Mares' discrimination in Equestria

[TheElementofSolitude 3]

I noticed way too many examples of sexism in Equestria, so I will lay out most obvious of them. 

1) There are no mares as taxi 'drivers'

2) No mares as guards.

3) Heck, they didn't show any mares who did something physically exausting. As if they aren't capable to do that, or something.

4) Female characters shown weak and almost useless (for example, crying scenes. In the majority of cases mares were the ones who cried.)

And overall, they show female characters as pathetic and useless weaklings who can only wear fancy stuff and paint their faces (Sweet and Elite for example). But of course, I'm sure that I'm the only one who noticed all these signs of discrimination. I mean, no insulting or anything, but bronies tend to be sexists, most of the times. Well, obviously not only them, but I'm talking about this fandom now. Hovewer, I still apologise in advance, if someone found this insulting. It's just an observation.

But back to the topic. There are also many other signs of discrimination, as in putting female characters in stupid situation, showing them as complete retarted idiots, making them unable to handle problems themselves (season 4 premiere and finale) and so on. Honestly, even games don't discriminate females as MLP does. Take Skyrim for example -- they play an important role in this world. But I'm sidetracked once again. Sorry, my bad.

Why am I posting it? I don't really know. Probably because I'm trying to attract at least some attention to this problem and make them understand, that this discrimination exists and flourish. If not... well, I tried at least.

[碇 シンジン 27,437]

Well most of the characters of the show are females so they have more spotlight and be in said situations more often. 

 

To your points:

 

1) I don't know about taxi drivers because I don't remember seeing them in  a show.

 

2) There aren't mares as guards but Princesses are leading Equestria

 

3) Applejack did harvest half of the acres by herself and I'm sure there are other examples too

 

4) Crying isn't bad I cry a lot.   I think the mares in the show are shown to be very strong. You seem to look only the down sides. I mean the show focuses around mares so they will certainly have some bad situations but there are also good ones. Remember to look at the bright side my friend

[flutterdango117 154]

i'm kinda comse come si about it all i mean sure(i defiantly agree with the comment before mine.) with the royal guard it may not seem like but at the same time i'm thinking of the wonder bolts as well as well as princesses being the head of the world. as for labor...well apple jack and rainbow dash can speak for themselves on it. gathering/raising apples as well as controlling weather patterns physically is alittle bit of a strain. (Michigan so needs a pony to control the weather here. its so unpredictable in seconds)  as for crying: to me it can be for both mare and stallion. i mean yes its a sign of weakness but to let it all out is a kinda strength in itself. along with all the adventure the mare 6 have to go through alot as well as character development they are from what i know, strong mares of a kind to show loyalty, laughter, honesty, generosity, kindness and magic to any pony regardless whenever in need. i wish ponies here had that kinda strength because it would make the world a better place so over all(excuse my ranting here.)  though it has a bit of sexism i think the empowerment of girls here out weigh the odds.i could be right, i could be completely wrong. i'm not so sure but from what i know i think its a good view of it all. i hope this wasn't too confusing :/

[Banul 3,831]

I don't mean to sound overly condescending, but have you even seen the show?

 

 

I noticed way too many examples of sexism in Equestria, so I will lay out most obvious of them. 

1) There are no mares as taxi 'drivers'

 

How many taxi drivers have we seen? Like one? Not exactly a good sample size.

 

 

2) No mares as guards.

You've got me there, no mare guards. However, the most important guardians of Equestria, the elements of harmony as well as all of the princesses are all mares.

 

 

3) Heck, they didn't show any mares who did something physically exausting. As if they aren't capable to do that, or something.

Apple bucking. Or anything Applejack does, really.

There's also Rainbow Dash, an athlete.

There's also the Wonderbolts, majority female.

 

I could prpbably go on.

 

And that's not even mentioning the whole constantly saving the world thing that the Mane 6 are always up to.

