My Little Pony & Bronies: what's all the fuss about?

[leverhelven]

So I've just finished watching the documentary "Bronies: The Extremely Unexpected Adult Fans of My Little Pony", which is about... well, come on, read the title. :P

 

I got really curious about all the MLP craze (I was already curious before, but not that much) and decided to watch some episodes to see what the hubub is about. Well, I'm on episode 4 already and it still looks like an ordinary children's cartoon to me :mellow:

 

Don't get me wrong, I DO believe there's a logical reason for MLP to have such a huge adult fandome. What I'm trying to understand is WHY. Can any Brony tell me more about what makes the show so special and different? Maybe I'm too dull and haven't felt it yet... I'm honestly curious.

 

:)

[WhiteWolf]

Near as this fan can figure out, it harkens back to the really awesome cartoons of the 80s. It's a great show that isn't dumbed down, focuses on friendship and helping others, and has a few lessons courtesy of Twilight Sparkle's letters to Princess Celestia.

 

I will freely admit to having five MLP plushies. I'm missing Rainbow Dash. Yeah, I actually found Rarity.

[blowupthesun]

I watch the show with my nieces and nephew. If they want to watch TV or a movie, I try to convince them to watch something I can at least tolerate, and this would be one of my first choices. It's not too boring and it can be pretty entertaining and funny sometimes. I don't understand adults who watch movies/TV made for children by choice, without children. Honestly though, if I was going to, I would probably pick this show :)

 

I haven't seen the documentary, but my guess would be the characters/magical land they live in, combined with some type of mental and emotional problems.

 

Was the documentary any good? I'm a big fan of reality shows about crazy people, maybe I should watch it.

 

Edit: I should also point out that in my mind a Bronie is someone who believes they should have been born a cartoon pony and wishes Rainbow Dash was their girlfriend. Not trying to be mean to fans of the show

[Rune Valentine]

I think it has a lot to do with nostalgia. It's been around a really long time - I distinctly remember having a ton of MLP books as a kid. They don't show it here and I don't seek it out, but I think a lot of adults were fans of the show when they were kids and still enjoy it today :)

[Shelley]

I had two really good guy friends at college and one night we decided to have a movie night. Little did me and my roommate know we would spend the night watching my little pony episodes with the guys haha. We thought they were just goofing off, but then they started going on about the characters and naming them and talking about which ones liked or disliked and why. I didn't really know what to think of this. lol....I didn't find the episodes very exciting...the plot lines were rather bland. I think they were just into it due to the hype of it all. They kind of treated it as a joke, but behind it was there was this spark of genuine interest.

 

This documentary seems interesting. I'll have to look for it!

[Azurablue]

There's another possibility. Some people simply like cartoons. Any cartoons. They'll watch anything. From Dora the Explorer to explictly violent anime. Since I haven't actually seen the documentary, I can't exactly comment on it specifically, but I have seen others on different manic fans of this or that and there's sometimes just a pure and simple love from something that they enjoyed as a child or that they can identify with in some way. There can be all kinds of different psychological reasons, varying from lost childhood to things best not talked about in public forums.

 

Myself, I'm one of those who will watch almost anything animated. I've seen MLP and while I'm not a big fan of it (or the Care Bears), it has a basic good versus bad theme. Good things happen to good people (or ponies in this case). It's a simple message and something the world could use a lot more of. Maybe we need to get all the terrorists and dictators and corrupt politicians locked into a stadium somewhere and stream MLP and Care Bears at them 24/7 for a month or two. Maybe they'd all get the message and stop the killing and graft. :)

 

(I happen to be a Pokemanic. I've seen every Yu-Gi-Oh there is. I simply like animation in almost all its forms. My one line in the sand is Disney. Won't go near any of it with the exception of Fantasia.)

[Katsuokai]

I never watched the previous generations of MLP as a kid and have only watched the current generation, i.e. G4 also known as MLP:FiM. When I started watching the show some years ago, if my memory isn't tricking me here, I saw it on TV and had no better thing to do and thought, ''ugh, another Barbie-like show...'' but then, wow, I liked it and have been hooked ever since! The shows characters are very well developed, they got depth, the voice acting is amazing, the animation that's done in flash is flawless, the music is wonderful, I love it! At first one would think that a MLP cartoon would be poorly done and just one long commercial made into a TV series, but no, MLP:FiM is something more. It teaches values that are good for children and are a good reminder to us adults that we should be more accepting, open-minded and that we should care more about each other. The team behind MLP:FiM has really outdone themselves with this cartoon, I mean, flash animation is a cheap medium to animate with and the characters are mostly the same model used for every single pony, but still they managed to give each character unique animations, a very distinct personality, a good background story, etc. . The community is also awesome. Bronies around the world come together and create amazing art, music and animations, they do fundraisings for charities,... they have really developed a community unlike anything else I've seen before.

