Brony Essay

[Count Paradox 3,548]

Ok, so I made this essay for my College English class for the final essay. It's about 11 pages long, and I wanted to know if anyone thinks that I did a good job or if there are some things that I need to change. I would really appreciate it!

 

Tristan Dunbarr

 

Mr. Beaudoin

 

English Comp. 2

 

July 20, 2012

 

 

For the Love and Tolerance of Bronies

 

There are men who love their food. There are men who love their cars. There are men who love their sports. And then, there are those brave souls who love My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic (MLP: FiM) and are not afraid to announce it to the entire world. These men who watch this show for little girls are known as “Bronies.” Bronies just so happen to be men who are anywhere from 14 to 57 in age (Edwards), and they enjoy a show that originally had a target demographic of four-year-old girls. Many people find it a bit strange that a grown man would enjoy watching a show about magic ponies (Angel), and those people label Bronies as pedophiles or homosexual, which is not the case. And although Bronies try to explain their love of the show to those who don't watch it so they cam be accepted better, they still get a lot of backlash from the very people they want to be accepted by, from peers, to friends, and even their families. Even though many people shun Bronies, they have to realize that they are just people, too, with different things that they like. But, in the end, it seems that they are still different enough to some people just because they watch a certain show, and they are having a hard time being accepted like so many other groups have been in the past, just because they have misconceptions that surround them, but, the fact of the matter remains that they are just another social group that has an interesting culture all their own, even if it is centered around a little girls' show.

 

And now, you might ask, what exactly is a Brony? Well, the fans of MLP: FiM “made up the term themselves: bro + pony = brony” (Angel). The word Brony is a blanket term, encompassing everyone who is not a young child but is still a fan of MLP: FiM. There are both males and females in this group, the males being the Bronies and the females getting the name Pegasisters. Most Bronies are around the average age of 21, but they can land anywhere in the age range from 14 to 57 (Edwards). The members of this sub-culture enjoy getting together “to absorb the pony cartoon, share trivia about the characters and play show-and-tell with the various plastic pony toys” (Vara) that they enjoy collecting. They have different terms, usually ones that they have gotten from the show, that they like to use in everyday conversations, such as “everypony” instead of “everyone” and “herd” instead of “group.” The usual mentality of your average Brony is kind, because one of the main sayings that they follow is “love and tolerate.” They try to accept other people for who they really are, and they are not afraid to show their love of a show for little girls. And Lauren Faust, the creator of this generation of My Little Pony, has said this about Bronies: “As a group, they have not succumbed to society's pressure that young men must hold contempt for anything feminine, no matter what. They've been able to see beyond the preconceived that they were most likely raised with to judge something on it's merits. And on top of that, they're brave enough to embrace it openly despite the ridicule they're undoubtedly subject to” (Angel). Many Bronies are open with their love of the show, and most people see that as strange.

 

And for those of you who are still reading and did not throw down this essay just for the fact that it has the word “Bronies” in the title, you may be wondering why I have chosen to write about such a strange topic. Well, to me, the topic is not strange at all, because I myself am a Brony, and I do enjoy watching MLP: FiM from time to time, although it did not start out that way. In the very beginning, it was one of my high school friends who introduced me to the concept of Bronies. When I had first heard from him about grown men watching a reboot of a show for little girls from the 1980s, I laughed at him. When he stated that he himself was a Brony, I had to ask him why. He told me that, yeah, even though the show was originally intended to be for little girls, he found out that a lot of guys had been watching it recently, so he checked it out, and, to his surprise, it was much different than the 1980s version, and that it was now fun and interesting to watch. At the time, I thought the idea was rather stupid, so I ignored anything Brony-related for a while after that, while I still hung out with my Brony friend. But after a year or so of trying to ignore Bronies, I began to see a lot of Brony memes popping up on a website called Memebase, which is a well-known site for collecting and sharing funny internet pictures called memes. I then looked at the list of sub-sites that they have and was surprised to see a listing called My Little Brony. I clicked on it, only expecting to see a few pages of memes. Instead, I saw over 300 pages in total, which totally amazed me. For some reason or another, from that day forward, I frequented the site. Eventually, I began to wonder why so many people would make so much cool stuff about a silly little show for girls. I reluctantly decided to watch an episode. I do not remember which episode it was, but I do remember being very entertained, and I became hooked. It was at that very moment, when I watched my very first episode, that I had officially become a Brony. Now, I have even more in common with my one friend than I ever did, and it makes me feel good that there are many other people who watch the show out there, too.

