Lack of positive male role models

[ShyPie 164]

Looking throughout the show there is a real lack of males. Now, obviously this is a show mainly for young girls so it makes sense that the majority of the cast would be female. However, I think taking an extreme and ridiculously over the top analysis of it a case could be made that the male characters that are in the show aren't exactly the most positive of male role models for young girls.

 

Spike: He's essentially a child, perpetrating the idea that boys are always a lot more immature in comparison with girls.

 

Discord: He represents chaos of course, but also showing males as being unpredictable, crazy and untrustworthy.

 

Shining Armor: Sure he's a loving big brother for Twilight, but how easily he was manipulated and controlled by Chrysalis is perhaps a suggestion that men are weak willed and there to be controlled by women.

 

Flim & Flam: Men are always trying to trick you and take advantage of you.

 

Bulk Biceps: Men are nothing more than muscle bound jocks.

 

But, like I said, this is a ridiculously extreme analysis, and not one that I personally adhere to, but thought was funny enough to discuss  . I do however, think there is a lack of male characters, and would like to see a male stallion with a bit more focus.

[碇 シンジン 27,431]

You forgot Big Mac. I think he is pretty positive I don't know about role model but I like mac

 

[Koukatsu 5,899]

You forgot Big Mac. I think he is pretty positive I don't know about role model but I like mac

 

Big_McIntosh_onstage_ID_S2E05.png

This.

For males, Big Mac is the go-to role model as far as I'm concerned.

[hip-indeed 304]

You're right in that it's a show targetted to young ladies and they severely need more shows like this with positive FEMALE role models while guys have plenty -- but it's also very good to have such characters as either gender in any piece of media instead of pushing it all one way or the other, so I get what you're saying.

 

I think there are great and interesting male characters here and there throughout the series, though few are really 'role model' quality.  But yeah, you got Big Mac who is basically a super strong, super dependable super good guy, Shining who despite the succubus action you mentioned (his succumbing to it wasn't really a sign of weakness imo -- most any character, especially male, would have been equally susceptible to her magic) is a good, strong big bro and husband, Flash Sentry who may be a bit over-idealized and low in the depth department but is a definite good dude and willing to stand up for those he feels should be stood up for, and though Spike screws up often his heart's in the right place.  Heck, even Discord with his growth and evolution throughout the series could serve as a good role model to how fun it may be to be bad but how it's even better to be good.  And then you have Fancy Pants who's one of the few rare "Rich Dudes Who's Actually A Really Good Guy", the mane 6's dad who from what little we've seen of them are good people, and so on and so forth...

 

Maybe many of these characters haven't been really 'on screen' enough or their 'positive qualities' displayed enough for them to be truly great role models or anything, but the show's got enough guys that are good ENOUGH that I don't feel like it's being sexist or 'one-way' with the whole girl power thing and that's definitely good enough for me.  I wouldn't have even minded if it had been a little MORE on the extreme-feminist side seeing as how much girls kind of deserve and need it right now as we're FINALLY as an overarching world-society starting to give them the freedom and respect they deserve, but I'm very glad that it has as much equality as it DOES have.  Too much more in the other direction and it'd feel kind of off or pandery, I feel -- and part of me even worries that'll happen in the future as perhaps Hasbro banks a bit *too* much on bronies rather than what made it good to begin with, but hopefully that'll never be a problem!

[lelouch. 625]

I'm surprisingly ok with the lack of good males in the show. End of discussion.

 

and anyways you forgot fancy pants. He's quite the good guy.

[mars 4,862]

I wouldn't mind another male with a larger role on this show. Maybe an actual male alicorn prince? I know this show is all about the girl power, which is something I heavily appreciate. But there's no harm in making little boys feel empowered too!

[Andaasonsan 3,205]

Pretty much the rest of television is dominated by male characters (positive or otherwise) so it sort of makes sense that the show doesn't give us more of what we already have in abundance.

[Revy ~ Two Hands 862]

Male characters are not kawaii desu. That is is my full argument for why I like the show's writing decisions.

Edited September 19, 2014 by PinkiusPiecus

[ShyPie 164]

You forgot Big Mac. I think he is pretty positive I don't know about role model but I like mac

 

Big_McIntosh_onstage_ID_S2E05.png

 

How could I forget Big Mac  Love him.

 

But, in this crazy theory, Big Mac would represent men being unwilling/unable to share their feelings/emotions due to his quiet, stoic nature.

[Hibiscus Bloom 91]

Ugh... :-|

Have you taken a look at any other popular shows? They are pretty much dominated by extremely positive male role models.

