How do You Lock the Closet?

[True Rarity 1,239]

If you're a closet brony, that is. How do you keep your brony status hidden from the outside world?

 

I'm not officially a closet brony, but I don't shout it to the world and I'm trying to make most of my family forget. In other words, I'm in the doorway.

 

I usually have any and all MLP-related site tabs in a different browser window so I can click away if I hear someone coming. I keep my volume down and/or headphones in at all costs, and if I here the slightest noise the episode is usually paused, the laptop closed, the headphones off, and the book open for the next fifteen minutes.

 

...Okay, that last bit was an exaggeration. But I still try to be very careful.

 

My pony merchandise (if I ever get any) would be hidden away in my junk drawer, which nopony ever opens. And I try to keep excuses at the ready, but I'm not good at coming up with them other than "Oh, I'm just looking at gifts for my little sister" or "Mom, my sister wants to watch My Little Pony on Netflix, is that okay?" And those aren't always bought.

 

What about you? How do you keep that closet door shut?

[CC_Maud_Pie 6,431]

- When I watch episodes online or browse the forums, I hide the computer and put it on low brightness and keep the earphone plug on it so that nobody can hear it. When watching it on TV, I have a TV in my room and because if that, I shut the door and put it to a volume where nobody outside my room can hear it.

 

- I don't wear my MLP shirt in a place where I don't feel comfortable wearing it.

 

- I don't talk about it to people who I have no idea is a brony, non-brony, or even an anti-brony.

Edited January 28, 2015 by Poppy_The_Vixen

[The Mint Pone 2,292]

I just do anything mlp related while hidden away in my room. If someone comes in I just close tabs and pretend I was on 9gag when people ask what I was doing it's been easy for me to keep my brony side covered up so far although I of course hate hiding my likeing of mlp

[Sceethe 704]

similar to you, i just don´t scream it  out to everyone i meet.

i don´t have any merchandising at all, just because i don´t like to.. "show colors", i guess.

But that´s the same with pretty much anything i like, so it´s not like i try to hide it.

 

 

in fact, the only reason that i am a "closet brony" is because noone has ever asked me about it.

[ElectricBeat 39]

Well... I'm like way way out there. Like wearing my Rainbow Dash shoes almost every day brony. But if I was in the closet, I'd probably only watch My Little Pony on my tablet and only when I was alone. And wouldn't have any of my merch... Sadness... I'd just be sad without people knowing because I couldn't show my love for the show properly.

[ConcorDisparate 385]

Well I'm pretty much like you, but I don't close everything when people come, why whould they even look at what I'm doing ? I simply open another website.

I'm always on forums, so they don't really care about what I'm doing.

I don't buy MLP things for now, so I don't have to hide anything in my room

 

_{However that's currently quite problematical, I'm looking for a way to read the 2 sisters book, but I can't really buy it because of that, and I can't find it "online".}

Edited January 28, 2015 by ConcorDisparate

[NuclearBurg (Dawn) 622]

I hide away in my room and keep the screen hidden when anyone walks in. I've also gotten quite good at hiding my drawings instantaneously when someone walks in.

[TSD 86]

Well, computer is run to a 54" screen and 500-ish watt sound system. Clearly not too worried about it. Though if I were, I suppose I'd close everything and insist Id been watching porn.

 

Being a masculinified male and all.

[alpinefroggy 451]

I used to only watch it in my room or alone and my plushes were away. I've gotten more open about it ponifiying my computer and phone and merc coming out. I also watch the show when everyone is around and don't hide it now. No one has noticed

[KatonRyu 1,026]

I'd probably watch on headphones or with really low volume, and quickly tab out if I heard someone coming up the stairs. Fortunately I had experience with that sort of thing even before I found MLP. These days, though, just about everyone I know knows I'm a brony so I don't keep it hidden as much. For some reason I still lower the volume on the theme song though.

[cuteycindyhoney 13,283]

I don't have doors on my closet! Seriously though. I never gave any thought to hiding my enjoyment of the show. When season two started, my cable was out for a couple of days and I couldn't wait. I watched the first two episodes of season two at the library on a public computer. I only used headphones because the library does not provide speakers in the computer room.