 

 

4) Female characters shown weak and almost useless (for example, crying scenes. In the majority of cases mares were the ones who cried.)

And overall, they show female characters as pathetic and useless weaklings who can only wear fancy stuff and paint their faces (Sweet and Elite for example).

We must be watching a different show here, because I don't know how you could watch it and come to the conclusion that the mares are being portrayed as weak and useless. Applejack fights a chimera by herself and is a mega baddass in general, Rainbow Dash can break the damn sound barrier, Rarity is making bank with her business, Fluttershy can tame god damn bears, Pinke keeps a cannon in hair and defies reality, Twilight is a wizard. I don't know what about any of that is weak and useless. Frankly, anytime anything at all significant happens, its via a female character the vast majority of the time.

 

 

 

 

There are plenty of places in which sexism still exists. MLP isn't one of them.

Edited October 11, 2014 by Banul

[SparklingSwirls 21,381]

Yes! I agree so much. I really want to see mares in the royal guard - this isn't the middle ages anymore: plenty of females serve in today's militaries. I'm not saying it should be split 50-50, but seeing no mares as royal guards is /very/ discriminating.

 

Besides AJ and RD, I do agree that we don't see mares doing physical tasks. Whenever we see construction workers, we see stallions. Whenever we see field workers (besides AJ), we see stallions.

 

All I'm saying is that some variety would be nice. Maybe a background mare pony doing physical labor here or there.

[Literally Snails 2,307]

Equestria is literally the most equal fictional land I have ever seen. You could even say that it's the reverse of Earth. Since every pony in a position of high power is female.

 

By the way, there was a female royal guard in the background of one of the comics, and she was wearing a captain's uniform. She's on the first panel of issue #7.

Edited October 11, 2014 by Literally Snails

[KokuraiNoSenshi 3,463]

Sexism in Equestria? Is that why the rulers of the entire country are female, the entire mane cast female, not to mention how much power they hold, the only ones who ever TRULY fight are the mares, and overall the female to male ratio of characters seen in the show is HEAVILY weighted towards the fairer sex. Most of the villains/rivals/antagonists, female, and when I say this, this means that when you add up all the characters who are seen as opposing forces in the show the majority is female, though yes most of the main villains are indeed male. However at that point I could argue that men are seen as cruel monsters, as there are no real male heroes, hell even Shining Armor, the only one with any REAL fighting potential of the guys, is shown to be incompetent without the power of wuv and his wife. The rulers, female. Most of the side characters, female. Anyone with consistent lines, majority female. Pretty much ANYONE with any real characterization, female.

 

Now, look at the mane cast;

 

Twilight; Avatar of this series, and I mean the elemental one, with royalty received later on, the overall strongest form (alicorn), Element of freaking MAGIC, and Princess of Friendship. Easily one of the most respected characters in the show, and has been able to hold her own against a super powerful villains in the show.

 

Pinkie Pie; Hello Fourth Wall... And good bye fourth wall. The girl has a cannon in her HAIR, and can run circles around any of the other characters, even keeping up with Rainbow Dash (whom we will get to next).

 

Rainbow Dash; Able to break the sound AND light barrier just by flapping her wings. Come on, how is THAT not tiring or intensive?

 

Applejack; Farm girl, had command over all the other ponies during Winter Wrap Up who were working on the farming area, and has fought a Chimera before in defense of her family, as well as farmed up half of an entire apple orchard on her own, to the point of exhaustion.

 

Flutters; Stared down Cockatrices, Dragons, and tons of other animals, as well as tamed CHAOS ITSELF.

 

Rarity; Even probably the most girly girl of the entire group has fought hard before, as she kicked a manticore in its face! Don't see any of the guys doing that.

 

I could go on to the Princesses as well, or the female villains, or some of the secondary characters like Zecora, but I think this should shed some light on my opinion of this. I mean, I get it; On the outside it does seem like the girls get the coushy stuff. However, those same girls are the only ones who ever do anything in the nitty gritty and hard work, dealing with the monsters and villains who would otherwise destroy Equestria.

