BillCo: It's not your masculinity that I am worried about so much as your intelligence. Just how retarded do you have to be to be obsessed with something that has a target audience of little girls.

/maybe it's the little girls you're interested in?

It's nice that you have an opinion. I'm betting you haven't watched it. It may be kids programming, but it was written to entertain the young father taking care of them. Of course, if you don't want to watch spunky and cute female personalities tailored to our age group, feel free to continue staring at the man-meat show that is professional sports.

Over obsessed fanboys suck no matter what. Spamming pony, amime, rage faces, or whatever will get you all sorts of fark off whether it's masculine or not. So, no, you are not re-defining masculinity, you are just annoying.

FirstNationalBastard: [image.spreadshirt.com image 280x280]

//if your masculinity is threatened because someone likes watching a fun show about candy colored ponies, you're the one with the problem, not me.

It's not your masculinity that I am worried about so much as your intelligence. Just how retarded do you have to be to be obsessed with something that has a target audience of little girls.

/maybe it's the little girls you're interested in?

Bronies are changing the definition of masculinity on the same level that furries are changing the definition of sexuality.

I gotta say my favorite part of pony fandom is the response images - nothing, NOTHING pisses of someone in the politics tab more then having his beliefs undermined by an cleverly captioned image from a show about magic ponies. Drives them crazy. And finding just the right one is a joy with the creativity people put into them.

oh_please: "Bronies":

I'm pretty sure that most of you aren't creepy pedophiles, but it looks that way to a lot of people. Now I realize that you guys "don't care what other people think, MAN!" and all that, but seriously, look at yourselves for a few minutes:

1) You're a grown person, and
2) You watch a show designed for preteen girls, and
3) You brag about it at every opportunity.

You're not some kind of crusader for personal freedom, you just want to belong to a club that's so uncool it's cool. I get that, we've all been through it at one time or another, but most of us grew out of it sometime in high school or shortly thereafter. It's your thing, do what you want to do, but don't complain when people mock you or say you look creepy because you deserve it.

Sincerely,

Everyone

Yeah, well, I think sports fans are farking creepy. All obsessing and wagering their worth and the worth of the players on a game and hating other people for daring to wear a different colored jersey. And basing their entire days, weeks, sometimes lives on largely transitory short events that have no chance of changing history. And sometimes even going so far as to get their children involved, sometimes even in activities that can hurt them permanently! I mean, what's up with that! I'm all for health but come on.

But I'm not going to go on this tirade very time a coworker is WOO FOOTBALL WOO. Nor am I going to think they're terrible people because of it. Sure, I think it's creepy. But hey it's only a small part of who they are.

/there are exceptions
//they're creepier

I liked the Muppet Show.
Then I grew up and had no time to watch shows because I was working.
Now I can watch whatever I want because of all that working.
I watch reruns of the Muppet Show.

I'm glad they never gave me a meme for enjoying a program.

1) i love how people on farking fark.com think they're mainstream or *snicker* masculine enough to harshly judge their fellow shut-in nerds.

2) We've all heard this stupid buillshiat before I don't know how many times. When something new and interesting comes out that attracts a large fan following, it always beings out a small minority of frothing vocal haters. Let's recount:

--If you like Rock and Roll, you're a communist(50s + 60s)
--If you like Star Trek/Star Wars, you're a forever virgin nerd(70s)
--If you play DnD, you're a satanist(80s)
--If watch anime, you're an ultra violent rapist(early 90s)
--If you like Rap/Hip Hop, you're a murderous thug(90s)
--If you read Harry Potter, you're a satanist/practice witchcraft (2000s)
--If you like furry art, you rape animals (2000s)
--If you play video games, you're a no job slacker (2000s)
--If you play Animal Crossing, you're a pedophile (2000s)

Please, just once, wake up to how moronic you irrational hatred of a new trend is. Haters have NEVER stopped a trend. Today its Bronies, who by the way must outnumber you haters by at least 20-1. A few years from now it will be something else. Bronies will either be forgotten or subsumed into the mainstream So really, what the hell is the point of wasting all your time trying to tear something down that really harms no one and that you can't possible effect either way?

Allen. The end.: In the words of Steve Albini: "All you farking pussies can suck our cocks". These trend-sucking dilletantes (sp.) are marginally human, using pop "culture" as a cheap replacement for personal philosophy, bubble-wrap against interaction with the world, and a desperate attempt to remain a child. I'm sure that they suckle bottles at night as well. "Oh, but it's beer or coffee now. not milk" they may say...but they would be deluding themselves, of course. Gah!

2) How is the Brony Community like other "Avid Fan" groups?
a) It serves a Social function (for most Bronies) of connecting them with other fans outside of their geographic location. (This varies based upon their openness to telling others)
b) It serves as an activity that the fan can focus on (maybe a small thing or a central focus) that provides a sense of meaning to the fans lives (It fills their day and/or gives them a sense of purpose)
3) How is the Brony Fan Community unlike (different from) most other
"Avid Fan" groups?
a) The object of interest (MLP:FiM) is a non-stereotypic interest for the general fan base. Males and adults who like a cartoon associated with a young female population (stereotypic female toy/cartoon). This feature of the fandom likely explains the variety of shocked (It's a joke... right!) and hostile reactions directed at the Brony community by the "haters" and the "uninformed." Anyone who does not take the time to look beyond this feature (>>>FOX Newsb) MLP presents a highly moral and virtuous message allowing it to serve a Guidance function (for many Bronies). This is likely to be the least recognized feature of the Brony phenomenon, but may also represent one of the Brony Fan Community's greatest strengths and potential contributions to emerging web based fan communities. If individuals are going to surf the web and interact on social sites, why not on sites and with people who believe and try to live a theme of Love and Tolerance?
We often ask parents the question: "Which would you rather have your teen doing? Watching a group of humorous and highly pro-social (moral) ponies, or playing video games where they beat up, torment, kill and murder other creatures (even if they are zombie, orcs or gang members)? We do realize that many Bronies take part in this video game mayhem; however, it appears that MLP may act as a balancing force in their lives. b>Please note that the positive guidance aspect of the phenomenon may evoke ridicule and hostility from some individuals (and groups) who feel that religion (sacred scripture) is the ONLY valid source of moral guidance, and that statements like WWPD (What would a pony do?) border on blasphemy.
4) The medium of MLP allows for a great deal of artistic expression and personalization of one's Brony identity. The Brony Fandom shares this characteristic with numerous other internet fandoms. Being based on an animated cartoon series in the internet age (with video, sound and photo editing program readily available) provides a rich source of material for creative expression. This can be seen in the proliferation of pony video clips, pony music, pony fan fiction, and personalized pony avatars. The more extensive the creative/artistic expression the more likely it is that individual fans will find a niche or place in the community that "speaks to them."

