Is Brony a 'bad word' ?

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SturgeonQueen

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Jul 6, 2011
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Okay, I kind just got slapped in the face with news - so... 'Brony' is a term that some people get offended by? And even upset and angry? And I guess people have heated arguments on forums about the term 'brony'?

Can anyone tell me WHY? I don't understand? I use the term all the time, just referring to myself as a pony collector and fan of the show - it's a word that made sense to me like 'a bro of ponies' and even though I'm female, it's like saying "Hey guys" to a group of females (IN MY MIND!)

Anyway can someone please explain what's so bad about Brony? I just want to be educated so I don't go around offending people :(
 
I think a lot of it has to do with the word Brony's association with some of the nastier stuff (**** like drawings of ponies, etc) as well as the fact that a lot of the self-proclaimed Bronies absolutely hate every generation of MLP prior to FiM and make pretty nasty comments about them, which of course tends to upset those of us who had been collecting MLP before FiM and love all the gens. I know not all of them are like that, but that's the problem with large groups. A few can do something and the whole group gets blamed for it. So it's not really a male vs. female thing, it's more of a only FiM fan, vs. the general MLP fans. At least, that's how I see it.
 
I don't think so.

FiM is just so HUGELY popular right now, and everyone now knows about "Bronies". People ask me "are you a Brony?" all the time now.

With every single fandom, or group the nice people tend to blend in, which is the bulk of of most groups, while the odd obnoxious or rude person within a group stands out and gets noticed.

So this is why some are offended by the term, they are associating the word with the few fans that happen to identify themselves as Bronies who "stand out" for not so nice reasons.
 
I know multiple collectors who think that brony is a name to call someone to insult them, for they feel that all bronies are into some of the really nasty stuff parts of the fandom are in to. I also ran into a girl in one of my classes who flinched when I asked if she were a brony, correcting me that she was a "pegasister."

Some people don't want to be connected with men, ever, and I can respect that, but it's also not fair to assume that every person who chooses to label themselves as a brony is into the very negative parts of the fandom. We all know that there's stereotyping for people who like MLP or collected even before FiM came about, so continuing this stereotyping isn't helping anyone.

If someone says that they'd rather not be called a brony, then it would be best to respect that, but we also shouldn't use the term brony as an insult, either, nor to assume the worst of anyone who says they're a brony.
 
Ahhh yes yes I see that makes a lot of sense now that you mention it like that... I just personally refer to myself as a Brony (sometimes an Ultimate or Uber Brony) but I collect all gens, and G1s are my favorite.

Oh and I guess I can say, I'm totally not involved with any of the fandom-fanfic stuff that happens with MLP at all, never have been... so that stuff totally just slips my mind when it comes to things like that. I will always respect if someone asks to not be called a Brony (I changed a whole thread because I used the term without knowing and then I didn't want to alienate anyone...) - but you're right Phekzhen, it shouldn't be an insult either...

But - from now on, I can see why some people wouldn't want to be categorized like that, so I will just refer to us as collectors or pony lovers. :D

Thanks for the insight!
 
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SturgeonQueen said:
Ahhh yes yes I see that makes a lot of sense now that you mention it like that... I just personally refer to myself as a Brony (sometimes an Ultimate or Uber Brony) but I collect all gens, and G1s are my favorite.

Oh and I guess I can say, I'm totally not involved with any of the fandom-fanfic stuff that happens with MLP at all, never have been... so that stuff totally just slips my mind when it comes to things like that. I will always respect if someone asks to not be called a Brony (I changed a whole thread because I used the term without knowing and then I didn't want to alienate anyone...) - but you're right Phekzhen, it shouldn't be an insult either...

But - from now on, I can see why some people wouldn't want to be categorized like that, so I will just refer to us as collectors or pony lovers. :D

Thanks for the insight!
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I'm with ya!

I don't mind being called brony, but then to me it's harmless. I most certainly don't support the explicit stuff of fandom, but I still love ponies. I usually won't call others bronies until I know they don't mind.

I'm a part of a brony group in my state- they're mostly male, but they still call me a brony. They say it's a genderless term. :3
 
FantasticFirefly said:
With every single fandom, or group the nice people tend to blend in, which is the bulk of of most groups, while the odd obnoxious or rude person within a group stands out and gets noticed.

So this is why some are offended by the term, they are associating the word with the few fans that happen to identify themselves as Bronies who "stand out" for not so nice reasons.
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This is EXACTLY what I was going to say! XD

Unfortunately, the brony community has a serious PR problem. There are some really, really nice bronies and they do a lot of work for charities. This always gets overlooked because of the childish bronies that bash on previous gens, ones that curse up a storm when things don't go their way (OMG, they changed the name of a pony!!11! Anger!), the general immature attitude of some, fanfics/pr0n, etc.

I have this mentality of "I like ponies, you like ponies." I just wish the idiots in the community would stop ruining it for all the nice people out there.
 