 

“Okay,” some of you may say, “I understand what a Brony is, but I still do not understand this fascination with this My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic that they are centered around. What is it exactly?” Well, what MLP: FiM exactly is is “a remake of a 1980s animated TV show for preadolescent girls featuring plucky, candy-colored equines” (Vara). The show centers around these ponies and their adventures. There are at least four different types of ponies; unicorn ponies, who use their horns to perform magic, pegasus ponies, who have wings and can fly, earth ponies, which are ponies who have no wings or horns, and alicorns, which have both wings and horns and are very important beings seeing as there are only four known alicorns in the world of MLP: FiM, and they are all either princesses or queens. And all ponies have special talents that are shown through the Cutie Mark symbols that are on each pony's flank. Examples could be balloons to show that they throw great parties or butterflies to show that they are experts at communicating and taking care of animals. These special abilities help the ponies out in their everyday lives in the two main cities of the show, Ponyville and Canterlot, which are located in the land of Equestria. The show centers around six ponies who live in Ponyville. They are Twilight Sparkle, who is a purple unicorn pony with a large purple star surrounded by tiny white stars as her Cutie Mark which represents magic, Applejack, an orange earth pony with apples for a Cutie Mark to show she is good at growing apples, and Rainbow Dash, a blue pegasus pony with a rainbow mane and a Cutie Mark of a cloud with a rainbow lightning bolt coming out of it which represents that she can control the weather and make rainbows, not to mention sonic rainbooms. The other three main ponies include Rarity, who is another unicorn pony who is white with a purple mane and gems for her Cutie Mark to show she is fashionable and creates clothing for the ponies, Pinkie Pie, an all-pink earth pony with balloons for a Cutie Mark which means she throws the most awesome parties, and Fluttershy, a yellow with a pink mane pegasus with butterflies as her Cutie Mark to let others see that she is an expert at caring for animals. All six of the main ponies report to Princess Celestia, an alicorn goddess who rules over Equestria and has a sun for her Cutie Mark, which represents that she has control over the sun. The main six ponies go on all kinds of adventures all throughout Equestria, reporting their findings on friendship to Princess Celestia.

 

In their first adventure, which spans the first two episodes of season one, the show does a good job of introducing the characters and setting up some background for the series. In the beginning, we find that Twilight (as her friends call her) lives in the royal city of Canterlot with her talking pet baby dragon, Spike, and is a student under the guidance of Princess Celestia. Twilight would rather study than make friends, and during her studies, she finds that a sinister prophecy stating that an evil mare who has been imprisoned on the moon for 1000 will return within the next few days and shroud Equestria in nighttime eternal. Twilight tries to warn Princess Celestia about the prophecy, but it seems that the princess does not believe her, and instead of believing her, she sends Twilight and Spike to the town of Ponyville to oversee the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration, and also tells her to make some friends there, because she spends too much time in her studies. While checking on different areas of the preparations, Twilight meets Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie. In the end of the first episode, at the Summer Sun Celebration party, Princess Celestia goes missing, and the evil mare, Nightmare Moon, the one who was banished to the moon 1000 years ago, appears and announces that she is going to cover Equestria in eternal night.

 

