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[Keru_Shiri]

Could you please expand on this, I'm genuinely curious. It seems whenever we have one of these threads, I always find numerous people saying "Oh yeah they're always pushing it in our faces. Fucking Bronies, man." None of us do that here, and I haven't seen it done anywhere I've seen. Closest thing is maybe on Youtube with people posting some kind of Pony reference or joke on a non-related (or very very sparsely related) video.

I mean this was just posted on the last page:



Just comes off as a weird paranoid delusion. It's no different than any other GAF member having an avatar of a show/game/movie they like. That's it.

Honestly I think you'd have a more compelling argument saying that about Ookami/Boss Doggie's "MASSIVE PECTORALS" avatars.

Certainly. I was only speaking from personal experience, but essentially, what I was getting at was that nerds of every variety will talk to people endlessly about subjects they're passionate about, be it Dungeons & Dragons, The Halo books, comic books, etc., and that Bronies are no different.

 

[Kenai]

I actually do think there's something to it, purely because so many people immediately mention how uncomfortable it makes them feel "to be around one". When the only difference 99% of the time bewtween themslves and a brony is they watch a show said person doesn't like that wasn't made for their age group.

Even if you think it's weird just cause (when there's tons of examples of it happening in the past, from Powerpuff Girls to Sesame Street), MLP has to be something different that people immeditealy associate with every negative internet sterotype you can think of, from a pasty nerd (which is ironic considering what most think of when mentioning a videogame forum) to furries and pedophilia. I really don't understand why that is.

People seem geniuiney bothered by it, and it's both hilarious and depressing all at once. I see a lot of people mention they wouldn't care so much if it wasn't shoved in their face, but that's usually bullshit from what I can tell, as those same complainers are most often the ones to wander into threads about them, aka "looking for trouble".

That being said, I really wish this wasn't going on. It's a decent show with it's fans (and weird fans), but that really should be the end of it. For some reason it isn't though, and I wouldn't mind knowing if the reason why can really be pinned down.

 

[Novid]

I really, really dont want to go through all of this for real. Because even if i did say the truth about what MLP really means (and no, its has NOTHING to do with ManChildness - thats COD in its more extreme forms, nor what defines Masculinity because half the bronies are doing a non sexual exprement without the whole icky sex thing)

MLP means for me the end of the business as I knew it and understood how it works. Its the termnation point of a struggle that started long ago when nobody believed that somebody could move a drawing - but they did and they called him a Magician.

The Advertisers have left in droves. Because every time something was going to be this big, the ad men will come and start taking apart the so-called Creepers, the sick folk all those - they will shame them and promote to the kids. This used to work in diffrent ways. But the ad men realized once the Government started to talk about Advertising and its effect on kids, there goes there money, pyle.

Then we have E/I (and the Childrens TV Act of 1990/91 - 1996 and 2004) which IMO is the greatest communist written document since the Communist Manfesto. It pretty much stated that the FCC now can and will revoke a stations licence if it doesnt produce the same stuff it did back in the 1950's for children with none of the adverts. Of course the Networks went up in arms. They saw that the Kids Business (which they wrecked because they kept chasing fads and airing shows 13 weeks out of the year, while synication was airing 26 to 52 weeks and half the fads came from Syndication anyway) was done and that they couldnt continue doing this. They were losing money fron that Writers Strike in 1988 hand over fist. But the Government, in the wisdom of trying to help Inner City Youth stated that E/I was the way to go.

And so what happend? Everybody here should know the story. If you dont i feel very sorry for yall because i dont have any sort of website on me to state what happend (it would be too long). But now here we are. We are now talking about is one show breaking the whole culture while the whole gambit is rotten and MLP is showing the symptoms.

 

[tfur]

I think this tells more about you than about the person you would do that to.

It took a lot of willpower to resist the urge to call you something unpleasant for making this post.

I mean something really, really unpleasant.

Seriously, what?

Welcome to the real world.

If this brony movement is something you do, be prepared that potential employers or people in general may laugh at it, and make judgments. Its a persons' right to feel however they do about something.

