This article has multiple issues. Please help improve the article or discuss these issues on the talk page. It needs additional references or sources for verification. Tagged since July 2007. Its neutrality or factuality may be compromised by weasel words. Tagged since July 2007.

Shipping, derived from the word "relationship", is a general term for fans' emotional and/or intellectual involvement with the ongoing development of romance in a work of fiction. Though technically applicable to any such involvement, it refers chiefly to various related social dynamics observable on the Internet, and is seldom used outside of that context. Image File history File links Emblem-important. ... This article primarily discusses philosophical ideologies in relation to the subject of romantic love. ... For other uses, see Fiction (disambiguation). ...

Shipping can involve virtually any kind of relationship — from the well-known and established, to the ambiguous or those undergoing development, and even to the highly improbable and the blatantly impossible. People involved in shipping (or shippers) assert that the relationship does exist, will exist, or simply that they would like it to exist.

Etymology

The activity of fans creating relationships out of some or most of the cast of characters far predates the term. Though "ship" is undoubtedly a derivative of the word "relationship", where and when it was first used to indicate involvement with fictional romance is unclear. A common belief is that the term originated in the fandom for the anime series Pokémon with two American fans who, in discussing their belief in a romance between series villains, Musashi/Jessie and Kojirō/James (known together as "Team Rocket"), hit upon the pun "RocketShipper" as a way to combine "rocket ship" and "relationship". Fandom (from the noun fan and the affix -dom, as in kingdom, dukedom, etc. ... Animé redirects here. ... The official Pokémon logo. ... Team Rocket ) is a fictional syndicate in the metaseries Pokémon. ...

However, the archives of the newsgroup X-files show that the word "shipper" was already in established use among fans of The X-Files as early as May of 1996 ^[1]— just three months after the first Pokémon games were released in Japan. It would not be until 1998 that any of the Pokémon games, manga, or anime would be translated to English, where the relationship/rocketship pun would exist (the first known uses of the term in the Pokémon fandom were during mid-to-late 1999). It seems clear that the Pokémon fandom was not the sole or first inventors of the term "shipping'" in this sense, as is sometimes claimed; regardless of that, it may well have played a key role in the development of the term as is known today, by separately developing and popularising it. A newsgroup is a repository usually within the Usenet system, for messages posted from many users at different locations. ... The X-Files is an American Peabody and Emmy Award-winning science fiction television series created by Chris Carter, which first aired on September 10, 1993, and ended on May 19, 2002. ...

Notation and terminology

"Ship" and its derivatives in this context have since then come to be in wide and versatile use. "Shipping" refers to the whole phenomenon; a "ship" is the concept of a fictional couple; to "ship" a couple means to have an affinity for it in one way or another; a "shipper" is somebody significantly involved with such an affinity, "shippy" refers to the romantic quality of a certain work, and so forth. Anime's that have strongly implied shipping possibilities tend to be more popular then anime without them, and often there are different types of romance that boosts shippings. (For example, Love triangles or Love-hate relationships.) A love triangle is a romantic relationship involving three people. ... A love-hate relationship is a personal relationship between humans or organizations, or figuratively between a human and an inanimate object, like a computer, a field of study, a body of ideas, or a profession, involving simultaneous or alternating emotions of love and enmity. ...

Various naming conventions have developed in different online communities to refer to prospective couples, probably due to the ambiguity and cumbersomeness of the "Frick and Frack" format. The most widespread appears to be putting the slash character (/) between the two names ("Frick/Frack"). Other methods include

• using the letter X in place of the slash ("FrickxFrack")
• putting characters' names in CamelCase ("FrickFrack")
• abbreviating both names (usually taking only the first letter of each, with additional letters used if necessary to avoid two or more couples in the same fandom sharing a name) ("Fri/Fra")
• using the initials of either the characters' first names or their full names ("FF" or "FAFB")
• forming a portmanteau from the names of the two participants (e.g., "FooBar", when the names of the characters are "Foolhardy" and "Barbecue"); this is common mostly within fan communities of anime in emulation of the naming conventions for couples used in the equivalent Japanese fandoms, such as Taang (Toph/Aang) and Zutara (Zuko/Katara) from the anime-inspired cartoon, Avatar: The Last Airbender. In anime/manga communities, shipping is more commonly referred to as 'pairing' or 'pairings.' Another example is the 'Sparrabeth' shipping in Pirates of the Carribbean, made up from Jack Sparrow and Elizabeth.
• forming a portmanteau from the name[s] of the participants and the type of relationship in which they are engaging (e.g., "Wincest," referring to the incestuous pairing of the Winchester brothers Dean and Sam from the show Supernatural (TV series))
• these portmanteaus are also used when the names of people involved in a pairing have the same letter. (eg: Larxel. A portmanteau of "Larxene" and "Axel", two characters in Kingdom Hearts fandom.)