For someone that has never watched the show I suppose some good introductory episodes would be ''Lesson Zero'' and maybe ''Wonderbolts Academy'', they really portray some of these things that make this show unique and appealing to adults. The comics would also be a great start, they're somewhat darker than the TV series, but a lot of fun! :D Also, if you're really wondering why the show is so popular, here's a good article on the subject in Round Stable, a webpage featuring news, articles and reviews about MLP:FiM made by bronies. ;)

For me the show is appealing in every single aspect: the characters are fun and relatable, the animation is bright and aesthetically appealing, I enjoy listening to the music and the remixes made by the fans,... the storyline is very entertaining. I'm a true Brony, I embrace being it, but I don't force people to watch the show and I respect that not everyone might like the franchise, but I do think that many people out there would think about MLP:FiM and us bronies differently if they took the time to watch the show and/or interact with us fans. :) I'm a fan of many things and I'm part of many communities, among other things I'm a nerd, an otaku, a brony, a gamer... I'm also part of the GLTBQ+ community (I've already mentioned once on this forum that I'm pansexual) and I truly want this world to become a better place; a world in which everyone, regardless of gender, race, believes, interests, etc. should be able to live in together in peace and harmony. For me, MLP:FiM is a good representation of these values, that even though everyone is different, if we put in a little effort we can make this place a better world, we can strengthen our communities, live in harmony with one another and all be happy with our lives. I fail to see who I harm for liking MLP:FiM, who I harm for being an adult male that plays Neopets, who I harm for being pansexual and believe that everyone has the right to live in peace and be treated equally. Well, I actually do understand why so many people hate us: it's all these outdated social norms and believes that everyone who doesn't fit into what's considered ''normal'' during a certain time in a certain place must be insane or a danger to society. That's really sad and it's the very reason why so many people face prejudice in their everyday lives, that they're even discriminated to the point that many consider suicide as the best way out and some even go ahead and kill themselves. It's so very depressing that so many persons just doesn't seem able to accept that, hey, everyone is different and that isn't a bad thing! Some people like the colour blue, others the colour red, others like to wake up early while others like to stay up all night, some like pop music while others like rock music... I could go on and on with examples and my point would always be the same: being different, liking things that others don't like is as little harmful as liking the colour red while your best friend or neighbour might like the colours blue and black. ;)

I had two really good guy friends at college and one night we decided to have a movie night. Little did me and my roommate know we would spend the night watching my little pony episodes with the guys haha. We thought they were just goofing off, but then they started going on about the characters and naming them and talking about which ones liked or disliked and why. I didn't really know what to think of this. lol....I didn't find the episodes very exciting...the plot lines were rather bland. I think they were just into it due to the hype of it all. They kind of treated it as a joke, but behind it was there was this spark of genuine interest.

 

This documentary seems interesting. I'll have to look for it!

/haha I can really relate to that (that they treated it like a joke although they really had a genuine interest for the show), although I don't have any friends that are bronies. My best friend joke with me about how I like MLP:FiM sometimes showing me memes or videos that are simply hilarious that are actually made by bronies as ''inside jokes''. Most dudes (and I suppose many girls too) like to joke about their interests, we can joke about anything, it's simply our way to approach these things, even more so if what you like is something you could be made fun of. It's always better to be able to laugh at oneself than to be dragged down by hurtful comments from other people. Even my mom joke with me about it, but she does accept that I like the show and she even sympathize with Twilight Sparkle after showing her some videos. :P The show is truly engaging, the characters are fun and you can just sit back and relax while watching these colourful ponies and their antics. One thing I think is so great about MLP:FiM is to see many of the winks to us bronies from the animators and writers of the show; they're just brilliant! :D They really manage to put a smile on my face with their hilarious references and jokes... like dedicating a character to Weird Al Yankovic, having John de Lanice voice one of the villains, having Slendermane (Slenderman) appear in the background of one episode,... and that's fantastic taking into account that this show could just have been a dull attempt at reviving a toyline from the 80's that pretty much none of us guys would have liked to watch (or even dared to watch) if it weren't for the brilliant work of the staff behind MLP:FiM. :P

I decided to look up that documentary and watch it (here's a link), it was quite good, maybe a bit old (from 2012), but sure fun to see some notorious faces within the community when they first started out. :P There's another documentary that is more recent that you can watch here (although I haven't watched it yet) and are about to have a second part released soon. I was gonna watch it once I catched up with my backlog of viewing material, lol but I think that I might watch it later today instead of putting it back to my endless ''watch later'' list on youtube.