 

[The Technomancer]

I agree with much of Kajima's post, I think that many people (in the last few decades, definitely not just this generation) latch onto some of the extremely shallow icons of childhood because we have a cultural void that people are trying to fill.

 

[Vermillion]

And I'm assuming you grew up either in the late 80s or the 90s. Context is important.

I'm not expecting Bronies to be a thing twenty years from now. Or at least less of a thing than Trekkies are today.

Touché on both points. But had I been around when trekkies were huge I might have had the same complaints. It's simply too much.

 

[Novid]

I agree with much of Kajima's post, I think that many people (in the last few decades, definitely not just this generation) latch onto some of the extremely shallow icons of childhood because we have a cultural void that people are trying to fill.

Maybe because everytime the cultural void is about to be filled up and a matricuation proccess starts, its ripped away?

 

[Anoregon]

Welcome to the real world.

If this brony movement is something you do, be prepared that potential employers or people in general may laugh at it, and make judgments. Its a persons' right to feel however they do about something.

It's kind of like the whole "You don't have to like that I'm a diaper-wearing furry, but you damn sure have to respect it" line that I've seen almost verbatim numerous times in my internet adventures.

Respect it? What? Fuck no I don't. People have the right to like or do whatever they want, but other people absolutely have the right to think they are total fucking weirdos. It's a two-way street.

 

[Futureman]

Thumbs up to Kaijima's post.

Natural B's post is so ridiculous. Yea our world is collapsing around us because a few thousand people in a country of millions likes a pony show!

 

[Keru_Shiri]

Welcome to the real world.

If this brony movement is something you do, be prepared that potential employers or people in general may laugh at it, and make judgments. Its a persons' right to feel however they do about something.

Maybe if I showed up in a Ponies shirt, but if I show up in a suit and tie, and present myself in a respectable manner, that should be the end of it. I guess it depends on where you work, because if someone printed out Facebook pages at my office to laugh at, they would look like a dick. And probably be in trouble for wasting ink.

 

[Drencrom]

Bronies are changing the definition of bad taste.

.

 

[Maleficence]

The problem with bronies is actually nothing to do with the show at all. A normal well rounded person with decent social skills may enjoy the show but certainly wouldn't get caught up in the brony culture in the way that some do. It's the underlying lack of social skills and emotional maturity that lead to these sub-cultures becoming so demonised and unpleasant to be around.

 

[meltingparappa]

Welcome to the real world.

If this brony movement is something you do, be prepared that potential employers or people in general may laugh at it, and make judgments. Its a persons' right to feel however they do about something.

I think they were more referencing what a wild abuse of power it is for a potential employer to take something from a hiree's facebook and hang it around the workplace.

Especially for something closely associated with femininity, it strikes me as only a few steps removed from discrimination based on sexual orientation.

 

[The Technomancer]

Thumbs up to Kaijima's post.

Natural B's post is so ridiculous. Yea our world is collapsing around us because a few thousand people in a country of millions likes a pony show!

I don't think Natural B's post and Kajima's post are entirely at odds. The phenomenon that Natural B is referring to isn't limited to Bronies and its hardly just cynical internet forum-goers who have "noticed" it. There have been writings on similar ideas since the 70s and 80s, its tied somewhat to everyone's favorite term, postmodernism. Am I saying its accurate? Not necessarily. But I don't think it quite falls into the mold of Plato's eternally apocalyptic youth either. Cultural shifts do happen.

 

[7Th]

Precure changed the definition of masculinity.

 

[Hari Seldon]

It took a lot of willpower to resist the urge to call you something unpleasant for making this post.

I mean something really, really unpleasant.

Seriously, what?

Sorry, you have the right to be entertained by a show for 6 year old girls, and I have the right to judge you mercilessly for it.

 

[bjb]

It's funny I was actually talking to a former co-worker about "bronies" this morning. He currently works at the local mall across from a toy store (KB Toys I think?) and sees quite a few of their creed on a regular basis.

Anyway, in the midst of our conservation - mostly mutual disgust and a few comical stories on his part, he proceeded to pull up some "pony art" on Google. Which apparently quite a few of them openly talk about. Even as they're walking around the fucking mall in public. Needless to say, I wanted to vomit. It's rather disturbing.

