I think it’s time to talk about the elephant in the room. Reddit has been since it’s creation a safeplace for animephobes. Animesexuals are harassed and made fun of on a daily basis. And animephobia is way more serious than what it looks like at first sight: what you think it’s just a silly meme about weebs can result extremely offensive and hurtful to a animesexual, many of us fall into depression due to the constant harassment. I’ve talked to people on Discord who had their IP leaked and their DMs full of messages telling them to suicide, just for expressing their love about a fictional character. I myself have received lots of hateful comments for my condition.

Plus, all animephobe “memes” have deep misogynist roots, a clear example of this is the No bitches?/get some bitches memes. Women aren’t bitches who we need to “get” (also, the hypocrisy of these people: they also have no “bitches”).

If you don’t believe what I say, go to any meme / shitposting subreddit and see it by your own eyes. Masked as humor animephobes spread their hateful agenda. Worst part of it is that _it’s normalized_ . The mods don’t even bother to stop it. Even in Anime related subreddits you are still seen as freak and made fun of for being sexually attracted to anime characters.

The problem is that lack of understanding and empathy. We are not 40 year old basement twats who never leave their parents houses, we are normal people. You don’t choose who you fall in love with, so why harass us for simply being born this way? Society needs to stop seeing people attracted to nonexistent characters as weirdos.

It’s something totally normal and natural. Some people like redheads, other like Asian women, etc… We like anime/manga characters. Got a problem with that? How is your life affected by someone simply enjoying their sexuality?

The solution is more visibility. People need to see that we are just common people, like everyone else, the stereotype of animesexuals being fat incels needs to go. Trans and gay people also had it very hard. But when they started to gain more visibility, people started to them as what they are: normal people. Of course, not all countries are like that and there’s still homophobic and transphobic bigots out there, but you get what I mean.

We need more recognition from the media and politicians, a place in pride marchs, laws against animephobia and talks in schools to make sure possible animesexual don’t feel like weirdos for not being like everyone else.

A society in wich everyone is free to love anyone, regardless of their race, religion, gender, being not real, disability, etc… Is possible. Love doesn’t care about if you are real or no. If you disagree with me, you are part of the problem.