Well, that was a long post. I hope I could make some of you understand why we bronies like MLP:FiM so much. :)

Love and tolerance, fellow Neopians and Bronies! /)

[Shelley]

Katsuokai, maybe I have to give MLP another chance xD I mean it was really late at night when I watched it plus my roommate and I weren't really paying much attention haha. I actually had no idea that it had been around so long, I thought it was a rather new cartoon. I did like the style of animation, the way everything was drawn and styled. Plus all the pretty colors xD oh! and I love weird al, I didn't know there was a character dedicated to him, that's too funny! I don't think I'll ever really get into MLP but I have my own interests that might be out of the ordinary for someone my age. Maybe uhh neo? haha. But I think we all do.

 

Thank a bunch for posting links to the videos! I'll make sure to make time to watch them :)

[lizzyjane101]

Love and tolerance, fellow Neopians and Bronies! /)

 

/applause

Fantastic. I was talking to my friend a few weeks ago and I casually mentioned that I was a brony (have been since season one). She was shocked because in her world brony was synonymous with d-bag. She told me that if I said that on the internet I'd be virtually lynched and that 'brony' was only used to refer to the complete [insert preferred foul language here] that come from the fandom. I was, of course, confused by this. I think it's incredibly unfortunate that we have so many maniacs in our fandom, however I am somewhat disturbed by the references throughout this thread to:

 

There can be all kinds of different psychological reasons, varying from lost childhood to things best not talked about in public forums.

 

and

 

 

... mental and emotional problems.

 

Was the documentary any good? I'm a big fan of reality shows about crazy people, maybe I should watch it.

 

Edit: I should also point out that in my mind a Bronie is someone who believes they should have been born a cartoon pony and wishes Rainbow Dash was their girlfriend. Not trying to be mean to fans of the show

 

Okay, I know you probably mean well, but that's not what a brony is. Do you think all Whovians believe the Doctor is real? Do you think all Potterheads believe in magic? We do not have mental and emotional problems. I don't suffer from a lost childhood and I've never been assaulted, it that's what you're trying to imply. I'm trying not to be offended, because I can see you're just curious, but we're essentially the same as fans of all the normal stuff. We're not crazy, we don't have issues, and maybe, just maybe, we like FIM because it's awesome. Not because of mental problems.

[Katsuokai]

Katsuokai, maybe I have to give MLP another chance xD I mean it was really late at night when I watched it plus my roommate and I weren't really paying much attention haha. I actually had no idea that it had been around so long, I thought it was a rather new cartoon. I did like the style of animation, the way everything was drawn and styled. Plus all the pretty colors xD oh! and I love weird al, I didn't know there was a character dedicated to him, that's too funny! I don't think I'll ever really get into MLP but I have my own interests that might be out of the ordinary for someone my age. Maybe uhh neo? haha. But I think we all do.

 

Thank a bunch for posting links to the videos! I'll make sure to make time to watch them :)

Yeah, the show has been around since October 10, 2010... so the show isn't really ''new'', but I suppose that our ever growing fanbase is making even more people notice us now, thus making this a hot topic to discuss. :P People don't understand that adults, more so how even adult men without children can love to watch a show that centers around colourful ponies. It's pretty sad that liking things that are considered ''feminine'' still carries so much stigma. Is it really such a bad thing that I'm kind towards other people and that I express my feelings? It's really sad that the world still thinks that a ''real man'' shouldn't do that and it's the very proof that we still have such a long way to go until we reach true equality between all genders.

 

Good the links are of use! Even if you don't end up liking the show I appreciate that you're giving it a second chance. ;) I also think that most people have some interests that might be out of the ordinary for someone their age, it's just that they simply don't dare to admit it. At least we here at TDNF know the joys of playing with virtual pets and being honest about who we are. :P /haha Oh, also if you like Weird Al I suppose a better introductory episode would be ''Pinkie Pride''; pretty much the entire episode is dedicated to him;... he is the voice actor of the character that's supposed to represent him and he even sings throughout the episode!!! It was simply too much greatness contained in a single episode. :D I really hope they make him come back next season, cause I would love to see Cheese Sandwich again! :) I still have a few episodes left to watch of the current season (real life got in the way), but I'm already excited for the next season. :P

 

 

/applause

Fantastic. I was talking to my friend a few weeks ago and I casually mentioned that I was a brony (have been since season one). She was shocked because in her world brony was synonymous with d-bag. She told me that if I said that on the internet I'd be virtually lynched and that 'brony' was only used to refer to the complete [insert preferred foul language here] that come from the fandom. I was, of course, confused by this. I think it's incredibly unfortunate that we have so many maniacs in our fandom, however I am somewhat disturbed by the references throughout this thread to:

 

and

 

 

Okay, I know you probably mean well, but that's not what a brony is. Do you think all Whovians believe the Doctor is real? Do you think all Potterheads believe in magic? We do not have mental and emotional problems. I don't suffer from a lost childhood and I've never been assaulted, it that's what you're trying to imply. I'm trying not to be offended, because I can see you're just curious, but we're essentially the same as fans of all the normal stuff. We're not crazy, we don't have issues, and maybe, just maybe, we like FIM because it's awesome. Not because of mental problems.

