Should telling friends and family you're a brony be referred to as coming out?

[SteveMorison 404]

I've heard the complaint that referring to it this way can be seen as a trivialisation of the coming out process and how difficult it can be for the LGBT community. Remember guys, it's just a TV show at the end of the day, they may look at you funny but if they're really your friend or care about you one bit it shouldn't be that big of a deal to them.

[Daring_Do 552]

I've heard the complaint that referring to it this way can be seen as a trivialisation of the coming out process and how difficult it can be for the LGBT community. 

Yeah, I've had similar thoughts myself.

[Guest]

No. Just no.

 

Admitting liking a show is no where near as life changing as admitting your sexuality for some people. The fact that people feel they "need" to "come out" as a brony shows they are taking the show too seriously. You like a TV show, your life is not changed by that fact, and if it is, then you need to reassess your position and priorities in life.

[Daring_Do 552]

No. Just no.

 

Admitting liking a show is no where near as life changing as admitting your sexuality for some people. The fact that people feel they "need" to "come out" as a brony shows they are taking the show too seriously. You like a TV show, your life is not changed by that fact, and if it is, then you need to reassess your position and priorities in life.

Honestly I think it might be part of the persecutory delusions a lot of bronies seem to have. I've written about this more than once before, so let me just be lazy and copypaste this time:

 

"I do feel like bronies have a tendency to blow these things out of proportion and have... strange ideas - Like, I've seen a guy suggesting that bronies should all take guns to conventions for self-defense - but he admitted he'd never actually been to one. Then I've seen worries about brony conventions getting *bombed*... It just feels silly, you know? 

And this, plus other things... Talking about how the media always badmouths us, when most media coverage of bronies is actually positive... A guy linking a YouTube brony documentary and assuming (without finishing it) that it was "hurtful", etc., but then when people actually watched it they found out it was a fair, balanced, nonjudgmental documentary... Assumption that Gravity Falls's slightly referencing MLP must be negative, when the actual episode barely referenced MLP and the creator of Gravity Falls is actually a friend of Lauren Faust's... The list goes on."

Edited December 3, 2015 by Daring_Do

[Guest]

Honestly I think it's just part of the persecutory delusions a lot of bronies seem to have. I've written about this more than once before, so let me just be lazy and copypaste this time:

 

"I do feel like bronies have a tendency to blow these things out of proportion and have... strange ideas - Like, I've seen a guy suggesting that bronies should all take guns to conventions for self-defense - but he admitted he'd never actually been to one. Then I've seen worries about brony conventions getting *bombed*... It just feels silly, you know? 

And this, plus other things... Talking about how the media always badmouths us, when most media coverage of bronies is actually positive... A guy linking a YouTube brony documentary and assuming (without finishing it) that it was "hurtful", etc., but then when people actually watched it they found out it was a fair, balanced, nonjudgmental documentary... Assumption that Gravity Falls's slightly referencing MLP must be negative, when the actual episode barely referenced MLP and the creator of Gravity Falls is actually a friend of Lauren Faust's... The list goes on."

 

Doom and gloom all over. It's really ridiculous, because at the end of the day, to be honest: the media does not even CARE about MLP fans. Very few stories are actually done on major news networks and the only time stories really ever pop up is on slow news days. At this point bronies are old news, uninteresting to the rest of the world and non-impacting to the media. There is a presidential campaign going on right now, along with terrorist attacks, and a new Star Wars movie. So many other more influential things happening that make you realize that bronies are a non-point.

[Red Cedar 1,408]

I do not, under any circumstances, think that anyone should be ashamed of being a brony any more than they should be ashamed of being gay or trans.

 

However, one of the first bronies I met before I myself became a fan referred to his revealing his love of the show as "coming out of the stables", and I thought that was absolutely hilarious. I used the term myself when I revealed to my friends that I was a fan just before my first convention.

[Guest]

I do not, under any circumstances, think that anyone should be ashamed of being a brony any more than they should be ashamed of being gay or trans.

 

However, one of the first bronies I met before I myself became a fan referred to his revealing his love of the show as "coming out of the stables", and I thought that was absolutely hilarious. I used the term myself when I revealed to my friends that I was a fan just before my first convention.

