Bronies?

Sprinkles

Sprinkles

Teeny Tiny Baby Pony
Joined
May 9, 2011
Messages
281
I really apologize if there's a thread like this already. However, I'm just curious: what do you think of the bronies (or /b/ronies, if you prefer) who are into Friendship is Magic?

I have really mixed feelings about them. On one hand, I was once like them -- I did initially discover FiM through *****, and my fandom grew from there. Although a lot of them don't seem to be interested in the generations before FiM, it is always nice to get new fans.

...On the other hand, I really don't like the way some of them take the cartoon too seriously, or twist the characters from the originals. I browse Ponychan often, and I see a lot of discussion that is...Unneeded, to say the least. (Some examples include "Is Princess Celestia insane?", "Is Rarity Sweetie Belle's mother?", and "Why are there no cemetaries seen in Ponyville?") Maybe I only think this way because I'm a young girl, but why are these sorts of discussions necessary for a My Little Pony? And don't get me started on some of the theories for the characters... Pinkie Pie's treatment is the worst, between "Cupcakes" and videos of her singing about abortion...

Any other thoughts? I realize that not all bronies are like this, but I see this often, and it gets on my nerves. I'm really just ranting. ^^;;;
 
We've received a lot of new members on the TP after the new show aired!
I've been a collector for almost 5 years now, and I'm VERY happy to have a new show and new merch!
I admit I was a bit shocked when men started coming into the chat room we have. Most asking about the new show and asking if anyone was interested in fanfiction and pony rpgs.
However I have spoken to a few and from the people I've talked to they are very friendly. I did mention that I am a collector of ALL the gens, and most are not interested in that kind of thing. But I was asked my feelings on the new MLP versus the old. I have had some nice discussions with new fans.

Personally however, I'm more curious to find out if this fandom will last much longer now that Lauren Faust is no longer part of the show.

I guess I have mixed feelings too. Cause yes, I've also seen the umm... inappropriate side to this new fandom as well. I just try to stay away from certain websites. ;)
 
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Yeah, most of them are really nice. I just think that, sometimes, they overanalyze things just a little bit. ^^;;;

And about Lauren Faust leaving, I think it just depends on what direction the show goes in. If it goes in the direction of G3.5, yeah, they'll probably leave. But if they keep it true to season 1, they'll probably stay. I've heard good things about season 2, so I'm pretty excited. (More Luna? Derpy being an official character? Yes, please!!)
 
(long post ahead, sorry)

While I haven't visted ***** (not a site I'd recommend for the faint of heart, either), I asked some of the other people at the MD meet last weekend if they felt the way I did, like my fandom has been invaded.

It's weird, before the show, I felt secure in knowing that most of the people I dealt with here or on other pony forums (and this is going to sound COMPLETELY sexist!) were female, or at least the trusted male who had been in the community for some time. No males were invading and calling us babies or laughing at us for liking a show that was geared toward little girls - most of us collected the toys AND watched the show and were in the fandom for the fandom.

Now we've got guys watching the show (I don't know about the collecting part) and loving it...I'm honestly feeling invaded. I mean, they're not storming over here and posting R rated stuff (and if they are I know our mods are taking care of it!). It's not their fault, if they like the show, they like the show. I'm just SHOCKED at the number of guys that like it and are *admitting* to liking it.

I sort of have this mentality in the back of my head - some part of superiority complex, that "we had this first, we were here first, we supported the show long before it even came OUT", and that when the show is over and done with down the road they'll go on to something else and we'll be left alone again.

Or not, and I'm not sure how I feel if they DON'T leave. :p

I dunno - I kind of feel that if females had suddenly invaded GI Joe or Transformers en masse they'd kind of feel off-put.

When we heard that they were making a second season and "it was going to knock our socks off" (or something to that effect), my first thought was "Oh good, we're going to have an even BIGGER Brony invasion next season!"

It's hard to sum this up. I'm sure most of them are nice, I just feel invaded, is all!
 
I think I'm not too bothered by them? I collect all pony gens and have been collecting for years, but it was always kind of a thing to be ashamed of. People would catch me doodling ponies in my notebooks and laugh at me, or come over for my house for the first time and be flabbergasted by the amount of ponies in my room...I lost a lot of friends that way in middle and high school.

But I'm in college now, and the new show makes my interests practically socially acceptable!

One of my friends I met here who's very anti-girly girl loves the show, and because of the show she's helping me with one of my customs! For the first time I know people in real life I can actually talk to about ponies.