Thinking that GAF was maybe immune to that level of filth - I checked the community thread here. Only to find some (while not nearly as graphic) really questionable photos.

I mean, really? Part of me wants to think that's not too suggestive. Yet the idea of grown men flaunting pictures like this over a TV Show targeted at little girls is just.....well god damn it's gross. Someone mentioned earlier that "brony" culture has traits of pedophilia within it. Again, I stand by what I said before in that I can not definitively say one way or the other.

However, I do know that if I had a teenage daughter and some dude was coming over claiming to be a "brony", then at a minimum - I would immediately check for his name on the local sex offender registry.

 

[Foxtastical]

I don't think Natural B's post and Kajima's post are entirely at odds. The phenomenon that Natural B is referring to isn't limited to Bronies and its hardly just cynical internet forum-goers who have "noticed" it. There have been writings on similar ideas since the 70s and 80s, its tied somewhat to everyone's favorite term, postmodernism. Am I saying its accurate? Not necessarily. But I don't think it quite falls into the mold of Plato's eternally apocalyptic youth either. Cultural shifts do happen.

Yes. Bingo. It's clear you're smart.

 

[Delusibeta]

Are Bronies changing the definition of masculinity? Hell no. Nowhere near. However, I do think this is pretty much the first time a Western show received an otakudom you'll more likely associate with certain Japanese anime, and subsequent mass of chucklefucks shouting "paedogeddon is nigh!". It's all very curious. Is it changing the definition of being a geek? I'd say "no", but I do think Bronies are closer to otaku (in the Japanese definition of the word, not just "people who watch anime and read manga") than your Western run-of-the-mill geek.

 

[meltingparappa]

Thinking that GAF was maybe immune to that level of filth - I checked the community thread here. Only to find some (while not nearly as graphic) really questionable photos.

That's your definition of graphic and questionable?

R E A L L Y ?

 

[freenudemacusers]

Scissor me timbers!

 

[Jado]

Why is this show a lifestyle for some people?

This is what bothers me about bronies and other related subcultures. Casually enjoying My Little Pony is okay, but letting any show (or movie or game) define your life so immensely is terrible. This is something that fades away in a person as he transitions into adulthood. Developing this obsessive tunnel vision behavior over a short-lived and trivial piece of entertainment is disruptive to normal human development and wrong. What better way to describe it than a waste of life? Most of these guys are in their twenties and doing absolutely nothing memorable with their time or energy.

Why does "being masculine" even matter? Serious question.

Being masculine, to a healthy degree, is an important part of being a man and no less important than a woman embracing her femininity. It doesn't mean being an alpha-male jerk, but rather a smart, responsible, sensible and motivated guy with serious career and relationship plans (any type, whether traditional or not). A good chunk of internet/cartoon/video game culture has guys stuck in an immature, obsessive phase well into the adult years. It involves daily rituals of messing around online for countless hours, obsession with consumerism (especially electronics), prioritizing video games over spending time with family, mooching off parents without pitching in and no thoughts of moving out years past college, poor socialization skills, lack of artistic talents or practical abilities, no desire to read or write or create anything as a hobby, and general aimlessness -- having no real drive or goals in life besides self-involved momentary and shallow pleasures. "Man child" is not just a term guys use amongst each other on the internet; adult women, with professional careers and desires to meet a good man and eventually settle down, use it to describe the numerous disappointing "boys" they encounter when dating nowadays.

The problem with bronies is actually nothing to do with the show at all. A normal well rounded person with decent social skills may enjoy the show but certainly wouldn't get caught up in the brony culture in the way that some do. It's the underlying lack of social skills and emotional maturity that lead to these sub-cultures becoming so demonised and unpleasant to be around.

In short, this^.

 

[SquiddyCracker]

Bronies are dude who like ponies?

I... don't really think they are a influential enough group to change the general definition of masculinity.

 

[Amibguous Cad]

I feel like I'm the only manchild around here that likes Polly Pocket =(

Oh shit I loved those back in the day. I remember being really disappointed with how the EZ Bake Oven stuff tasted, though.