Portmanteaus are especially popular among soap opera fans, who use them to describe existing couples, as well as couples that they would like to see together, or that they feel should reunite. As an example, the letters columns in the magazine Soap Opera Weekly used the following portmanteaus over the course of a month (October 2007): "Jefeva" (Jeffrey/Reva, Guiding Light), "Lusty" (Lucy/Dusty, As the World Turns), "Zendall" (Zach/Kendall, All My Children), "Nuke" (Noah/Luke, As the World Turns) and "Liason" (Jason/Elizabeth, General Hospital). ^[1] This article does not cite any references or sources. ... A portmanteau (IPA: ) is a word or morpheme that fuses two or more words or word parts to give a combined or loaded meaning. ... Animé redirects here. ... A portmanteau (IPA: ) is a word or morpheme that fuses two or more words or word parts to give a combined or loaded meaning. ... This article is about the US TV series. ... This article contains information on the first Kingdom Hearts video game. ... The first TIME cover devoted to soap operas: Dated January 12, 1976, Bill Hayes and Susan Seaforth Hayes of Days of our Lives are featured with the headline Soap Operas: Sex and suffering in the afternoon. A soap opera is an ongoing, episodic work of fiction, usually broadcast on television... Soap Opera Weekly is a soap magazine which features soap operas and soap stars. ... Guiding Light (known as The Guiding Light prior to 1975, GL) is an American television program credited by the Guinness Book of World Records as being the longest-running soap opera in production and the longest running drama in television history. ... As the World Turns (ATWT) is the second longest-running American television soap opera (the first being Guiding Light),[1] airing each weekday on CBS Daytime. ... All My Children (AMC) is a popular American soap opera that has been broadcast Monday through Friday on the ABC TV network since January 5, 1970. ... For other uses, see General Hospital (disambiguation). ...

Under the right circumstances, fandoms tend to evolve unique trends in their shipping notation. The Pokémon, Harry Potter and Yu-Gi-Oh! (Example: Prideshipping (Seto x Yami), Puzzleshipping (Yami x Yuugi), Tendershipping (Yami no Bakura x Ryou), Bronzeshipping (Yami Malik x Malik), Thiefshipping (Yami no Bakura x Malik), Euroshipping (Seto x Ryou), Pokéshipping (Ash x Misty) etc.) fandoms have specific semi-descriptive names corresponding with their ships (the Harry Potter fandom has taken this a step forward and uses puns on the naval ship/fandom ship linguistic duality in the form of "HMS foobar"). Serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump Shonen Jump BANZAI! Shonen Jump Comics House Original run 1996 – March 2004 Volumes 38 volumes, with 343 total chapters TV anime: Yu-Gi-Oh! Director Various Studio Toei Animation Network TV Asahi Original run April 4, 1998 – October 10, 1998 Episodes 27 TV anime: Yu... HBMS redirects here. ...

The Saiyuki fandom has a system by which each of the main characters is assigned a number corresponding with their name (San from Sanzo means 3 in Japanese. Go from Gojyo is 5. Hakkai is similar to Hachi, 8. And since Go is already taken, Ku from Goku (Saiyuki) is 9) and a ship could be referred to as "3X9" or "5X8", or "38" or "59", for example. A similar notation system is in use among Gundam Wing yaoi enthusiasts and when shipping members of Organization XIII from the Kingdom Hearts series of video games. Serialized in G-Fantasy Original run 1997 – 2002 Volumes 9 OVA: Saiyuki Director Takashi Sogabe Studio Tokyo Kids Episodes 2 Released April 23, 1999 August 27, 1999 TV anime: Saiyuki Director Hayato Date Studio Studio Pierrot Network TV Tokyo Original run 4 April 2000 – 27 March 2001 Episodes 50 Movie... Xuanzang The four heroes of Journey to the West, Xuánzàng on the second from the left, riding on the white horse. ... New Mobile Report Gundam W (also known as Mobile Suit Gundam Wing) is a televised Anime series, which ran for 49 episodes beginning in 1995. ... Cover of Selfish Love by Naduki Koujima. ... The members of Organization XIII in the image are, from left to right, Xigbar, Demyx, Luxord, Saïx, Xaldin, Xemnas, Axel, Marluxia, Larxene, Lexaeus, Zexion, and Vexen. ... This article contains information on the first Kingdom Hearts video game. ...