 

I'm sorry, but if there is one show where sexism towards women is non-existent, it is MLP: FiM. I would sooner say the OPPOSITE is true, as the only consistent male characters seen are Big Mac, who gets barely ANYTHING to say and is seen more as a stereotypical hunky farmer who does nothing but work all day, and the Snips and Snails duo, which are seen as very, very dumb.

 

Edit; Want to add that, if any show's fanbase is against sexual stereotypes, it would be the one with a group of guys who watch a show about technicolor candy horses solving problems using the power of friendship

Edited October 12, 2014 by KokuraiNoSenshi

[newfrickinshow 100]

I'm pretty sure I'm responding to my first troll post on this message board (since your comment seems so nonsensical) but here goes.

 

No mares as taxi drivers.  Okay, because taxi driving is such a highly sought, prestigious position right?  We've seen what, 2 or 3 taxi drivers in the series largely tossed in just for the sake of having a token stallion in the scene somewhere?  Somehow that's anti-female?

 

I'll give you the royal guard though that is somewhat lessened since they're charged with protecting Equestria's exclusively female leadership. 

 

In terms of physically demanding tasks I could point out Apple Jack's entire life (as others have done).  I could bring up Pinky Pie's absolutely amazing feats of actobatic skill (like balancing on a beach ball while juggling).  Or I could mention Rainbow Dash who's apparently capable of flying a top speed of mach 10.

 

And the weak and helpless?  Are you &%$@ing me?  Fluttershy makes dragons cry and can win a staring match with a cockatrice.  Rainbow Dash could apparently beat a Transformer in a death battle.  Not to mention the tremendous amount of magic that we've seen Twilight do.  And I guess I can't speak for all bronies all the time but at no time during the season 4 finale did I think of Twilight as weak.  And I don't know about the rest but as a gender egalitarian, 10 seconds into the show I'm not even really aware of the character's genders unless they somehow go out of their way to point it out.

 

Most scenes involving crying include mares?  Most scenes are exclusively mare scenes.  And that only means something if you presuppose crying as a weakness.  Do they emphasise working together?  In a show called FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC?!  Saying that two can accomplish more working together than two out for themselves is simply a fact.  The same way in Skyrim sometimes you simply can't do a mission solo and NEED a party. 

 

Stupid situations, most of the characters are female so if there are stupid situations it'll probably either one of the mane 6 or Spike.  6/7 odds on that.

 

The only other appoint I agree with you on is that nobody else probably noticed the things you did.  They didn't notice them because they didn't go into the show presupposing it to be sexist.

[Sam Polson 25]

I'd like to add a bit of my opinion about no mares as royal guards. Episode 21, season 4. There was clearly stated, that Firefly, a mare, founded Wonderbolt. That means that this organization didn't exist before it. But Firefly was ALREADY a general. And there was only organization where she could deserve this status -- protective pony platoons, a.k.a Royal Guards, helping to protect the Princess. Use logic. If something wasn't shown, that doesn't mean it's not existing.

[RainbowMau 292]

And there are no Princes (well, actually yes, but they're not the main autority figure and not alicorn either), there are no males in the Mane 6... I mean, discrimination is not to mares only!

[Dattebayo 2,850]

OP is a duck that goes quack quack.

Joined today? First post is a nonsensical rant about female discrimination In Equestria, the most FEMALE dominated place I've ever seen?

 

My money is on that he's screencapping this for lols

 

In the event that I'm wrong, sorry OP, but I don't think you've ever seen the show.

Just because we don't SEE IT, doeesn't mean that it DOESN'T EXIST.

 

If anything, women hold all the power over there and men are just the plebby slaves.

 

Mayor Mare? Female.

Celestia, the god-queen of everything? Female.

The Elemnets of Harmony, the equivalkent of ponyworld WMDs? All. Female.

 

What i'm saying, is...quack quack.

