Pairing

Pairings, often referred to informally as Ships in a romantic context, are personal relationships in fiction between two or more people together. Shipping is the act of supporting a romantic pairing or a relationship between two characters, but the term 'pairing' can be used to define any group of two people together in a generic sense irrelevant of shipping; for example, some fan artists describe two characters in an art piece without romantic/sexual undertones as a pairing depiction, though this usage has declined. There is also a term called One True Pairing (OTP) which is used to describe someone's most favorite pairing.
The show addressed the shipping community directly in the episode "Tweek x Craig", in which female students at the school began depicting two male child characters in a romantic relationship, leading to confusion from the main characters.
The shipping community has come under intense criticism in recent years, initially as part of the debate between Proshippers and Antis, and as a result of this discourse over extreme depictions has become associated by some in the fanbase with depictions of abuse and illegal acts, and is sometimes viewed as a form of sexual exploitation. These claims are subject to intense debate; nonetheless, the conflict between the two camps has led to some re-examining of shipping etiquette in the community.
==Types==
*Slash- The most popular of the pairings in the fanbase, the term is used for boy/boy or m/m pairings. 
**In Japanese terms, these would be Shounen-Ai, which is its softcore term (ex. Hugging, Kissing), and Yaoi, the hardcore term (ex. Sexual Acts). Fans use both the English terms and the Japanese terms, though the popularity of the terms have varied over time. It is the most popular subject in the fandom.
*Femslash- One of the least popular in the fanbase, the term is used for girl/girl or f/f pairings. 
**In Japanese terms, these would Shoujo-Ai (Softcore term) and Yuri (Hardcore term). The lack of popularity for this kind of pairings is likely due to the lack of the use of the show's female characters.
*Straight or Het- The name speaks for its self, the term is used for boy/girl or m/f pairings. This kind of pairings is not as popular as slash but it is more popular then femslash. It became somewhat more popular since The List.
*Crack Pairing - Crack Pairing is a term used to describe unlikely pairings or those with brief/little canon interaction. Crack pairings can either be slash, femslash, or straight. Crack pairings are usually popular for humor purposes but sometimes attract wider attention.
* Canon Pairings - These are pairings that either represented a canonical relationship in the series, or sometimes at least a canonical attraction. These pairings can either be slash, femslash, or straight.
* Ascended Fanon Pairing - These are pairings that were represented in fanfiction or fanart before they were later depicted or reference in the show; they were fanon but asceneded to canon status. These pairings can either be slash, femslash, or straight. 
* OC Pairing - Pairings that depict relationships between Original Characters and Canon Characters. These are listed here on a respective original characters' page and not on other pages.
*Crossover Pairing- Crossover pairings are used to describe pairings from two different shows. Like crack pairings, cross-over pairings can either be slash, femslash, or straight. Cross-over pairings are very rare to find in the fanbase.
*Joke Pairing - Pairings that are expressed in fandom as an attempt at humor regarding the shipping subculture but are not the subject of serious fanworks. They are often Cargo Ships, such as a character with a favorite object being referred to as a "ship".
* Trauma Pairing', sometimes referred to as Proships - Pairings that depict acts that would be considered traumatic or abuse, such as incest or adults with children. These are usually depicted only in a negative light for Hurt/Comfort purposes, though rare supportive examples do exist. We do not cover these at this wiki.
==Criticism==
Category:Terminology
Category:Shipping