Let's say, for example, Supernatural. I love the show, but I can't overlook how sexist it is. There is literally ONE positive female role model (who hasn't been majorly sexualised) out of hundreds of other characters. All of the others are mothers and driven by a need to protect their child/children, or evil. If not, they are usually sexualised by the main characters even if they had the material to be a BAMF, and end up getting intimate with them at some point.

MLP is one show that is sort of the other way round (of course, without the sexual part) out of, like, 5,000,000,000 male dominated shows. So I just feel it is unfair for people to complain about this one show when they don't realise how male-dominated every other show is. So yeah.

Sorry if I offend anyone but this is just my opinion.

-rant over

Edited September 19, 2014 by Hibiscus Bloom

[Singe 2,111]

Flash Sentry which say girls fall for the best looking cardboard cutout.

Edited September 19, 2014 by Singe

[yeet 2,027]

Yeah, I feel like shows need to be more like power rangers, a few main women characters, a few main men characters. Then just weird ones that aren't exactly main, but keep reappearing. Maybeh they should just make Big Mac a bit more of a main character, like a few more sentences, being more then just muscle. But meh, he is funny either way.

[ggg-2 3,553]

Well, let's look at Big Mac, shall we? Tall, handsome, muscular, hardworking. A stallion's stallion in pretty much every way. However, instead of using his seemingly massive amount of strength to harm, torture or otherwise terrorize others, he ONLY uses his strength to help those who need it, and even then, he seems to take the utmost care to only use a mere FRACTION of that strength. while he does seem to be interested in things that others would consider "manly" (stallionly?) such as hoofball if the season 5 animatic is any indication, he also enjoys soft things, such as Miss Smartypants.  he is very rarely angered, and his quiet wisdom seems to be capable of diffusing even AJ's temper. He also seems to be a stallion who enjoys spending time with his family, whether blood (the rest of the Apples) or honorary (Pinkie, also likely Twilight and the others). He also doesn't seem to hide his emotions, as is often the male stereotype. if that isn't a positive male role model, I don't know what is.

[Dattebayo 2,850]

Well, let's look at Big Mac, shall we? Tall, handsome, muscular, hardworking. A stallion's stallion in pretty much every way. However, instead of using his seemingly massive amount of strength to harm, torture or otherwise terrorize others, he ONLY uses his strength to help those who need it, and even then, he seems to take the utmost care to only use a mere FRACTION of that strength. while he does seem to be interested in things that others would consider "manly" (stallionly?) such as hoofball if the season 5 animatic is any indication, he also enjoys soft things, such as Miss Smartypants. he is very rarely angered, and his quiet wisdom seems to be capable of diffusing even AJ's temper. He also seems to be a stallion who enjoys spending time with his family, whether blood (the rest of the Apples) or honorary (Pinkie, also likely Twilight and the others). He also doesn't seem to hide his emotions, as is often the male stereotype. if that isn't a positive male role model, I don't know what is.

Yup, this right here.

Little Billy could do worse than having Big Mac as a role model.

 

Ugh... :-|

Have you taken a look at any other popular shows? They are pretty much dominated by extremely positive male role models.

Let's say, for example, Supernatural. I love the show, but I can't overlook how sexist it is. There is literally ONE positive female role model (who hasn't been majorly sexualised) out of hundreds of other characters. All of the others are mothers and driven by a need to protect their child/children, or evil. If not, they are usually sexualised by the main characters even if they had the material to be a BAMF, and end up getting intimate with them at some point.

MLP is one show that is sort of the other way round (of course, without the sexual part) out of, like, 5,000,000,000 male dominated shows. So I just feel it is unfair for people to complain about this one show when they don't realise how male-dominated every other show is. So yeah.

Sorry if I offend anyone but this is just my opinion.

-rant over

[Otter 1,942]

If you're getting your role models from television shows, you may need to rethink your life.

[SilverStarApple 849]

Looking throughout the show there is a real lack of males. Now, obviously this is a show mainly for young girls so it makes sense that the majority of the cast would be female. However, I think taking an extreme and ridiculously over the top analysis of it a case could be made that the male characters that are in the show aren't exactly the most positive of male role models for young girls.

 

Spike: He's essentially a child, perpetrating the idea that boys are always a lot more immature in comparison with girls.

 

Discord: He represents chaos of course, but also showing males as being unpredictable, crazy and untrustworthy.

 

Shining Armor: Sure he's a loving big brother for Twilight, but how easily he was manipulated and controlled by Chrysalis is perhaps a suggestion that men are weak willed and there to be controlled by women.

 

Flim & Flam: Men are always trying to trick you and take advantage of you.