 

Yes! I agree so much. I really want to see mares in the royal guard - this isn't the middle ages anymore: plenty of females serve in today's militaries. I'm not saying it should be split 50-50, but seeing no mares as royal guards is /very/ discriminating.

 

Besides AJ and RD, I do agree that we don't see mares doing physical tasks. Whenever we see construction workers, we see stallions. Whenever we see field workers (besides AJ), we see stallions.

 

All I'm saying is that some variety would be nice. Maybe a background mare pony doing physical labor here or there.

Instead of replying incredulously, I will post these here:

 

 

 

Also, the green team from Winter Wrap Up? They clear the fields.

That's manual labor. ANd there are TONS of female ponies there

Edited October 12, 2014 by Dattebayo

[M'aiq the Liar 5,804]

>The only ponies who are strong enough to literally move the sun and moon, and all 3 are female

>females are discriminated against in a world were only they can move the sun and moon

 

Not to mention that AJ is shown being stronger than pretty much every stallion ever, and that the best flyer in the entire world is Female.

DYEWTS?

[LZRD WZRD 1,929]

I noticed way too many examples of sexism in Equestria, so I will lay out most obvious of them.

 

Wow I don't even know what to say. This is hands down the worse post I've ever seen on here (and mods before you get mad about me saying that, please note what the OP said)

 

I mean, no insulting or anything, but bronies tend to be sexists, most of the times.

Yeah. I don't think I need to address this.

 

But aside from your ridiculous attacks against us, let's see if your basic argument holds any weight.

 

1) There are no mares as taxi 'drivers'

Wow and those have been in a whopping ONE episode (two if you want to count stagecoach drivers). So since we see none on screen, that's sexist? Maybe since they're in the background the animators weren't too concerned with representing genders and more concerned with filling up the frame. Just a thought. Also Manehattan is clearly the pony-equivalent on NYC. I'm pretty sure most taxi drivers are men. So if somehow you're going to claim sexism here, point your finger at the Taxi Cab companies in the real world, not the show that's merely referencing them.

 

2) No mares as guards.

Pretty much the same response. It's based off of real world examples and the Royal guards of countries traditionally and maybe still are made up of males. And once again, they are mostly in the background. Nitpick at best.

 

3) Heck, they didn't show any mares who did something physically exausting. As if they aren't capable to do that, or something.

Yeah if you exclude the main conflict of Applebuck season, Cadance in The Crystal Empire, Fluttershy in Hurricane Fluttershy, Twilight in Twilight's Kingdom etc then yes! Oh wait....

 

4) Female characters shown weak and almost useless (for example, crying scenes. In the majority of cases mares were the ones who cried.)

Not sure if you're aware of this or not, but, uh, almost all of the main and secondary characters are female. So if there's a scene with crying, the crier is almost certainly female. And just because you have SOME weaker/more sensitive characters, does NOT mean they are being portrayed in a sexist way. Rainbow Dash may be the show's most recognizable character and she isn't like that at all.

 

And overall, they show female characters as pathetic and useless weaklings who can only wear fancy stuff and paint their faces (Sweet and Elite for example). But of course, I'm sure that I'm the only one who noticed all these signs of discrimination.

Yeah except they are usually the ones saving the day. I mean, it was a female who saves the day in every adventure episode (except Spike in The Crystal Empire, but Cadance and the Mane Six deserve most of the credit still for all of their contributions).

 

This is all of your post I care to address. It is truly an ignorant and rather hilarious load of BS that I can only imagine was born out of a failed troll attempt or some more devious agenda. I expect repentance for this. Otherwise please leave and never come back.

Edited October 12, 2014 by LZRD WZRD

[Wind Chaser 4,768]

Of all the accusations I have seen of this show having an agenda, I have never seen one more wrong or baseless.

 

Pretty much everyone else who posted here has covered it, especially @Dattebayo.

