Bronies

[Mick Bynes]

What does everyone here think of bronies?  Bronies are guys in their twenties and over who are diehard fans of the show My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic.  I used to be one, but now I just consider myself a casual fan.

 

I would really like to know what you have to say about them.

[nathanm]

Gotta say I was totally aghast when first learning what that term meant, I thought it had to be a joke.  I totally don't get it myself, but I think that people are responding to positive, non-cynical entertainment.  It's hard to find media which isn't cynical out there and I suspect that show fills that need.  It's something I've noticed in other popular shows, when there is sincerity and a genuine upbeat feel without irony and pathos people really latch onto that.  Horrible, contemtible people in horrible, contempible situations is the basic format of so much TV, so I would guess My Little Pony is the antithesis.  What makes it weird to me is that it seems (sight unseen) like a purely kids show, unlike some other kids shows which do have adult appeal.  It's not nearly as creepy as the adult baby thing [insert fat guy video here, you know the one], which I find really sad.  Bronies seem a little more mockable, good-natured-ribbable by comparison, although perhaps it comes from the same damaged childhood place.

[masonman]

I think its partly about attention, and once it took off it became about the community itself. From what I have seen it is much a gathering of people with a lot of anxieties (so I would probably fit right in). Also stuff like this saddens me:

 

 

 

[Rudd-O DragonFear]

LOLbronies.

[empyblessing]

I call it the culture vacuum which has increasingly gained speed as western socities - and religion in particular - have been destroyed and emasculated and were replaced with nothing. This vacuum leaves many young people feeling a sense of apathy and detachment and they seek out anything which can give them a sense of love and belonging that they so desperately want. This void was often filled by Christianity, family, nationalism, etc. but all of those institutions have waned and nothing stood in the wake. Unfortunately for Europe, this vacuum is being filled with Islam which offers many young people a sense of group identity. 

[Jamie]

I LOVE Bronies!!! My significant other is a bit of one himself and we watch the show together. There is a bit of a creepy sub group out there as Iv'e come across some adult stories about My Little Ponies which strikes me as relating a bit to (if not compleatly) Zoophilia. That kind of creeps me out.

Other then that, I never realy thought much about the "why". It is definatly up beat, the characters have fairly fleshed out personalities that are likable, and the plots are fairly humorious most of the time. I think it helps people de-stress. I would say that there is a good chance that these men had troubled childhoods though, not that I think about it. After all, everything seems nice and happy and wonderfull in Ponyvill, yet most of the main characters have had an episode where the literaly went insaine... not to mention most of their personalities are built on disfunction. (Fluttershy is painfuly shy and scared of almost everything, Rarity is vain, Rainbow Dash is overly boisterious and lacking empathy, Twilight Sparkal is a work-a-holic who was antisocial befor moving to Ponyvill and Pinky Pie is just plain bonkers. I think the only seemingly sane one is Apple Jack but she has an over developed sense of responsability which isn't exactly healthy either.) I guess I conclude they must have come from some pretty crazy bacgrounds in order to be able to identify with the show.

Also before you ask; yes, I came from a compleatly insane family.

[Mick Bynes]

Bronies are now a pretty relevant subculture in the world we live in today.  I would definitely like to get more responses if you don't mind.  I pretty much agree with some of the things you've said about 'em.  I really see this thing as a big phenomenon over the Internet and not so much of a big deal outside of the Internet.  I've met only one person who knows of a brony he knows personally.  That's the closest I have met a brony.

 

As for the last person who responded to this, yeah... those adult stories (they're fanfiction, by the way) are pretty messed up and I think I read one and I did not like it.  But hey if that's your bag, that's fine by me.  In fact I knew someone (not gonna mention names here) who wrote them and actually shipped (shipping is when you pair two characters in a fanfiction, they have like a romantic relationship in the fanfiction story) characters.  Another thing that I don't like is the "clopping"... clopping means to masturbate to ponies (fanart mostly and I've unfortunately seen some of this fanart).  It's rather disturbing.

 

Yeah, I was a brony for a brief period of time.  I just had to get out of it.  I guess I outgrew it.  However there's going to be a lot of others who will be bronies the rest of their sad lives.  I'm not saying that bronies are sad people who are losers, but a great amount of them are weak though... I will say that.

