Something can be normalized but it doesn't mean people support it. The MxM and FxM manhwas normalize rape so much its hard to find one that doesnt have rape or some form of SA in it despite audience stating their disdain for it.. it's really ridiculous and confusing. Maybe it's the company or the editors cause sadly rape stories are popular or the fact that because it's fiction people tend to write their fantasies (which includes noncon for a lot of people)
Giving it attention IS supporting it, regardless if it's to lash out or praise the creator. I see lots of pricks who dive into problematic works claiming that they're just "hate-reading" but don't agree with it and they don't even realize they're the reason the author is even continuing with their shitfest- it's coz they are there, they give them the hype and sales that they need to survive in an already highly competitive market, and of course other desperate creators see how it's working for others so they pull that crap too, and now we consumers are left with explosive diarrheas to read instead.
Yupp, this may be just my opinion but these types stories won't ever go away and we got to stop trying to come into these space and turn them into something we prefer, because as you said creators will see it's popularity (cause attention is still attention despite it being negative) and will do the same. If we hype up and give more attention to spaces we like such as pur sunny days, daytime star, the guy i liked wasnt really a guy at all, eycthen there will be more out there
(I ACCIDENTALLY PRESSED SEND AS I WAS TYPING ANYWAY CONTINUING ON)
Literally the best way to combat this is to ignore/mind your business. Give the ones who like these their own space while we thrive and uplift the creators who like writing cute and while stories, there might be a bunch out there who haven't had the opportunity to publish cause the editor/their company doesn't see it as something that will be popular or profitable or it's very underrated and they eventually quit and stop writing
ALSO us pirates aren't giving them a cent can't imagine hate reading while literally giving them your money.. wild
Yeah, ignoring is the best course of action, but it's a bit tricky too coz it should be called out for being problematic. I think moderation is the key, like if the general consensus is already that majority of the readers don't like it, don't add anymore, let it wither away into nothingness at that point.
Also, we might not be giving them a cent by pirating, but majority of publicity that they are getting are actually from us, why do you think creators who do witch hunts on pirate sites don't get the same level of fame? For one it turns off some readers specially those who has attachment to certain scanlators, another thing is that their works are not available on these pirate sites, only those who actually paid have access and that's just not as big of an audience for them. Another thing, is that some readers who do read on pirate sites might end up liking their work so much that they'd still buy legit copies or merch to support these authors- me and my friends do that from time to time so I can attest.
I read a comment saying that the reason why the rape "plot" was pushed's coz it's so normalized in k-fandoms/stories? I read the raws for this work on a k-site before coz I wanted to see the author's note if there was one (none yet at that time), and so far the comments that I saw were also pissed off by the direction that the author went with. I could just be wrong coz I only used a translator app, and maybe they were using slangs, i dunno, but can anyone confirm if this is true? is that really what the market there demands? SA plotlines? just seems lazy and a complete waste of talent if so.