Do you think it's important for a girl to be feminine? Because I sure do. Who wants to sleep with a manish girl?

*Raises hand*

no desire to read or write or create anything as a hobby

You haven't been paying much attention to bronies, or fandoms in general, if you think an unwillingness to create stuff is one of their problems.

Casually enjoying My Little Pony is okay, but letting any show (or movie or game) define your life so immensely is terrible.

When does something become a lifestyle? For some reason playing fantasy soccer, reading blogs, and checking reddit about MLS teams is just an interest, but as soon as I start hanging out on MLP forums and checking Equestria Daily as part of my blog roll it becomes an obsession. What gives?

 

[Jado]

You haven't been paying much attention to bronies, or fandoms in general, if you think an unwillingness to create stuff is one of their problems.

When does something become a lifestyle? For some reason playing fantasy soccer, reading blogs, and checking reddit about MLS teams is just an interest, but as soon as I start hanging out on MLP forums and checking Equestria Daily as part of my blog roll it becomes an obsession. What gives?

Most of a fandom creates nothing, and outside of some talented individuals, most create forgettable junk on deviantart.

My post did not single out casual MLP fans, so relax. If you skipped my second paragraph, then you would've seen it's about a much larger problem involving a number of subcultures with similar traits -- including the guy who's on reddit all day or fussing non-stop over his Internet fantasy sports league.

 

[eudaemonic]

My brother is a Bronie and since identifying himself as one, he has openly come out and said he's a man child and he really doesn't have any intentions on changing it. He full well knows this stunts his chance with the ladies or even moving out of the parent's house. But he's "come to terms" with it after seeing he's not alone. It's so odd to watch because I'm the complete opposite of it.

So while I don't see bronies changing the definition of masculinity, I see it expanding on a subset of males who fall into the category of my brother... I sometimes think of it as the Toys R Us mindset - the "I don't wanna grow up" group that doesn't want to embrace what society expects out of them as male adults but still appreciates the benefits of being one.

 

[ChiTownBuffalo]

I had a brony sit next to me on the bus this morning. Every time it would accelerate he would lean into me bringing that stupid yellow poney closer and closer

That sounds violating.

 

[Orayn]

smart, responsible, sensible and motivated guy with serious career and relationship plans (any type, whether traditional or not).

daily rituals of messing around online for countless hours, obsession with consumerism (especially electronics), prioritizing video games over spending time with family, mooching off parents without pitching in and no thoughts of moving out years past college, poor socialization skills, lack of artistic talents or practical abilities, no desire to read or write or create anything as a hobby, and general aimlessness -- having no real drive or goals in life besides self-involved momentary and shallow pleasures.

That's a heck of a dichotomy you've got there. Is there any way for a guy to fall between SHINING PARAGON OF MASCULINE VIRTUES and FESTERING MANCHILD WASTE OF SPACE, or is it really all-or-nothing?

 

[G-Fex]

I mean, really? Part of me wants to think that's not too suggestive. Yet the idea of grown men flaunting pictures like this over a TV Show targeted at little girls is just.....well god damn it's gross. Someone mentioned earlier that "brony" culture has traits of pedophilia within it. Again, I stand by what I said before in that I can not definitively say one way or the other.

However, I do know that if I had a teenage daughter and some dude was coming over claiming to be a "brony", then at a minimum - I would immediately check for his name on the local sex offender registry.

I'm not saying it doesn't but perhaps it does.

But you know also has MASSIVE traits of pedophilia? Hentai.

Yet when brought up here like that oh so infamous Vita thread about that moron on the train watching hentai, people are all too familiar with it, it's practically celebrated here yet a massive amount of that junk is rape/underage/non-consensual schoogirl crap. Throwing stones in a glass house it seems to me has happened a few too many times here on this forum. Just thought I'd bring that up. Course nobody would ever bad talk their precious hentai nor the hentai fan/watcher.

 

[DrForester]

It's funny I was actually talking to a former co-worker about "bronies" this morning. He currently works at the local mall across from a toy store (KB Toys I think?) and sees quite a few of their creed on a regular basis.