/arguing from psychological research is MUCH more rewarding than simply calling you a G.I.F.T.
//Lurk more if you don't know what that is.

Unfortunately, the old school of masculinity generally involves assorted alpha male dominance posturing, the majority of which involves being a jerk to put and keep others in the lower echelons of the social hierarchy.

The classic tactic to accomplish this is to find an area of competition and demonstrate prowess. If you are more physically powerful than others, you can assert dominance by reminding those weaker than you of your physical superiority. The same can be said for mental superiority, financial superiority, or even World of Warcraft raid superiority.

The notion that bronies are not masculine comes primarily from individuals asserting the notion that their tastes are superior to that of the bronies. Especially in the hipster era, personal preference has taken a increasing role in self-identity. While the notion that 'you are what you consume' makes me shudder and fear for my children's futures, it is simply another area of competition people use to assert dominance over others. Again, by being jerks.

Increased communication has changed things. It is no longer necessary to try and fit in with those in your immediate physical vicinity when you can easily associate your self electronically with individuals who's tastes are similar to their own. In short, meat space assertions of dominance are less likely to work because the people being dominated no longer consider themselves to be part of that meat space hierarchy.

TFA (TFV?) would argue the definition of masculinity is "what is done by men" while I am using the term to describe archetypical dominance behavior, as enacted by men, women, and "other". Classic dominance behavior is not on the wane, but it has definitely become more hierarchy specific as the potential social hierarchies available to individuals increases. In short, bronies now assert masculinity by asserting dominance about brony related topics, while ignoring jerks who's opinions they don't care about.

/not a brony, but I might watch it eventually to see what all the fuss is about

BillCo: FirstNationalBastard: [image.spreadshirt.com image 280x280]

//if your masculinity is threatened because someone likes watching a fun show about candy colored ponies, you're the one with the problem, not me.

It's not your masculinity that I am worried about so much as your intelligence. Just how retarded do you have to be to be obsessed with something that has a target audience of little girls.

/maybe it's the little girls you're interested in?

In psychology they call that projection. For more examples see today's Republican and Democrat parties.

*sees YouTube link...



I don't know what the fark late-teens and young-twenties guys, the latter of whom are only 10 years behind me, are getting influenced by, but between the lame Justin Bieber forward-flop haircuts, emo-style jeans and farking Bronies, a major section of an entire generation needs to hand over their man cards until they either (a) grow up or (b) their balls drop.

While I understand that socially-awkward nerds and geeks (and on some subjects I'm a pretty big geek myself) have a social need to find a common passion to join in friendship and a sense of belonging with others, especially when their aforementioned awkwardness has prevented that in the past, identifying with a show for 12-year-old girls is farking ridiculous... as in deserving of ridicule.

Bronies fall into the furry and clown-sex category of "deviant" as far as I care... they're disturbing and saying that the show is good and that's why they identify with a 12-year-old girl demographic is not sufficient. I've seen the show at my kid's friend's house (who's a girl) and I couldn't have given a lesser shiat about it; it was exactly like described: intended for pre-teen girls, and just, well, for a young-thirties engineer, lame. It's not redefining masculinity any more than any of the other lame crap socially-awkward late-teens and college kids get into, trying to find some identity. Hopefully these losers grow up before I have to have them on my IPT at work.

/as big of a Star Wars fan I used to be as a teenager, that key phrase "growing up" has allowed me to see what a massive dork I could have been had it not happened soon enough
//soon enough is about when you can start legally getting drunk
///even the very-geeky IT guys at work, with TMNT figures fighting on their desks, are waaaaaaaaay cooler than Bronies

jdhj2: RainbowDash: [i3.photobucket.com image 640x720]
[i3.photobucket.com image 640x640]
[i3.photobucket.com image 476x840]

Are you a Brony or a Bronette?

Brony. Loved Sonic as kid even had a pair of shoes with Sonic on em. When I started watching the show and saw Rainbow was about hauling ass (mostly) I thought she was cool. Twilight is awesome too though because she's into books and got Rainbow Dash into em. Not to go off topic but I started reading the Wheel of Time series not too long ago and was glad that she got into reading. Sorry about the late reply but found out my brother has brain cancer yesterday so I've been pretty busy trying to keep in contact seeing as we're a few states apart. /)*(\

LasersHurt: What's creepy about liking a cartoon? I'd like an honest answer that doesn't rely on gender role stereotypes.

Once you organize meetings based on a show, put together and participate in all sorts of group activities based on the show and identify yourself as a group based on the show, you've clearly way more than liking a cartoon.

It's like cats. Enjoying a couple of lolcat pictures isn't creepy, but keeping hundreds of cats around you, referring to yourself as cat lady and putting together group meetings to talk about cats... That's creepy.

I don't watch MLP because I'm 30 years old, and I grew out of watching cartoons about 20 years ago. I asked the boyfriend if he knew what a brony was, and he asked me if I meant that African dictator that was all over Twitter for about a minute. So.....clearly he's not into this program either.

That said, who gives a fark what someone else watches on TV? My mom likes watching those Investigation Discovery programs, my dad watches the History Channel, and aside from a few occasional documentaries and sports games, my boyfriend and I don't even watch TV at all. Any program we'd be interested in watching, we watch online. Does that mean anything to any of you? No, it doesn't. Just like some 20-something frat dude watching MLP means jack shiat to me.

Find something else to criticize people about.

kingfismit: Over obsessed fanboys suck no matter what. Spamming pony, amime, rage faces, or whatever will get you all sorts of fark off whether it's masculine or not. So, no, you are not re-defining masculinity, you are just annoying.

