What's this feminist hatred for love interests in this show?

[cider float 2,539]

When you have a show that runs for 5 seasons there's bound to be love scenes and love interests. It's not patriarchal to have female lead characters to have love interests, when a show runs for 5 seasons they would have added so many concepts that eventually they have to explore that avenue. Plus the show is meant to be about love and caring... why shouldn't there be love interests it's only logical to explore it. Even in shows with male leads they almost always give a love interest to any of the main characters especially if it's been running for 5 seasons straight so how is this emphasized only in shows for girls? Does it make sense for characters to constantly be on adventures and not get a fling or two?

 

Edited March 19, 2016 by cider float

[123 111]

I agree; love does not equate to weakness. I would not see Twilight as any weaker if she feel in love, which is an ordinary emotion that almost everyone is capable of feeling. My only explanation is the usual PC, social justice warrior stupidity. 

[Randimaxis 8,659]

Love is... complicated.

 

Keep in mind, whatever is shown on the screen has to be explained... and Hasbro might not feel comfortable trying to explain things like such in a show that's supposed to be for kids.  Mind you, I'm not at all saying you don't have a valid point; you very much DO.  However, I'm sorta playing Devil's Advocate here, and explaining why it hasn't really been explored yet.

 

Lemme try this a different way...

 

Love is a very STRONG emotion; on a show where the characters are somewhat ruled by emotions, generalizing love might seem like a hack-ploy at not addressing the issue... but at the same time, romance can turn a show into a soap opera.  Doubtless, there are some FANTASTIC stories to be told with that kind of love; they just might not be the appropriate kind of stories for the TARGET audience.  And by appropriate, I'm not even discussing anything raunchy; I'm talking about the romantic situations themselves.

 

Dating, romance and the like are more the realm of TEENAGERS; hence Equestria Girls, where you have Flash Sentry.  EG is aimed at an older demographic than the show, so it's okay to have a few of those issues pop up - they help the audience identify with characters like the EGs.  But a show about ponies, meant for young girls, might not want to tackle all the questions of 'what's appropriate and what isn't' when it comes to the storyboards - these are kids, for crying out loud; let 'em have their fun adventures without bogging it down with relationship issues.  Besides, aren't there already TOO MANY SHOWS that rely on romantic tension to drive their drama?

 

The instances we've seen of love in the show have been good and kind; since Life (and attentive parents) will teach them about all the ins and outs of romantic love, why can't they just have some fun adventures with their pony friends?  I DO think the issue of romance needs to be addressed, yes... I envision a MarbleMac wedding... but it needs to be done carefully and correctly if we want to make CERTAIN that we show the RIGHT things about love... not just use it to push plot along.

[Denim&Venöm 19,601]

It can work if the right characters do it. But this is a fantasy adventure/ SOL show. Romance is a secondary subplot. And given the rating, you can't really delve into these things nor make it palpable for the target demographic without making it caricature or a sham. 

 

Can the characters get love interests? Yes. Should they? No. Cause frankly, dating & courtship are trivial non-issues in a show like this. 

[EverEverOn 346]

I personally don't mind if there are love interests or not. That's not why I watch the show and I couldn't care less.

Although, I do like the idea of teaching young children not to worry about finding their special someone. The ponies steer their little minds away from true love and instead teach them more important things. Young children don't need to worry about finding their true love at such an age, and it's best not to introduce them to those things until they're older and understand what love is better. 

[Luminance 2,186]

What? I've though the mane six were only available for waifus.

[Singe 2,111]

Some people hate it when a series makes a big deal out of cheap romance like Love at First Sight or Love Triangle.

 

Also some people just don't like the idea of flawed characters hooking up with a stereotype character they don't like.

Edited March 19, 2016 by Singe

[Sidral Mundet 1,666]

What do you think Sunburst is for? I mean we have an orange stallion who's solely defined by a purple mare he knows and his job, who lives in the Crystal Empire yet is not a crystal pony and has unique accessories. Sound familiar? 

[Ziggy + Angel + Rain 11,303]

I think the fandom more than makes up for the general lack of in-show romantic relationships.  And how is it "feminist" hatred, precisely? xD

 

Does it make sense for characters to constantly be on adventures and not get a fling or two?

Idunno.  Does it make sense for ponies who are apparently responsible for preventing Equestria from slipping into any number of nigh-apocalyptic scenarios to focus more on cultivating relationships? xD  Consider the flip side: Has anyone watching a relationship drama ever stopped and said to themselves, "You know what this needs more of?  Magical adventures."

 

And to what extent, exactly, would you like to see the show focus on romance?  Do you want to see every member of the main cast paired off?  All around the same time / during the same season?  'Cause that don't feel anymore natural than a total exclusion of romance.  Would these relationships be exclusively heterosexual?  Would every burgeoning relationship absolutely end well?  In marriage?  What if six is the final season?  Should they cram as much as they possibly can into these episodes regardless of whether or not it necessarily makes any sense (Flash), feels forced (Flash), or completely ignores or contradicts the behavior, heretofore, of the ponies (Flash)?  I don't know how much time has supposedly passed over the course of these five seasons, but I don't think we're expected to believe that it's equal to how much time has passed on our side of things.

