Dead Dove: Do Not Eat

Dead Dove: Do Not Eat is a warning or tag that is used and interpreted in multiple different ways in different areas of fandom. The phrase comes from a meme referencing the 2003 Arrested Development episode "Top Banana", in which Michael Bluth opens a paper bag labelled "DEAD DOVE DO NOT EAT" and, upon discovering that there is a dead dove inside the bag, says, deadpan, "I don't know what I expected."I Don't Know What I Expected at Know Your Meme, 2 Oct 2013. Accessed March 2023.Tumblr gifset of the "Dead Dove" scene by thebluths, 24 Jun 2016. Accessed March 2023.
The tag was initially proposed in 2015 as a way to indicate that a fanwork depicts "tropes that might be viewed as problematic" without necessarily any subversion or condemnation of those tropes,A proposal, Tumblr post by mostlyvalid, 14 Apr 2015. Archived version from the Wayback Machine. but confusion over the intended meaning of the tag has led to varied interpretations and usage over the years since it was coined.QUERY, Tumblr discussion, 15 Jan 2018. Accessed March 2023. One common usage is to indicate simply that "this fic is clearly labelled and fully warned for, so if you open it you know what you are getting."Untitled Tumblr post by whatisthehydratrashparty, 29 Sep 2016. Archived version.Untitled Dreamwidth post by melannen, 17 Sep 2020. Archived version. More recently, it has also become common to treat "Dead Dove: Do Not Eat" as a content warning in and of itself, indicating that a fanwork contains particularly violent or dark tropes or concepts.Tweet by Woe_Dreamland, 8 Feb 2023. Accessed March 2023.
The originally proposed meaning of the tag remains in use alongside the newer interpretations,Tweet by MrMxLemons, 17 May 2022. Accessed March 2023. leading to significant confusion and debate among fan communities.
==Use of the Tag==
===Original Purpose===
The tag was proposed by Tumblr user mostlyvalid on 14 April, 2015 as a way to warn readers when a fanwork is intended to "roll around and wallow" in potentially problematic tropes, rather than "giving a measured evaluation of anything". At the time, a section of Captain America fandom had been using the tag Hydra Trash Party for this purpose since early 2014, and mostlyvalid proposed "Dead Dove: Do Not Eat" as a fandom-agnostic alternative:
Outside of fandom circles, references to "Dead Dove: Do Not Eat" had been happening as early as 2010, with UrbanDictionary giving this definition in 2012:
===Meaning Drift of the Tag===
Due to varied interpretations of mostlyvalid's post, different usages and explanations of the term began circling Tumblr as early as 2016. Particularly common was the interpretation that "Dead Dove: Do Not Eat" simply means a reader should pay close attention to the fanwork's other tags, because they accurately describe the work's content:
By 2020, fans were also interpreting the tag to be a content warning in itself, and an indicator that a fanwork contained potentially upsetting tropes or concepts. This led to some fans treating "Dead Doves" as a category of content, and to confusion among people who interpreted the tag in other ways, as described by melannen in September 2020:
The comments on melannen's post indicate further confusion about the tag's meaning and usage. Some agreed with the interpretation that "Dead Dove" likely refers to potentially upsetting tropes or concepts:
Others interpreted it as being a warning about the tone of a given fanwork:
Still others interpreted it as something akin to AO3's Choose Not to Warn tag, as an indicator of unspecified potentially upsetting content:
User satsuma further highlighted the extent to which fans were confused and divided about the use of the tag:
===Continued Use of Older Meanings===
While understanding of the tag continued to fragment, something akin to the original intended meaning was still one of the many interpretations circulating in 2022:
As was the interpretation that the tag simply means a reader should pay close attention to the fanwork's other tags:
===Current Use of the Tag===
In February and March of 2023, an extensive series of discussions took place on Twitter regarding the meaning of “dead dove”. It became apparent that there are at least five meanings in common circulation:
# A tag used in conjunction with other tags not only to indicate “these tags are accurate” with the presumption that the other tags will be concepts or tropes that most people find unpleasant or upsetting, but also to serve as a warning to the reader that the concepts and tropes may or may not be subverted or condemned, thus requiring the reader to specifically opt-in to reading about them.Tweet by @N0nb1naryDemon, posted 2023-02-10. Accessed 2023-02-13.Tweet by @solarcat, posted 2023-02-10. Accessed 2023-02-13.Tweet by @thenerdybonbon, posted 2023-02-10. Accessed 2023-02-13.Tweet by @relenita1, posted 2023-02-10, quote-tweeting a tweet by @JenosonTwit, posted 2023-02-08. Accessed 2023-02-13.Tweet by @supermanboobies, posted 2023-02-12, quote-tweeting a tweet by @cl9udcunt, posted 2023-02-11. Accessed 2023-02-13.Tweet by @Bagel0001, posted 2023-02-09. Accessed 2023-02-13.Tweet by @DaringSteel, posted 2023-02-09. Accessed 2023-02-13.Tweet by @quills_eggs, posted 2023-02-08. Accessed 2023-03-11.Tweet by @KaosCryptid, posted 2023-02-08. Accessed 2023-03-10.Tweet by @sonocomics posted 2023-03-05. Accessed 2023-03-11.
