tilgoreth said:

Actually when I used too be a massive conservative I didn't really like gay ships. Then I realized what a homophobic jerk I was. And that is at least partially why I do like gay/lesbian ships, you know because I'm a massive progressive liberal.

So, from one extreme to the other, eh? lol I can't say I support homosexuality irl, as I find it rather detestable (whole nother topic lmao; inb4 "unintentional" derail xD). I mean, I agree with equal rights for gay people and the like, I just don't like seeing society pushing it so much in my face practically making it seem preferable to standard straight relationships.

Anyway, in fictional media, it doesn't really bother me as long as it isn't trying to push some sort of agenda. Ships are always fun regardless of the sexual orientation  

 

^Behold! My all time favorite Disney ship! \(^o^)/

[Tilgoreth 1,915]

4 minutes ago, K.Rool Addict said:

Lol, I think the scenario was Applebloom fell onto Diamond Tiara "accidentally". You can tell by her rather distressed face that it wasn't intentional (at least, she doesn't want it to look intentional xD). 

So, from one extreme to the other, eh? lol I can't say I support homosexuality irl, as I find it rather detestable (whole nother topic lmao; inb4 "unintentional" derail xD). I mean, I agree with equal rights for gay people and the like, I just don't like seeing society pushing it so much in my face practically making it seem preferable to standard straight relationships.

Anyway, in fictional media, it doesn't really bother me as long as it isn't trying to push some sort of agenda. Ships are always fun regardless of the sexual orientation  

 

^Behold! My all time favorite Disney ship! \(^o^)/

Yeah I have too dissagree there. I fully support LGBT people, and gay/lesbians relationships don't disgust me. I actually like it when LGBT people are represented in media. 

Also I actually have seen some Sofia The First and it wasn't terrible... Then again I am also a massive fan of the direct too DVD Tinker Bell films. But god if that's actually a ship that's creepy as hell! It'd be better if they shipped her with the rabbit!

 

*On a side note one of my favorite shows is Unbreakble Kimmy Schimdt and one of the main charcters is a gay black man.*

16 minutes ago, Zyrael said:

1. because they're hot

2. You only see straight pairings in canon, typically. Even from shows outside the U.S. Which is annoying as hell, tbh Even if there is a non-straight character in the mix, they're typically a minor character with no real potential to be a love interest for the main character(s)

What about yuri and yaoi? That's all about gay/lesbian relationships. And some of it is pretty good.(Sakura Trick)

27 minutes ago, ZethaPonderer said:

Because the amount of exposure that people WANT to see gay relationships is huge in comparison to straight couple ships? That and people being Pro-LGBT (Though I do feel sorry for Transexuals so they have my support in the nearest future).

Meh, don't get any of the sexy factor out of gay relationships tbh. It's not sex if there is no penetration involved. Gay male couples have an advantage on this one, not so much for gay female couples. Either way I don't find it hot at all in comparison to straight couple relationships.

Not trying to offend anyone here. To each there own. You do you, I do me. Hopefully we both don't have to end up doing each other.  

Well yeah personally at least part of the reason I do gay/lesbian ships is because I am a very pro LGBT person. Even though I'm not actually gay myself. Though the sexiness factor does also apply for me for some ships. Though others that's not at all why I ship them. Personally I ship FlutterDash just because the charcters feel like they'd be perfect togther.

[K.Rool Addict 718]

2 minutes ago, Tilgoreth said:

Also I actually have seen some Sofia The First and it wasn't terrible... Then again I am also a massive fan of the direct too DVD Tinker Bell films. But god if that's actually a ship that's creepy as hell! It'd be better if they shipped her with the rabbit!

Lmao! I wish "that rabbit" would make more appearances. Apparently the voice actor was let go or something Q.Q

But yeah, Sofia the First is actually quite a stimulating show. It's the closest modern day show I have found to MLP:FiM in terms of writing, character interactions, songs, fantasy elements, overall "wholesome" message, etc. Just a shame the show is a tad juvenile for my liking. It's clearly directed at a much younger demographic than FiM.  

It needs more of the "snark" found in FiM if you ask me

[Tilgoreth 1,915]

6 minutes ago, K.Rool Addict said:

Lmao! I wish "that rabbit" would make more appearances. Apparently the voice actor was let go or something Q.Q

But yeah, Sofia the First is actually quite a stimulating show. It's the closest modern day show I have found to MLP:FiM in terms of writing, character interactions, songs, fantasy elements, overall "wholesome" message, etc. Just a shame the show is a tad juvenile for my liking. It's clearly directed at a much younger demographic than FiM.  

It needs more of the "snark" found in FiM if you ask me

Yeah that's one of the reasons I stopped watching it. Also the same reason why I can't even finish the first episode for Miraculous Tales Of Ladybug/Cat Noir. The conflict is just to childish to enjoy.

Also that moment with Twilight/Trixie was absolutley pricless. Also Starlight x Trixie.

[GoldenGumdrop 164]

Probably because of the lack of female to male ratio depending on the show. I personally don't do slash/fem slash but when you have a show that is mainly male characters or in the case of MLP female characters that arises.

 

Someone mentioned yaoi/yuri those are usually in lemon/lime territory. A lot of anime has gay/lesbian characters (Haruki and Michiru) there were quite a few in Sailor Moon plus yaoi is it's own genre in anime (which is mostly read by straight women, but that's a whole different thread).

Please don't call me a homophobe but I don't like gay relationships either, especially when fanfic writers make gay ships out of someone who is straight as confirmed in the series (like Miroku from Inuyasha). Not liking gay shipping doesn't make you a homophobe.