Non-conventional ships

Though they certainly tend to be the most commonly encountered, heterosexual relationships are not the be-all and end-all of shipping. The most prominent example of this is the wide support of homosexual relationships (also known as "slash" or the borrowed Japanese terms yaoi, male homosexuality, and Yuri, female homosexuality), with stories of male homosexuality, thanks to their large female fanbase, being by far the most prominent. There are even online groups affiliated with romance that is considered taboo by many, such as incest. In some cases there are even triads involving three people who love each other. Since its coinage, the word homosexuality has acquired multiple meanings. ... Slash fiction is a genre of fan fiction. ... Cover of Selfish Love by Naduki Koujima. ... Dealing with the romance between an average blonde and a stately brunette at a girls boarding school, Shiroi Heya no Futari, the first yuri manga,[1] established archetypes that can be seen even in yuri works of recent years. ... This article is about cultural prohibitions in general, for other uses, see Taboo (disambiguation). ... Incest is defined as sexual intercourse or any form of sexual activity between closely related persons, especially within the nuclear family. ... A Triad is a three way relationship. ...

The term "Slash" itself predates the use of "shipping" by at least some 20 years. It was originally coined as a term to describe Kirk/Spock (or "K/S"; sometimes spoken "Kirk-slash-Spock", whence "Slash") homosexual fan fiction, which has been a mainstay of a segment of Star Trek fandom since the early 1970s. For a time in the late 1970s and early 1980s, both "K/S" and "Slash" were used to describe such fan fiction, regardless of whether or not they were related to Star Trek. But as homosexuality became more accepted in society, so too did the terms lose their derogatory connotation. "K/S" eventually fell out of use altogether, but "Slash" became a universal term to describe all homosexual themed fan works. In the science fiction TV series Star Trek (1966-1969), the characters of Captain James T. Kirk and his Vulcan science officer Mr. ... Fan fiction (also spelled fanfiction and commonly abbreviated to fanfic) is fiction written by people who enjoy a film, novel, television show or other media work, using the characters and situations developed in it and developing new plots in which to use these characters. ... This article is about the entire Star Trek franchise. ...

Parallel to this development, the term "Slash" was also being used in some fandoms to denote fan fiction or other fan works depicting sexual acts with an implied rating of NC-17, whether homosexual or heterosexual. It is likely that this is the same "Slash" term born of the Star Trek fandom, but adapted to the pornographic focus that commonly dominates fanfiction and fan works in the Kirk/Spock ship, as well as the ships of other homosexual couples, allowing the use of the term to spread to heterosexual ships. However, this use of the term has now become largely archaic due to the standardization of terminology by large fandom sites such as fanfiction.net. The MPAA film rating system is a system used in the United States and instituted by the Motion Picture Association of America to rate a movie based on its content. ... James Kirk redirects here. ... This article is about the Star Trek character. ...

Fan works

In fan fiction circles, authors often let their shipping tendencies influence their work and espouse a certain romantic pairing between two particular characters in their fiction; in fact, the pairings found within are considered such a defining factor that story summaries in fiction archives often notify the potential reader of them while neglecting other important features. The extremity of this phenomenon can be found in certain sections of the fanfiction archive fanfiction.net, and many other fan fiction archives, where fanfiction is searchable by rating, length, genre, date, language, and "pairing". While this in part reflects an emphasis on shipping by many fan fiction authors, it is also considered a useful service to those readers who only wish to read about certain pairings (or conversely, wish to avoid reading about pairings they dislike). Fan fiction (also spelled fanfiction and commonly abbreviated to fanfic) is fiction written by people who enjoy a film, novel, television show or other media work, using the characters and situations developed in it and developing new plots in which to use these characters. ...

