But/and... there's a movement in online fandom called the "antis", short for anti-shippers, and one of the things they do is to accuse of being a pedophile anyone who writes erotic fanfic about a relationship they disapprove of, or a relationship with people under 25, or a relationship with an age gap of any size. I've often seen them trot out the "people under 25 have unformed brains" factoid (as a fanfic writer I've fought with them a lot). Some of the particular phrases and phrasings the LW describe are very reminiscent of popular anti talking points. So I think it might be likely that that's where these friends are coming from.
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But/and... there's a movement in online fandom called the "antis", short for anti-shippers, and one of the things they do is to accuse of being a pedophile anyone who writes erotic fanfic about a relationship they disapprove of, or a relationship with people under 25, or a relationship with an age gap of any size. I've often seen them trot out the "people under 25 have unformed brains" factoid (as a fanfic writer I've fought with them a lot). Some of the particular phrases and phrasings the LW describe are very reminiscent of popular anti talking points. So I think it might be likely that that's where these friends are coming from.