 

This show has gone out of its way to put forth some of the strongest, most capable, and diverse female characters ever seen on children's television. To say that they are being portrayed as weak and/or useless only on the basis that they show emotion and are allegedly not seen in physical labor roles as much as the males are could not be further from the truth.

 

These characters are the exact opposite of what is being leveled here. They are not at all weak and helpless. In fact, it is overwhelmingly the female characters that are integral to the plot, and the males that are underrepresented.

 

Just because they have moments of emotional breakdowns does not make them weak, it makes them stronger as characters because they aren't perfect. They have the full range of emotions and are shown to overcome any challenge, internal or external.

 

To call the characters Lauren created to empower females and show that there are "many different ways to be a girl" "weak and useless" spits in the face of the effort of her and her crew, all of the show's creatives, and this fandom which has descended upon this show because of all the progress it has made in not only its portrayal of strong female characters, but strong characters in Western kids' cartoons in general. You could not be any further from the truth if you tried to make a statement more misinformed than this.

[Spartan 433]

Considering that the nation is ruled by TWO females, i think these minor things are kinda overlooked

[GenderIsAnIllusion 2,177]

Yeah cause mares being the absolute rulers of equestria, and mares constantly saving the world is so sexist. Plus Applejack does hard work all the time, Scoots is a mechanic, theres a very limited amount of stallions compared to mares, and Stallions are depicted very badly in some cases (Blue Blood, Snips and Snails, Sombre, Ext.)

 

Hell id be willing to say the show is sexist towards men, but i really dont want to be that guy

[Espurr 449]

Uh, there's Rainbow Dash. She doesn't do fancy things or cry a lot. Oh and there's the Wonderbolts, there's Applejack and her whole family, there's um... Twilight sort of, there's Sunset Shimmer... possibly. I mean, maybe she cries, but she seems tough. (I haven't seen Rainbow Rocks so don't say anything too spoily or harsh, k?)

 

The point is, you haven't looked deep enough. There's isn't anything wrong crying, it's a natural body function or as some people call it, eye sweating. And as for the guards, I'd be a tiny bit for careful. It's lucky enough that stallions get to be guards because this place seems overrun by mares because there are mares in power and if there were mares as guards then we'd have a few issues, wouldn't we? (Hint Hint)

Scoots is a mechanic,

I forgot about her! Yeah, that too.

 

By the way, there was a female royal guard in the background of one of the comics, and she was wearing a captain's uniform. She's on the first panel of issue #7.

Yeah and there's that. I did not see that.

[Odyssey 5,718]

I want to say something about your fourth point...

 

Wearing makeup is not a bad thing. Just because there is someone who is girly doesn't make her a weak person. As a matter of fact, most of the girls who wear makeup I come across are actually pretty strong and independent. You shouldn't judge a person based on their looks and hobbies. Heck, you should even view people as individuals rather than judge them for whatever they do. If you want a good example of this, you should go watch the MLP:FiM episode A Dog and Pony Show and learn that just because someone is lady-like doesn't mean she's weak.

Edited October 12, 2014 by Mienshao

[TheElementofSolitude 3]

You know, I expected such reactions. Because, like I was saying, bronies tend to be sexists all the time, even if they don't realise it. But it's okay. Nothing surprising.

But I will try to explain.

First of all, no mares in royal guards means the only thing -- they are too weak and helpless to bear such a duty, that's all. 

Further, crying. If it isn't a sing of weakeness, then why stallions don't cry, huh? There were Twilight's parents In Royal Wedding and Magical Mistery Cure episodes. And you know what? Only her mother was crying (out of joy, but whatever). Why not both? I tell you why -- because they show stallions as stronger and better controling their emotions, that's why. Mares aren't capable of it, according to the writers' logic.

Now, about mane 6. I'm not talking about them. They are main characters, so they don't count. I'm talking about background mares, just as much as I'm talking about background stallions. I compare regular residents of Equestria, not Princesses or main heroes. And it's clear that regular mares being discriminated all the time.