I have also watched the series since season one and I have seen this community of ours developing, growing stronger and building something amazing. ;) Sadly, as what happens with every single fandom out there, there will be trolls that harass us and also bronies that doesn't seem to get the ''love and tolerate'' part at all. I can respect and tolerate everyone, as long as they respect me and let me live my life in peace. That is something everyone should take to heart and apply in their everyday lives. One does not need to have mental health issues to like something, even if it's talking colourful ponies or Neopets... and even if someone where to have e.g. crippling anxiety problems, what would be wrong about watching cartoons to cheer you up after an exhausting day? Watching MLP:FiM and playing Neopets doesn't mean that I don't care about my studies and my future, it's simply something I enjoy, it's something that cheers me up and makes me relax. I can't see anything bad about it. Would it be better that instead of playing Neopets and watching MLP:FiM I would go to a pub (or nearest park) and drink till I almost pass out? Cause that's what I see almost everyone my age, both older and younger do and I don't think that can be healthy. I'm not implying that having a beer or two is harmful, but mind you, some social interactions surrounding it can be harmful and even annoying for everyone that has to deal with all the drunk people using the street as a public toilet. ¬¬;

 

Most bronies are quite educated individuals that simply like the show, they're not ''creeps'' that dwells in their parents' basement using ponies as an excuse to prey on children. Since we're bringing up this issue on a Neopet-related forum, do some of you people reading this believe that the adults that visit this very forum are ''creeps''? Cause we're not creeps, we like Neopets, some of us like MLP:FiM, others like Doctor Who and others enjoy spending their free time playing Pokemon. It may seem ''immature'' for someone that have never been in a fandom in their entire life, but we enjoy it and it doesn't prevent us from being productive individuals. I'm a student and a brony, not a ''creep'' that sends ''questionable'' images to the show's creators... .

 

There will always be good and bad fans. Among the ''good'' fans we have those that simply enjoy watching/reading/listening/playing/doing whatever their fandom is dedicated to, some of them might start to create art and music dedicated to their fandom while other fans like to write fanfics about how they want their OC to start dating Harry Potter or even a Pokemon. When it comes to the ''bad fans'', we have those that like to wreak havoc and harass everyone that might dislike their favourite character or simply aren't part of their fandom and some of them might even go as far as harassing the creators of the franchise they claim to love. That's just how things are, but I don't think this is any more of a problem within the MLP:FiM community than in any other fandom, or is it? At least I don't think this is as big as an issue as some claim it to be. I truly believe that there aren't many ''maniacs'' in our fandom, it's simply that some very vocal trolls have managed to become the focal point of our community (when it comes to how the ''outside world'' perceives us). It doesn't help that both bronies and non-bronies alike ''encourage'' them to continue trolling us instead of simply ignoring them. Remember: Don't feed the parasprites.

 

It's truly marvelous to see such a great community come together in a spirit of respect, tolerance and friendship, so I really hope we never let those few overly vocal trolls destroy the great community we have created. :yes: /)

[lizzyjane101]

Most bronies are quite educated individuals that simply like the show, they're not ''creeps'' that dwells in their parents' basement using ponies as an excuse to prey on children. Since we're bringing up this issue on a Neopet-related forum, do some of you people reading this believe that the adults that visit this very forum are ''creeps''? Cause we're not creeps, we like Neopets, some of us like MLP:FiM, others like Doctor Who and others enjoy spending their free time playing Pokemon. It may seem ''immature'' for someone that have never been in a fandom in their entire life, but we enjoy it and it doesn't prevent us from being productive individuals. I'm a student and a brony, not a ''creep'' that sends ''questionable'' images to the show's creators... .

 

There will always be good and bad fans. Among the ''good'' fans we have those that simply enjoy watching/reading/listening/playing/doing whatever their fandom is dedicated to, some of them might start to create art and music dedicated to their fandom while other fans like to write fanfics about how they want their OC to start dating Harry Potter or even a Pokemon. When it comes to the ''bad fans'', we have those that like to wreak havoc and harass everyone that might dislike their favourite character or simply aren't part of their fandom and some of them might even go as far as harassing the creators of the franchise they claim to love. That's just how things are, but I don't think this is any more of a problem within the MLP:FiM community than in any other fandom, or is it? At least I don't think this is as big as an issue as some claim it to be. I truly believe that there aren't many ''maniacs'' in our fandom, it's simply that some very vocal trolls have managed to become the focal point of our community (when it comes to how the ''outside world'' perceives us). It doesn't help that both bronies and non-bronies alike ''encourage'' them to continue trolling us instead of simply ignoring them. Remember: Don't feed the parasprites.