In the second episode, Twilight finds that the only way to defeat Nightmare Moon is to use the Elements of Harmony, which are in the ruins of an old castle in the Everfree Forest, a very strange place that scares everyone. On Twilight's journey, she is accompanied by Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie, and together, they get through all of the challenges that Nightmare Moon makes appear in the forest. They finally arrive at the castle ruins, find five of the six Elements of Harmony, and the five ponies that came with Twilight leave her alone so she can concentrate on some magic to create a spark to make the sixth element appear. While she is alone, Nightmare Moon appears and teleports her and the elements to a different section of the ruins. The other ponies see this and rush to help their friend. While alone with Nightmare Moon, Twilight creates a spark and believes that she has started the Elements of Harmony and is going to see the sixth element appear, but they fail, it appears that Nightmare Moon breaks them, and all seems lost. But when Twilight hears her friends' voices, a new spark ignites, one within her, the spark of friendship, and she realizes that there is still hope. The elements were not in the now-broken stone carvings that lay at Nightmare Moon's hooves, but were indeed in each of Twilight's new friends. Applejack represents honesty, Rainbow Dash had loyalty, Rarity showed generosity, Fluttershy's was kindness, and Pinkie Pie received laughter. Twilight got the sixth and most important element of all, magic, and by combining all six of the elements, they defeated the wicked Nightmare Moon. Princess Celestia appears, reveals that Twilight and her friends were the only ones who could defeat Nightmare Moon, and shocks everyone by revealing that Nightmare Moon is actually her younger sister, Princess Luna. Everything becomes well again, and Twilight is allowed to stay in Ponyville to continue her studies on friendship. While this may not be the normal outline for a regular episode, it is the very first story arc, and it gets the viewers introduced to the main cast and what the series will be about. And while it is apparent that the show is intended for little girls, you can also see that it may not be the little girl show you were expecting it to be and why us Bronies like it so much and have created a fan group for it.

 

Although our group has been around for a few years, it has still not been fully accepted. Many other social groups that seemed strange or different at one time or another have been accepted, but we Bronies are still having a hard time getting others to accept us, and it is just because we watch MLP: FiM. Let me ask you this: people who watch anime, or Japanese cartoons, and dress up in costumes and go to conventions have been accepted fairly fell, correct? And how about the people who collect comic books and go to Comicon each year? They have been accepted into society to some extent, but people think that men watching MLP: FiM is creepy. Why is that? Do people who read Superman comics and watch Naruto not enjoy cartoons, also? Rebecca Angel, a writer for Wired's GeekMoms and the author of the article “In Defense of Bronies,” is shocked by statements that say Bronies are creepy because she is “currently writing with a group of adult women who regularly partake in culture aimed at young boys.” She does not think that it is creepy for her to enjoy Avatar: The Last Airbender (Angel), even though it is a show aimed at young boys. And what about Disney films? I still enjoy watching Bambi and Toy Story, and I am 19 years old. I do not find it strange or odd that I still enjoy these movies, and I know plenty of people who are older than me who would agree.

 

Another group that may have had hardships to get past when it first appeared was the Rock-and-Roll group. I interviewed Gary McFarland, my grandfather and a person who grew up in the era of Rock-and-Roll. He said that “It started in the 1950s. I grew up with it as a child and I liked it” (McFarland). He listened to a few artists, such as “Buddy Holly and Bill Haley” (McFarland), but he said that his parents “didn't care for it, they liked country music better” (McFarland). He was asked if he ever thought it was going to be fully accepted, and he said “Yes, because as the youngsters who grew up with Rock-and-Roll became older, it became more accepted” (McFarland), but he did say that “1960, probably” (McFarland), was around the time that it started becoming more accepted in mainstream society, so that means that it could still be a while before Bronies are fully accepted. When asked, however, if he was surprised that Rock-and-Roll was still around, he said “No, because its just part of our musical history” (McFarland). That means because Bronies are integrating themselves as part of the culture now, we should not be surprised if they are still existing 50 years from now. But still, there are some people who do not like Rock-and-Roll, and the same goes for Bronies.

 

