Chapter Text
This Year Lists
Within the AO3 Ship Stats "This Year" data series, the balance of relationship types has shifted significantly over time. M/M relationships peaked at 71% in 2020, and have since fallen significantly to 56% despite a second peak at 64% in 2024. Gen relationships increased from the 5-9% range to 22% in 2021 and, although they have never equaled that year's peak, they remain a far more significant part of the data than they were previously. F/M relationships, initially 19% of the data, dropped to a low of 11% in 2022-24, although they have since recovered somewhat to 15%. Other relationships (those involving characters who are nonbinary or of ambiguous gender) have also increased significantly since their low in 2021 at 2%, peaking at 12% in 2025. F/F relationships remain broadly steady in the 3-8% range, and Poly relationships have never exceeded 1%.
The above graphs are different ways of displaying the same data.
| Year | M/M | F/M | F/F | Gen | Other | Poly |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 63 | 19 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 0 |
| 2017 | 64 | 18 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 0 |
| 2018 | 65 | 17.5 | 6.5 | 7.5 | 3.5 | 0 |
| 2019 | 66 | 17 | 5 | 9 | 3 | 0 |
| 2020 | 71 | 15 | 3 | 8 | 3 | 0 |
| 2021 | 60 | 12 | 3 | 22 | 2 | 1 |
| 2022 | 56 | 11 | 6 | 20 | 6 | 1 |
| 2023 | 58 | 11 | 8 | 18 | 5 | 0 |
| 2024 | 64 | 11 | 5 | 12 | 8 | 0 |
| 2025 | 56 | 13 | 6 | 13 | 12 | 0 |
| 2026 | 56 | 15 | 4 | 17 | 7 | 1 |
All Time Lists
The AO3 Ship Stats "All Time" data series is comparatively much slower-moving. M/M relationships dipped in 2016 to a low of 61%, remained stable in the 68-69% range from 2017-22, and then began to climb, currently at an all-time high of 74%. F/M relationships peaked at 26% in 2016 and have shown a steady downward trend ever since, currently at only 10%. Gen relationships climbed steadily from the beginning of the data, peaking in 2023 at 13% before dropping to 10%. Other relationships showed a brief spike to 5% in 2016, but have since fallen to a steady 1-3%, while F/F relationships have been steady in the 3-5% range. There has never been a Poly ship in the All Time Top 100 list.
The above graphs are different ways of displaying the same data.
| Year | M/M | F/M | F/F | Gen | Other | Poly |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 70 | 24 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2014 | 71 | 23 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 2015 | 65 | 25 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| 2016 | 61 | 26 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 0 |
| 2017 | 68 | 20 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 0 |
| 2018 | 68.5 | 19.5 | 3.5 | 5 | 3.5 | 0 |
| 2019 | 69 | 19 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 0 |
| 2020 | 68 | 19 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 0 |
| 2021 | 69 | 17 | 4 | 7 | 3 | 0 |
| 2022 | 69 | 15 | 4 | 11 | 1 | 0 |
| 2023 | 66 | 14 | 5 | 13 | 2 | 0 |
| 2024 | 70 | 11 | 5 | 12 | 2 | 0 |
| 2025 | 73 | 10 | 5 | 10 | 2 | 0 |
| 2026 | 74 | 10 | 4 | 10 | 2 | 0 |