 

Bulk Biceps: Men are nothing more than muscle bound jocks.

 

But, like I said, this is a ridiculously extreme analysis, and not one that I personally adhere to, but thought was funny enough to discuss  . I do however, think there is a lack of male characters, and would like to see a male stallion with a bit more focus.

Look at any girl's show. In Frozen, every male character is either an evil short paranoid regicide-happy lunatic, a charming yet evil sociopath who would happily let their former lover(Who they never actually loved or even liked, and were playing like a violin all along) freeze to death if it'd serve his goals, a salesperson who literally throws people out of his store, a reclusive loner who will happily allow his pet reindeer and only friend to take a bite out of one carrot before eating it himself, a big dumb brute made of snow, or a walking living joke made of snow.

 

Even Disney shows are not immune. Good Luck Charlie. The male characters are the generic homer-ripoff bumbling dad, the secretly-insecure evil-genius little brother who suddenly loses 200 IQ points whenever the plot or a joke calls for it, the generic idiot older-brother, that older brother's evil pennypinching works-at-a-fast-food-store boss, and the main character girl's generic hot/perfect boyfriend who suddenly turns out to be cheating on her with little indication beforehand or real reason to besides "For the lulz" and "The plot needed me to".

 

Meanwhile, look at men's shows. Code Geass stars many awesome men and women. Kallen Kozuki/Statfeld is practically made of awesome, even though her Knightmare Frame isn't as high-spec as Suzaku's Lancelot. Both genders have awesome characters. (Inb4 "A men's show? Really? *Posts bishonen pic of LelouchxSuzaku*") Avatar The Legend Of Korra has a female Avatar, and she's awesome. (DBZ was made in a different time era, so ignore that.)

 

This might be a good time to make some kind of "So tell me, which gender thinks less of which?" or "Check it out, it's that 'Equality' they keep going on about!" joke, but I won't make that joke.

[Dattebayo 2,850]

Look at any girl's show. In Frozen, every male character is either an evil short paranoid regicide-happy lunatic, a charming yet evil sociopath who would happily let their former lover(Who they never actually loved or even liked, and were playing like a violin all along) freeze to death if it'd serve his goals, a salesperson who literally throws people out of his store, a reclusive loner who will happily allow his pet reindeer and only friend to take a bite out of one carrot before eating it himself, a big dumb brute made of snow, or a walking living joke made of snow.

 

Even Disney shows are not immune. Good Luck Charlie. The male characters are the generic homer-ripoff bumbling dad, the secretly-insecure evil-genius little brother who suddenly loses 200 IQ points whenever the plot or a joke calls for it, the generic idiot older-brother, that older brother's evil pennypinching works-at-a-fast-food-store boss, and the main character girl's generic hot/perfect boyfriend who suddenly turns out to be cheating on her with little indication beforehand or real reason to besides "For the lulz" and "The plot needed me to".

Holy sh*t

Maybe THAT'S why Tumblr loves Frozen and Disney so much!

[AkiraLeeJounouchi 857]

Everybody seems to forget Spike was prased in one of the episode of the 1st seasom. The one were spike was jelous pf the owl. And yet again he was prased by rarity. What I don't like about the show it sometimes forgets or ignores the fact that Spike is capable of managing things on his own. Heck I've seen 2 eps that contridicts his continuty in personality. The pet sitting ep of Season 3 and The Apple Jack saving me ep were he was depected as cluts or incapeable of managing things on his own, despite him being able to manage things on his own most of the times in many other episodes. Does this mean that they're giving him a bad romodel rep? Well yes and no. Most of the times he is a good roll model, it just the more cheap tension featuring spike eps tend to depect him as less of a Roll model.

 

As for what others said, Big Mac, Pincess Twilight's Brother and some other 3rd pony that i forgot, seriously i had his name just now when i remeber I'll edit it in, are good row models.

[Hashi 323]

How could I forget Big Mac  Love him.

 

But, in this crazy theory, Big Mac would represent men being unwilling/unable to share their feelings/emotions due to his quiet, stoic nature.

Could be... Shy? Idk

I can relate

[GenderIsAnIllusion 2,177]

Big Mac, Shining Armour, Fancy Pants, Soarin, that preppy sea monster thingie.

[Steel Accord 6,660]

What about best pony? Who most of you know as Fancypants.

 

 

He's successful, he's cultured, he's smooth as chrome, and most importantly, he's openminded! He shows that not everypony in Canterlot, who's successful is an elitist. Moreso, he's actually the top stallion and the elitists are always on his coat tails!

 

I'd say he more than makes up for the apparent lack.