Also it doesn't hurt that I think 'brony' is the most hilarious term ever XD
 
What does Brony mean? I have been confused about this for awhile ever since I first heard it on GAIA of all places lol.
 
Sprinkles, I completely get where you're coming from. Don't get me wrong, I'm always happy for new MLP fans to come join us, and I think anyone who wants to enjoy MLP should be able to...but I get what you mean about the inappropriate content. And I also get what darcerin means about feeling "invaded", but not because we had it first -- I feel invaded due to a lot of the content on that side of the fandom. I see ponies as something completely innocent and a complete fantasy world, so I don't really like to think of them in any other terms...that's how I've seen them my entire life (I've been a pony fan since I was a very small child, and I'm now 27).

Part of the reason I feel uncomfortable with that side of the fandom is because a similar thing happened in another community I'd frequent a lot. A completely new type of fan took over, with a lot of inappropriate content...and it kind of ruined it all for me. The complete feel of the community changed, because of the types of things that were being discussed; they took something innocent and turned it into something else entirely.

I know not all of them are into the inappropriate side of it. And a good portion probably just enjoy the show for what it is, clever and fun. So I try not to judge. But it has left me feeling a little bit weird, due to previous experiences. And I guess the big flood of them did catch me a little off-guard. It was really the last thing I ever expected to see in the MLP world, to be honest.

So, Sprinkles, I guess I really agree with you. While I realize not all of them are like this, I see things I'd really rather not see and it's kind of off-putting for me, too.

I've just noticed very little change here at the actual MLTP so this is where I stay. And I hope we keep the feel of this place around for a long time -- I hope, at least, that doesn't change. :)
 
Leonaenae said:
What does Brony mean? I have been confused about this for awhile ever since I first heard it on GAIA of all places lol.
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Bronies are the term for the men who are into the Friendship is Magic cartoon. I think that particular term was formed on *****'s /b/ board, where they were called /b/ronies.

And thank you, Plumeria, I'm glad to see that someone feels the same way. The thing that initially attracted me to ponies was the innocence, and I hate seeing people trying to take it away and turn it into something that it's not. Seriously, it's a cartoon. Stop trying to find deep characterization and hidden meanings when they're not there.
 
I'm happy to see "bronies". I haven't seen anyone asking if Rarity is Sweetie Belle's mother at all, brony or otherwise (aside from some speculation on the Arena before the show was even released.)

Frankly, I feel like I could cry tears of joy seeing the huge influx of MLP fanfiction they've brought to the community (and, no, not all of it is shipping! Not that I have a problem with shipping, but I'm not much a fan of the romance genre so I enjoy "non-romance" fanfics better in general, in any fandom.) There's creepy MLP-based pictures, as happens with any popular fandom, but I've found them easy to avoid.

I love the people here and on the Arena, but it's often so . . . toy-based here. As much as I like interacting with "traditional" MLP collectors, I love being able to see less "Who is the rarest pony, who was your first pony, which pony do you want to buy next?" and more "Where is Princess Luna, is Pinkie Pie clinically insane, what happened to Applejack's parents?" Even the crazy conspiracy theories about Celestia really being evil--I don't take it seriously (nor do most bronies, I think), but I find it pretty funny.

The only thing I don't like is the ones that find G1 videos and post "This isn't FIM so it sucks!" That makes me roll my eyes. But that could be my G1 bias showing through--I just remembered I posted something like "What the **** is this monstrosity??" on one of those wretched Newborn Cuties videos, soooo I guess what goes around comes around. ;)

Oh, and also people assuming I'm a guy when I post FIM music videos--I don't like that either. That's what I get for having a gender neutral name on YouTube.

MLPs have always been symbols of adventure, not innocence to me, and there have always been "non-innocent" interpretations of MLP, like RP boards in post-apocalyptic Ponyland where ponies are mutants. I remember an early serial fanfiction (late-90s) that was a soap opera (it literally had soap opera in the title) and, well, the ponies behaved like they would in a soap opera. Illegitimate children, cheating, ponies getting locked in closets together and making out, you name it.
 
