Vixor

But that's wrong, nothing whatsoever in that article proves anything as canon. It's all just marketing talk and buzzwords, and Hasbro boasting about how they've expanded their IP on a variety of different fronts, but in no way does it say that anything is canon. All it really says is that they have a variety of products for fans to enjoy, but it does not in any way suggest canonicity any moreso than some random fanfic being a 'product' that fans enjoy. Hasbro's marketing makes no real distinction between what's actually canon and what's not, it's all just an expansion of their IP to them, making them more money and raising brand awareness and so on. Doesn't mean it's canon. EQG I can see the argument for canonicity (to an extent, I still see some fair debate over it) due to other factors. But the comics? No, absolutely not, anyone who thinks those are canon is frankly just being unreasonable, to put it bluntly. And as far as quality goes, they've had some good parts/moments and good issues, but they've also had no shortage of really bad or awful parts/issues and some stuff that's just downright insulting (the show also obviously has some moments/tidbits or episodes with really bad or awful writing too though, mind you). And not just the big things, it can be a bunch of little things that add up, for a variety of reasons. There's definitely plenty of bad there, on multiple fronts. Sometimes it can be a whole issue, other times it can be a few tidbits that are awful, sometimes even in an issue that would otherwise be alright, or both. I'd rather not go into details, but you get the idea. Anyway, I'm sorry, but this thread is pure clickbait. You've misunderstood the marketing buzz and intend to use it as a bludgeon to try and argue for something being canon, but in reality there's no real proof of that at all. Again, EQG, I can understand, for reasons completely unrelated to what you've linked though, but the comics? No. If you enjoy them, that's fair enough I guess, suit yourself, but they clearly aren't canon. Anyway, I'm really tired, so eh, maybe gonna take a nap soon.

You can discuss anything you want for fun as a 'what-if' or an alternate universe type deal, but slavery and oppression and stuff like that requires portraying the ponies as straight up evil (when in reality they're clearly very benevolent and are the clear good guys and so on), and thus pretty much trashing the setting and making the characters horribly out of character, and so on. It's not plausible, not even "somewhat". Grimdark stuff like that and the canon doesn't mix. Fallout Equestria for example, that's something that a lot of people discuss but doesn't really make a bit of sense for canon. You can discuss those fanfics, and lot's of people do, but it's important to remember not to take them too seriously because they really go against everything in the show. But yeah, discussing what-ifs that you aren't actually taking seriously is one thing, but some morons try to take this stuff and make the claim that it could somehow actually happen or that it's happening or something to that effect, which is clearly completely and utterly nonsensical, as that sort of grimdark BS would never be accepted in Equestria. Not by the benevolent citizens, and not by the benevolent rulers. Anyway, I'm going to bed, I have to be somewhere tomorrow, and I really don't feel there's much else to be said here.

What are we defining as bootleg? A near copy? Or just something kind of similar? I remember that Filly Funtasia show which looked kind of interesting I'd say, but I don't know if you'd call it a bootleg just because it has similar concept. It's probably pretty different in reality. Anyway, I might, but as others said, it depends. Probably not though, I guess? Would have to judge for myself.

Purposely? Yeah, no. As I said, it's a cartoon, and stuff like the cows clearly aren't meant to be taken seriously. The mistreatment or even slavery of sapient beings like that is not something that would happen or ever be tolerated in Equestria. It goes against everything the show stands for, contradicts everything in the setting, and just does not remotely fit. The idea that sapient beings are being mistreated in Equestria is completely and utterly nonsensical, and is not even remotely a legitimate position. You can discuss stuff all you want, that doesn't make it remotely sane or reasonable. This is a show about friendship and other positive things, and that is absolutely reflected in the setting. Meanwhile, stuff like slavery and oppression takes a huge dump on that, to put it as least vulgar as possible. We haven't even seen something like a cow talk or anything a long time, have we? The writers likely scrapped that altogether, given that some people seem to be unable to realize that it's not meant to be seriously, certainly not in the sense of using them in a way that the target audience would identify with for the sake of a minor gag. Either way, if they are sapient, they have equal rights to ponies, end of story. Anything less would quite literally require portraying the ponies as evil, and you should know that's not reasonable or reflective of reality. Anyway, I said that not all things in a cartoon are supposed to be taken seriously (not that there aren't things worthy of taking seriously, there's plenty), and this is one of those things, unless you care to magic up some explanation that isn't dark. That doesn't magically change on a discussion forums, because the idea that slavery or oppression exists in Equestria is frankly, an utterly nonsensical position. You can discuss anything for fun, I guess, but I certainly hope people that discuss such grimdark nonsense don't take themselves too seriously when they do, because again, this is MLP, and the setting and characters are as benevolent as they come. On MLPforums, things that I'd expect us to discuss more seriously are the characters, setting, and stuff like that, there are plenty of topics in the realm of those categories that don't go completely off the rails and suggest things that contradict pretty much everything in the show and sound like they'd belong in a bad grimdark fanfiction or something.