This. I don't care about the show. I don't care about your anime, your photo-memes from 4chan reddit and flicker, your troll/rage faces, your Dr. Who, or any of the other shiat internet-people get obsessed with and post in every thread as though it's the 3rd coming and the newest most interesting thing ever.

You like a little kids show. You think it's cleverly written, and that's cool. I don't care either way so shut up about it. You're the one insecure in your masculinity if you're threatened by it.

My problem with Bronies, as with everything else like this is not that they like something I dont like. I dont dont like it. Hell I dont know if I like it because I dont care about it. No, my problem (and I suspect most people's problem with Bronies though they dont know exactly how to quantify it) is that theyre so farking aggressive about how much they like it. Shouting how much they like it in everyones faces forcing it upon everyone and anyone around them. Its almost as if theyre trying just as hard to convince themselves its a worthwhile endeavor as they are to convince everyone else. As with anything like this, I couldnt give three farks if you like it... but shut the fark up and leave the rest of us out of it.

FirstNationalBastard: To be concerned about being grown up, to admire the grown up because it is grown up, to blush at the suspicion of being childish; these things are the marks of childhood and adolescence. And in childhood and adolescence they are, in moderation, healthy symptoms. Young things ought to want to grow. But to carry on into middle life or even into early manhood this concern about being adult is a mark of really arrested development. When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty I read them openly. When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up. - C.S. Lewis

It's one thing to not feel threatened by indulging in occasional childish activity. It's another thing entirely to be consumed by them. It does say something about your level of emotional development when you're closely identifying with a simplistic cartoon.

Sim Tree: This whole brony 'debate' is reminiscent of middle school culture, where if you liked Star Trek, you were a 'nerd', and could get beat up; or if you enjoyed classical music, you were therefore 'gay'.

Today I shamlessly watch Star Trek, and classical music, and My Little Pony. They are all fun, enjoyable works. I don't need anyone's permission to have fun. This isn't middle school.

The expected audience of Star Trek: Sci-fi fans (neeerrrrrdddsss!!!!!)
The expected audience of Classical Music: Music people
The expected audience of My Little Pony: Little girls.

Bronies aren't changing masculinity; they're showing a lack thereof. It actually makes me feel better about watching anime since there's a level of man-child below me.

Nabb1 [TotalFark]

I have no real problems with these fellows, but I wouldn't leave any of them alone with my kids, either.

^ THIS. So farking much, This ^

FirstNationalBastard

//if your masculinity is threatened because someone likes watching a fun show about candy colored ponies, you're the one with the problem, not me.

Sorry snowflake. I know in your self centered imaginary little world, we all revolve around you, but no, you are no "threat" to anyone other than small unsupervised children.

I'm not a brony, I've never seen the show, but if it brings you happiness and joy, more power to you. All this hate is sad.

To the tune of some old country song . . .

Mothers don't allow your kids to watch TV,

Send them outside to go out and dig up some worms.

Don't let them eat sugar or corn syrup,

They then might grow up to be women and men.


My five year old grandson (kindergarten next Fall) was telling me the other day about how scientists do not know what was really going on before the Big Bang and that this was millions and billions of years ago before time started. I can't wait until he starts talking like that to his kindergarten teacher.

But, then he grew up digging worms, and as I did not spend my childhood watching TV, and how I raised my son in the same manner, it only seems natural that my grandson knows the names of every edible plant in the vicinity, and he likes to watch spiders making webs with a flashlight, and he likes to organize all his realistic toy animals by their home continents, and he doesn't want to go to Europe, because, "There are no big interesting animals left in Europe except some birds, like storks." And I am not making this up.

My grandson is also very loving and kind. He told me that he can't wait until his little brother is big enough so that he can teach his little brother to talk. He is also very patient with his same-aged friends. They all want to watch TV, but he gets them to go outside and starts showing them how to dig up worms, and turn over rocks to find wood lice, other bugs and the occasional salamander.

It is a special time when honeysuckle begins to flower. My grandson teaches his friends how to suck out the nectar from the blossoms. It is true we have a big yard. But, my proscription against TV and sugar would hold for all children up to age five. And then just cut them into a light dose of Nature and Nova on PBS.

I know this is FARK. I also know that sincerity is not highly valued on FARK threads. But this huge thread is about grown young men, Bronies, and this subject suggests that we have a bunch of grown men who watched way too much TV in the childhoods involved. I am older than TV. When I first saw TV it was black and white, and boring. I did not have a TV when my son was born. Somebody gave me a TV when my son was about three. I had heard about Sesame Street. Those big loud cartoon numbers, one, two, three, started popping up on the screen. I turned the TV set off, took my son out into the yard, and taught him to count with small stones in his hand. He learned to count almost immediately. I later taught him to add, which he learned with the weight of the small stones. Then he would count to check his guess.

We became human beings during the paleolithic period. We became more modern human beings in the neolithic period. We took over the world in that time from the Arctic to Patagonia. We did this without TV. Give your kids a chance to grow up strong and smart. Forgive my sincerity, P.

Seraphym: *sees YouTube link...

[fc08.deviantart.net image 480x203]

I don't know what the fark late-teens and young-twenties guys, the latter of whom are only 10 years behind me, are getting influenced by, but between the lame Justin Bieber forward-flop haircuts, emo-style jeans and farking Bronies, a major section of an entire generation needs to hand over their man cards until they either (a) grow up or (b) their balls drop.

While I understand that socially-awkward nerds and geeks (and on some subjects I'm a pretty big geek myself) have a social need to find a common passion to join in friendship and a sense of belonging with others, especially when their aforementioned awkwardness has prevented that in the past, identifying with a show for 12-year-old girls is farking ridiculous... as in deserving of ridicule.

Bronies fall into the furry and clown-sex category of "deviant" as far as I care... they're disturbing and saying that the show is good and that's why they identify with a 12-year-old girl demographic is not sufficient. I've seen the show at my kid's friend's house (who's a girl) and I couldn't have given a lesser shiat about it; it was exactly like described: intended for pre-teen girls, and just, well, for a young-thirties engineer, lame. It's not redefining masculinity any more than any of the other lame crap socially-awkward late-teens and college kids get into, trying to find some identity. Hopefully these losers grow up before I have to have them on my IPT at work.

