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

[RyaN_ 292]

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.

If you compare the S4-S5 episodes to that of Season 1, I noticed the episodes had more complex storyline and morals that little kids wouldn't get entirely; My guess is that Hasbro is trying to appeal to the ever-growing community of Bronies.

This could not be true entirely though.

[alpinefroggy 451]

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.

It isn't your place IMO. I don't speak for the other person but without knowing anything about how their family may think or how they feel or where they are at with their sexuality but coming out as lgbt can be explosive. I would also have questions like are they ready yet? Do they think they should wait to make it safer for themselves? We don't know. The best thing is to support them in to the best of your ability and support whatever their decision may be

Edited December 4, 2015 by alpinefroggy

[RyaN_ 292]

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."

I  give the best excuse whenever I can:

"My friend told me to watch it" XD

[Megas 27,213]

This is a topic I can never take seriously. I still find it embarrassing that there are bronies who still look at something as mundane as liking a cartoon in the same light as revealing one's sexuality

[TwilightAngel 109]

lol. Why do people still think being a brony makes you gay or Bi? It's a show. nothing more nothing less

[Daring_Do 552]

You know, I wonder if at least some of the folks who sexualize ponies do it partly because they're trying to prove they're not gay.

[RavenholmZombie 1,329]

I have a Yes and No answer to this question.

 

Yes because saying that you like a TV show shouldn't be something that's a big deal and, let's be frank, to most people, it isn't.

 

I also say no because even though the majority of people from outside of the fandom won't really care if you're a Brony, there are exceptions.

 

If you want to "come out" to your friends and family as a Brony, just do it. It's not that hard. Just keep a cool head when doing it. Simple as that.

[Dark Qiviut 22,221]

Coming out of the closet as LGBT is more impactful than coming out of the stable as a brony. But that doesn't mean coming out of the closet as a brony shouldn't be taken any less seriously. I live in a very liberal society and have a very liberal family. Not everyone is so lucky. Often, people in many socially conservative areas like the Bible Belt depend on living through social and gender norms to survive.
 

There's a sociocultural fear of men liking feminine products, including FIM. A couple of years ago, a brony on here was bullied by his family after he came out as one. Michael Morones attempted suicide because he was bullied for liking FIM. A brony was bullied by classmates for bringing his Dash backpack, and the school blamed the victim for it by telling him not to bring it because it was a bullying trigger. Two years ago, Mom and I talked with a brony who came to BronyCon from the midwest with friends; he told us he was a closet brony because he really believes his family will spew ableism and homophobia towards him. Other anecdotes where male bronies are called "gay" or "autistic" simply because they love the show are out there. Other bronies witness blatant homophobia and sexism by their family and keep their love for FIM in the closet as a result. Bronies ought to be able to express their love for the show and not be stuck in sexist gender roles. Closet bronydom doesn't live in a vacuum.

1. The opinion — hell, even the idea — that anyone needs to reevaluate themselves and their priorites because they fear they'll be bullied for liking the show by their friends, peers, or family is sexist, homophobic, transphobic, ableist, and overall very dangerous via blaming the victim. Rather than placing the blame on gender roles, you place the blame on closet bronies. Blaming closet bronies for being in the closet is like telling a girl/woman she can't wear a specific style of clothes she likes because men will stare at her. By blaming the closet bronies, you suggest that anyone LGBT should stay in the closet. Nobody should be forced to hide who they are and what they like. You're sending genuine unfortunate implications by downplaying a very real fear.
2. Like I wrote before, coming out as LGBT has far more impact than any brony coming out as a brony. More people should understand that. But once again, that doesn't mean we shouldn't treat the issue of bronies keeping their love for FIM in the closet with respect. Closet bronydom is a byproduct of a larger societal problem: It exists because society peer-pressures us as a people to live by social and gender constructs. Many bronies succumb to this pressure.
3. Social justice and civil rights aren't picks and choices. They intertwine and affect each other. The fear of shame just for liking a product that "violates social normality" — male bronies liking a feminine show — is a very real social and feminist issue, and we should be sensitive towards it. We must endorse the idea that anyone (male, female, or minority gender) can love the show without fear of gender roles and the people who support gender roles bullying them. Why? Because challenging social and gender roles as a whole impacts communities vying for civil rights, including the LGBT. Trivializing closet bronydom tells us you don't care about not only challenging social constructs, but also addressing the civil rights issues the LGBT community faces.

Edited December 4, 2015 by Dark Qiviut

[AlbaTross 1,581]

I'd say yes and no. I do think people over-analyze the idea of confessing to liking the show, and it's not nearly as deviant as having a different sexual orientation. However, as a sociology major who has taken more than a fair share of sociology and anthropology based courses, I can say that we are still engaging in a form of deviance, and that's why people are uncomfortable confessing to it. Deviance can be defined as acting in a way that is deemed unusual or conflicts with the set of expectations for a person based on identifying factors such as his or her age, gender, ethnicity, etc. in the cultural context that he or she is raised in and/or currently lives in, which constitute the master status of a person in that society.

 

There are different forms of deviance. Criminal/law breaking behaviour is a form of deviance and one that is more than a little frowned upon in our society. In addition to laws, however, are what are termed "norms". These are customs and values that are learned in a given cultural context, but are otherwise unwritten. They informally govern behaviour, largely because people find it shocking when they are broken. There are basic norms such as dinner etiquette, but there are many that most people don't generally think about until they break them, such as norms that govern what hobbies and habits one should have. Yes, norms are that extensive, and craft idealized human beings based on some arbitrary notion that, say, twenty something guys should like sports, but shouldn't like things like FiM.