Anyway, in the midst of our conservation - mostly mutual disgust and a few comical stories on his part, he proceeded to pull up some "pony art" on Google. Which apparently quite a few of them openly talk about. Even as they're walking around the fucking mall in public. Needless to say, I wanted to vomit. It's rather disturbing.

Thinking that GAF was maybe immune to that level of filth - I checked the community thread here. Only to find some (while not nearly as graphic) really questionable photos.

I mean, really? Part of me wants to think that's not too suggestive. Yet the idea of grown men flaunting pictures like this over a TV Show targeted at little girls is just.....well god damn it's gross. Someone mentioned earlier that "brony" culture has traits of pedophilia within it. Again, I stand by what I said before in that I can not definitively say one way or the other.

However, I do know that if I had a teenage daughter and some dude was coming over claiming to be a "brony", then at a minimum - I would immediately check for his name on the local sex offender registry.

Most the art in the community thread is just cute fanart. We've had to deal with people posting troll stuff like that for a while.

 

[Taiser]

hot cosplay makes everything okay...

 

[akira28]

And so what happend? Everybody here should know the story. If you dont i feel very sorry for yall because i dont have any sort of website on me to state what happend (it would be too long). But now here we are. We are now talking about is one show breaking the whole culture while the whole gambit is rotten and MLP is showing the symptoms.

so you're saying the quality of the show is still a sham and ultimately they can't help but turn it into a merchandising pit? What are you saying?

I mean, really? Part of me wants to think that's not too suggestive. Yet the idea of grown men flaunting pictures like this over a TV Show targeted at little girls is just.....well god damn it's gross. Someone mentioned earlier that "brony" culture has traits of pedophilia within it. Again, I stand by what I said before in that I can not definitively say one way or the other.

However, I do know that if I had a teenage daughter and some dude was coming over claiming to be a "brony", then at a minimum - I would immediately check for his name on the local sex offender registry.

you know your entire post was a laugh right? especially the part about you knowing what your teenage daughter's male friends are into.

edit:^^ every one of the 'goddess group', every day. I'm that magnanimous.

 

[Myke Greywolf]

Being masculine, to a healthy degree, is an important part of being a man and no less important than a woman embracing her femininity. It doesn't mean being an alpha-male jerk, but rather a smart, responsible, sensible and motivated guy with serious career and relationship plans (any type, whether traditional or not). A good chunk of internet/cartoon/video game culture has guys stuck in an immature, obsessive phase well into the adult years. It involves daily rituals of messing around online for countless hours, obsession with consumerism (especially electronics), prioritizing video games over spending time with family, mooching off parents without pitching in and no thoughts of moving out years past college, poor socialization skills, lack of artistic talents or practical abilities, no desire to read or write or create anything as a hobby, and general aimlessness -- having no real drive or goals in life besides self-involved momentary and shallow pleasures. "Man child" is not just a term guys use amongst each other on the internet; adult women, with professional careers and desires to meet a good man and eventually settle down, use it to describe the numerous disappointing "boys" they encounter when dating nowadays.

This checklist does not describe the generality of the elements of this subculture in my experience. Even when it does, there is a lot more to it than just "Likes ponies => Infinite loser", if you bother to get to know those people. Most men would be hard-pressed to meet your culturally-biased definition of "masculine", but could still be amazingly interesting individuals. Your definition of masculinity seems to me to be a bit chauvinistic, too - aren't the traits you mentioned also desirable for women?

 

[CorvoSol]

The only problem I have with bronies is that so much brony fan art is "Take character/concept/idea, reduce to basic colors, slap onto horse template, stamp identifier on buttocks, and GO."

I grant that judging a fanbase off what I see in the Awesome Fanart thread is not the way to go about it, but there are some crazy MLP things out there now.

Otherwise it's just a bunch of guys into a thing I'm not into that I don't understand why they're into it and I don't care as long as they don't push it on me. It's more a sign of our culture having fanbases for everything than it is a redefinition of Manliness.

 

[Kai Dracon]

When does something become a lifestyle? For some reason playing fantasy soccer, reading blogs, and checking reddit about MLS teams is just an interest, but as soon as I start hanging out on MLP forums and checking Equestria Daily as part of my blog roll it becomes an obsession. What gives?