To a lesser degree, this influence still exists in other fan works. Since fan art, for example, is by nature more focused on a particular scene or character(s) and allows for less flexibility in terms of theme integration, it is usually either without shipping influence at all or wholly a tribute to a certain pairing. Fan art or fanart is artwork that is based on a character, costume, item, or story that was created by someone other than the artist. ...

Example cases of shipping-conflicted fandoms

Harry Potter fandom

The Harry Potter series generated ship debates with supporters of the prospective relationship between Harry Potter and his close female friend Hermione Granger at odds with supporters of Hermione winding up instead with Ron Weasley, close friend of both. Fans also considered the possibility of Harry ending up with Ginny Weasley, Ron's younger sister, whose obvious crush on him served as a comical plotline starting in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and apparently subsiding in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, where Hermione informs Harry that Ginny has "given up" on him. Harry James Potter is a fictional character and the main protagonist of J. K. Rowlings Harry Potter series of fantasy books. ... Hermione Jean Granger (first name pronounced ) is a fictional character in J.K. Rowlings Harry Potter series. ... Ronald Bilius Ron Weasley is a fictional character in the Harry Potter book series written by J. K. Rowling. ... Ginevra Molly Ginny Weasley is a fictional character in the Harry Potter book series written by J. K. Rowling. ... “HP2” redirects here. ... OotP redirects here. ...

The resolution did not come until 2005, with the release of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. The book contained a prominent sub-plot in which Harry develops a crush on the previously-pining Ginny, convinced that he has missed his opportunity with her. In the end Ginny turns out to never have given up on Harry after all, but merely taken Hermione's advice to try and date other boys to boost her self-confidence and be more like herself around him. Though their romantic relationship becomes one of the few sources of comfort in Harry's difficult life, he makes a bold decision to break it apart for fear that Voldemort would learn of it and target Ginny. Rowling later commented that she had planned Ginny as Harry's "ideal girl" from the very beginning. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, released on July 16, 2005, is the sixth of seven novels in J.K. Rowlings popular Harry Potter series. ... Look up genuine in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Lord Voldemort (born c. ...

The effect of this turnout was dramatically amplified by an interview with J.K. Rowling conducted by fansite webmasters Emerson Spartz (MuggleNet) and Melissa Anelli (The Leaky Cauldron) shortly after the book's release. During the interview Spartz commented that Harry/Hermione shippers were "delusional", to which Rowling chuckled, though making it clear that she did not share the sentiment and that the Harry/Hermione fans were "still valued members of her readership". This incident resulted in an uproar among Harry/Hermione shippers, some of whom announced that they would return their copies of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and boycott future Harry Potter books, leveling criticism at Spartz, Anelli, and Rowling herself. Many of them complained that both sites had a Ron/Hermione bias and criticized Rowling for not including a representative of their community, as a way to avoid difficult questions. The uproar was loud enough to merit an article in the San Francisco Chronicle^[2]. Front page MuggleNet is a commercial Harry Potter fansite founded by Emerson Spartz. ... For the location in the Harry Potter novels, see Diagon Alley. ... A delusion is commonly defined as a false belief, and is used in everyday language to describe a belief that is either false, fanciful or derived from deception. ... Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, released on July 16, 2005, is the sixth of seven novels in J.K. Rowlings popular Harry Potter series. ... Todays San Francisco Chronicle was founded in 1865 as The Daily Dramatic Chronicle by teenage brothers Charles de Young and Michael H. de Young. ...

Rowling's attitude towards the shipping phenomenon has varied between amused and bewildered to frustrated, as she revealed in that interview. She explained:^[3]

In a later posting on MuggleNet, Spartz explained:^[4]

Rowling has continued to make references, less humorous and more, to the severity of the shipper conflicts. In one instance she has joked about trying to think of ways of proving to Emerson, when inviting him for the aforementioned interview, that it was really her and not "some angry Harry/Hermione shipper trying to lure him down a dark alleyway" ^[5]; In another, she has described her impression of the Harry Potter fandom's shipping debates as "cyber gang warfare".^[6]

The release of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" in July 2007 saw an epilogue, nineteen years after the events at the focus of the series, where Harry and Ginny are married and have three kids, Lily, James, and Albus Severus, and Ron and Hermione are also married and have two children, Rose and Hugo. Shippers often pair Rose up with Draco Malfoy's son, Scorpius, as a way to unite Pure-bloods and Muggle-borns. “HP7” redirects here. ...