[PROJECT: Simon 3,953]

I just.... shut my mouth and say nothing. I just go to mlpforums without brightness off or anything, my father won't care. He doesn't even know what MLP and Brony is. 

Edited January 29, 2015 by Simon (Salem/Wilfre)

[Lisa 5,552]

I just don't talk about it. When watching it I wear headphones and sit myself on my bed with my laptop on my lap in such a position so that nobody who walks in will see my screen.

Edited January 29, 2015 by Flitter

[Monsoon 1,648]

How I keep my secret of being a brony well if I look at something mlp related I make a mental note to erase my history and tell no one im a brony simple.

[Miles 2,512]

Excellent question, @True Rarity.  

For starters...

I'm 20, a sophomore in college, and live in a dorm on campus.  When I go home sometimes for the weekend, or when I go home for Fall Break/Christmas Break/Spring Break/the summer, I have my own bedroom and my laptop is faced away from the entrance of my room.  I wear headphones as well, of course.

 

Now, you may think that, since I am in the stable, I wouldn't post pictures of myself in that one thread ("Post a Picture of Yourself")...

Except I have.  Now, hear me out...

I live in a very, very country town.  Actually, I'd go so far as to tell you that I live in a hick town, and I'm not stretching the truth at all.  The chance that someone from my town (ergo, the chance that a friend of mine, or anyone else there) would be a member of this site is 1 in 2500.  Why 1 in 2500?  There's only 2500 people in my town.  Lol.

 

But, if somehow... someone else from my town was a member here and saw my picture - that means they are a brony as well, and thus, why should I be worried about that?  

Then again, being a brony isn't the only thing I'm hiding at the moment.

 

 

And I do have good reason to hide both...

The last principal that was at my high school would not allow two people of the same sex/gender to attend prom.  
Yep, you read that correctly; same-sex couples - no matter if it was a real couple or just friends - could not attend prom together.
Fortunately, he is no longer principal.
Unfortunately, that is not the reason he is no longer the principal.
Even more unfortunately, not many people complained about the rule that did not allow male/male or female/female couples at prom.
Which, yes, means that many of the students were just as bigoted as the principal was.

Transfer that kind of thinking to my whole town.
Now you see why I call my town hick.

 

 

So then you may ask me, if I'm trying to hide being a brony and being bi... why would I post pictures of myself here, and why would I put Rivvy and I's relationship in my profile?

Because I like to take risks.  Especially when I know that it's not going to happen.  You may think I am being just a wee bit naive to be so sure that nobody who knows me from my town would ever find me out here...  Well, I'm not, lol.

If... I'm wrong.  And if someone from my town did find me out.  I'm going to have to assume that they think more like I do, and thus, aren't bigoted, and therefore, I bet I could trust them to not tell anyone.  The people I would have to worry about finding me out the most... are the ones the very least likely to ever even know that My Little Pony exists in the first place, let alone this forum.  

---

For those of you who think I'm exaggerating about my town:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hy4NK427gsA

Eeyup.  My county's fairgrounds are in my town.  We hold truck pulls, tractor pulls, mud bogs, dirtbike and quad races, demolition derbies... and even, I kid you not, pig scrambles - where pigs are let loose inside the boundaries within the track, and kids (yes, kids) jump/tackle them and grab onto them, and if I remember correctly, those who can keep their hold of the pig get to keep the pig.

So, like I said.  Yeah, I'm hiding about being a brony and being bi, and yet there's pictures of me in the pic thread, and I have my relationship shown in my profile.  

As long as nobody sees me on my computer on this site when I'm at home, there's no way anyone who knows me IRL will find out unless I come out of the stable myself.

---

One last bit here, for those of you questioning me with "what about college?"

I don't care about that, lmao.  I'm an hour and a half from home.  I don't have alot of friends at college, but nonetheless, most people here are open minded, and wouldn't think anything of it.  I doubt they'd even know me if they saw me here.  If they did, and asked me about it here IRL, I'd casually say "Yahhh... Would it be okay if you kept this a secret?" - And they would.  