 

I guarantee: The moment the show makes a significant shift towards romance is the moment the staff has run out of ideas.  And then The CW will swoop in and beg to have MLP:FIM aired on their network.  (Comic book super hero shows on The CW are roughly 65% relationship-centric.)

 

There's nothing inherently wrong with relationships, and there's certainly nothing wrong with love.  Do I feel as though going in the direction of romance would be done well or beneficial to MLP:FIM in the long run?  I've no cause to feel that way.  Particularly not when you consider the mishandled (and ultimately abandoned) mess with Flash and how Shining Armor, poster boy for in-show marriage, seemingly just cries all the time (when he isn't throwing his wife - yes, I realize she consented to being thrown).

[Koumorikichikun 62]

Inb4 Hasbro ruins each and every one of your ships.

[Guest]

I can explain the hate in three words: ruined head canon.

 

People take their head canon way too seriously sometimes and will do anything to defend it. Some people have a hard time accepting that they don't control the show and that Hasbro will make the final call on things. Most of people's ships don't make sense anyways. Half the time a ship exists because two characters were on screen together for a few seconds and interacted once. There are people who ship Rainbow Dash with a Winona because she appeared in a dream once.

[White 189]

I'm confused, what does that have to do with feminism ?

Edited March 19, 2016 by White

[EmeraldSkies 93]

Personally, I'm not a big fan of romance plots in the first place (with a few exceptions, of course). I have no problem Shining and Cadance, Rarity fangirling over stallions or Spike's crush on Rarity, but I came here to watch ponies make friends, not fall in love. I also do like shipping characters, but don't want it to happen in the actual show, it'd be kind of weird. (This is from a 'feminist' perspective).

Edited March 19, 2016 by EmeraldSkies

[Jest (Inactive) 875]

I'm confused, what does that have to do with feminism ?

 

I was about to ask the same question, alot of people who aren't even girls / women hate love interests in shows? 

[Singe 2,111]

In the concept of romance in children cartoons, it becomes stagnant after a certain point. Just typical time filler. Two characters hook up, there's a ceiling because the show can't go farther (children's cartoon, characters are too young, etc.), and they have a break down build back up to keep it going.

[cider float 2,539]

I think the fandom more than makes up for the general lack of in-show romantic relationships.  And how is it "feminist" hatred, precisely? xD

 

Idunno.  Does it make sense for ponies who are apparently responsible for preventing Equestria from slipping into any number of nigh-apocalyptic scenarios to focus more on cultivating relationships? xD  Consider the flip side: Has anyone watching a relationship drama ever stopped and said to themselves, "You know what this needs more of?  Magical adventures."

 

And to what extent, exactly, would you like to see the show focus on romance?  Do you want to see every member of the main cast paired off?  All around the same time / during the same season?  'Cause that don't feel anymore natural than a total exclusion of romance.  Would these relationships be exclusively heterosexual?  Would every burgeoning relationship absolutely end well?  In marriage?  What if six is the final season?  Should they cram as much as they possibly can into these episodes regardless of whether or not it necessarily makes any sense (Flash), feels forced (Flash), or completely ignores or contradicts the behavior, heretofore, of the ponies (Flash)?  I don't know how much time has supposedly passed over the course of these five seasons, but I don't think we're expected to believe that it's equal to how much time has passed on our side of things.

 

I guarantee: The moment the show makes a significant shift towards romance is the moment the staff has run out of ideas.  And then The CW will swoop in and beg to have MLP:FIM aired on their network.  (Comic book super hero shows on The CW are roughly 65% relationship-centric.)

 

There's nothing inherently wrong with relationships, and there's certainly nothing wrong with love.  Do I feel as though going in the direction of romance would be done well or beneficial to MLP:FIM in the long run?  I've no cause to feel that way.  Particularly not when you consider the mishandled (and ultimately abandoned) mess with Flash and how Shining Armor, poster boy for in-show marriage, seemingly just cries all the time (when he isn't throwing his wife - yes, I realize she consented to being thrown).

You know when people think female heroes think they shouldn't always have a love interest for just being female? Feminists hate that. That's what I'm talking about and I'm rationalizing that all heroes end up getting some kind of love interest at some point of time in all shows especially if it's run 5 seasons straight.

Edited March 20, 2016 by cider float

[Wind Chaser 4,768]

It's all SJW bull and the anti-individual neo-sexism of the new far left. People think that any female or minority character automatically represents everyone of a particular group, thus if a character gets married, to them that means that it's the ideal that everyone of that group get married. The only way that would be true is if a show actively engaged in tokenism and stereotyping, but who knows they'll project that onto any work because it'll get attention to their cause.