No. That's overly grimdark nonsense, nobody is a second class citizen in Equestria. It's a pretty darn nice place after all, not totally perfect, but certainly quite benevolent and with a long list of nice things you could say about it, which is to be expected from the setting of MLP. The sheep/cattle were at most a sort of running gag that obviously weren't meant to be taken seriously, and wouldn't be taken seriously by the target audience, who would identify with seeing farm animals like in any other cartoon. The clear reality that some people seem to somehow miss is that not every little thing in a cartoon is meant to be serious/literal or whatever, especially when it contradicts the rest of the cartoon and/or it's setting or whatever so heavily and blatantly. Either way, Equestria quite clearly has equality. You'd have to be a total lunatic to suggest anyone is being treated as 'second class' or worse. This is MLP, not some sort of cartoon format Game of Thrones or something else equally grimdark. There's no slavery or mistreatment of sapient beings in Equestria, period (and even just animals like squirrels and etc seem pretty darn well taken care of in comparison to us). There have been villains like Sombra that employed slavery and similar stuff, but they were quickly shut down by the good guys, who know very well how wrong it was. The ponies would never support something like that, and the rulers like Celestia certainly wouldn't either.

What? No, that's just ridiculous. Not being a pony is completely irrelevant, Spike is just as much a citizen of Equestria as the other characters, and is thus also in fact a subject of Celestia and the others. Also, I doubt Celestia really cares too much about stuff like the bowing. She and the other rules are very benevolent, and she seems pretty approachable and all, if that's a good way to put it.

Yeah. I also edited my post to say that you could also see her as his parent, considering she raised him, but I dunno which fits better honestly, and Twilight was also a foal when she hatched him. Oh well, either way the main point to get across is that they are clearly family, and that they're clearly equals and all.

That's completely nonsensical, and anyone who thinks otherwise is simply out of their mind, to put it lightly. Spike is a sapient dragon who is equal to the ponies, and it's quite clear in the series that, while he's her number one assistant, by choice mind you, he's also most definitely like a little brother to her (she also raised him from an egg, mind you, so she could be considered his parent too, dunno, not sure which way fits better, maybe I'll think about it more later). So yeah, either way, they ARE in fact family, period.

I mean, she didn't really need to point out his heels specifically (the dress is also a handicap, too, as it would restrict movement), the disguise was an inherent part of his choice to participate. The judges didn't disqualify him, and I'm sure they would have let him compete had he just asked, but his disguise was an obvious handicap that he wore because of the circumstances. I'm sticking by my points there, Dash is not a pony who would be or act sexist. Rainbow Dash did not mean anything about his gender, she meant his handicap, and was quite possibly nervous because she knew how strong he was. We've also seen Dash interacting with other male characters, and she always treats them as an equal. Anyway, hopefully we end this conversation here, I'd like to be doing other stuff, and I'm not feeling too well. I don't really have much else to say about the state of sexism in other media, I just don't think MLP should involve it. There's just no real benefit to it, and I'd prefer the show keep on the path of positive-themed approaches to gender-equality that aren't in your face, but rather organically develops and fits seamlessly into the rest of the show.