 

It's truly marvelous to see such a great community come together in a spirit of respect, tolerance and friendship, so I really hope we never let those few overly vocal trolls destroy the great community we have created. :yes: /)

 

Mmm. I think that's one of the reasons this conversation has been so civil and respectful so far. It'd be a little preposterous to make fun of us for liking MLP on a Neopets forum :P

 

I think maybe because I spend so much time on tumblr and I think that's where it's quite bad. There's this image of the brony as a bigoted, everything-ist, fedora-wearing white dude who thinks he's better than everyone else and is incredibly misogynistic. As you point out, that completely defies everything important to the show. It's hypocritical and stupid and annoying. Like a racist HP fan, or a homophobic Dr Who fan. It's just dumb.

 

I really appreciate how nice everyone's being. It's probably to be expected, but I just constantly get pleasantly surprised by the respect and kindness of people on this forum. Maybe I'm being overly sentimental because I have a cat siting on my arms while I type, but I really love you guys TT

Oh dear. Tell me I wouldn't be that kind of drunk.

[maikrowsoft]

And the fan service, don't forget about that. The creators do care about what fans want (although their legal team doesn't always play nice)

 

 

/)^3^(\

[leverhelven]

Katsuokai and lizzyjane101, WOW!!! Thank you for your posts! I now feel like giving MLP another chance!!! :)

 

And the fan service, don't forget about that. The creators do care about what fans want (although their legal team doesn't always play nice)

 

I hear a lot about it (that the writers and the team pay a lot of attention to what the fandom wants) but can you give me an example? And who is that cross-eyed pony? :P

[maikrowsoft]

The cross-eyed pony (Derpy) is one such example, it was originally a mistake in the show (they didn't animate a background character properly) but eventually because a fan favorite, which the animators started hiding in the show.

[leverhelven]

The cross-eyed pony (Derpy) is one such example, it was originally a mistake in the show (they didn't animate a background character properly) but eventually because a fan favorite, which the animators started hiding in the show.

 

Hahahaha, that's funny! :D Can you tell me the name of the episode in which Derpy first appears? I'm curious to see him/her now! :)

[maikrowsoft]

She appears in the first episode, actually. Background pony that's a little hard to spot xD

[Lady Lyuba]

Simple. Bronies are fans of the show because it's a really good show, just like any great show out there. It doesn't talk down to kids or get stuck in the girl show ghetto of being bland. Lauren Faust knew a show that appeals to be girls can be well written and appeal to anyone, and that's what she set out to do. This is why we have viewers of all ages. Plus, the characters, the more you watch them, have a lot of depth and more to their personality than what you may observe by one episode.

 

The reason this show caused such an uproar and a shock to the media is the fact that a lot of boys and men like the show, something that does not adhere to "gender roles", and the notion that men are not allowed to like shows about candy colored cartoon ponies nor are they allowed to be remotely interested in anything with a female protagonist or six. Some other shows have stood up to prove society wrong, such as Nickelodeon's Legend of Korra, whose producers state "We'll show people boys can be interested in a show with a female protagonist". And while it worked, it's not as good as it's original series, A:TLA.

 

And because of society's strict rules for men that are more oppressive than you think, bronies are hounded for liking this show because of the target demographic. You wouldn't question people's interest in shows like Game of Thrones, but everybody does with MLP.

True, I am a girl in the fandom, and the women in the fandom may be less likely to be questioned by society due to our being the "right gender", despite being far older than 5 years old.

 

I also suggest looking at some of the fan content, some bronies have explained their love for the show well through music, videos, even artwork. I'd like to show you a video made by Saberspark, called "Ponies Vs. Parents", and a video or two by one of the fandom's analysts, Dr. Wolf:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcekKKOGEuw Ponies Vs. Parents

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hc3yUk0XnHs&list=UUSVbVB1hckKojjYdOl9q2og Understanding Anti Bronies (part 2)

 

I recommend looking at Dr. Wolf's and Saberspark's channels. They tackle a lot of topics as of what it means to be a brony and dealing with social stigma.

 

I have also been reading this article in which two people are researching the brony fandom to get a better understanding of the community. Didn't know there was a topic in antrhopology called "fandom studies" until I read this! http://blogs.loc.gov/digitalpreservation/2014/08/research-is-magic-an-interview-with-ethnographers-jason-nguyen-kurt-baer/

 

Oh, and one more thing: Saberspark's documentary "Ballad of the Brony" : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UE7I_IDX98g

 

I hope I have been helpful!!

[lizzyjane101]

Simple. Bronies are fans of the show because it's a really good show, just like any great show out there. It doesn't talk down to kids or get stuck in the girl show ghetto of being bland. Lauren Faust knew a show that appeals to be girls can be well written and appeal to anyone, and that's what she set out to do. This is why we have viewers of all ages. Plus, the characters, the more you watch them, have a lot of depth and more to your personality than what you may observe by one episode.