Many people who dislike us Bronies are called “Haters,” and they enjoy annoying us or trying to hurt our feelings so that they can get a rise out of us. I interviewed a gentleman who is not really a hater, but does dislike the Brony community for his own reasons. His name is Ryan Leonetti, and he is a coworker/friend of mine. He said that he “first heard about the group known as Bronies sometime during the summer of 2011. Eventually, the Brony culture leaked into many of the facets of my internet life and quickly became acquainted with them” (Leonetti). His first reaction to them was “neutral as I did not watch the show, but it eventually grew into distaste as it spread pretty much everywhere with it's rabid fanbase and seemingly limitless barrage of fanart, meme, and music” (Leonetti). He has listened to some Brony music online and has seen a lot of fanart, and says “for the most part they are the typical fan affair that makes decent dance music. And as I've stated previously, there has been more than enough artwork literally everywhere on the internet” (Leonetti). Most people who do not like Bronies have never seen an episode of MLP: FiM, but Leonetti said that “Yes, I ended up watching 'Party of One' from the first season.” I asked him what he thought of it, and he said “Overall, it was decent for a kids show. The writing was basic enough to get the story, but the animation, however, was the bad part” (Leonetti). I asked him why exactly he dislikes the Brony culture, and Leonetti replied “It's not just Brony culture I dislike, but any micro-culture that becomes obsessive to a point where it takes over other aspects of a person's life and the lives of those around them that bothers me. To me it is like a person who would concentrate on Chess and winning at it that they do not see the fun in other games like Checkers or Go.” I understand where Leonetti is coming from, because I was just like him before I was formally introduced to the show, but eventually, I hope that we, the Brony community, can get him, and others like him, to see us in a new light as normal people.

 

But still people do not see us as normal. Instead, they see creepy grown men watching MLP: FiM and label us as pedophiles or homosexual in our sexual orientations. Angel states that “Pedophiles are mostly men who have been sexually abused as children and become predators themselves.” She then goes on to state that “A group of young men openly hanging out in a dorm doom watching a cartoon is NOT pedophilia” (Angel). But, even after disproving the pedophile problem, we are still left with the homosexuality accusations. Jessica Blank, who is an organizer for BroNYCon, a convention for Bronies located in New York City, says people continuously ask her if Bronies are gay, and she replies “Actually, the overwhelming majority are straight” (Vara). This statement can be backed up by the research that professor Patrick Edwards, who has a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology, and professor Marsha H. Redden, a member of the American Psychological Association, have done on the matters of the Brony community. One of their major finds in their study was that only 1.7 percent of the Brony participants in the study are homosexual, while a whopping 84 percent of Brony participants were heterosexual (Edwards), or, in other words, totally straight. Although most people think that “The pink and sparkly factor” (Angel) of the show is emasculating, it has been shown that that is not true at all. While some Bronies are what you would call “Secret Bronies,” Bronies who are afraid to tell their family and friends that they enjoy MLP: FiM for fear of ridicule, we find that there is a larger percentage of “Social Bronies,” a large group of Bronies who share their love of MLP: FiM (Edwards) and they do not find it emasculating at all. But still, many protective parents of the younger Brony population have many “problems” that they like to worry about.

 

While most Bronies are above the 21-year-old line, there are still some who are as young as 14 years old and have parents who are worried about this Brony cultural movement. One of the main reasons that protective parents of young Bronies are worried is because they think that this new sub-culture in society is going to negatively affect their children. Mike Males, in his essay titled “Pop Culture Does Not Negatively Influence America's Youth,” uses the fact that people have blamed things like violent video games and other such things as a cause for teenage violence, and shows that is not the case. He states that “From 1990 to 2000... four million teen and pre-teen boys took up violent video games” (Males), but then he states “From 1990 through 1999, teenage violence and other malaise plunged” (Males). He sites statistics that suggest this, such as homicide down 62 percent, school violence down 20 percent (Males), and many more things like that. This should tell overprotective parents something, that even if they do not like that their children are into something that they themselves do not like, such as MLP: FiM, it does not mean that their children are going to turn into rabid crazed psycho pedophiles, like everyone thinks Bronies are. But still, some parents out there have a fear of their child turning into a pedophile or a pervert when they grow up just because they watched a show for little girls. While I have already fully noted that this show will not instigate pedophilia, there may be a little merit to the perversion side of this argument, but very little.

 

As most people who use computers and the internet know, there are certain “rules of the internet,” and one of them just so happens to be “rule 34.” For those of you who are not familiar with rule 34, it's definition clearly states that “If it exists, there is porn of it.” While some rule 34 of MLP: FiM probably does exist somewhere out there on the internet, people (and parents) must realize that rule 34 exists for everything on the internet, so protective parents would need to protect their children from the internet entirely, which would be impossible. They need to realize that rule 34 exists, and eventually, your teen will stumble upon it. I am in no way saying that you should let them look at this type of thing, I am just merely trying to warn parents so that they can be ready for the fateful day that their teen accidentally stumbles upon this blemish of Brony, and indeed, internet culture.

