Jump to content
Banner by ~ Ice Princess Silky

Bronies are toxic?


Appledash4ever0

Recommended Posts

Throughout the 9 years,most fans (but not all fans) would do toxic or rude things, to make the show or the fandom look bad. I understand most don't (not all) likes the NSFW, the creepy pasta. but back in time, where fans would be super annoying to non-bronies or anti-bronies, or they would hate and attack other bronies who simple does nothing but enjoy the show as a fan. These "bronies" would even go out and send death threats to both the show's own staff members and any other fans. But mostly these "bronies" would hate the show's own staff members because either they hate how they create ideas on the show, or what i heard, what they hate how this would effect the character's popularity or design. Some would hate twilight new alicorn design, or how the writers would effect rainbow dash by making her seem bad. Don't forget the shipping wars that would also cause a toxic argument to each other, Hating on the all generation expect generation 4. speaking of death threats, some of the toxic fans would send the death threat to get their way. its possible why Hasbro, ignores everyone (their mlp fans; bronies) because of how rude they are. Bronies (not all) would hate Hasbro for making my little pony look bad.

https://toxicfandomsandhatedoms.miraheze.org/wiki/My_Little_Pony:_Friendship_is_Magic_Fandom_and_Hatedom

do you think our fandom is toxic?

Edited by Appledash4ever0
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think any fandom has its fair share of toxicity. Though I think honestly this is one of the less toxic fandoms I've encountered and dealt with. There's still toxicism a-plenty, like Lily Orchard's entire YouTube channel. Nonetheless it pales in comparison to the likes of the Steven Universe and Sonic fandoms... :dry:

 

Though the most toxic experience I've had personally with a fandom has been the League of Legends fandom, hands down. Even if Paladins seems more toxic as a game from my experience, the general fanbase of League is jam-packed with $#!+heads.

Edited by Dustlicious2020
  • Brohoof 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I agree with @Dustlicious2020. Just like with anything, every group of people has their good and bad share of toxicity (as with other things). Some bronies (most from my experience) are nice and normal people, but of course there's also the unbearable bunch who often spoke louder than the majority and were impossible to stand. The latter were responsible for making us seem like a "cancer" on the internet by outsiders.

But, overall, I don't think the MLP fandom is toxic. If anything, they seem to be one of the most accepting and generous fandoms out there.

  • Brohoof 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think that a person who is rude, toxic, sends death threats etc can be a fan of any TV show, movie, game etc. That means that any fandom has its own share of such people. Sadly, those people are usually the loudest and they make the entire fandom look bad.

Also, the fandom does not need to have a single opinion on everything. While we can all agree that we like MLP, some people think doing A would improve it, while others think doing B would be better and so on. There are usually ships of any character with any other character, while one of the reasons I enjoy the show is that it does not have romance subplots (other than in a few episodes).

52 minutes ago, Appledash4ever0 said:

its possible why Hasbro, ignores everyone (their mlp fans; bronies) because of how rude they are.

I don't think Hasbro ignores bronies. Bronies buy stuff, which means money for Hasbro, so we see the various brony-oriented merchandise, like the Kotobukiya figures. However, Hasbro cannot take any ideas from the fans, because then they would have to pay the fan or risk getting sued for copyright infringement, this means that the writers etc cannot read fanfiction for example.

The problem with doing what some fans want is that it will most likely piss off other fans, so the company needs to find a middle ground where everyone is not as unhappy. Also, just because some loud fans want something does not mean that the majority agrees.

  • Brohoof 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

(edited)

Most Bronies that i have seen on the Internet are nice from what i can tell.

At the beginning of this fandom i saw some People who obviously wanted to get People mad, but usually These are obvious Trolls. Sure, they may be some Toxic Fans, like in every Fandom, but honestly i never really saw that many. Usually Bronies just posted on Youtubevideos and People would just start to Insult them, for shoving ponies down their throats, even though they did Nothing other than comment, but the fact that they had Pony Icons was enough for People to get Angry.

I rarely, if ever, saw any Fans directly attacking someone, i guess many people were just annoyed at us for existing. :wacko:

Which brings me to another Point, i have noticed that some People who were Bronies before, later on not only started to leave the fandom but also started to Insult other Bronies and troll Brony related sides.

I get the Feeling that some " Bronies " were only there, for the high amount of attention they got and since we dont seem to be that hated/Special or talked about anymore, some have left the fandom and now try to troll other Bronies, to still get some Attention and cause Problems. Seems like some People really never liked the Franchise in any way and were just there because it made other People mad. Otherwise i have no Idea why some now behave that way.

Edited by Pinkamena Mendeline
  • Brohoof 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Every fandom has a toxic portion, some more than others. And the toxic people always seem in such great number because they the stuff they do is seen way more often and is a lot ‘louder’ than the ones that do nothing to cause trouble. Because of that, I wouldn’t say that Bronies are toxic as a whole, there are just a select few that are there to only cause issues within the fandom. Pretty sad, honestly! 

  • Brohoof 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The public perception of any group of people is inevitably dictated by the loudest element within that group, which all too often is the most badly behaved element.  That badly behaved element is usually a minority, but they make up for that fact by attracting an extremely disproportionate amount of negative attention to themselves and thus to the group as a whole.

So yes, there is definitely toxicity within the Brony fandom, but that is equally true of every other fandom, religion, social interest group, political party, or any other group of people.  The proportions may change by group by it's always there.  Additionally, there are a great many people that think the whole concept of Bronies is a bit weird from the outset so they will more readily ascribe the behaviour of a few to the whole group in order to confirm their preconceptions.

  • Brohoof 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Like everybody said, all fandoms have their shitty fans. I personally don't understand why the MLP fandom deserves an extra mention on their worst fans, this fandom has been dying for a while now.