# A tag indicating that the work engages with potentially upsetting content, but does not necessarily explicitly condemn any morally dubious actions that occur in the work.Tweet by @Yakarmi1, posted 2023-02-10. Accessed 2023-02-13.Tweet by @plumeriade, posted 2023-02-11. Accessed 2023-02-13.Tweet by @sugaryhaze, posted 2023-02-08. Accessed 2023-03-23. It does not require the use of other tags to specify what that content is. Crucially, this definition does not guarantee that the tropes/concepts are played straight, it just serves as a reminder to the reader that they might be. This definition stems from the section of mostlyvalid's proposal which explains that the tag would indicate that "there will not necessarily be any subversion, authorial commentary condemning problematic aspects, or meditation on potential harm" within the work, and is often conflated with the "problematic shipper" definition of "pro-shipper".
# Primarily focusing on the “what it says on the tin” aspect of mostlyvalid’s meaning, and applicable to any work, even those that do not contain graphic descriptions of opt-in concepts. This definition does not carry an implication of darkfic, nor does it indicate anything about how the author will approach the topics. This definition does require the use of other tags.Tweet by @asterdotash, posted 2023-02-10. Accessed 2023-02-13.Tweet by @mqrbles_ posted 2023-03-09. Accessed 2023-03-11.Tweet by @n1ghtm0th posted 2023-03-05. Accessed 2023-03-11.Tweet by @Synneffo posted 2023-03-06. Accessed 2023-03-11. Often the definition being decried as incorrect.Tweet by @lunarwriter75, posted 2023-02-08. Accessed 2023-03-11.Tweet by @ConnorRK_, posted 2023-03-04. Accessed 2023-03-11.Tweet by @LadyEmma91, replying to a screenshot of a now-deleted tweet from @milkywaystudio_, posted 2023-02-08. Accessed 2023-03-11.Tweet by @purity_culture, posted 2023-02-09. Accessed 20230-03-11.Tweet by @greyjedireylo, posted 2023-02-08. Accessed 2023-03-11.
# A non-specific standalone tag indicating that the concepts and tropes in the work might be unpleasant or upsetting, without further clarification about what those concepts and tropes might be; a synonym for darkfic.Tweet by @RA7KlNG, posted 2023-02-10. Accessed 2023-02-13.Tweet by @Tigerblab7, posted 2023-02-09. Accessed 2023-02-13.Tweet by @hadesselch, posted 2023-02-09. Accessed 2023-02-13.Tweet by @WalnutPapilio, posted 2023-02-09. Accessed 2023-02-13.Tweet by @AuntHortense, posted 2023-02-08. Accessed 2023-03-11.
# An indication that the fanwork contains heavy angst, rather than indicating any other kinds of potentially upsetting content.Tweet by @milkywaystudio_, posted 2023-02-07. Accessed 2023-02-13.Tweet by @fubroshi, posted 2023-02-09. Accessed 2023-02-13.Tweet by @cybrgrrrl, posted 2023-02-10. Accessed 2023-02-13.
==Use of "Dead Dove" as a content category==
melannen's 2020 post about the "Dead Dove: Do Not Eat" tag noted an emerging phenomenon of fans listing "Dead Dove" in their DNWs when submitting prompts to prompt memes. Some fans now consider "Dead Dove" to be a category of content in itself, encompassing tropes and concepts that might be upsetting to other fans. 