 

And speaking of Brony culture, people who think that we just watch the show need to look deeper into it. While there may be a tiny bit that you want to worry about here or there (such as clop-fictions and rule 34 pictures), there is plenty of other stuff to show why Brony culture is so great. We have really great fanfics, and one that comes to mind is My Little Dashie, which is a story about how a lonely Brony in a dying city finds a baby Rainbow Dash, cares for her, raises her for 15 years, then has to let her return to the place where she came from. It is a very sad but touching story. We also have a plethora of MLP: FiM-related music and artists, such as Discord by Eurobeat Brony, which is about one of the show's main villains, and Stuck in Time by Bronyfied, which is about the background pony Dr. Whooves.

 

Ah, yes, now we get to the fact that we have named some of the background characters in the show we all love so much because they appear quite a bit and it is rather fun. A few that come to mind are Dr. Whooves, a brown earth pony with an hourglass for a Cutie Mark and reminds everyone of the famous Dr. Who, DJ Pon-3 (aka Vinyl Scratch), a white unicorn pony with a blue mane and a music note as her Cutie mark to denote the fact that she is a DJ, and, of course, Derpy Hooves, a gray pegasus pony with a blond mane and bubbles for a Cutie Mark and messes everything up a lot, has what we call “derp eyes,” which are eyes that point different directions, and is loved by pretty much every Brony on the planet. There was even a whole issue surrounding her, which we Bronies call “Derpygate,” where all of the Bronies came together in protest, for they were planning on changing our Derpy just because some parent or something thought she was made to make fun of the mentally challenged, which is not true. We may have failed, and they may have changed her, but we still remember her for who she really was, if not because of the one episode where Rainbow Dash actually called her Derpy, then we will remember her through all the artwork she is in made by many proud Brony artists.

 

The Brony community has a great many fine artists, and their works range from parodies of the show to humanized versions of the characters, main and background, and everything in-between. And many Brony artists have made artwork with other mediums that just pencil and paper. Some Bronies make show-accurate plushie commissions, and others make funny or cool videos. And still some Bronies have taken it a step farther and put things from MLP: FiM on clothes. Angel states that “Wearing My Little Pony insignias on sports clothing has become more popular.” It is not just the insignias, either, that are ending up on t-shirts. Everything from Cutie Marks to entire ponies are showing up on our Brony clothes, and they are not the only thing to become “ponyfied.” Buttons, bags, hats, convention badges, and even cars have been ponyfied in one way or another, and it just goes to show that we love our show a lot, no matter what anyone says about us.

 

For those of you who have actually stayed with me through this entire essay that I have painstakingly written about the awareness and acceptance of Bronies, I'm sure the whole community would love to thank you. Most people would have destroyed this essay just for the fact that it is an essay about Bronies, but you did not do that. You have read that Bronies are not strange or weird, they are just regular people with specific interests. We are not pedophiles, and most of us are actually heterosexual. We may be shunned as a sub-culture for the time being, but our culture is interesting enough without being integrated into the regular culture for right now. Hopefully, I have enticed your interests in Bronies and perhaps made you think about watching an episode or two of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. You will not regret it if you do, believe me. This essay was just to get the word about Bronies to the unknowing populace, and, hopefully, those of you that have read this have gained some awareness and have become more accepting of our ways and our culture. That is all we Bronies really want, to be loved and tolerated, just like everyone else.

 

 

Works Cited

 

Angel, Rebecca. “In Defense of Bronies.” Wired.com. N.p., May 27, 2012. web. 23 Jun 2012.

 

<http://www.wired.com...e-of-bronies/>.

 

Edwards, Patrick, and Marsha H. Redden. “BRONY STUDY (Research Project) Study Results.”

 

bronystudy.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Jun 2012. <http://bronystudy.com/id1.html>.

 

Espejo, Roman, ed. Opposing Viewpoints: America's Youth. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2003. 27-33.

 

Print.

 

Leonetti, Ryan. E-mail Interview. July 12, 2012.