/as big of a Star Wars fan I used to be as a teenager, that key phrase "growing up" has allowed me to see what a massive dork I could have been had it not happened soon enough
//soon enough is about when you can start legally getting drunk
///even the very-geeky IT guys at work, with TMNT figures fighting on their desks, are waaaaaaaaay cooler than Bronies





Go and tell these guys that they need to return their man cards. Go on, I'll even wait for you.

Dinobot: FirstNationalBastard: Hand Banana: Bah, meant to post This Day Aria

I see your villain song and raise you Smile Smile Smile

I see your Smile song and raise you Russian Pinkie's Brew: Link

Can I throw in some Cerulean Blue?

Maralyn Minks: No, because a lot of bronies are still really misogynistic and creepy. They just also happen to be a fan of a show for little girls.


Yes, it is for little girls. Except for the great animation that all ages can enjoy, and the well written characters that all ages can also enjoy, and the entertaining stories and the jokes of which many would go right over a child's head, and the great music, and...hey wait a minute!

oh_please: That's not what it's about. It's about being a part of some cool exclusive club, and when most people find it creepy, that only reinforces the whole "so uncool it's cool" thing. It's like a clique in high school, except they're not in high school, and it's retarded. Then when they get called out on it, it's all WHARGARRRRBL WHAT ABOUT SPORTS PERSONAL FREEDOM I'M A CRUSADER, blah blah blah, when it's not about that at all, it's a need to belong to something.

I think you nailed it. Liking a cartoon, or indeed any TV show, book, movie, whatever is fine. It is obsessing about it to the point of having an identifier (bronies) that says something else is going on and I think you are right: The people who go crazy overboard with the fandom are looking for something to belong to, and this is just their chosen thing.

If you like the show, that's great, but maybe a bit less with the obsession.

My faves

LasersHurt: oh_please: 3) You brag about it at every opportunity.



No, they don't. A tiny fraction might, just the same way as a small fraction of fans of any show, or sports team, or anything will bring it up too much. Don't assign the bad behavior of a few onto the whole group, because it's stupid to do to ANY group.

Personally I don't see Bronies post about MLP any more than I see anybody else post about Star Trek, Star Wars, Dragonball Z, sports, etc. In fact IMO they tend to be a whole lot less obnoxious. The only real difference is that MLP is "OMG FOR GIRLZZZZ!!!", and that drives the micro penised "manly men" INSANE. Seriously, as someone mentioned up the thread, we see all kinds of geeks obsessed over kids shows like Transformers, Voltron, Dragonball Z, etc, and they don't inspire NEAR the butthurt that bronies do. I think it's kinda hilarious. Are they redefining masculinity? No, but they drive the macho dudebro dipshiats nuts, and I approve.

Coco LaFemme: Find something else to criticize people about.

This x infinity.

Crude: If a male hasn't weened himself off of cartoons by the age of 15, then you know that there is a developmental issue at hand.


Roger Ebert disagrees. You're the one missing out, not us.

/tell us about your Mother

Bronies should be rounded up and executed.

I didn't RTFA/WTFV, but it seems to me that half of the brony thing is because they're trying to get together with other like-minded people and have fun without getting hassled. There was mention that when they started identifying as bronies, they became attention whores. Trekkies, Superfans, Otaku... this isn't exactly a new thing, and it can be on any subject; from books to sports to TV shows. Maybe the groups just appear to be a new thing because of the internet. Or maybe the groups are bigger because there's this constant pressure of "You shouldn't watch this" "This isn't meant for your gender" "Not masculine." and the only way to feel comfortable is safety in numbers.

Why exactly is it that MLP is considered exclusively for females, and things like G.I. Joe, Transformers, etc are considered a show for males? Why is "Fight your way out of a problem" considered good for boys, and "love and tolerance" considered bad? Why is the opposite true for girls? And why do some people have a problem with others stepping out of the designated gender role?

/You know who should dig giant robots? You, me, and chicks.
//So what's wrong with guys digging ponies?

Hobbies are good. That includes watching pony cartoons.

Obsessions are bad. That includes salivating over pixelated horses.

BillCo: FirstNationalBastard: [image.spreadshirt.com image 280x280]

//if your masculinity is threatened because someone likes watching a fun show about candy colored ponies, you're the one with the problem, not me.

It's not your masculinity that I am worried about so much as your intelligence. Just how retarded do you have to be to be obsessed with something that has a target audience of little girls.

/maybe it's the little girls you're interested in?

Isn't it funny that its always the people who hate on the cartoon are the first ones to mention pedophilia?

/What's on your mind, BillCo?

Wayne 985: My concern is with grown men who religiously watch any programming directed at small girls by themselves.

You do realize that this right here is the reason it has been so successful outside of it's traditional target demographic, right? It's because it wasn't directed at small girls, but rather at both genders by design, thanks to Lauren Faust. She basically took an IP entity that was a commercial failure outside of a niche (and never expected to last more than a season, by the way), and turned it into a very, very successful animated series with an ongoing continuity. Not only that, but the show has been hugely successful in getting almost the same amount of parental bonus material and crap past the censors that Animaniacs was famous for.

Faust is what got me curious about it. I grew up on her and her husband's work - things like Dexter's Lab, Powerpuff Girls, and the like. But what got me hooked was not the show, but the art community itsself, especially the fanworks and the Tumblrverse.

I never took an interest in the show, have watched a few episodes because I have a female friend who adores the show. I don't see what the big deal is, as long as it stays and remains at the show the interest. Would you generalize and not let Trekies alone with children? Is a silly idea that they're all cloptropping bastards. Rule 42 people, any fandom in the world can be preverted by sick people and since the internet is a place where people can express such perversion easily it unfortunately happens.

At the same time its understandable the defensive action of the Bronies, they've been generalized as being on the same level as furries but pedophiles or something. Look, I'm 27 and I still watch cartoons every Saturday with my best friend. Today I'll watch Thundercats the 2011 cartoon, Fairy Tail, Gosick, The Legend of Korra and Transformers Prime if there is an episode today.