Here we come to one of the classic problems with these conversations.

It's all subjective. You can move the goal posts around when examining any particular case to fit someone into a "casual" box or a "lifestyle" box - whatever suits your needs, or your goal to stereotype someone.

How do you get to define what someone else's lifestyle is for them? To (easily) categorize them?

Generally speaking, I don't think it's about lifestyle. It's not about what someone builds their life around. It's about whether someone takes whatever they've built their life around and does something with it. This does not even have to be an external work. It can be a matter of personal growth. Now, to be frank, many subcultures do not encourage personal growth, but it's not necessarily because of the subject matter that the subculture is predicated on. Those who stereotype and assign negativity often try to conflate the content with the container, because that makes it really easy to cast people in a negative light. "You like X, you're a loser, because X is for losers, so only losers like X".

But at the end of the day, it's never that simple.

 

[BadAss2961]

I'm not saying it doesn't but perhaps it does.

But you know also has MASSIVE traits of pedophilia? Hentai.

Yet when brought up here like that oh so infamous Vita thread about that moron on the train watching hentai, people are all too familiar with it, it's practically celebrated here yet a massive amount of that junk is rape/underage/non-consensual schoogirl crap. Throwing stones in a glass house it seems to me has happened a few too many times here on this forum. Just thought I'd bring that up. Course nobody would ever bad talk their precious hentai nor the hentai fan/watcher.

Hentai is at least supposed to be for adults though (I think.) Embracing a subculture built around a cartoon meant for little girls, and in some cases making hentai out of it is a little extra.

 

[FLEABttn]

Bronies aren't reshaping the definition of masculine as much as they're a result of an ever changing definition, though their incarnation of it is potentially extreme to where it's borderline dysfunctional.

The issue may have something to do with masculinity, where in rejecting what man is supposed to be or failing to do what a man is supposed to do, this is the result. This isn't isolated to the USA, Japan has their herbivore men, rejecting society's call for them to be men. But I feel that the masculine focused aspect of this may be overblown. Something is wrong with society, some aspect lacking, not enough resonating with these people. And while the symptoms may point to gender roll anger, I think it's more than that.

Anyone with a modicum of comfort combined with a dissatisfaction of life (be it from cultural norms or expectations in life) and a minimal amount of safety is probably going to find something counter-cultural and weird that they latch onto, to some degree, as a result of these feelings and the environment they're in. They may not even know what they're looking for, but it sure as hell isn't the status quo and they don't know how to fill that void so for now, the ponies will do. Some aspect of this dissatisfaction may be medical like depression, aspergers, or autism, and society's way of handling these this may compound things.

MLP and Bronies may be a catalyst for a more interesting and broad conversation on society in general, but such fetishism is not a new phenomenon, so the treatment of it as such is confusing to me. The only reason why Bronies get this level of attention is because it's perceived as a combination of furrydom and pedophilia. While providing some level of entertainment when viewed under that lens, it's not a particularly deep conversation.

 

[G-Fex]

Hentai is at least supposed to be for adults though (I think.) Embracing a subculture built around a cartoon meant for little girls, and in some cases making hentai out of it is a little extra.

supposed to be but that doesn't stop a whole lot of people.

Everybody makes hentai out of every cartoon, look up rule 34

 

[crowphoenix]

I neither understand bronies nor the hatred they receive.

 

[Satch]

that-dude-up-there's concept of "being masculine" sounds like "being an adult"

 

[Jado]

This checklist does not describe the generality of the elements of this subculture in my experience. Even when it does, there is a lot more to it than just "Likes ponies => Infinite loser". Most men would be hard-pressed to meet your culturally-biased definition of "masculine", but could still be amazingly interesting individuals. Your definition of masculinity seems to me to be a bit chauvinistic, too - aren't the traits you mentioned also desirable for women?