Xena: Warrior Princess fandom

The Xena: Warrior Princess fandom saw often nasty "shipping wars" that turned especially intense due to spillover from real-life debates about same-sex sexuality and gay rights. Xena. ... The word homosexuality has acquired multiple meanings over time. ... The gay rights movement is a collection of loosely aligned civil rights groups, human rights groups, support groups and political activists seeking acceptance, tolerance and equality for non-heterosexual, (homosexual, bisexual), and transgender people - despite the fact that it is typically referred to as the gay rights movement, members also...

Shortly after the 1995 debut of the action/fantasy series about a woman warrior seeking redemption for a dark past, fans started discussing the possibility of a relationship between Xena and her sidekick and best friend Gabrielle. Toward the end of the first season, the show's producers began to play to this perception by deliberately inserting usually humorous lesbian innuendo into some episodes. The show acquired a cult following in the lesbian community. However, Xena had a number of male love interests as well, and from the first season she had an adversarial but sexually charged dynamic with Ares, the God of War, who frequently tried to win her over as his "Warrior Queen." For the television show, see Xena: Warrior Princess. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Ares, God of War: a character on the television shows Xena: Warrior Princess and Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, played by Kevin Smith. ...

In a 10-year retrospective of the show in Salon.com, journalist Cathy Young wrote:[7] Salon. ...

In 2000, during the airing of the controversial fifth season, the intensity and sometimes nastiness of the "shipping wars" in the Xena fandom was chronicled (from a non-subtexter's point of view) by Australian artist Nancy Lorenz in an article titled "The Discrimination in the Xenaverse" in the online Xenaverse magazine Whoosh![8], and also in numerous letters in response.[9]

The wars did not abate after the series came to an end in 2001. With no new material from the show itself, the debates have been fueled by often contradictory statements from the cast and staff. In January 2003, Lucy Lawless, the star of Xena: Warrior Princess, told Lesbian News magazine that after watching the series finale (in which Gabrielle revived Xena with a mouth-to-mouth water transfer filmed to look like a full kiss) she had come to believe that Xena and Gabrielle's relationship was "definitely gay."[10]. However, in the interviews and commentaries on the DVD sets released in 2003-2005, the actors, writers and producers continued to stress the ambiguity of the relationship, and in several interviews both Lawless and Renee O'Connor, who played Gabrielle, spoke of Ares as a principal love interest for Xena. In the interview for the Season 6 episode "Coming Home", O'Connor commented, "If there was ever going to be one man in Xena's life, it would be Ares." Lucy Lawless (born Lucille Frances Ryan on March 29, 1968 in Mount Albert) is a New Zealand actress and singer best known for her role as Xena on the television series Xena: Warrior Princess from 1995 to 2001. ... Xena. ... Renee OConnor as Gabrielle in Xena. ...

In March 2005, one-time Xena screenwriter Katherine Fugate, an outspoken supporter of the Xena/Gabrielle pairing, posted a statement on her website appealing for tolerance in the fandom:[11] Katherine Fugate (b. ...

References

1. ^ "Public Opinion/Mail Call", Soap Opera Weekly, published by Primedia Enthusiast Media. Issues dated: October 2, 2007 ("Jefeva"); October 9, 2007 ("Lusty"); October 16, 2007 ("Zendall", "Nuke"); October 30, 2007 ("Zendall", "JaSam").

• "Meeting Melissa and Emerson" from J.K. Rowling's Official Site
• "If you're an obsessed Harry Potter fan, Voldemort isn't the problem. It's Hermione versus Ginny." from the San Francisco Chronicle online

Soap Opera Weekly is a soap magazine which features soap operas and soap stars. ...

External links

• The Shipper's Manifesto - A LiveJournal community that documents multi-fandom shipping essays.
• ShipWar - A LiveJournal community which parodies the ship debates.
• A Call to End The Shipping Wars - An essay on Mugglenet.
• Masterlist of Ship Essays - A collection of Harry Potter shipping essays.
• "Creating a Pocket Universe: 'Shippers', fan fiction and The X-Files online", essay by Christine Scodari and Jenna L. Felder on the "shipper" debate within The X-Files community during the 1990s and how fans' reading of the show differs from that of the creators