 

However, I think you are missing a key factor. Good characters are good people, irespective of their gender. The Mane Six, while targeted mainly toward girls and certainly have much to teach them have guided me in my own adult life.

 

-Pinkie taught me that being happy is not being selfish.

 

-Rarity and AJ taught me to be closer to my younger siblings.

 

-Twilight taught me the value of making friends despite being an introvert.

 

-Rainbow taught me the importance of persistence when pursuing my dreams.

 

-Fluttershy taught me forgiveness of even your most hated enemy. (Well her and Jesus, but she reminded me of that.  )

 

So I would say just because this show is lacking of positive male role models doesn't mean it's lacking for positive role models for males.

Edited November 24, 2014 by Steel Accord

[Wind Chaser 4,768]

Looking throughout the show there is a real lack of males. Now, obviously this is a show mainly for young girls so it makes sense that the majority of the cast would be female. However, I think taking an extreme and ridiculously over the top analysis of it a case could be made that the male characters that are in the show aren't exactly the most positive of male role models for young girls.

 

Spike: He's essentially a child, perpetrating the idea that boys are always a lot more immature in comparison with girls.

 

Discord: He represents chaos of course, but also showing males as being unpredictable, crazy and untrustworthy.

 

Shining Armor: Sure he's a loving big brother for Twilight, but how easily he was manipulated and controlled by Chrysalis is perhaps a suggestion that men are weak willed and there to be controlled by women.

 

Flim & Flam: Men are always trying to trick you and take advantage of you.

 

Bulk Biceps: Men are nothing more than muscle bound jocks.

 

But, like I said, this is a ridiculously extreme analysis, and not one that I personally adhere to, but thought was funny enough to discuss  . I do however, think there is a lack of male characters, and would like to see a male stallion with a bit more focus.

That is a very interesting observation, and you actually leave out Snips, Snails, and Big Mac who all have character traits that could support your arguments as well (such as Big Mac being mostly silent and Snips and Snails being nothing more than stereotypes).

 

However, with Flim & Flam and Shining Armor, I think you might be reading a bit too much into it. For every male character like Flim & Flam, there are negative female characters as well, such as Suri Polomare, Trixie, Gilda, Diamond Tiara, and the like. Same case for the two-parter villains. Out of five, three were male and two were female. In the case of Shining Armor, well, they were all fooled, even Celestia, so he was in good company.

 

The whole problem is the double-standard that it's okay to rag on guys while talking trash about girls is most of the time seen as morally reprehensible.

 

Although the message of female empowerment is fine and noble, I agree this show must take care with its depictions of male characters so as not to give the impressionable young generation of young girls the wrong impression of boys. Though I wouldn't advocate ruining the dynamic of the show by contriving in a strong male character out of left field, Shining Armor and Big Mac could potentially serve as good male role models if written fairly and properly. Just as well, Spike, who is disproportionately served what arguably seems to be the least amount of character development between the 10 main characters of the show (counting he, the entire Mane 6, and the Crusaders), should be used less often as a plot device or target for a cheap shot and more often given consistent development and used to explore great potential questions about his role in pony society.

 

If we can start there, then the show will build the impression of treating its male characters more fairly and less often walk itself into the misandry debate.

 

P.S. Almost forgot the most important one: Snips and Snails are worst pony. Both have absolutely no character other than their stereotypes, and unlike Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, no potential to become developed characters either. Therefore, it would be for the best if they just pushed them to the background or removed them from the show.

[SilverStarApple 849]

Big Mac, Shining Armour, Fancy Pants, Soarin, that preppy sea monster thingie.

Stephen Magnet the Sea Serpent?

[Nulln 755]

I wouldn't mind another male with a larger role on this show. Maybe an actual male alicorn prince? I know this show is all about the girl power, which is something I heavily appreciate. But there's no harm in making little boys feel empowered too!

boys do not need to feel empowered, they already control the earth.

 

i like that the show is about girls being on top for once.  it's a breath of fresh air.  i don't see you complaining about pretty much every single other show ever, which only has male role models.

[Admiral Regulus 2,769]

Is it just me, or does anyone find it odd that Fancy Pants, in fact, does not wear pants at all?

 

boys do not need to feel empowered, they already control the earth.

 

i like that the show is about girls being on top for once.  it's a breath of fresh air.  i don't see you complaining about pretty much every single other show ever, which only has male role models.

 

Thank you for being open minded and seeing both sides of the picture, here. Phew, I was almost afraid we were trying to portray males and females as equal human beings. It's a good thing someone's on top of that. I sure am glad we dodged that bullet.

Edited September 19, 2014 by Regulus