 

 

 

 

Oh? Then why stallions don't wear make up if it's not a sign of weakness? Can't tell? I'll explain, why. Because it IS a sign of weakness and unability to do anything more than gossiping and shoppig.

[Dattebayo 2,850]

You know, I expected such reactions. Because, like I was saying, bronies tend to be sexists all the time, even if they don't realise it. But it's okay. Nothing surprising.

 

You're sexist for assuming it's sexist.

[TheElementofSolitude 3]

It's about as sharp as a butter knife made of lukewarm jello.

 

We all even gave you evidence as to WHY you are wrong, but you shrugged it off.

In my post, I showed you everyday common female ponies doing physical labor.

 

You want evidences? Okay, I will show you.

Point to any mares in this two pictures, please (except Twilight, but it's obvious)

 About crying.

[Odyssey 5,718]

You know, I expected such reactions. Because, like I was saying, bronies tend to be sexists all the time, even if they don't realise it. But it's okay. Nothing surprising.

But I will try to explain.

First of all, no mares in royal guards means the only thing -- they are too weak and helpless to bear such a duty, that's all. 

Further, crying. If it isn't a sing of weakeness, then why stallions don't cry, huh? There were Twilight's parents In Royal Wedding and Magical Mistery Cure episodes. And you know what? Only her mother was crying (out of joy, but whatever). Why not both? I tell you why -- because they show stallions as stronger and better controling their emotions, that's why. Mares aren't capable of it, according to the writers' logic.

Now, about mane 6. I'm not talking about them. They are main characters, so they don't count. I'm talking about background mares, just as much as I'm talking about background stallions. I compare regular residents of Equestria, not Princesses or main heroes. And it's clear that regular mares being discriminated all the time.

 

 

 

 

Oh? Then why stallions don't wear make up if it's not a sign of weakness? Can't tell? I'll explain, why. Because it IS a sign of weakness and unability to do anything more than gossiping and shoppig.

 

Um... the main purpose of a background pony is to be in the background. No dialogue, no impact on the story, they stay in the background as their name suggest. Also, the irony behind your posts is they're actually pretty sexist. Only male royal guards? We have princesses. Stallions don't cry? Go look at this. Stallions don't wear makeup? Well, there's none, but the closest we've gotten in the ways of fashionable is Hoity Toity and Trenderhoof. I'm sorry, but your assumptions are kind of weak.

 

...but I'm not going to fight fire with fire here, as it isn't my thing. I'm off.

Edited October 12, 2014 by Mienshao

[Dattebayo 2,850]

If you wanted to be super-daft about it it, Yeah, sure, there are no females there IN THOSE SPECIFIC PICS YOU POSTED, just because IT DOESN'T SHOW doesn't mwan it DOESN'T EXIST.

 

There you go with your inane "only the women cry, that means it's weakness, ADADCNQDCHJQ SEXIST" argument.

It holds zero stock.

 

Have some dudes crying, you guy.

 

Edited October 12, 2014 by Dattebayo

[EpitomeOfTruth 243]

 

First of all, no mares in royal guards means the only thing -- they are too weak and helpless to bear such a duty, that's all.  

 

 

What......what the FU---?!

 

You serious, you know there are hundreds of other reason to not be a guard. One of them is just simply not wanting to be one.

 

 

Further, crying. If it isn't a sing of weakeness, then why stallions don't cry, huh? There were Twilight's parents In Royal Wedding and Magical Mistery Cure episodes. And you know what? Only her mother was crying (out of joy, but whatever). Why not both? I tell you why -- because they show stallions as stronger and better controling their emotions, that's why. Mares aren't capable of it, according to the writers' logic.

 

 

Uhhhh....remember these?

 

 

 

Yeah, that never happened...

 

As for your last point, they're female, why the hell shouldn't they count?

[Dattebayo 2,850]

As for your last point, they're female, why the hell shouldn't they count?

Because it's not convenient for his argument, shhhh