 

Anyone who breaks even a silly, arbitrary norm such as liking a tv show that society's values tell us we shouldn't, is considered deviant, just like an LGBT person who doesn't conform to notions of an expected sexual orientation is considered deviant. Sure, an LGBT person is considered more deviant, but society frowns upon all forms of deviance by condemning people. At worst, Bronies are condemned by being classified as weird, and/or something to make fun of, but there is still that knowledge that what we are doing is "wrong", according to some notion our society subscribes to, and I actually think it's Bronies who are the hardest on themselves. In short, no one should feel guilty for liking something many people might find weird for someone of your master status, but you might, and that's because you too have internalized norms that tell you otherwise. They are not natural, but learned, so there isn't actually anything wrong with liking FiM.

[EverEverOn 346]

I don't think watching a show about ponies is really worthy of "coming out."

A TV program isn't really similar to sexuality, and watching a certain show shouldn't dictate your life so much.

[Guest]

Honestly to be honest with you there is a major difference. People constantly say stuff like "don't judge me for who I am." And that is fair. Sensuality is not your choice, but liking a cartoon is.

 

Your likes and interests are your actions and ideas and to be perfectly honest: those are fair game to judge. They represent the alliance you have chosen for yourself and thus they are how you wish to be known. And guess what, people are going to be crappy to you for everything you like. I get crap for liking game consoles because it's considered bad for a PC gamer to play consoles. I get ridiculed by someone for just about everything I like, even my family. I just tell them to fuck off and deal with it because I know there will always be asshats. That's how you have to approach it. Your choices are open to criticism, and whether or not that criticism is valid or not is irrelevant because people are in their right to give it.

[GeekySonic 1,150]

It shouldn't be considered as "coming out", but I believe that there cases where it is. For example, I live in small-town North Dakota. People here are sexist, homophobic, and glorify masculine things.

 

For the year I've been a Brony, I kept it a secret for most that time. When I finally told my friends and family, I was shamed and ridiculed.

 

This is because I had the audacity to look beyond the close-minded ideas everyone here was used to.

 

All "coming out" means is revealing a part of your identity that was previously a secret. You could come out as anything. (I do not identify as gay or bisexual, so I'm sorry if my comparison seems unfair)

 

I'd like to point out a particular episode that illustrates my point. In the episode Read it and Weep (I think that's its name), Rainbow Dash discovers that she enjoys reading. Reading isn't an essential part of one's identity, but she still felt the need to protect this aspect from her friends. Why? She was under the impression that such a hobby would ruin her image, and went to great lengths to avoid telling anyone.

 

When she is forced to admit her love of the book series, Rainbow learns that it wasn't a big deal, she shouldn't have felt the way she did, and that she has every right to be open about her passion for reading.

 

Even if it shouldn't appear a certain way, society still has a firm grasp on the concept that certain things are for boys only, and other things are for girls only. That is what we keep telling kids, and that is the kind of thing they think when they're deciding whether or not they should tell people they are a Brony.

[ThatOneComrade 1,091]

No, and not because it can be interpreted as an insult to the LGBT+ community, but because that's stupid.

[Holiday Agnaktor 1,435]

Well...

I wouldn't personally call it that, but when I googled the definition, I got this:

 

 

(...)

5

a :  to openly declare one's homosexuality

 

b :  to openly declare something about oneself previously kept hidden —often used with as <blew his cover and came out as a CIA agent — William Prochnau>

So, if you go by b, then it technically counts...but...Nah. It doesn't sound that good.

So, I vote for the "Nah".

[immortal storm 52]

well it depends on the person your telling

[ToastedScone 383]

As someone who is both LGBT and a brony, I have to admit that putting both of these things in the same category is nonsensical; bronyism is something you can stop if it's badly affecting your life and relationships with family or friends. Being LGBT, on the other hand, is something intrinsic that cannot be changed.

[KatonRyu 1,030]

Not even close IMO. It's a TV show that happens to feature colorful ponies. That's it. Sure, there's a stigma attached to it that somewhat resembles the one LGBT people face, but the backlash isn't nearly the same, unless the people in question immediately assume that liking MLP makes you gay, thus unleashing the same kind of bullshit on you that 'really' coming out does.

[TheSupremeLeaderOfChaos 1,190]

Lol no. It can be a difficult thing to admit (I, for example, have only told one (1) person in my life) but it's not at all the same as coming out as LGBT. There's a discussion to be had on why being a fan of a cartoon aimed at girls is looked down upon, but homophobia is on a completely different level.

Edited February 18, 2020 by TheSupremeLeaderOfChaos

[Splashee 28,538]

Comparing liking a TV show to sexual orientation, is probably not the same thing.

[EpicEnergy 22,556]

I don't see why it shouldn't be referred to as that.

[Concerned Bystander 2,902]

On 12/3/2015 at 4:36 PM, SteveMorison said:

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.

I would say exactly the same about your sexuality.

Call it whatever you like, nobody owns the phrase.

[Tom Gallagher 33,538]

It certainly felt a bit like I was coming out, but the two things are completely different.  They're a confession but they're different! 

[Splashee 28,538]

Is it the same as telling people about your own sexual orientation, then it could be called that.

I have never mixed Bronies with sex stuff, so I don't know!

[ExplosionMare 18,015]

For some people, yes. Like sexual orientation, not everyone comes out, so not all Bronies would need to (ex. Most females are probably seen as more normal for liking the show than males).

It would really only make sense to come out if a Brony was very concerned about receiving lots of judgement.