 

The reason this show caused such an uproar and a shock to the media is the fact that a lot of boys and men like the show, something that does not adhere to "gender roles", and the notion that men are not allowed to like shows about candy colored cartoon ponies nor are they allowed to be remotely interested in anything with a female protagonist or six. Some other shows have stood up to prove society wrong, such as Nickelodeon's Legend of Korra, whose producers state "We'll show people boys can be interested in a show with a female protagonist". And while it worked, it's not as good as it's original series, A:TLA.

 

And because of society's strict rules for men that are more oppressive than you think, bronies are hounded for liking this show because of the target demographic. You wouldn't question people's interest in shows like Game of Thrones, but everybody does with MLP.

True, I am a girl in the fandom, and the women in the fandom may be less likely to be questioned by society due to our being the "right gender", despite being far older than 5 years old.

 

Yes! I think that very much contributes to the stigma. I think some of it is indeed subtle sexism. One of the reasons I love it so much is that it's very feminine. It plays on many female stereotypes, yet the characters are still interesting and have depth. Rarity shows us that you can love to look pretty, care about your hair and clothes, and still be strong and meaningful. Rainbow shows us that ambition is not a negative thing. Applejack shows us that girls can do manual labour and be physically strong. Pinky is hyperactive and sometimes annoying, but guess what? She means well and we love her. Twilight is an intellectual female and I think that people have this idea that girls' shows can't have any of those things because girls aren't any of those things. Girls' shows can't be engaging and complex because girls aren't those things. You can't like girls' shows because being associated with femininity is not just a bad thing, it's unthinkable. If you ask a straight woman if she's gay, more often than not she'll just laugh it off. If you ask guys the same thing, they'll usually be terribly offended because they associate it with a loss of masculinity and that's the most terrible thing in the world.

 

Sorry if I misunderstood you, but I think that does have something to do with it.

[Katsuokai]

 

Mmm. I think that's one of the reasons this conversation has been so civil and respectful so far. It'd be a little preposterous to make fun of us for liking MLP on a Neopets forum :P

 

I think maybe because I spend so much time on tumblr and I think that's where it's quite bad. There's this image of the brony as a bigoted, everything-ist, fedora-wearing white dude who thinks he's better than everyone else and is incredibly misogynistic. As you point out, that completely defies everything important to the show. It's hypocritical and stupid and annoying. Like a racist HP fan, or a homophobic Dr Who fan. It's just dumb.

 

I really appreciate how nice everyone's being. It's probably to be expected, but I just constantly get pleasantly surprised by the respect and kindness of people on this forum. Maybe I'm being overly sentimental because I have a cat siting on my arms while I type, but I really love you guys TT

Oh dear. Tell me I wouldn't be that kind of drunk.

Exactly! but even if this is a Neopet-related forum, other forums (that aren't Neopets-related) that could potentially have people of all backgrounds, ages and genders participating in them doesn't have members even near as civil as the people here at TDNF. That's why I love this forum. I simply love how respectful and tolerant the majority of this forums' members are. Saying openly that I'm pansexual and seeing how accepting people are with GLTBQ+ people, how well they treat members of all ages, sexes, beliefs, etc. ... . Man, it's fantastic...! TDNF staff and respectful forum members, please continue to be this great! :rock:

 

Tumblr sure is a weird place, so it's better to not think that what you might see there is the image of the ''average brony''. lol I spend quite some time there too, lurking... and I often see the most weirdest of things. It sure is a place that has the good, the bad and the ugly of the internet and society all contained in a single place ''coexisting'' in such an uncanny way. Really, it would be interesting to see a study about how the ''average'' tumblr user is like. lol

 

And the fan service, don't forget about that. The creators do care about what fans want (although their legal team doesn't always play nice)

 

 

/)^3^(\

Derpy... !!! /)^3^(\ I love how they brought her back after all the fuss that happened after they censored her... . Yes, some people (a few parents with children with disabilities) thought that having a clumsy, but absolutely adorable pony that happens to be cross-eyed in the show was disrespectful towards people with disabilities (yeah, that logic /facepalm), so they tried to eliminate her from the show altogether. Good thing for us fans, they brought her back uncensored after the major uproar it caused! Why on Earth can't a character in a cartoon have a disability? It defeats the point of the show altogether, (love and tolerance, remember?) more so taking into account how pretty much everyone loves her for how adorable and likable she is. :3

 

You're right maikrowsoft, it's sad that that their legal team doesn't always play nice, but I'm really happy that at least the show's creators care about us fans so much that they even create fan service for us bronies, instead of doing everything that Hasbro and their legal team wants. It really does make the show even more special. ;)

 

(Somewhat off-topic, did you have anything to do with Bronydoc? I think I saw your name in the ''special thanks'' section under the nickname Reign of Computer... . As they say, the world sure is a small place! :P)

 

Simple. Bronies are fans of the show because it's a really good show, just like any great show out there. It doesn't talk down to kids or get stuck in the girl show ghetto of being bland. Lauren Faust knew a show that appeals to be girls can be well written and appeal to anyone, and that's what she set out to do. This is why we have viewers of all ages. Plus, the characters, the more you watch them, have a lot of depth and more to your personality than what you may observe by one episode.