That story is very cringe worthy...

[chirox the pony 1,336]

Yeah as long as your family aren't total jerks to you they probably won't care that much. They might have a little giggle although that's probably because you said my little pony was stupid when you were a kid and now you love it. 

[Vox 870]

No, i believe that's downplaying the term quite a bit (Unless of course you're only using the term lightheartedly, and not treating it like it's a big deal). Telling someone you like a show about pastel horses is no where near as nerve wracking or serious as admitting to someone your sexuality. To me, i could care less if people knew that i liked the show or not, it doesn't define me as a person nearly as much as my sexual orientation. No one but a few close friends i know in person know i'm bisexual, and since i told them i can't help but tell that they treat me somewhat differently. I would never in my right mind tell my family, Lord knows what they'd do.

Edited December 3, 2015 by Vox

[SteveMorison 404]

No, i believe that's downplaying the term quite a bit (Unless of course you're only using the term lightheartedly, and not treating it like it's a big deal). Telling someone you like a show about pastel horses is no where near as nerve wracking or serious as admitting to someone your sexuality. To me, i could care less if people knew that i liked the show or not, it doesn't define me as a person nearly as much as my sexual orientation. No one but a few close friends i know in person know i'm bisexual, and since i told them i can't help but tell that they treat me somewhat differently. I would never in my right mind tell my family, Lord knows what they'd do.

It's probably not my place to tell you this, but I would advise you tell your family, it will free up your life so much.

[Vox 870]

It's probably not my place to tell you this, but I would advise you tell your family, it will free up your life so much.

I see no rational reason too, i'm not dating someone of the same sex so it's not as if it's preventing me from doing anything, but if my parents were understanding of it, and didn't think it to be a moral evil, then i'd have no apprehension to tell them. Unfortunately that isn't the case.

[SteveMorison 404]

There was actually a small controversy here in the UK after Channel 4's world of weird aired, where one brony who was also a soldier was asked is it harder to be a brony or be gay in the military, and he answered being a brony because Bronies aren't protected by any laws. The Daily Mirror used this as another excuse to go at bronies. I agree that what he said was offensive, but taking his quote then bashing bronies is not exactly proving him wrong is it.

Edited December 3, 2015 by DashBandicoot

[Moonlight 7,287]

Ugh no. Liking a little children's cartoon is not the same as something like being LGBT. You just like a show, it's not a part of your non-fandom identity and under no circumstances should it be compared to the dangers of coming out as LGBT.

 

As a lesbian who hasn't come out yet, it's pretty gross to compare the two and really downplays the seriousness of someone's sexuality and people's possibly dangerous reactions to it

 

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[TheAnimatorOfficial 567]

Ugh no. Liking a little children's cartoon is not the same as something like being LGBT. You just like a show, it's not a part of your non-fandom identity and under no circumstances should it be compared to the dangers of coming out as LGBT.

 

As a lesbian who hasn't come out yet, it's pretty gross to compare the two and really downplays the seriousness of someone's sexuality and people's possibly dangerous reactions to it

 

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Although quite honestly it's sad that there are still dangers associated with coming out.

[Envy 6,169]

It's probably not my place to tell you this, but I would advise you tell your family, it will free up your life so much.

 

...But it's just liking a cartoon. As long as one can watch the show privately (headphones!) there's absolutely no reason to have to be open about it. It's not at all like dating someone of the same sex, or identifying as a gender that does not match up with the sex you were born with.

[SteveMorison 404]

...But it's just liking a cartoon. As long as one can watch the show privately (headphones!) there's absolutely no reason to have to be open about it. It's not at all like dating someone of the same sex, or identifying as a gender that does not match up with the sex you were born with.