Edited June 17, 2017 by GoldenGumdrop

[Roughshod 719]

It's all part of the Illuminati agenda...

 

First the frogs, then the ponies, then you! Unless you're already gay in which case, never mind.

...

BE ALARMED! 

[Tilgoreth 1,915]

24 minutes ago, GoldenGumdrop said:

Probably because of the lack of female to male ratio depending on the show. I personally don't do slash/fem slash but when you have a show that is mainly male characters or in the case of MLP female characters that arises.

 

Someone mentioned yaoi/yuri those are usually in lemon/lime territory. A lot of anime has gay/lesbian characters (Haruki and Michiru) there were quite a few in Sailor Moon plus yaoi is it's own genre in anime (which is mostly read by straight women, but that's a whole different thread).

Please don't call me a homophobe but I don't like gay relationships either, especially when fanfic writers make gay ships out of someone who is straight as confirmed in the series (like Miroku from Inuyasha). Not liking gay shipping doesn't make you a homophobe.

I can understand that. Some of it gets into crack ship territory. I mean unless you dislike gay ships because you don't like gay people... Okay I'm just joking don't take any offense.

 

FlutterDash just because I feel like it:

[Yumekai 735]

Some people have a different orientation and i don't find gay/lesbian relationships bad and i'm for it as long as both of them are happy and heck if i found another boy that i found attractive but i still wouldn't consider myself bi just because i've never felt that way about another male but i guess all and all people just wanna show that even though all the judging and stuff like that, that what others say and think can't be in the way of their love for eachother. 

[cuteycindyhoney 13,283]

Part of it is a mild taboo thing. The rest? Well, sometimes it just looks pretty. I'm a bisexual woman, married to a man. I see nothing at all wrong with mixing things up a bit with same sex shipping. Here's a very mild picture to show what I mean. It's just so nice to look at! It is a kind of a cheat though. In the Kampfer series, the girl on the left is a boy most of the time.

 

 

[K.Rool Addict 718]

4 hours ago, Tilgoreth said:

OP, I see that you added a new adorable picture.

Just felt the need to comment on that >.> Also, who are those characters?  

The one on the left looks my like my type ^///^

[Tiny Hoofs 200]

Probably because it hasn't been featured on the show...yet. LGBT people are often underrepresented in fiction and romantic fiction can be harder to come by. I don't see anything wrong with LGBT ships. I wouldn't even mind a gay couple(s) appearing in the show. It's becoming more acceptable as society is growing more tolerant of gay people. We've seen gay characters in traditionally children's media like The Legend of Korra, Star vs. The Forces of Evil and the live-action adaption of Beauty and the Beast. I can't imagine why it would be a bad thing provided that they portray it well.

The only people that take issue with things like that are people who hate gays and think teaching tolerance counts as indoctrinating children. And those people aren't worth listening to.

Edited June 17, 2017 by Tiny Hoofs

[cuteycindyhoney 13,283]

1 hour ago, Tiny Hoofs said:

Probably because it hasn't been featured on the show...yet. LGBT people are often underrepresented in fiction and romantic fiction can be harder to come by. I don't see anything wrong with LGBT ships. I wouldn't even mind a gay couple(s) appearing in the show. It's becoming more acceptable as society is growing more tolerant of gay people. We've seen gay characters in traditionally children's media like The Legend of Korra, Star vs. The Forces of Evil and the live-action adaption of Beauty and the Beast. I can't imagine why it would be a bad thing provided that they portray it well.

The only people that take issue with things like that are people who hate gays and think teaching tolerance counts as indoctrinating children. And those people aren't worth listening to.

That was a very good post! Thank you.

[Daring_Do 552]

2 hours ago, Tiny Hoofs said:

Probably because it hasn't been featured on the show...yet. LGBT people are often underrepresented in fiction and romantic fiction can be harder to come by. I don't see anything wrong with LGBT ships. I wouldn't even mind a gay couple(s) appearing in the show. It's becoming more acceptable as society is growing more tolerant of gay people. We've seen gay characters in traditionally children's media like The Legend of Korra, Star vs. The Forces of Evil and the live-action adaption of Beauty and the Beast. I can't imagine why it would be a bad thing provided that they portray it well.

The only people that take issue with things like that are people who hate gays and think teaching tolerance counts as indoctrinating children. And those people aren't worth listening to.

How about people who feel that some of this "shipping" is little more than sexual objectification? (Just look at a couple of the replies on this thread)

[CheeryFox 23,811]

Because it's baaaad...everybody loves baaaad.  Appealing to many!

[SynBassilicious Pony 322]

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Edited January 30, 2023 by SynBassilicious Pony

[ZethaPonderer 2,196]

Not to mention, straight couple relationships have already been done to death so might as well do something that would be unorthodox and non-traditional to rustle up everyone's jimmies. I don't actually hate gays tbh, their love always feel misplaced to me making their case a Greek Tragedy. Also, I can see the economic potential for why people would want to settle down on gay relationships instead of straight. Gay marriages are cheaper to manage than Straight as it would seem due to how unrealistically idealistic marriage has become in USA and in Western World.

[Prospekt 10,984]

Sometimes it's fetishism and sometimes it's romance just for the sake of a cute pairing that isn't (yet) canon in the show, book, game, film, or whatever kind of media we're talking about. The fetishism is what bothers me, while the latter is great from a creative perspective.

[cuteycindyhoney 13,283]

1 hour ago, Slug Village said:

It's just a strange fetishism that exists because of people (mostly "nice guys") who see females as nothing but objects that exist to satisfy their fantasies.  Derp.

I don't agree with that. I happen to find such images to be lovely.