 

The reason this show caused such an uproar and a shock to the media is the fact that a lot of boys and men like the show, something that does not adhere to "gender roles", and the notion that men are not allowed to like shows about candy colored cartoon ponies nor are they allowed to be remotely interested in anything with a female protagonist or six. Some other shows have stood up to prove society wrong, such as Nickelodeon's Legend of Korra, whose producers state "We'll show people boys can be interested in a show with a female protagonist". And while it worked, it's not as good as it's original series, A:TLA.

 

And because of society's strict rules for men that are more oppressive than you think, bronies are hounded for liking this show because of the target demographic. You wouldn't question people's interest in shows like Game of Thrones, but everybody does with MLP.

True, I am a girl in the fandom, and the women in the fandom may be less likely to be questioned by society due to our being the "right gender", despite being far older than 5 years old.

 

I also suggest looking at some of the fan content, some bronies have explained their love for the show well through music, videos, even artwork. I'd like to show you a video made by Saberspark, called "Ponies Vs. Parents", and a video or two by one of the fandom's analysts, Dr. Wolf:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcekKKOGEuw Ponies Vs. Parents

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hc3yUk0XnHs&list=UUSVbVB1hckKojjYdOl9q2og Understanding Anti Bronies (part 2)

 

I recommend looking at Dr. Wolf's and Saberspark's channels. They tackle a lot of topics as of what it means to be a brony and dealing with social stigma.

 

I have also been reading this article in which two people are researching the brony fandom to get a better understanding of the community. Didn't know there was a topic in antrhopology called "fandom studies" until I read this! http://blogs.loc.gov/digitalpreservation/2014/08/research-is-magic-an-interview-with-ethnographers-jason-nguyen-kurt-baer/

 

Oh, and one more thing: Saberspark's documentary "Ballad of the Brony" : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UE7I_IDX98g

 

I hope I have been helpful!!

Very interesting links Lady Lyuba! I'll take a better look at them later. ;)

 

What you said is exactly one of the many reasons why this show is so great. Generation 4 of MLP sure has managed to not get stuck in the ''girl ghetto'', making it a show that can be appreciated by children and adults alike. It's disgusting to live in a society that tries to ostracize you simply for liking something that's not ''suitable'' for your age and gender. I'm a dude, but since I don't have a very active social life at all, (too sick and tired of my old ''friends'' that I decided I was better off without them) I've yet to be ridiculed for being a brony (at most my best friend and my mom joke with me about it, but they accept it and have even enjoyed some MLP-related videos I've showed them, so that doesn't really count), although I do constantly feel the weight of society's expectations on how adults, especially how I as a man should act and think and what I should and shouldn't like. It's so very tiresome and so very sad to be subject to so many worries simply because you doesn't quite fit in with the role society deems appropriate for you. It's true that women have it somewhat easier in this fandom, but as you well said, you aren't completely immune to discrimination due to the fact that you're well over the age of the show's supposed target demographic (and other pernicious stereotypes that e.g. women can't be fangirls, that only men can be part of a fandom, etc.). It's nice to see shows with a varied cast and having at least shows with women as main protagonists in productions whose target demographic isn't only girls and/or women is a great start. Women can be strong, great leaders and brave! while men can be sensitive and caring, there's nothing wrong with that and society has to begin to accept that fact faster. Too bad I don't think I'll live long enough to see this world become the equal place I think it should be... . :sad01_anim:

[maikrowsoft]

(Somewhat off-topic, did you have anything to do with Bronydoc? I think I saw your name in the ''special thanks'' section under the nickname Reign of Computer... . As they say, the world sure is a small place! :P)

 

Wow, good catch. Yep, I was one of the backers for Bronydoc :)

Edit: Whoa, actually that's really scary. How did you see my nick under all that names >.<

[Katsuokai]

 

Wow, good catch. Yep, I was one of the backers for Bronydoc :)

Edit: Whoa, actually that's really scary. How did you see my nick under all that names >.<

/haha I suppose I have an insanely good eye for detail?! :P I always watch movies and shows till the end of the credits, so maybe it's just so that I'm more used to paying attention to that kind of stuff? Idk how it comes that I noticed your nickname among all those names; I feel like I've discovered a hidden special talent I didn't even knew I had this very moment. x''D lol

 

It must have been great to see the project funded and finished! ;) I had no idea Bronydoc was crowdfunded, but it doesn't surprise me in the slightest. After all we bronies are very good at creating great content and unite forces to bring our projects to fruition. :)

[maikrowsoft]

I feel like I've discovered a hidden special talent I didn't even knew I had this very moment. x''D lol

 

Now you're gonna get a magnifying glass as a cutie mark.

