“Shipping,” a term derived from the word “relationship,” refers to the desire among fans for certain characters in media to be romantically or otherwise involved, regardless of whether the original material intends this connection.
The term originated from “The X Files” (1993) with main characters Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson). The duo’s relationship started out strictly professional but later on evolved into a friendship and then romance.
Fans of the couple, who saw the potential for their relationship, referred to themselves as “relationshippers,” which was eventually shortened to “shippers.”
Ships often play a central role in the narrative of books, movies and television shows. Julia Platt, a senior studying English, discussed how potential character interactions engage audiences in the media.
“I think it gives you another reason to watch, and it makes it a little bit more entertaining, too,” Platt said. “I think that when you have something that you're waiting to happen or that you're excited about, it just makes it all the more interesting and kind of suspenseful.”
Shipping can encompass any type of relationship that is not just romantic. The characters in a ship may already have an established bond, as intended by the creators, or their chemistry may be subtle or open to interpretation by viewers.
The phenomenon is especially present in the TV show “The Bear” (2022), which is currently in production for its fourth season. Similar to “The X Files,” main characters Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) and Sydney (Ayo Edebiri) are also coworkers, but their relationship is purely platonic in the show.
“I do think that it's super like up in the air because they aren't actually romantically involved at all in the show,” Platt said. “They have a platonic relationship, they're just friends, but there's so much tension, and I feel like it depends on the person if you notice the tension or not.”
On social media, fans frequently debate the nature of Carmy and Sydney’s relationship. Like Platt, Ashlyn Sleesman, a senior studying political science, agrees that Sydney and Carmy have some romantic undertones.
“They go through lots of hardships together, and even though they aren't together technically, I like seeing their ups and downs; the struggles, but also the good points together,” Sleesman said.
Many of these ships and tropes are commonly found in fanfiction, where fans create their own unauthorized stories featuring characters from media they love. This allows fans the freedom to take creative liberty with the original source material and add additional depth and complexity to the preexisting plot.
The Harry Potter series is known for its fanfiction and outlandish ships. In fact, the original books sparked an entire fan-written prequel series called “All the Young Dudes” (2017) which follows James Potter, Harry’s dad, and his friends while they attended Hogwarts.
Many fans ship Remus Lupin and Sirius Black, two supporting characters from the books and movies. Their relationship has been further explored through fan creations and has even evolved into a romance.
Maddie Erwin, a junior studying hearing, speech and language sciences, discussed the lack of LGBTQIA+ couples in media and how fans often create ships like Lupin and Black to advocate for more representation.
“I feel like all the time, I'm seeing people ship two women or two men that aren't even in the same episode together or anything, just because they're so desperate to have something,” Erwin said.
Other examples of these ships include Kirk and Spock from “Star Trek” (1966), Tara and Willow from “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” (1999), Will and Mike from “Stranger Things” (2016), Casey and Izzie from “Atypical” (2017), Buck and Eddie from “9-1-1” (2018) and Jackie and Shauna from “Yellowjackets” (2021).
In many ways, shipping culture boosts both readership and viewership, attracting a new fanbase eager to support a particular couple.
“I think that especially with our generation, I would say less so for the older ones, but that the love for a couple or ship has transcended how much you are interested in the actual show,” Erwin said.