And to make things even more comical: one person IRL actually does know I'm a brony.  My roommate.  But, he couldn't care less about it.  He doesn't know I'm bi, but he's not going to find out, because he isn't going to come on here.  Believe me, I know that 100% for sure.  I live with him.  He's not going to come on here for these reasons: he doesn't care, he's apathetic, he has no interest in ponies, he's slightly anti-social, and he spends most of his free time gaming online.  Now, please don't take me wrong way; I'm not putting him down or bashing him at all.  I'm just being blunt.  I live with him; I know.  

~ Miles

[Argumedies 1,748]

Well, my closet door is slightly ajar because there are a few who irl know about this. But for the most part, I just keep this to myself and just not flaunt it to outsiders.

 

Its on a need to know bases, and most people don't need to know

[Creamy Arty 6,251]

I don't. My bronyness is out there for all to see... most of the time. There are a couple of places I hide it just because I don't feel like putting up with the annoyances that would follow rather than any shame or fear of judgement. Keeping it hidden is effortless though. I live alone, and so nobody sees what I'm doing online, and the only piece of merchandise I have on me at all times is a bottle opener with Twilight's cutie mark on it. Most people who look at it have no idea what it is. Nobody has ever commented.

 

The shirts I only wear out to brony meetups or when I'm going to the store or to family gatherings. Never around the handful of people I'm concealing it from, obviously. Doesn't take much effort for me to keep it a secret.

[MysticShine 529]

Never mention anything about it.

 

Never buy merchandise or wear it for that matter.

 

Watch the show in my room.

[shy0wl 484]

I'm not as much of a closet brony as I used to be but I (usually) wear headphones when I watch anything pony on my laptop.  When I watch it on my TV I usually watch it through Netflix on my ps3 and wear my headphones so no one hears anything

 

I actually still feel paranoid watching ponies when I'm the only one home too.  It's a weird thing to describe but before I do it, I have to scavenge every inch of the house and make sure I really am the only one home.  And then when I watch it I keep it at a low volume

[Holiday Agnaktor 1,435]

I'm now trying to open up a bit, but before, I just NEVER EVER mentioned ANYTHING even close to being related to mlp. NEVER. And when I went on the internet to watch videos or something I deleted the history, and only did things when I was absolutely sure no one would come in my room. Buying merchandise was out of the question...

[AlbaTross 1,581]

I don't talk about the show in public or around anyone but the closest of friends. Also, I have my own computer where no one checks the history. I actually keep the bulk of my pony stuff hidden in my closet. As a gamer, I have lots of boxes for systems among other things, so I hide most of it in my PS3 box. Since there isn't enough room I keep the DVDs in the chest where I keep my graphic novels. I may have to look into other arrangements for the comics, particularly when I finally get around to getting the novels. I also keep my other merch in there though, so maybe I'll just move that instead.

[Shanks 10,811]

I don't I swallowed the key and sealed the closet door with solid concrete, all joking aside though I don't go out of my way to tell people about it but I don't go out of my way to hide it either. The only time it is really obvious that I am into it are the occasions I wear my Applejack or Twilight shirt and in my experience most people either seem to not care, like the shirts or if they do care just don't say or do anything. Of course that is my experience and I realize that there are plenty of harassment and trolling stories out there.

[Snow Frostflame 3,567]

you should throw away the lock not the key...

[~Sassy Dashie~ 712]

I'm female, so I'm not a closet brony.

 

Everywhere I go I wear MLP merch...

 

But, if you're looking to keep it a secret, what you've got going sounds pretty good. 

 

Do you have your own netflix?

[ponylaces 1,869]

I don't have any siblings, so it's pretty easy to hide the things I do without anyone knowing. I watch the show, watch pony videos, and check the forums when my mom isn't home. Simple.

 

I would just do it when she's home, but my mom gives me no privacy whatsoever, making it impossible to do pony related stuff without her knowing.