[Drew.]

Like every culture, there are extremists who broach areas that most would leave unexplored. I've never really had the desire to read fanfiction from any source.

I used to consider myself a brony. I went to a MLP meet up in the Portland area. I can't remember how many episodes we watched as a collective. Then the group interviewed some brony who made techno music based on the show. I listened to it, and I don't understand the MLP influence at all. But, whatever. I will say that most of the people seemed like social outcasts, myself included. I looked "normal" though. I saw many people wearing fedoras, clothes with video games titles, and other paraphenial that, in my opinion, distinguished them from the people who go outside often.

Their stated cultural values are Love and tolerance. I've often read, "I'm going to love and tolerate the shit out of you." As far as cultures go, they're okay. But, I think that there is a difference between a MLP fan and a brony. I consider myself a fan, although I hardly ever watch the show now, but I don't consider myself a brony. I think to be a brony, you have to start buying mechandise, consistently go to meet ups, and be in an active pursuit to add more pony into your life.

I think the show is appealing to young men in that age range, from 18-30, because many of them have no clue how to make real friends. I know coerrelation does not equal causation, but when I was deepest in my MLP binge I didn't have any good or close friends. A very common way to approach magic is to see it as madness. If we apply that toMLP, We get My Little Pony: Friendship is an Insane Fantasty (for you). I don't think that show has any relation to the sexuality of an individual, which one of my dear friends has commented on.

Whenever I watched the show, I felt happy. I would still feel happy if I watched an episode, a good one. I'm not sure why I felt happy, though.

[Summerstone]

My only theory is that Bronies is a sub-culture where young men, who are insecure about their sexuality, can have a place to express their childhood parts without fear of being judged harshly.

[Drew.]

Man, that theory always triggers me, Stone. I guess I have a part that assumes that insecure means homosexual.

I would say that if friends are a fantasy, and they can't make real friends in the outside world then they would also be insecure with their sexuality too. MLP would be a primer for them to develop more complex relationships.

[MysterionMuffles]

 

I LOVE Bronies!!! My significant other is a bit of one himself and we watch the show together. There is a bit of a creepy sub group out there as Iv'e come across some adult stories about My Little Ponies which strikes me as relating a bit to (if not compleatly) Zoophilia. That kind of creeps me out.

Other then that, I never realy thought much about the "why". It is definatly up beat, the characters have fairly fleshed out personalities that are likable, and the plots are fairly humorious most of the time. I think it helps people de-stress. I would say that there is a good chance that these men had troubled childhoods though, not that I think about it. After all, everything seems nice and happy and wonderfull in Ponyvill, yet most of the main characters have had an episode where the literaly went insaine... not to mention most of their personalities are built on disfunction. (Fluttershy is painfuly shy and scared of almost everything, Rarity is vain, Rainbow Dash is overly boisterious and lacking empathy, Twilight Sparkal is a work-a-holic who was antisocial befor moving to Ponyvill and Pinky Pie is just plain bonkers. I think the only seemingly sane one is Apple Jack but she has an over developed sense of responsability which isn't exactly healthy either.) I guess I conclude they must have come from some pretty crazy bacgrounds in order to be able to identify with the show.

Also before you ask; yes, I came from a compleatly insane family.

 

Wow that's right. The characters do have some human like dysfunctions. I really love the mental breakdowns, and now I see why. Because I can relate to them lol.

Anyways, I think rule 34 is the worst rule of all, utterly disturbing. I watched the documentary and thought it was a little extreme. The couple that became a couple thanks to the movement was cute, but I don't understand the other guys the documentary focussed on. Like the guy who lives waaay down south where he knows that kind of thing is  shunned upon, yet he customized his car to have MLP characters on his back windows. He was kind of asking for the rednecks to bully him I think.

I wonder what Stef would think of Bronies, or the show as a whole and if he has watched it with Isabella.

[Mick Bynes]

Stef has mentioned My Little Pony once or twice.  He doesn't specifically mention My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic though.  I wonder if his daughter has watched.  It's definitely aimed her age demographic and I guess she's a fan.