i guess, a plea for empathy

i wish more kinho shippers would realize that for kittyuri shippers, this is more than just about shipping. it's the fact that we can't even try to enjoy a lighthearted romance series, in which both sides of our ship are canonically queer, without being exposed to violently homophobic speech.

cis m/f pairings don't get hit with bible quotes and threats — not in real life, not in fiction. gay pairings do, wlw especially. and you can say you're not personally homophobic. and that might be true. but what i need people to understand is that it's not about you as an individual. the number of kinho fans who say this kind of thing is not a negligible, tiny amount. you are in community with many of these people.

i need you to understand that even if you personally just really like kinho bc they're a cute ship, the show does not exist in a vacuum, and the fact that kinho shippers flood xo kitty videos or kittyuri edits with these kind of comments and/or do everything to put down kittyuri DOES reinforce homophobia. i just need people to understand that and allow themselves to be uncomfortable. we are all complicit in various structural inequalities, and i need ppl to understand that sometimes, you've got to let yourself sit with these realities, even if it makes you uncomfortable.

"but xo kitty is just a tv show." and many wlw, like me (a lesbian), can't even watch a tv show without being exposed to homophobia everywhere i look. "but xo kitty is my comfort show." i want it to be mine too. but i can't even say i enjoy kittyuri as a ship without a kinho fan telling me kinho is better bc (bible verse). this actually happened to me this week.

that's all i can really hope for. kinho shippers WILL get their ship, and i just really wish we could have a more honest discussion about it — that sure, you might ship it just bc they're cute, but for many — most, even — the fact that they're not a wlw ship is a factor. i just wish ppl could acknowledge that even if it makes them uncomfortable. the worst that shippers of a monoracial straight ship will get is just... petty shipping insults. it's not and never will be comparable to homophobia, which we can never avoid even when trying to enjoy a fun, fluffy tv show