Any guy who tries is capable of meeting those general definitions by simply being a smart, mature and well-rounded adult. It can be applied in so many ways that I'm not seeing the cultural bias (maybe if I had said a real man watches contact sports or chats up women at bars or something). I also didn't say they were all unique traits to men, although the manner in which they're expressed may be different among men, such as expressing motivation in a more forward or competitive manner than women -- which itself is not a bad thing despite what some may say. Regarding fans of a subculture, obviously not all fall into the "loser" category. I'm a big fan of Dragon Ball, but it doesn't consume my life or define me. I have met individuals who do neglect important aspects of life (health, hygiene, relationships, education) and focused intensely on something trivial like anime or a video game. I don't think there's anything wrong with simply liking My Little Pony.

 

[Zyrusticae]

People seem geniuiney bothered by it, and it's both hilarious and depressing all at once. I see a lot of people mention they wouldn't care so much if it wasn't shoved in their face, but that's usually bullshit from what I can tell, as those same complainers are most often the ones to wander into threads about them, aka "looking for trouble".

This is pretty much my experience.

Many of them say it's being "shoved in their face" if someone so much as makes the slightest mention of their interest. Come on, really, people?

Welcome to the real world.

If this brony movement is something you do, be prepared that potential employers or people in general may laugh at it, and make judgments. Its a persons' right to feel however they do about something.

It's kind of like the whole "You don't have to like that I'm a diaper-wearing furry, but you damn sure have to respect it" line that I've seen almost verbatim numerous times in my internet adventures.

Respect it? What? Fuck no I don't. People have the right to like or do whatever they want, but other people absolutely have the right to think they are total fucking weirdos. It's a two-way street.

There is a HUGE, ENORMOUS, OCEAN-SIZED GULF between someone posting some MLP pictures on their Facebook and someone wearing diapers and fursuits. They aren't even in the same league.

One is just someone who has an interest outside of their intended demographic. Another is someone who has absolutely no concept of social skills, or whose idea of it is so completely warped that they actively work against it to the detriment of others.

I think it is okay to deride someone who actively causes other people to gag and suffer within their immediate vicinity. I do NOT think it is okay to act like a douchebag to someone who just happens to have a hobby that isn't considered "normal".

I mean, hey, you can act like a douchebag if you want to, but I reserve the right to retaliate if you do. By the way, pretty sure you can get sued over that kind of behavior.

 

[G-Fex]

you know, calling bronies a bunch of furry horse sexers reminds me of that whole fox news thing a few years ago.

Calling the x-box the sex box and saying young kids played it just for the sex scenes.

 

[Lunchbox]

you know, calling bronies a bunch of furry horse sexers reminds me of that whole fox news thing a few years ago.

Calling the x-box the sex box and saying young kids played it just for the sex scenes.

i knew you were one of the pony lovers

keep denying it in the wrestling thread, but i got you now. screen shots and offscreen iphone pics and everything

 

[G-Fex]

i knew you were one of the pony lovers

keep denying it in the wrestling thread, but i got you now. screen shots and offscreen iphone pics and everything

I'm not, I don't even think it's a good cartoon.

I'm a turtle fan lunchbox.

 

[GungHo]

The day I had to explain to my mother what a furry was, I died a little on the inside.

My experience with this was telling my mom why she was getting pervy looks when she was singing ZZ Top's "Pearl Necklace" at the grocery store.

20? I would say 5.

I bid $1, Bob.

It has about the same traction as Garbage Pail Kids and Yugioh. Maybe there will be some holdouts, but there are no hooks in that thing to keep them going back once they touch an actual pair of tits or are old enough to buy alcohol and have enough hair on their chest to not screech "ah, that burns!!!!" every time they drink a shot. The people after them will find something else to play and identify with, like Giggle Worms or Furby 2.0, and this will all be a 5 minute segment on "I Love the Teens" 10 years from now, in between Justin Beiber castration plot stories and Kim Kardashian's sex tape sequels.

The only "threat" I see socially with this is the potential ramifications of having people with poor social skills be loosed upon society at large once their parents' medical bills become high enough that they're no longer going to be able to afford to live an infantilized lifestyle. If they truly have no employable skills, as per the stereotype, that could become a social problem beyond just being creepy... but again, I see no real difference between this and Steve Carrell's action figure collector in 40-Year Old Virgin, who was very employable beyond being a little weird. There are plenty of people who never found a peak after high school and turned out ok. Like gym teachers. Or cops. Or the IT guys at my work who are reading this post right now.