Hehe... I guess that this just shows how new I am to the fandom, huh? And about Sweetie Belle being Rarity's daughter, I only just saw that today. I can see your point though -- discussion other than the toys is a really nice thing. It's really when I see stuff like "What kind of drugs do you think they take?", I get annoyed. ^^;;;
 
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Sprinkles said:
I can see your point though -- discussion other than the toys is a really nice thing. It's really when I see stuff like "What kind of drugs do you think they take?", I get annoyed. ^^;;;
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Yep, I agree with this 100%. I don't mind discussing things other than the toys, in fact, I really like to the discuss the new show and pony world as we know it. Ponies are about adventure, to me too. But they also capture childhood innocence for me. Ponies represent different things to different people, and that's awesome. BUT, I think some things are just taken too far. An example is a self-proclaimed "brony" that I know that was discussing Twilight Sparkle being pregnant with Big Mac's baby pony. IMO, that is just too much. If some people want to talk about that, I cannot control it and I would never attempt to...but I definitely don't agree with it and to me, that's just not what MLP is about. Apparently it is to some, though. Again, I must stress that I'm not throwing *all* bronies into that category, 'cause I know they all don't think that way. But that thinking does make me slightly uncomfortable.

I also don't mind humor regarding MLP. I've enjoyed several fan made comics from the past. But it has to be done in a tasteful way...and a lot of the stuff I see just isn't very tasteful. Like I said earlier, though..I am slightly soured to that line of thought due to previous bad experiences in another community.
 
See, I must be the only person in the world who sees SUCH a huge line bwteen FiM fans and Pony Collectors. Pony Collectors can also be FiM fans, but I've not yet seen any FiM fans go the other way (apart from the OP here I suppose). Liking a cartoon and being in a fandom is entirely different to retro toy collecting, and if I thought negatively of the "brony" side of things, I still don't think it'd impact me at ALL that they exist. Someone talking about Celestia being insane does not in any way change collecting the toys, the old cartoons, values, prices, or anything.

And what on earth is wrong with discussion on graveyards in Ponyland? xD I LOVE that sort of discussion. I LOVE worldbuilding, always have. Heck, when I was a kid, I LOVED writing fanfic about evil ponies and ponies that had been cast out of Dream Valley, haha.
 
Eh, I've seen weirder, I was just giving examples.

And I'm a FiM fan who turned into a collector, so it can happen. C:
 
My bf LOVES the FIM HUB MLP. I record it on my DVR and we watch it together. He loves Pinkie Pie and Derpy Hooves. I only visit here and the Arena, but my bf goes on all the other websites about the show and reads about it and tells me the latest news. Its kinda funny! I never expected him to be more into the show than me. LOL. But I think its cool boys are into the show. I enjoy watching it and talking about it with my bf. Of course he is also a kid of the 80s and respects MLP.
 
Kar, the Double Rainbow Dash vid has been my favorite parody since Day 1. :lol:
It's simply the greatest
 
Like Kar, I LOVE all of the creative content that's come about because of the Brony revolution! There's really some top-notch stuff. It's ponies for the modern day, and I think it's great! The fact that it appeals to people regardless of gender is even more fantastic, and speaks to a quality experience.

I like that most bronies want to keep the MLP experience fun and friendly, and that they're treating it as a tolerance movement of sorts. Honestly, while the "creepy pictures" exist in greater abundance now, I dare say they existed ages before now!! (Unfortunate experiences with Google image search - don't ask.) On the whole I think the Brony revolution is an exceptionally positive thing.

The bronies coming over here will, I think, realize that collecting forums are more toy-based and will gradually redirect themselves to sites that better cater to their interests. I think we just have to be patient, tolerant, and accepting.

The one thing that gets me, though, is how "brony" seems to imply maleness. I identify both as a fan of the new show as well as collector...and I'm a girl...can I still be a brony? Do I want to be a brony? Labels are confusing.
 
Mostly, what LM said. EDIT: And Reaperfox, and Kar Red Roses.

I'm honestly really surprised to be in the minority here, but I think bronies are the best thing to ever happen to this fandom.

I wouldn't go on *****, and that crowd tends to attract a dirtier sense of humor than I would prefer, but that crowd is also extremely tech-savvy. This means lots more art, fanfics, and even song instrumentals/a capellas/remixes that we've never had before. They also - sorry - tend to find out pony news way faster than we did before.

I also love that this opened up a whole new gender to the fandom where we had very few men before, and how much attention this has gotten the whole MLP product line as a whole.

The only parts I don't like are the Faust-worship (she's great for designing the world and characters, yes, but she wrote my least-favorite episodes in the series and I wish the other fantastic writers would get some credit) and the - ahem - "clopfics." But those are easy to avoid.

I realize that in a few years, these bronies are unlikely to stick around while the rest of us are still here. But personally, I'm trying to enjoy it while it lasts.
 
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*pokes head in*

Bronies?
Wow what all have I missed?
It sounds like fun. Of course males are going to give a cruder spin on being Pony Fans. It's when they pose to be fans just to talk to the girls on the forums that weirds me out. But even with that...can you blame them?
 
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