As long as Hasbro is convinced that princesses sell toys, they're likely to churn out more of them. That being said, there's no reason whatsoever to think that gender is at all relevant to alicornhood, as it's an earned position based on merit, being a good and benevolent leader, and so on. Genitals don't matter there, and it would destroy their legitimacy to restrict something like that based on gender. Starswirl almost became an alicorn, mind you, but as Celestia mentioned, he didn't really fully understand friendship, certainly not as well as Twilight anyway, and as we all saw, friendship got Twilight to where she is today. And the only reason the two princes aren't alicorns is because their situation is completely different from, say, Twilight and Cadance, and thus not comparable. While the latter two ascended through doing special things (and we saw the full, extended process with Twilight), Shining Armor is a prince consort (married into the title), and Blueblood likely simply inherited his title, and there's no reason to believe alicornhood comes on a silver platter with title alone. Also, there's absolutely no way that Dash is sexist, you're misinterpreting that scene pretty heavily. She's just the last pony who ever would be, especially given that she also has some obvious tomboyish traits. She was clearly referring to the fact that he was heavily disadvantaged by having to wear a dress and high heels of all things to disguise himself, something that the other contestants did not have to do. She was also likely afraid, because while mares and stallions overall actually seem pretty evenly matched physical wise, it seems pretty fair to assume Big Mac is the strongest pony in Ponyville in general, and it showed despite his handicap in that competition. It's fair if you think that sexist ponies might exist in Equestria in small pockets, but none of the main characters are even remotely sexist, especially not Dash. If you absolutely HAD to pick one, Rarity would be the closest IMO. But really, bottom line, there are no implications of sexism, certainly not from any of the major characters. And I certainly wouldn't call trading cards a solid source of canon or anything, but here's an example of where it's more clearly spelled out. It's worth mentioning at least, because what we saw in the show was clearly not sexism, it was Dash either stating she wasn't going to hold back because he decided to wear a dress and high heels of all things, or that she was afraid of his athletic ability, and quite likely both. Anyway, I disagree that the female sexist perspective doesn't exist at all in entertainment. I think it's actually fairly common in stuff like reality TV and things of that nature. Unfortunately, it also seems like it's commonly downplayed or attempted to be portrayed as somehow less bad when it's not, and other injustices like that. That's certainly bad, but I don't think MLP should touch that topic with a ten-foot pole, it's just not worth it and has no real benefit when the show is already doing pretty damn well in this regard. There's also a million ways the writers could monumentally screw it up, and scarce few where they could get it 'right'. You mentioned part of that yourself when you brought up the traps that the show could fall into.

Absolutely not. There's nothing physically stopping writers from doing whatever they want, mind you, other than restrictions placed by Hasbro and the shows rating, but a sexist character would not go over well, especially in a show like this which. Pardon my french, but it'd be a massive shitstorm. The show has a goal of gender equality, and the setting of Equestria reflects this as it's quite clearly gender-egaliarian with no gender roles. It's far better for the show to just continue doing it's thing and having lots of good characters of both genders, nothing ridiculous like a sexist character is needed. It doesn't help or benefit the show in any way, the show already quite clearly portrays both genders as equally capable and equally respected. That wouldn't make more sense at all. The show is more focused on female characters screentime wise for obvious reasons, but it has never portrayed either gender as more dominant or more advantaged, and there are no real gender roles. There are plenty of influential ponies of both genders in the show, especially socially and economically, and there's not more 'powerful' ponies of one gender, whatever we're defining that as. Politicians, we've seen some of both genders, but that's really not the focus of the show, so they're obviously a rare sight, and are often just background or very minor characters. Either way, Equestria is gender-egalitarian, and it doesn't make more 'sense' for one gender to be more sexist than the other or anything like that. Some people may have their own perceptions or interpretations that will make them see one gender being sexist in media as somehow magically being worse, and there's the optics of it all depending on a lot of factors, but in reality the gender of a hypothetical new sexist character isn't relevant, especially in an egalitarian setting, and either way it's nonsense to suggest that one somehow makes more 'sense'. Either way it'd go, I think it's a bad idea that doesn't benefit the show in any way, as the show has no shortage of good characters of both genders already, and a positive message in general, and so on, you get the idea hopefully, I'm pretty tired so I don't want to spend too much time typing all of this. Anyway, going to agree with Albatross there, the show should not shoot itself in the foot for something like this, when it's already promoting gender equality while remaining a good cartoon with good and varied characters and a gender-egalitarian setting. Adding a sexist character is a bad idea that would not benefit the show, nor would it fit in the first place. The show has portrayed it's gender equality message by having 6 and counting seasons of both genders interacting and being portrayed as equally capable and equally respected and so on, not by being in your face with nonsense like sexist characters and other unpleasant things, and risking disaster.