 

[Zyrusticae]

I bid $1, Bob.

[snip]

...THIS is what people think "bronies" are like?

Wow.

...Wwwooooowww.


I don't even know what to say anymore.

 

[Anoregon]

I mean, hey, you can act like a douchebag if you want to, but I reserve the right to retaliate if you do. By the way, pretty sure you can get sued over that kind of behavior.

Which kind of behavior? The "printing and showing the office" stuff? Arguable. What is and isn't "private" on sites like facebook is a bit in flux, legally. No argument that it's a dick move, but it's not necessarily open to air-tight litigation.

And I knew I'd have to roll me eyes and sigh, and at some point actually type this out, but no I am not saying bronies and diaper-wearing furries are the same thing. The point is that it's absurd to expect society at large to be totally cool and understanding when presented with something that seems completely ludicrous.

Ignore the fact that this is neogaf and we are all people that are internet savvy and are familiar with things far stranger than bronies. If average joe citydweller finds out the adult man he passes in the hall every day has an extremely passionate, maybe even borderline obsessive affinity for what appears to be a cartoon for pre-teen girls, it is not inappropriate for average guy's reaction to that information to be relatively negative. Expecting otherwise is absurdly naive.

 

[akira28]

I don't really think the brony/herbivore connection is a valid one. Yes there are some people that might qualify as herbivore types, but not every member of the MLP fandom is asexual or socially incapable. I think that this was the expectation, and once it was found, it became the highlighted example. But really, I don't truly let anyone know what I'm up to, except voluntarily, via interactions. And I suspect that's the case for most people here, and probably the case for most people engaged in the show's fandom. So it's basically them assuming what they know based on a few extreme cases encountered at fan conventions and some blog posts? No sale, guys. I wouldn't buy it anyway.

 

[Shadow Hog]

Here we come to one of the classic problems with these conversations.

It's all subjective. You can move the goal posts around when examining any particular case to fit someone into a "casual" box or a "lifestyle" box - whatever suits your needs, or your goal to stereotype someone.

How do you get to define what someone else's lifestyle is for them? To (easily) categorize them?

Generally speaking, I don't think it's about lifestyle. It's not about what someone builds their life around. It's about whether someone takes whatever they've built their life around and does something with it. This does not even have to be an external work. It can be a matter of personal growth. Now, to be frank, many subcultures do not encourage personal growth, but it's not necessarily because of the subject matter that the subculture is predicated on. Those who stereotype and assign negativity often try to conflate the content with the container, because that makes it really easy to cast people in a negative light. "You like X, you're a loser, because X is for losers, so only losers like X".

But at the end of the day, it's never that simple.

This is definitely a big problem with these topics. When the series was still relatively new, I'd assumed "brony" just meant "is a relatively casual fan of the show, or greater". That's the definition I've gone with, ever since. However, these topics tend to be created by people who run with "brony" as meaning the most extreme possible outlier within that subset - only in it for porn-related purposes, closet furry, likely a pedophile, no social skills at all, entire life revolves around the Almighty Pony, God help us all if these people tried to do anything normal people do.

I can't deny that that subset exists (I wish it didn't), but cherry-picking the worst of the worst and then extrapolating that to the entire group isn't really contributing to a meaningful discussion of the subject to any extent. It wouldn't contribute to a meaningful discussion of any subject to take that route.

I'm not even sure I can take the people using the term "manchild" seriously. Yes, there's definitely a serious discussion about escapism to be had here, but "manchild" tends to, in my mind, create the mental image of an adult-aged male who is literally acting like a five-year-old, with nary an inkling of responsibility taken beyond that level of maturity. Maybe this is another situation where terminology is fluid, and they don't mean it in a sense anywhere near as pejorative as this, but it's usually the context in which I see the term thrown around.

As for the question the PBS guy put forth: hell no, the show might be big but it's not that big. That guy in the earlier pages who said that things like gay rights and such are more responsible for changing masculinity? I think he's more on the mark.