Thoughts and reflections re: my fictosexuality

Fictosexuality and consumerism

From what I've seen, there are a lot of widely varying takes from both ficts and nonficts about the relationship of 2D love to a capitalist and consumerist society. On one hand, detractors often frame it as a supremely decadent act of consumption — call upon the long-surviving image of a willowy young man standing in a warmly-lit room covered floor to ceiling in anime merchandise, and you will understand the ethos of "old 2D love," a movement that was somehow both deeply philosophical and decidedly apolitical.

And it's not hard to understand this thought process — fiction in many senses is just like livestock. A story is raised to maturity, and then slaughtered by the critical eye for its creative or literary "meat." The relationship between character and reader is an inherently impersonal one that must masquerade as personal.

Of course, though, this doesn't mean that the act of enjoying fiction cannot be divorced from consumerism — it is still a genuine passion for many, just a passion that is often capitalized upon, in a society that ties the worth of things to how well they can be monetized.

On the other hand, advocates all throughout history have actually posited 2D love as an expressly anti-consumerist movement. Toru Honda's work states that capitalism has turned romantic love into another series of transactions, both real and figurative, and that this responsibility can be shirked by seeking the same emotional fulfillment elsewhere. In that sense, any transaction relating to 2D love, such as merchandise and media, is carried out solely for its emotional utility, rather than societal expectation. Ultimately however, this "old 2D love" mentality is often jaded and implicitly misogynistic.

So do I believe fictosexuality is an inherently consumerist construct?
To that I would have to answer, "not uniquely."