That anyone should feel threatened by me being a grown man and liking cartoons and anime is silly. Of course I've never been one of those people who has approved of such obsessive fandom. I remember growing up in Eugene Oregon, surrounded by Trekies who would compare their knowledge of various ships and making web pages about Star Trek. Why can't someone just enjoy something as it is and skip over the obsession. Eh, whatever.

MLP is a harmless show, not my sort of thing but I don't dislike it when I've watched it with my friend, but I do see the appeal. It has humor, it has nerdery, it has a little bit of Disney with the singing and the dark plots. Its a fun show, can't we leave it at that?

It's a fun, happy, and surprisingly smart show.

We live in a very jaded and materialistic world and this show is escapist for those in search of a more geniune, happy, and innocent time. It doesn't surprise me that MLP is so popular amongst our armies due to this.

I farking love MLP: FIM, and although I get away with it because I'm a girl (and a HUGE MLP fan from my own childhood), I totally understand the appeal for men. Even my husband thinks it is cute. Once I have a kid (particularly a girl), it will certainly be playing 24/7 in my house!

kingfismit: Over obsessed fanboys suck no matter what. Spamming pony, amime, rage faces, or whatever will get you all sorts of fark off whether it's masculine or not. So, no, you are not re-defining masculinity, you are just annoying.

I think it's providing fodder for societal comment based on passing trends.

The show its a sort of release valve.

Sometimes, i am just tired from work, i am tired of the cynicism, of the negativity; and watching the show puts a smile on ny face, it's a throwback to my childhood, and normally makes me feel better about the world and just have a more positive outlook on life.

I don't let it redefine my masculinity because i am not beholden to other people's opinions.

I go out to hunt every now and then, specially turkey and white tailed deer, i practice sports, love playing violent videogames, read books from many kinds of authors, be it hitchens, king or clancy, i go to bars, every now and then hook up witha girl, or go straight to the strip club, sometimes i paint on canvas, listen to either classical composers or indie canadian rock bands, sometimes i take to my garden, or help my cousins in their backyard projects building a deck, or go fishing... I dont let any of that to define how manly i am either.

However all that share something in common, i use them as a release valve, a way to release myself from the pressures of life, to find balance in life, so i can continue forward on step at a time.

We do things we enjoy in order to balance out all the crap life throws our way. Some things are more unorthodox than others. But the mistake people make is that they get preconceived ideas about what you have to enjoy AND try to force it on others.

I'm not gonna force my animal loving friend to go on a hunting trip with me, just like my vegetarian friend is not gonna force me to eat organic produce, or my religious cousin nit gonna force me to share his belief in god.

In other words, love and tolerate.

Nick Spiceyweiner: You people sure are trying hard to convince everyone that you're not weirdos. I don't think its helping...

Seems to me that this whole thing has now gotten to the point that a Pony thread should auotmatically be moved to the Politics tab.

2 sides acting like their couldn't be shades of grey between them, name calling, zero convincing the other side that they could be wrong And then a few people having a civil discussion for about 1/10 of the thread at best.

I see nothing wrong with grown men enjoying what is essentially a kids show.

But it's ok to go ahead and enjoy it without buffering that by saying that "we're not enjoying a kids show we're redefining masculinity, yeah that's it."

Is it ok for 'bronies" to just enjoy the whole thing without pretending there's some greater - macho ulterior motive driving things? I'd be ok with this.

Bronies can be amusing, for instance they are real easy to talk into watching an animated movie about bunny rabbits who have adventures looking for a new home.



1978 laughs at 2012's definition of masculity, and decent animation for that matter.

It's not specifically the ponies that bother me.

It's the fact that this is just another shallow cult whose misguided members use it as a source of piety.

The thing that isn't "adult" to me is the obvious dependence on the association with and approval of others to constitute one's own identity.

Dinobot: Seraphym: *sees YouTube link...

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I don't know what the fark late-teens and young-twenties guys, the latter of whom are only 10 years behind me, are getting influenced by, but between the lame Justin Bieber forward-flop haircuts, emo-style jeans and farking Bronies, a major section of an entire generation needs to hand over their man cards until they either (a) grow up or (b) their balls drop.

While I understand that socially-awkward nerds and geeks (and on some subjects I'm a pretty big geek myself) have a social need to find a common passion to join in friendship and a sense of belonging with others, especially when their aforementioned awkwardness has prevented that in the past, identifying with a show for 12-year-old girls is farking ridiculous... as in deserving of ridicule.

Bronies fall into the furry and clown-sex category of "deviant" as far as I care... they're disturbing and saying that the show is good and that's why they identify with a 12-year-old girl demographic is not sufficient. I've seen the show at my kid's friend's house (who's a girl) and I couldn't have given a lesser shiat about it; it was exactly like described: intended for pre-teen girls, and just, well, for a young-thirties engineer, lame. It's not redefining masculinity any more than any of the other lame crap socially-awkward late-teens and college kids get into, trying to find some identity. Hopefully these losers grow up before I have to have them on my IPT at work.

/as big of a Star Wars fan I used to be as a teenager, that key phrase "growing up" has allowed me to see what a massive dork I could have been had it not happened soon enough
//soon enough is about when you can start legally getting drunk
///even the very-geeky IT guys at work, with TMNT figures fighting on their desks, are waaaaaaaaay cooler than Bronies

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Go and tell these guys that they need to return their man cards....

There are chicks (some damn hot ones I might add) who do those jobs too...



These fighting sisters are not men... they are badass warrior women, more mature than 12-year-old girls and Army Bronies.

Hence:



/I'm off, continue ranting at me in your best MLP lame-ass fashion, it's sad and amusing, somehow

BillCo: FirstNationalBastard: [image.spreadshirt.com image 280x280]

//if your masculinity is threatened because someone likes watching a fun show about candy colored ponies, you're the one with the problem, not me.

It's not your masculinity that I am worried about so much as your intelligence. Just how retarded do you have to be to be obsessed with something that has a target audience of little girls.

/maybe it's the little girls you're interested in?