I think, in fandom vernacular, 'Brony' has sort of come to mean the same thing as 'Otaku' - to other Bronies, it's a badge of honor, but to normal people, it basically means "crazy obsessed fan who needs help." It tends to get associated with the nastiest and meanest people in the fandom, from what I've seen.
 
i don't think it is a bad word, some people will get offended over anything! they are just looking for a excuse to bite your head off, if i had a nickle for every time I got snapped at just for saying hello!
 
Well, people often call me a Brony and I don't really like it. I just tell them I'm a collector and I like older gens, and don't classify myself as a Brony, but if they mean it with good intentions, (like I'm a fellow Brony) then I don't get offended by it. I'd only be upset if it was meant to be demeaning.
 
lyricalstar said:
So, a "Brony" can be a Male or Female collector?
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It depends on who you ask. To those who call themselves bronies, I think they are accepting of either male or female usage of the term. For some old gen collectors, like me, BRO-ny refers only to male FiM fans. Overall, I think it's generally acceptable to call any FiM fan a brony (assuming you are using the term in a polite way!).
 
ahh.. ok ty. I wasnt sure. I like all generations of ponies, but I know for me if someone calls me a brony I wouldnt get offended because I love anything my little pony.
 
I use the term brony sometimes, like with people who know what bronies are, but don't know there's a bigger fanbase, and I sorta explain from there. Like, "Well I'm a 'brony', but there were three gens of ponies before those, and I've been a fan of my little pony since waay back then."

I find rule 34 offensive, but I don't find bronies themselves or the term offensive.. unless they're the 'bad' ones who steal blind bags, follow you around when you have ponies in your cart, or start talking about how sexy pinkie pie is, and let everyone know in pictures or fan fics... although I don't really read them, I'm mostly canon hardcore!
 
Aadra310 said:
It depends on who you ask. To those who call themselves bronies, I think they are accepting of either male or female usage of the term. For some old gen collectors, like me, BRO-ny refers only to male FiM fans. Overall, I think it's generally acceptable to call any FiM fan a brony (assuming you are using the term in a polite way!).
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Melissa said:
I definitely think it's all about the intention. Some people purely use brony to distinguish G4 MLP fans from fans of other gens. Some intentionally use it as an insult. If you MEAN it to be insulting, then it is.
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I totally agree with both Aadra and Melissa. Though I like FiM, I don't consider myself a brony because I like all gens (though I find 3.5 is questionable, but I won't get into that).
Bottom line is it has so many associations I find the meaning of "brony" lies in the context in which it is used and what the user believes it to mean.
 
I am a fan of the other generations, hence why I use the term big brother ponyfor myself. All of my friends in RL who like ponies are Bronies, however
 
Stormness_1 said:
I use the term brony sometimes, like with people who know what bronies are, but don't know there's a bigger fanbase, and I sorta explain from there. Like, "Well I'm a 'brony', but there were three gens of ponies before those, and I've been a fan of my little pony since waay back then."
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Those of us that grew up with the first three gens were bronies before being a brony was cool. Depending on whether or not you take offense at being referred to as a brony.
 
It took me a really long time to finally accept that I had become a brony. I finally decided to accept it by taking their own definition at face value: people who love MLP FiM AND have unlimited unconditional love and tolerance for all categories of people without malicious intent. Now, that's not how they word it, but when I consider that their cannon of rules is written by younger people who haven't been alive long enough to have had the college education I have, that's how I condense them all down into one.

Well, I'm really old according to many of these brony founder people, and I was actually alive when G1 was invented, and I've collected all these decades. I loved ponies from the beginning, and I love all generations and all ponies within them with severely limited exceptions (no need to go into those here, but I go out of my way to try to make sure I don't say anything that may offend the people who like them). Somebody who claims to be a brony who has reserved or no respect for those of us who appreciate any other generation is like a Christian who doesn't believe in God. He's not really a brony. Saying he is doesn't make it true. All he does is ruin the reputation of those who are true bronies.

Oh, and saying you have respect for certain people and then bashing them? Same principal. Saying it doesn't make it true. "I totally respect that you like G2 ponies, but I don't understand how you can like such ugly and horrible and stupidly named things!" That's not respect in my view. I can't help but be offended by it, so in my mind, a fan who says that cannot be a brony.

Sorry, one more thing: people who say, "I'm a brony. I notice you do a certain thing that I wouldn't do cause I think it's stupid, but I love and tolerate. Mostly tolerate." This expresses obvious disapproval and disrespect, and he therefore disqualifies himself as a brony in my view.

This is all just the way I look at it all. Being a brony isn't bad, and I think calling a G4 fan a brony, whether or not this G4 fan is a fan of other gens, shouldn't be insulting. But being a fake brony with all that hatred and stuff is probably the source of all the negative feelings people have for the word. I also group rule 34 fans separately from bronies since it can be applied to anything that exists by definition. It makes me sad when I come across pictures of my little girls being abused like that, but they are drawn by an entirely different class of people in my view, and they do not get my consideration.

Sorry this was so long.
 
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I personally would not want to be called a brony or a pegasister, I find them both weird. I collect G1 ponies, I like all the shows but I prefer the original to the one that's on now, but I don't want to be included in any of the group stuff that's going around like those names. I like this website but that's about as far as I go.
 
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