I was referring to him telling his family he's bisexual

[Envy 6,169]

I was referring to him telling his family he's bisexual

 

Oh, dear... Sorry about that. D:

[Tonyan 122]

Well, for me, when I came out of the closet, telling them that I watch the show, it was kind of awkward and difficult to make them understand. My mother mostly was wondering why I had 3 little blind bag figurines (Trixie, Twilight and a random pony) in front of my computer screen to decorate. I had to explain them what the show was, and why I watched it. Mainly because the show itself became popular among older people blah blah blah, and I was curious to know what was so good about that show, and explained them that I started watching it, and understood why: Simply because the show is simply very good, well scripted, has good humor, cool and fun characters. It wasn't much of a ''little girls show'' after all (if you watched the season 4 finale, I seriously doubt that it would be put in a ''girly show'').

They felt unsure about it, but then I presented them a little about the community, some of the episodes that looked badass, and with time, then became cool with it, they didn't care much about it after that, and everything went back to normal.

Of course, you don't have to tell them, it's not a mandatory thing. But if you feel like it, then go for it.

Here's a tip: Don't just go ''I like the show and watch it'', bluntly, explain them mostly WHY you watch it and WHY it is so popular among older people, going from teenagers to adults. If you don't explain the Why, then you're going to nail it.

[RyaN_ 292]

Yeah as long as your family aren't total jerks to you they probably won't care that much. They might have a little giggle although that's probably because you said my little pony was stupid when you were a kid and now you love it. 

 

Or they would shun you endlessly ): or rethink your sexuality (as always)

Seriously, watching a show about technicolor ponies DOES NOT mean you have mental issues

[Tonyan 122]

Or they would shun you endlessly ): or rethink your sexuality (as always)

Seriously, watching a show about technicolor ponies DOES NOT mean you have mental issues

Most parents or people from the old generation unfortunately grew up with the mental state and build, where they judge and jump to conclusions instantly without even bothering to try to understand the reason of something and asking themselves ''Why?'' . It is still the case for young people today, but I think it is MUCH better than the previous generations. It was not absolutely everyone that were thinking that way, some were still rational and wanted to understand the deeper part of things.

 

Edit: Oh and, if they are to re-think your sexual orientation just because they don't approve something that YOU like, then they don't truly love you for what you are if they don't want you to orient toward a sexual orientation they don't want. Either you're homosexual or Lesbian, or any other kind of sexual orientation, they're supposed to love you because you're their child, not because of some idiotic mental state where they expect you to be and act the way THEY want you to.

Edited December 4, 2015 by Xermy

[RyaN_ 292]

Most parents or people from the old generation unfortunately grew up with the mental state and build, where they judge and jump to conclusions instantly without even bothering to try to understand the reason of something and asking themselves ''Why?'' . It is still the case for young people today, but I think it is MUCH better than the previous generations. It was not absolutely everyone that were thinking that way, some were still rational and wanted to understand the deeper part of things.

Well, the G3 MLP wasn't all that great so.. XD

[Tonyan 122]

Well, the G3 MLP wasn't all that great so.. XD

We're talking mostly about G4 here XD . Sure, G1 to G3.5 was oriented toward girl childs. but G4 became something totally different from the norm.

[Ponies4Bronies 394]

Oh god no, you can't "come out" for being a fan of a show....

Just think of it with another fandom..."Hey guys, I have been trying to tell you for a while now but I don't know how...but I guess you could say I'm coming out of the Tardis.............I love Dr. Who..."

See how ridiculous that sounds?

[alpinefroggy 451]

I am bi and a brony. I was a brony before I fully realized my sexuality and I felt really unhappy 'coming out' as a brony over the course of a few weeks with my merc I had bought and stuff. Eventually it's just been a whatever it's just a tv show.

 

Then I started questioning my sexuality and realized I was bi and had to come out. Holy hell was that a perspective changer. Two totally different worlds.

 

It's not coming out as anything life defining. You like a cartoon. It happens to be for little girls but it's just a tv show. Not changing the way I percieve myself or others percieve me like being lgbt might.

 

I awknowledge being a brony can be considered weird but it isn't coming out.

Edited December 4, 2015 by alpinefroggy

[Skylord Nexus 527]

Yeah i mean when i told my mum i was a Brony she said something like "... Do you think you gay?" And at that moment i was facepalming myself in the head and was like "NO! I'm not that is a common misconseption, and besideds it's just a show."