[lizzyjane101]

Exactly! but even if this is a Neopet-related forum, other forums (that aren't Neopets-related) that could potentially have people of all backgrounds, ages and genders participating in them doesn't have members even near as civil as the people here at TDNF. That's why I love this forum. I simply love how respectful and tolerant the majority of this forums' members are. Saying openly that I'm pansexual and seeing how accepting people are with GLTBQ+ people, how well they treat members of all ages, sexes, beliefs, etc. ... . Man, it's fantastic...! TDNF staff and respectful forum members, please continue to be this great! :rock:

 

Tumblr sure is a weird place, so it's better to not think that what you might see there is the image of the ''average brony''. lol I spend quite some time there too, lurking... and I often see the most weirdest of things. It sure is a place that has the good, the bad and the ugly of the internet and society all contained in a single place ''coexisting'' in such an uncanny way. Really, it would be interesting to see a study about how the ''average'' tumblr user is like. lol

 

Yay! Pan-five :guitar: I've been lucky enough to grow up with incredibly normal, accepting parents and fantastic friends. As a kid, it never occurred to me that it could be any other way. In fact, it's only in the past year or so I've really started feeling the weight of homophobia. Anyway, off topic.

 

Yeah, tumblr is a very weird place. I think I can safely say I have met so many different people. Some fab, some not so fab, some a strange mixture of both. I guess because it's where I do most of my networking I have a skewed perspective.

 

 

 

Now you're gonna get a magnifying glass as a cutie mark.

 

OMG YOU JUST GAVE ME THE BEST IDEA. I'm curious to know what people think their cutie marks would be. I reckon mine would be a music note :P

Wow, I feel so mature right now.

[Katsuokai]

 

Now you're gonna get a magnifying glass as a cutie mark.

 

Hahaha... . xD Does this mean that I'll no longer have to be a Cutie Mark Crusader?! Woot!!! I've finally found my special talent! :P In all ''seriousness'', though, I've actually had quite some trouble coming up with a satisfying cutie mark and ponysona for myself. I find it so much easier to come up with ''random'' original characters than to come up with one that actually represents me. Maybe I should ditch the somewhat ''abstract'' cutie mark idea and create a simpler one? Hmm.... .

 

 

Yay! Pan-five :guitar: I've been lucky enough to grow up with incredibly normal, accepting parents and fantastic friends. As a kid, it never occurred to me that it could be any other way. In fact, it's only in the past year or so I've really started feeling the weight of homophobia. Anyway, off topic.

 

Yeah, tumblr is a very weird place. I think I can safely say I have met so many different people. Some fab, some not so fab, some a strange mixture of both. I guess because it's where I do most of my networking I have a skewed perspective.

 

 

 

OMG YOU JUST GAVE ME THE BEST IDEA. I'm curious to know what people think their cutie marks would be. I reckon mine would be a music note :P

Wow, I feel so mature right now.

:D /) *Pan-hoof* :P My family have also been very tolerant and accepting of me; when I was a kid I was allowed to do anything I liked, I felt loved and they encouraged me to do the things I enjoy doing. I wasn't really aware of the discrimination and sexism all members of society are subject to and especially the burdens I carry on my shoulders until my teens, though. Now I'm pretty much stuck in the closet because of one (somewhat legit) reason. Sometimes it's better to wait for the ''right moment'' to come out... . I truly believe that my relatives won't freak out once I tell them, but this really isn't the right moment for me to come out, at least that's what I keep reminding myself of... . -_- *sigh* :mellow:

 

Yeah, I haven't really networked there myself, but after lurking around tumblr I reckon what you said. There's great people, not-so-great people and horrible people to be found on tumblr and as what happens with relationships in real life you'll just have to sort them out until you find the most suitable persons to be your friends. ;)

 

/haha ...We're all so very mature! x''D Maybe someone among us should start a discussion thread about it? Maybe this could be a good thread title ''What do you think your cutie mark would be?''. lol If I were to read about other people's cutie marks and maybe even see them that might help inspire me in order to create a better cutie mark for myself... . :glasses:

[missjustina]

I'm not really involved in an MLP fan community at the moment but am a huge fan of MLP FIM.

I remember playing with the MLP toys when I was a little girl, and when I heard about all these adult male fans of it I wondered why grown men were watching the show. Was it a creeper thing or just a really good show? So I watched some episodes on Netflix and got totally hooked. So much that I went to build a bear and made a pinkie pie plushie, and even got a pinkie pie case for my phone. I've gotten other people into it too, and am happy to see some people on here who are also fans :)