There's no right or wrong on what makes a fandom good or bad. I love this fandom to pieces, but I know some outright hate it. On the other side, I had bad experiences with the Animal Crossing fandom, but I've seen others say it's one of the nicest ones out there. We really shouldn't decide for others on which fandoms they should stay in based on their fans or "toxicity", but let them decide if they want to join if they like the series or not. And really... you don't have to like the fans if you want to join a fandom either.

By the way, @Appledash4ever0 this has to do with the fandom so I'm moving this to Sugarcube Corner.

  • Brohoof 6
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm curious. Was (are) there specific kinds of toxicity that was only in the Brony fandom and not much anywhere else? Besides the human nature or the individuality, what is the collective mindset that differenciate the fandom's negative side from other groups of people?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's true that most large fandoms will incorparate this knid of stuff, because it's human nature to a degree. But it's also true that the early brony commuinty tried to rise above this and hew closer ot the show's ideals, so it's a shame that that attempt failed. Especially since while i can't be sure, I suspect the pre-FIM MLP fanbase was one of the ones with very little toxicity, partly due to being unrelated to "nerd/geek culture" and predominantly female. (If i'm wrong about this, I'd love to know.) And then there's also the issue of audience displacement - if it's always our voices the staff is hearing, then are they still making the show for little girls?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's been a while but I do love me some mlp creepy pasta, lol

I remember a friend of mine who used to be in the fandom and actually introduced me to it encountered this one group online that was the strangest thing I'd ever heard of within the fandom. It was like a Neo-Fascist group but they were pony based. If you didn't like the show, you were considered scum upon the earth. They didn't quite get the message of love and tolerate it seems.

It was the NSFW crowd that got to me for a bit because of how openly disgusting they would be,,, it's almost as though expressing a lack of shame and decency was their real kink.

Clearly we're not all toxic since the public has generally become accepting of us at this point. If you tell someone you're a brony in most places I don't think they care.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Toxic people are inevitable in any fandom. They're almost always the minority, but their antics are often more noticeable than the sensible fans who effectively don't bother anyone. It's easy to clump everyone together into a single group, but I can guarantee that most fans are not toxic in nature.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I say they are not a minority. they are half of the fandom, mind you there is nothing wrong with mlp as a hole. The problem always is and always be the people. People can easily obsessed with something, and when they get into it and consider it part of their comfort zone and they feel attacked (witch is most of the time for these guys) they lash out. This a problem that is on all the existent fandoms of the world. Be it MLP, Middle Earth, League of Legends, Naruto any fictional world really.

All that matters is that you alone have to enjoy it, and if you find people that you can share this,  go with them and enjoy it. Don't question yourself too much about what we are and what we are not. At least I think it that way, and compared to me other people have the freedom to enjoy it like that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The concept of brony toxicity is something that, I think, has been wildly blown out of proportion. As has been said, every fandom has it's toxic elements. From arrogance and zealous pseudo-intellectualism in the Rick and Morty fandom to hyper-defensive psychosis in the Steven Universe fandom. From the hyper-fixation on relationships based on arbitrary interaction in the Star Vs. fandom to the desperation to have LGBT representation specifically so they can find something wrong with it in the Voltron fandom. Toxicity exist no matter where you go. 

As far as bronies are concerned, I never saw that much toxicity, especially in comparison to what we saw in the latter half of the 2010s. I've been exposed to the show and the fandom since 2012 and I saw a lot of trends come and go. Perhaps the most toxic element I saw was bronies being hyper-sensitive about our liking a show that had the target demographic of young girls. It did cause a lot of us to lash out at those who didn't deserve it. 

But the lashing out wasn't without cause. 

We bore the brunt of a lot of criticism for our interest. It caused a lot of us to develop insecurity about it. For those of us who grew up as boys, it hit home at an uncomfortable sore spot. Society has never liked us taking an interest in anything that was outside the realm of 'for boys' and we've been hit with scorn for it our entire lives. Those of you who grew up as boys liking the Powerpuff Girls know exactly what I'm talking about. 

Suddenly we were back in that space only now it was worse because we are adults so that means our fondness for MLP must mean we're pedophiles. Hateful critics were desperate to paint us all with that brush and even went so far as to erase the women who like the show because they don't fit the stereotype. Some hateful critics are still at it to cover up their own insecurities at best and to cover their tracks and hide skeletons in their closet at worst ((hello, Lily Orchard)).

And speaking of Lily, she is the most singular toxic element in the fandom. She actively lies, slanders and generally showcases her ineptitude and laziness with every video she makes and every post she makes on tumblr. She represents the absolute worst of toxic fandom stereotypes and willfully ignores the fact she is explicitly guilty of just about everything she attacks others for.

I wouldn't bring Lily up except for the fact that her growing popularity has led to more and more people citing her behavior as representative of how all adults who enjoy children's media are. Ever since she spent two hours calling Rebecca Sugar a fascist, Lily is cited as a prime example of the 'petulant, spoiled man-babies' stereotype that is applied to us all, a stereotype which Lily applies to each and every one of us in turn. 

To sum up the overblown text wall that is this post, toxicity is a thing in every fandom. It's a basic fact of fandom interaction. Thankfully, it's usually the minority of fans and most people are good-willed and are often very creative. As far as bronies specifically are concerned, the toxicity in our fandom rarely goes above background levels other than one infected, very painful thorn in our side that most of us wish would just go away. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I . . . don’t know. I haven’t talked to any bronies my whole life until January the 6th this year. So far, everyone’s incredibly nice. Like all my other websites and in real life, I’ve yet to meet any nasty people. (No one has ever been rude to me before. I guess I just happen to live in a safe area.

  • Brohoof 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 months later...
  • 2 months later...

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Join the herd!

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...