 

Males, Mike. “Popular Culture Does Not Negatively Influence America's Youth.” Opposing

 

Viewpoints: Americas Youth. Ed. Roman Espejo. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2003.

 

27-33. Print.

 

McFarland, Gary. Personal Interview. July 15, 2012.

 

Vara, Vauhini, and Ann Zimmerman. "Hey, Bro, That's My Little Pony! Gu'ys Interest Mounts in Girly

 

TV Show --- 'Bronies' Enthralled by Cartoon Equines; Characters 'Aren't One-Dimensional'."

 

Wall Street Journal. (2011): n. page. Web. 20 Jul. 2012.

 

<http://search.proque...countid=40640>.

 

 

 

Again, thanks for reading it!

[Twilight Sky 449]

Very overwhelming but yet very well done and I glad to see that your were confident enough to do this as your essay...

[kirbyboi 588]

Cool essay, mate (I'm not Australian, btw)!

 

But all in seriousness, cool essay. It must have took a darn long time to write it up though. It's good you have the courage to write about Bronies and the magic of the internet. You seem to have put a lot of effort into this. But anyways, please tell me your classmates and teacher's reaction. I'd love to know.

[Cherry Blossom 864]

It's totally better than any essay I could ever write, but keep up the good work! It's really well thought out!

[Count Paradox 3,548]

Very overwhelming but yet very well done and I glad to see that your were confident enough to do this as your essay...

 

well, I wouldn't have done it if my high school pal wasn't so gutsy that he had made ALL his projects about MLP

 

Cool essay, mate (I'm not Australian, btw)!

 

But all in seriousness, cool essay. It must have took a darn long time to write it up though. It's good you have the courage to write about Bronies and the magic of the internet. You seem to have put a lot of effort into this. But anyways, please tell me your classmates and teacher's reaction. I'd love to know.

 

ok, I'll tell ya when I find out!

 

It's totally better than any essay I could ever write, but keep up the good work! It's really well thought out!

 

aw, c'mon, I bet you could write a great one if you tried!

[Filly Pinkie Pie 208]

Nice!

But the length, well, sometimes I gave up hope on reading it and then strained to read more.

 

Otherwise, nice!

[Dusty Soul 2,611]

It is very well written, well constructed, and definitely better then what I could do. Very good job.

Edited July 24, 2012 by dusty soul

[Arrow 236]

Hm, I really should show this to my mother...

 

Anyways, it was awesome! There were like one or two words I didn't understand, but that's because English isn't my first language xD

[Twiliscael 3,960]

To an English professor, I think it may be slightly too informal. Other than that, it is well written and includes facts, figures, personal opinions, public opinions, etc. Much better than I could write.

[Matus 130]

I read all of it, and its a good essay, but you did some mistakes you put " moon for 1000 will return" and " conventions have been accepted fairly fell" other than that, I dont see any more mistakes then again I suck at profreading. Structure wise, its good, and the hook is there. Then again I suck at writing

Edited July 24, 2012 by Matus

[Guest]

 

Ok, so I made this essay for my College English class for the final essay. It's about 11 pages long, and I wanted to know if anyone thinks that I did a good job or if there are some things that I need to change. I would really appreciate it!

 

Tristan Dunbarr

 

Mr. Beaudoin

 

English Comp. 2

 

July 20, 2012

 

 

For the Love and Tolerance of Bronies

 

There are men who love their food. There are men who love their cars. There are men who love their sports. And then, there are those brave souls who love My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic (MLP: FiM) and are not afraid to announce it to the entire world. These men who watch this show for little girls are known as “Bronies.” ". Bronies just so happen to be men who are anywhere from 14 to 57 in age (Edwards), and they enjoy a show that originally had a target demographic of four-year-old girls. Many people find it a bit strange that a grown man would enjoy watching a show about magic ponies (Angel), and those people label Bronies as pedophiles or homosexual, which is not the case. And Although Bronies try to explain their love of the show to those who don't watch it -- so they cam be accepted better -- they still get a lot of receive backlash from the very people they want to be accepted by, from including peers, to friends, and even their families. Even though many people shun Bronies, they have to realize that they are just people, too. , with different things that they like. But, In the end, it seems that as though they are still different enough to some people others just simply because they watch a certain show,. and They are having seem to have a hard time being accepted -- like so many other groups have been in the past -- just because they have misconceptions that surround them,; but however, the fact of the matter remains that they are just another social group that has an interesting culture all their own, even if it is centered around a little girls' show.