It's really sad that the first thing you think about when someone mentions cartoons is having sex with little kids. Maybe you should try to work on that.

I thought you bronies only liked this crap ironically. But to listen to some of you neckbeards so aggressively defend your love for a little girl's cartoon. This is.... this is just weird guys.

I get liking Cartoons as an adult. I'm rounding the bend on 30, and the Venture Brothers is one of my favorite shows of all time. Admittedly I always thought that Anime fans were mostly secret pedophiles, and I am still correct about that. I don't think liking "My little pony" as an adult man makes you a pedo in the way Anime does (unless MLP prominently features incest and impossibly breasty 11 year old japanese girls, in which case, I really have the wrong impression of MLP). I do think I would recommend getting your hormone levels checked though, and lay off the soy.

This guy likes Rainbow Dash and is still more manly than the haters.

/Also, hello guys, missed me? =D

Maralyn Minks: Jesus tapdancing Christ, I'm not saying that you can't enjoy the show. It's just that the target audience is little girls. Spongebob also includes adult references and is pretty well-written, yet it's still a kids' show, first and foremost.

Do you know what the "target audience" refers to? It refers to the audience that The Hub (partially owned by Hasbro) is looking to reach for their marketing; they are trying to market pastel ponies with long hair so the target audience is young girls. The show is written to conform to an "educational/informational" standard that was developed in the 1980's because parents were up in arms about cartoons no longer being about entertainment, but about pushing the latest plastic crap in front of kids so they would beg parents to buy it. Yes, I am one of those parents that was responsible for making sure networks carried a certain percentage of educational programming because I hated the fact that cartoons were nothing more than half hour toy commercials. Of course, it wasn't because my kids watched animated programming blocks after school and on Saturday mornings - it was because I wanted smarter cartoons to watch with them. My kids watched the classics; Looney Tunes, Disney, Marx Brothers and 3 Stooges.

You don't have to be a parent of a young child to appreciate modern animated programs. Hell, I haven't had a toddler in my home in a decade (and those were my grandkids), but I still enjoy cartoons. The three most watched networks in my home are Hub, Cartoon Network and Disney XD. The youngest resident of my house is 29 years old.

Shadow Blasko: BronyMedic: Hell, Skrillex himself has used DJ Pon-e/Vinyl Scratch),

DeadMau5 too now.

I'd post a pic, but fark is being a goatf*cker about .png files and won't allow them (Hey Drew, it's not 1999 anymore. There are new pic formats out there now).

So, here's the link:

http://images5.fanpop.com/image/photos/31000000/Welcome-the-the-herd- D eadmau5-my-little-pony-friendship-is-magic-31088203-500-770.png

GreatBunzinni: LasersHurt: So every single fandom is creepy. Medicine is creepy. Sports are creepy.

The metric of "you have words, and also meet together!" is ridiculous on the face of it. Humans gather together based on their interests. Get over it.

First of all, are you really trying to compare grown men watching shows targeted specifically at prepubescent girls to medical students? How out of touch with reality is that?

If it was aimed only at little girls, why is there a ton of material that only older people can understand and enjoy?

Regarding your comparison with sports, can you tell the difference between someone who enjoys watching some event and someone to whom the event "is still real to me, dammit" ?

Bronies don't riot in the streets murdering and destroying because their team lost/won. Bronies don't have undying violent rivalries over who throws or catches a ball better. Personally I feel safer in the company of guys who watch a cartoon than in the company of guys who watch sports.

Skyfrog: Now I love the show, though I don't go all out with the conventions and stuff like that. I still watch shows cartoons like the 80s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Thundarr, the Pirates of Dark Water and modern shows like Phineas and Ferb and the more adult cartoons like American Dad. If enjoying animation makes me immature then I don't want to be whatever mature is.

Hobbes discovers MLP: FIM

THIS!

On my DVR right now is shows like NCIS, Game of Boobs, Hell's Kitchen, and Hatfields & McCoys (which I still need to watch.) but also I have MLP, Adventure Time, Young Justice, Tron, Avengers and Korra. I'm 23 but I still watch cartoons. If the show can appeal to me like the shows I mentioned, then I call it a good show. If kids like it and have something grown up like as well, then it's a good show.









If these are the shows me, my girl and friends like, then maybe we are all little kids in adult bodies and these people and their "adult views" can bite me.



MORONS, MORONS EVERYWHERE!

GreatBunzinni: These "bronies" aren't redefining masculinity. These are childish people who regressed and took refuge from life by adopting a childish activity as a form of escapism.

So, the reason why "bronies" are the negation of masculinity is not that they are effeminate; it's because they explicitly intend to avoid masculinity. These are men-child who yearn for a better time where they were pampered by a motherly figure and therefore avoid the adult world, with their responsibilities, demands and impositions, in favour of their own little children world.

Y'know, I've never watched the show. But one of my pet peeves is insecure men obsessed with manliness who keep blathering about man cards and lecturing the rest of us on what's proper. So you know what? Because of you and a few others in this thread, I'm going to give this show a shot.

Because fark you, nobody tells me how to act like a man.

Skyfrog: Comparing pre-FIM MLP to FIM is like comparing 60s campy Batman to modern Batman.

They both exist only to sell toys.

LasersHurt: You sure like to read into someone else' choice of television show quite a lot.

Whether you like it or not, each and every action you take is a characteristic of your personality. So, by revealing your actions you also reveal who you are.

It's very simple. Holders of the Real Man[tm] card get to decide what that means. If you, like many in this thread, spend any amount of time obsessing that someone else's hobby is threatening to your masculinity, that ain't you. So stop pretending you are. You're not.

If you're going to have a creepy fetish for 8 year old girls television at least do it right.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20BZID081Vk

Jem FTW!

orbister: FirstNationalBastard:Critics who treat adult as a term of approval, instead of as a merely descriptive term, cannot be adult themselves. [...]. - C.S. Lewis

Phillip Pullman has previously ripped Lewis' odd views about childhood and adulthood to shreds. Adulthood is about learning, growing and maturing. Sure, childhood is great, but what sort of weirdo wants children not to learn, not to grow, not to mature.