 

In truth, a main character getting married would hurt the balance of the show as it is, which is good that romance is mostly saved for side characters. But the issue is that radical social justice elements are doing too much to go against their own word by telling people how to live their lives. They're becoming the thing they hate, they just don't realize that in their collective narcissism and Susan B. Anthony fantasies. True "liberation" means making your own choices, and the traditional family still has a place in society whether people like it or not. If someone wants to get married and start a family, that's their choice. I'm not one to judge them for it but they should get to know what it entails.

 

As far as introducing kids to the concept of love and marriage, I personally think MLP is doing enough with Cadance and Shining Armor. Neither one seems to have lost a great deal of independence to their marriage. Flash Sentry is just a part of the scenery of a typical high school movie. His relationship with Twilight is more of a problem with the movie than it is on those characters.

Edited March 20, 2016 by Wind Chaser

[M'gann M'orzz 745]

Hey Hey Hey Hey, it's not that I don't WANT Romance, it's just that I want that romance to be between the Mane 6... Namely Rarity and Applejack.

[CandyStrike 603]

Okay, I laughed at the title of this. I'm a feminist and yeah...anyway I don't personally want to see the show get into romance because I'm afraid it will all be heteronormative. I don't want to see every single pony happily paired off with a husband horse because then I can't relate to any of them. I'm single and plan to remain that way. It would feel like the show was being judgemental and unrepresentative if it insisted on only male and female monogamous couples

[Dracu98 139]

while I would actually love it if they brought some more flashlight-scenes into the show ("flashlight", because FLASH sentry x twiLIGHT! get it? get it? eh? no? ok...), I don't think they would do a good job. or, no, let me put this right: I don't think they COULD do a good job.

 

this show, whether we like it or not, is still aimed at kids. and how would you explain something as complex and complicated as love to children? the writers have neither the time (there are so many things the fans wish for) or the audience to write a good love story. I hate to say it, but I think that the perfect, flawless marriage of shining armor and cadance is the closest we will ever get to a love story in mlp. and I don't even think that's really bad. we already have dozens of characters that could use some more development and background, there is not really a need to put in more new stuff.

[Ziggy + Angel + Rain 11,303]

You know when people think female heroes think they shouldn't always have a love interest for just being female? Feminists hate that. That's what I'm talking about and I'm rationalizing that all heroes end up getting some kind of love interest at some point of time in all shows especially if it's run 5 seasons straight.

This applies to every show that has ever aired?  Without exception and regardless of the intended audience?

[Eloquence 2,076]

The problem isn't the fact that romance exists in media, it's that 9 times out of 10 it's portrayed in unrealistic and downright nonsensical ways. From love at first sight to being saved by your lover to everyone in the universe being straight and monogamous, media has been pushing some pretty silly notions of what romance is (I could expand upon any of those if I've caused any confusion).

 

If I were to go ahead and take a stab at why you think it's "feminists" ruining everything here, I'd guess that either you think that when feminists complain about a given relationship you take that complaint to its extreme and think that we just don't want anyone to date in media ever, or you've come across some young, not yet socially educated feminists who've yet to learn how the issue of romance in media can be fixed aside from the simple answer of getting rid of it. After all, unlearning the sexism and stereotyping shoved down our throats since childhood is a difficult task, so you can't expect people embarking on that process to immediately know everything perfectly.

 

That, or you're just trying to use the word feminist as some sort of insult, which confuses me greatly. Why ever would wanting equality be a negative trait? There may be ways to go about it wrong, but there are ways to go about everything wrong, are there not?

 

As for my thoughts on this show involving romance somehow, if they were to explore that with the main characters then I'm not really sure how they'd go about it. This is already a show with six ponies and a baby dragon in the main spotlight, and any partner that any of them have would need a considerable amount of screen time for the romance not to seem forced or half-baked (this is actually a large part of why so many people don't like Flash Sentry, he got very little screen time). Basically, the spotlight is crowded and I don't think it has room for anyone else, but if the writers could pull it off I'd be open to being proven wrong.

[frecklesareblooming 225]

I don't think this has anything to do at all with feminism. Romance in a show like MLP is, for lack of a better word, unimportant. We already have Shining Armor and Cadance; there's no need for more pairings. And we forget that MLP is aimed at CHILDREN, who aren't really interested in seeing episodes dedicated to love and romance and the like. Besides, aren't there enough romantic subplots in television and movies nowadays? What's wrong with wanting some single female (badass) characters, learning about friendship, which is just as important as romantic relationships?

[Aurora Storm 83]

Nothing wrong with romance or love, just there are few shows that don't focus on it, regardless of what the actual plot of the show is supposed to be.  It's rare to see a  show that doesn't have it and it's a refreshing change.

[cider float 2,539]

Another reason why it felt feminist is with how feminists put so much emphasis on being strong and independent without a man. A love interest can be done right though giving a character that complements the character as well as introducing a character linked with the main character