That's a very oddly specific thing to make a topic about. But yeah, sure, "doubly stallioned" or whatever would work. It doesn't roll of the tongue quite as well (it does somewhat, though), but it certainly works, and there's no way the pool would only work for one gender, that's a silly idea. The writers make their rhymes with whatever sounds good, there's not any thought process behind it beyond that. That doesn't mean it has to perfectly rhyme to work or anything, though, it's just a quirk or whatever of the writing. I'm sure either gender could hypothetically use the pool if they found it. There's no reason whatsoever to believe that. The whole one gender as 'default' thing in our world is a sexist habit/attitude that some people have (not saying people do it premeditated with malicious intent or anything, but it's definitely a bad habit that should be shaken), and would not exist in a gender-egalitarian society like Equestria. Equestria has de-jure and de-facto gender equality, and there's no sexist assumption of a 'default' gender or anything like that; it just doesn't exist there. Mares and stallions hold equal status, respect, and so on. Quite sure they'd use gender-neutral pronouns, unless they're referring to an individual or something, in which case they'd obviously use the appropriate one. And frankly, when it comes to rhymes, or plays on words, the writers just use whatever rolls off the tongue the best, and when it comes to puns, whatever let's it be a pony related pun. It's not something they put any special or complex thought process behind, it's just made to sound catchy or roll of the tongue well.

The voice actor of a major character up and changing like that would be incredibly jarring. I'm sure that everyone has grown quite used to Twilight's voice by now. They'd likely attempt to find a voice actor that can pull off something somewhat similar, but it'd still be very noticeable and hard to overlook. Would really, really suck for a voice actor change. Tara Strong is a pretty great voice actor, and fit's Twilight perfectly, so I really hope it doesn't come to that, not for her or any of the other major character voice actors. I'm sure it won't though, I think she likes her job as a voice actor for MLP, and I'd imagine she gets paid pretty well too. Maybe she will do a role for a Marvel movie or something sometime, but I don't think that will get in the way of her role in MLP.

Complete nonsense, it's not a fact, it's something you made up despite nothing whatsoever indicating that. And it is terribly sexist to say blatant generalizations like you are; generalizing is a big component of sexism. Also, kids are perfectly capable of understanding it, teaching kids (and all the adult fans who enjoy MLP too, of course) that gender roles and all are bad and unnecessary is one of the big messages of the show. Kids are more than capable of learning that people shouldn't be judged, discriminated against, or generalized based on their gender, among other things that could be said there. The ponies have been quite clearly shown to have pretty equal potential for this sort of thing (things that may require physical strength, we've seen both mares and stallions are capable), both mares and stallions. If you think a pony like, say, Applejack wouldn't be just as capable of being a guard hypothetically, then you're just being silly. And no, neither gender has been shown to be 'tougher', there are again, a wide variety of personalities in both genders when it comes to MLP characters, and the ponies are individuals, aren't judged by their gender, etc. Neither gender has been portrayed as 'tougher' or more 'dominant', but rather both genders have been portrayed as individuals, end of story.

Because the animators haven't taken the time to make art assets for them, in the same way they haven't made many art assets for diversifying the colors of their coats, for example. There's no reason whatsoever for there not to be female guards, as we've seen that there are mares that are just as capable physically as the stallions. The only reason for one gender to be excluded would be pointless discrimination, which is completely nonsensical because Equestria is a gender-egalitarian society with no gender roles, as well as de-jure and de-facto gender equality. We've also seen some mare guards in places like those alternate timelines, and the comics too, if you care about those any. Guard mares most definitely exist, but we don't see them because DHX simply doesn't have the art assets prepared for them. The generic guards in the background are an incredibly low priority for them. It's perfectly safe to assume that there are indeed mares in the guard, though. There's simply no reason for there not to be. There are an even number of male and female Wonderbolts. Completely nonsensical. Equestria is a gender-egalitarian society with no gender roles. There is no indication whatsoever that either gender is advantaged or dominant, and both genders have been shown in a large variety of walks of life. Nobody is being discriminated against for the job they want. The show is usually more focused on female characters, screentime wise, but it's never portrayed either gender as superior or dominant. There most definitely are, but this is not exactly a show focusing on hospitals, so we don't see many medical ponies in the first place. You're wrong about the whole 'societal norms' and all that nonsense too, as it's pretty clear that Equestria has no real gender roles. We've seen ponies of both genders in all sorts of different careers and walks of life. And even from a meta perspective, shattering the notion of gender roles was one of the big messages/goals of the show, besides the primary purpose of simply being a good cartoon with great characters. God no, that's incredibly sexist, both to men and women. Now that's just plain and utterly wrong, not to mention terribly sexist. There are a wide variety of personalities in MLP characters, of both genders. The male characters aren't required to be 'tough' just like the female characters aren't required to be 'submissive'. Both mares and stallions are allowed to be individuals, and aren't judged based off of their gender or anything like that, as it should be. There are no gender roles and there's no reason whatsoever to actually believe that all the guards are male, especially when we've seen that both mares and stallions are perfectly capable of having enough potential strength to do that job.