That said, bronies are clearly pampered, self-indulgent idiots.

If C.S. Lewis would have stayed an atheist, Pullman would have said it was one of the greatest quotes from one of the greatest people in history. You might as well ask a Hatfield what he thinks of the worldview of the McCoy family.

doglover: orbister: That said, bronies are clearly pampered, self-indulgent idiots.

This is Fark. Anyone reading this is by definition a self-indulgent idiot.

El Freak: No, they don't. A tiny fraction might, just the same way as a small fraction of fans of any show, or sports team, or anything will bring it up too much. Don't assign the bad behavior of a few onto the whole group, because it's stupid to do to ANY group.

Personally I don't see Bronies post about MLP any more than I see anybody else post about Star Trek, Star Wars, Dragonball Z, sports, etc. In fact IMO they tend to be a whole lot less obnoxious. The only real difference is that MLP is "OMG FOR GIRLZZZZ!!!", and that drives the micro penised "manly men" INSANE. Seriously, as someone mentioned up the thread, we see all kinds of geeks obsessed over kids shows like Transformers, Voltron, Dragonball Z, etc, and they don't inspire NEAR the butthurt that bronies do. I think it's kinda hilarious. Are they redefining masculinity? No, but they drive the macho dudebro dipshiats nuts, and I approve.


What kind of adult male sits down and says "hey, I'm going to watch my little pony?" It's not like you grew up with it. All the other things that you mentioned have been around for years, and there is usually a certain nostalgia associated with them. The MLP cartoon has been around since 2010. No one here was watching that show when they were 12.

This reminds me of a debate I heard where someone asked "if you watched porn featuring a transsexual and a girl would it be gay?" The answer is "It might not be gay, but it's weird." Adult males getting into MLP is just weird.

Also you sound fat.

This video is incorrect. Bronies aren't "redefining masculinity" they are avoiding it.

Also, if the show is so good and has such a good message, then compliment it and move on, but any male who defines themselves by a little girl's tv show still has some growing to do and some masculinity to achieve. You don't get to just redefine a word to include you just because you're upset that you aren't included by the definition of that word.

If you read this thread while mentally replacing My Little Pony with RON PAUL and ignore the 'intended for girls' and 'love and tolerance' bits, it still makes sense.

My guess is that if the average "Bronie" spent the time at the gym they spend watching MLP, and they put the Mt. Dew down while gaming, they might not feel so social awkward and would suddenly find they didn't need other social awkward males to validate their loneliness.

Molavian: Mock26: doglover: My Little Brony, Friendship is Tragic NSFW


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Seriously though, there's bronies in Afghanistan protecting your right to be haters. This Song has been sung/hummed in an honest to go firefight. I don't know what constitutes manliness, but anything that keeps you calm(er) with hundreds tiny bits of metal speeding towards your dick at 1000+ fps is manly in my book.

How exactly are they protecting my rights? I find it kind of hard to believe that there are people in Afghanistan who are attempting to circumvent the Constitution of the United States of America.

Have you ever actually read the Constitution?

Yes, I have. And there is nothing going on in Afghanistan that violates my rights here in America.

As the father of 3 girls who all love this show, I'd just like to say that Rainbow Dash is a farking jerk. Hey biatch, why you got to hate on turtle so hard? You were only nice to him after he saved you ass.

Counter_Intelligent: kingfismit: Over obsessed fanboys suck no matter what.

This.

This x 2.

I like certain TV shows, as do some of my friends. We don't have a special name for ourselves or tell everyone about how we are part of the latest passing fad at every opportunity.

Allen. The end.: I did indeed.

Then I went to the website you quoted. The research (if you can even call an online poll that) about as scientifically legitimate as "timecube".

Considering it was a demographics study done by two college psychology professors, I'm sure it's much less valid than your own opinions.

But, that's ok. You're entitled to believe what you want. No matter how wrong you are.

I like ponies and hate children. In fact my consultation for a tubal ligation is next week.

Saying that liking a cartoon equals pedophilia is garbage. They tried to do this for Star Trek, too, or don't you all remember. I still like Disney movies, and Warner Brothers, and Ninja Turtles, and Batman Animated. Know what I bought myself for my birthday? Donkey Kong Country trilogy for SNES (I don't know how I DIDN'T have it already to be honest!).

Age is mandatory, maturity is optional. Which is good because it's freaking boring.

Signed, Bromethius, occasional brony forger

To my Bronies, let the haters hate you already found your happiness.

Not a Bronie but am friends with a few. Most of them are in the military. If it takes love, friendship, and acid trip colored ponies to get through that godless hell scape then so be it. It brings them joy and causes no harm. I see no problem.

Carry on gentlemen.

shivashakti: How fragile is masculinity and how narrow is our definition of it that watching and enjoying a TV show can take it away from you?

About as narrow as this finger, ladies!
Men are to be tested. Always. Manliness is never taken for granted.

Oh, here we go!

I watch the show. I frequent the message boards, sometimes I even write silly pieces of fan-fiction that spun out of the fandom. All i really have to say is: there are people who don't understand that a piece of creative material can be easily intended for one audience, but have aspects to it that appeals to an entirely separate fan base.

The easiest way to explain it is this: The art is consistently appealing, the animation is well done, the writing is clever, the voice acting isn't phoning it in, the jokes are genuinely funny, the music is full of nods to great composers like Steven Sondheim, the plots make sense, the characters develop, the interaction puts the Bechtel scale to shame, and, most of all:

IT'S NOT REALITY TV.

Honestly. Turn on TV during prime time, you get 99 channels of people being told that their ancient piece of crap is worth a fistful of dollars, or that their being physically attractive but socially retarded makes them a good candidate for a TV series where cameras just follow them around, or that their sense of fashion sucks so we're gonna spend all of $500 to make you look halfway decent for a day or two.

Honestly, these days, anything with a script and some passion is better than 99% of TV, and having a script, passion, and a crew that genuinely cares about what they are doing? ALL of my YES.

How fragile is masculinity and how narrow is our definition of it that watching and enjoying a TV show can take it away from you?

Bronies is like the official "I'm secretly stuck in the closet but I really want to shout it out" tv show for closet homosexuals. Or at least for the people that aggressively shout "BRONIES!" everywhere.