As an example of the kinds of content fan communities consider to be "Dead Doves", one Discord server in The Witcher fandom offers the following channels for discussion of "Dead Dove topics":
 
However there is no pan-fandom consensus on exactly what tropes or types of content are considered "Dead Doves". In other fan spaces the term is less explicitly defined; another fandom Discord server simply tells users that, "Dead dove is like... If you feel the average human might be disturbed? Then it's dead dove."From the #rules-and-about channel of the Our Flag Means Fuck Yes Discord server, 25 May 2022. Accessed March 2023 and reproduced with permission of the server owner, Tumblr user coffee_mage.
 
Confusion over what exactly constitutes "Dead Dove" content is exemplified by this exchange from r/FanFiction in January 2021:
Later in the same comment thread Korrin speculated that the variation in understanding of the term "Dead Dove" may be due to fans being unaware of the original intended meaning, and absorbing different ones through osmosis:
 
In March 2023 shinelikethunder commented on the apparent absurdity of the different interpretations of the meaning of "Dead Dove" in use in different fandoms and contexts:
Other fans have pointed out that the usage of "Dead Dove" as a category of content, without clarifying what content it encompasses, makes spaces more difficult to navigate for people avoiding triggers.https://twitter.com/muckkles/status/1481295489123471367https://twitter.com/oldasyouromens/status/1586907995774001153Tweet by @duskianfae, posted 2023-02-12. Accessed 2023-02-13.
==Dead Doves and Purity Culture==
Due to the continuing use of the "Dead Dove: Do Not Eat" tag by at least some fans to indicate fanworks that are intended to "roll around in tropes that might be viewed as problematic" without condemning problematic aspects of them, some fans have started conflating use of the term with the "problematic shipper" definition of "pro-shipper".Tweet by @SpiltGendrfluid, posted 2023-02-09. Accessed 2023-02-13.Tweet by @flrdlcrs_, posted 2023-02-09. Accessed 2023-03-10. Some discussion around "Dead Dove" as a tag or content warning is therefore similar to that surrounding Don't Like, Don't Read. 
In 2021, some writers of "Dead Dove" fic noted a resurgence of criticism against the genre, which some attributed to the rise of the "Fandom Police"/"Purity Culture" objecting to certain kinds of content existing at all, regardless of tagging. This argument often seemed to come from "older" fans, directed towards "younger" fans - although not always. For example: 
Another person on Dreamwidth felt the tag "missed the point", claiming it shouldn't warn about a dead dove in the fridge, but that it means there shouldn't be a dead dove in the fridge to begin with, aka "some things shouldn't be written at all":https://das-sporking2.dreamwidth.org/1759266.html?thread=44639522#cmt44639522 surgeworks on das_sporking, Ship It: Chapters 41 & 42
==Usage on the AO3==
On the Archive of Our Own, the number of works tagged "Dead Dove: Do Not Eat" has grown substantially:
* 274 works in September 2016
* 878 works in March 2018
* 1895 works in February 2019
* 3017 works in August 2019
* 8016 works in August 2020
* 13411 works in March 2021
* 21701 works in November 2021
* 33261 works in July 2022
* 48987 works in March 2023
* 65663 works in October 2023
The tag is used on works in a wide variety of fandoms, the most common including:
* Boku no Hero Academia
* Genshin Impact
* BTS RPF
* Harry Potter & Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
* The Marvel Cinematic Universe
* Star Wars Sequel Trilogy & Star Wars - All Media Types
It has also been used on almost 3000 original works.
In terms of warnings, as of March 2023 Rape/Non-Con is most-used, with almost 23,000 works. The vast majority of works are tagged as Explicit (35,000) with fewer than 400 tagged for General Audiences.
==See Also==
* A proposal, post by mostlyvalid on Tumblr, 14 April 2015
* by Destination: Toast!
* I Don't Know What I Expected at Know Your Meme
* Dead Dove: Do Not Eat tag on the AO3
* dead dove: do not eat tag on Tumblr
* Dead Dove: Do Not Eat tag on Squidgeworld
===Challenges===
*Kinktober 22: Dead Dove Chapter, a Kinktober with extra spice. (October 2022)
*Eat your heart out: Valentine's day Dead Dove fest (February 2022)
*Taekook Dead Dove Fest (January-March 2022)
*Dead Dove Bottom Aether Ship Week 2022 (September 2022)
*Roachmite's Tartali Dead Dove Ship Event (August 2022)
*Sapphic Dead Dove Week 2023 (2023)
*Dead Dove Genshin Week (August 2023)
*Bungo Stray Dogs Dead Dove Weekend (August 2023, January 2024)
==References==
Category:Arrested Development
Category:2003 Memes
Category:Art Memes