And sorry, the 3 people I've seen talking about My Little Pony IRL have been confused gay dudes. Like the creepy, I lurk on 4chan type of dudes. Dead serious. So if you're gonna tell me you're straight and watch this shiat, I probably won't believe you.

Inigo: I have no problem with people watching MLP.
Making plush pony replicas with functioning genitalia, writing long detailed stories about themselves tonguing Twilight Sparkle's tight quivering tailhole and drawing pictures of Lauren Faust as a pony in bondage sucking dicks is another matter, however.

I dunno, I don't have a problem with people being perverted since they're going to be perverted anyway. I do have a problem with them putting it on the internet to the point that is very not safe to look for MLP: FiM art with the safe filter off.

Who doesn't like brownies?

I have no problem with people watching MLP.
Making plush pony replicas with functioning genitalia, writing long detailed stories about themselves tonguing Twilight Sparkle's tight quivering tailhole and drawing pictures of Lauren Faust as a pony in bondage sucking dicks is another matter, however.

Wayne 985: Perditax: I don't get why people think watching cartoons = pedophilia. I would much rather leave small children in the care of bronies than anyone who thinks of boffing kids the second they see a cartoon character. If you see a picture of a pony and you automatically think of schtupping kindergartners, you might just have a problem there.

I have nothing against ponies. My concern is with grown men who religiously watch any programming directed at small girls by themselves. It's very Michael Jackson.

No it isn't, and the very idea it is is stupid. Its a farking harmless show meant to be a bit of fun, and that it has appeal to adults as well as children should matter not.

doglover: My Little Brony, Friendship is Tragic NSFW


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Seriously though, there's bronies in Afghanistan protecting your right to be haters. This Song has been sung/hummed in an honest to go firefight. I don't know what constitutes manliness, but anything that keeps you calm(er) with hundreds tiny bits of metal speeding towards your dick at 1000+ fps is manly in my book.

How exactly are they protecting my rights? I find it kind of hard to believe that there are people in Afghanistan who are attempting to circumvent the Constitution of the United States of America.

Research Time!

http://www.bronystudy.com/

Dr. Edwards began both his academic and clinical careers in the early 1980s. He has taught for over 25 years at the graduate and undergraduate level and has trained Master degree researchers and clinicians. His research interests include: Health Psychology, Behavioral Medicine, the structure of Love Languages, Factors Influencing patient's responses to therapy, and most recently Factors influencing the development and expression of the Brony Phenomena. Dr. Edwards has also provided therapy to individual, couples and families in Private Practice and Psychiatric Hospital settings

Dr. Marsha Howze Redden earned her Ph.D. at Louisiana State University in 1973 and shortly thereafter began an independent clinical private practice in a small community in South Louisiana. She had a general practice, working with patients with a variety of problems and from ages three years to the elderly population Dr. Redden retired from private practice in 2008 after 31 years and since then has served as adjunct professor at a small liberal arts college. She has taught classes which include research design and methodology, as well as psychological testing. Her interests include learning as well as personality development.

Demographics: Who are our Bronies?
1) Age: Ranged from 14 to 57, average age was 21 years old.(Note: due to IRB consideration only subjects who were 17 years of age or older were used in the following analyses)
2) Gender: 86% of the Bronies were males.
3) Education Level: 35.2% of the Bronies were in High School, while 62% of the Bronies were in or had completed college.
4) Location: 69% were from North America, with 22% from Europe and 5% from down under.
5) Employment:70% of the Bronies were full or part-time students, while 32.7% had full or part-time employment.
6) Sexual Orientation: 84% of the Bronies described themselves as heterosexual, 1.7% described themselves as homosexual, 10.3% described themselves as Bisexual and 3.8% as Asexual.
7) Marital Status: 96.4% of the Bronies were single and 2.9% were married.
8) Dating: 22.4% of the Bronies had No Interest in dating, 60.9% were interested but not dating, 10.5% occasionally dated, and 6.3% frequently dated.
Please Note: As some subjects left demographic data blank the percentages do not always add up to 100%. In addition, on some items subjects endorsed more than one response.

Brony = troll movement

With the glut of reality shows alot of good writers fell to kids programs to eat. I haven't seen this show but I wouldn't be surprised to find it had decent writing in it and was as enjoyable for an adult as a kid. Like Rockos Modern Life.

OnlyM3: Sorry snowflake. I know in your self centered imaginary little world, we all revolve around you, but no, you are no "threat" to anyone other than small unsupervised children.

So because we like cartoon ponies, we're pedophiles? Really?

/You sound mad.

BillCo:
It's not your masculinity that I am worried about so much as your intelligence. Just how retarded do you have to be to be obsessed with something that has a target audience of little girls.

/maybe it's the little girls you're interested in?

Bravo, 8/10.

Do what you like and if someone gives you shiat about it you can tell them to get farked. That said, I think it's just a bit of a reach to suggest that "macho" guys will one day be the ones watching cartoons at all much less My Little Pony.

Who cares. I personally think the whole brony thing is ridiculous but if that's what some guys want to do, more power to them I guess.

But as for whether it's redefining masculinity or not, well, perhaps a brony should be open about his little obsession whilst dating and see just what women think about it. If he finds a girl who doesn't mind, good for him. But I suspect a lot would be kinda put off.

kingfismit: Over obsessed fanboys suck no matter what. Spamming pony, amime, rage faces, or whatever will get you all sorts of fark off whether it's masculine or not. So, no, you are not re-defining masculinity, you are just annoying.

^What they said.

Bronies are farking creepy. They are far more creepy than I could have ever imagined furries being.

I suspect that our definitions of everything are changing, simply because folks whine so much about how their perception of X should define my perception of X that the definition of X becomes completely muddled.

Are persons who enjoy watching cartoon ponies men? Perhaps.

When they start calling themselves bronies my perception of them changes, in the same way that 'metrosexuals' changed my perception.

They are no longer masculine ( nor are they feminine ). I'm not sure what they are. Maybe just male versions of attention whores.

No: This is not redefining masculinity. This is highlighting aspects of masculinity.