 

And now, you might ask, what exactly is a Brony? Well, the fans of MLP: FiM “made up the term themselves: bro + pony = brony” (Angel). The word Brony is a blanket term, encompassing everyone who is not a young child but is still a fan of MLP: FiM. There are both males and females in this group, the males being the Bronies and the females getting the name Pegasisters. Most Bronies are around the average age of 21, but they can land anywhere in the age range from 14 to 57 (Edwards). The members of this sub-culture enjoy getting together “to absorb the pony cartoon, share trivia about the characters and play show-and-tell with the various plastic pony toys” (Vara) that they enjoy collecting. They have different terms, usually ones that they have gotten from the show, that they like to use in everyday conversations, such as “everypony” instead of “everyone” and “herd” instead of “group.” The usual mentality of your average Brony is kind, because one of the main sayings that they follow is “love and tolerate.” They try to accept other people for who they really are, and they are not afraid to show their love of a show for little girls. And Lauren Faust, the creator of this generation of My Little Pony, has said this about Bronies: “As a group, they have not succumbed to society's pressure that young men must hold contempt for anything feminine, no matter what. They've been able to see beyond the preconceived that they were most likely raised with to judge something on it's merits. And on top of that, they're brave enough to embrace it openly despite the ridicule they're undoubtedly subject to” (Angel). Many Bronies are open with their love of the show, and most people see that as strange.

 

And for those of you who are still reading and did not throw down this essay just for the fact that it has the word “Bronies” in the title, you may be wondering why I have chosen to write about such a strange topic. Well, to me, the topic is not strange at all, because I myself am a Brony, and I do enjoy watching MLP: FiM from time to time, although it did not start out that way. In the very beginning, it was one of my high school friends who introduced me to the concept of Bronies. When I had first heard from him about grown men watching a reboot of a show for little girls from the 1980s, I laughed at him. When he stated that he himself was a Brony, I had to ask him why. He told me that, yeah, even though the show was originally intended to be for little girls, he found out that a lot of guys had been watching it recently, so he checked it out, and, to his surprise, it was much different than the 1980s version, and that it was now fun and interesting to watch. At the time, I thought the idea was rather stupid, so I ignored anything Brony-related for a while after that, while I still hung out with my Brony friend. But after a year or so of trying to ignore Bronies, I began to see a lot of Brony memes popping up on a website called Memebase, which is a well-known site for collecting and sharing funny internet pictures called memes. I then looked at the list of sub-sites that they have and was surprised to see a listing called My Little Brony. I clicked on it, only expecting to see a few pages of memes. Instead, I saw over 300 pages in total, which totally amazed me. For some reason or another, from that day forward, I frequented the site. Eventually, I began to wonder why so many people would make so much cool stuff about a silly little show for girls. I reluctantly decided to watch an episode. I do not remember which episode it was, but I do remember being very entertained, and I became hooked. It was at that very moment, when I watched my very first episode, that I had officially become a Brony. Now, I have even more in common with my one friend than I ever did, and it makes me feel good that there are many other people who watch the show out there, too.

 

“Okay,” some of you may say, “I understand what a Brony is, but I still do not understand this fascination with this My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic that they are centered around. What is it exactly?” Well, what MLP: FiM exactly is is “a remake of a 1980s animated TV show for preadolescent girls featuring plucky, candy-colored equines” (Vara). The show centers around these ponies and their adventures. There are at least four different types of ponies; unicorn ponies, who use their horns to perform magic, pegasus ponies, who have wings and can fly, earth ponies, which are ponies who have no wings or horns, and alicorns, which have both wings and horns and are very important beings seeing as there are only four known alicorns in the world of MLP: FiM, and they are all either princesses or queens. And all ponies have special talents that are shown through the Cutie Mark symbols that are on each pony's flank. Examples could be balloons to show that they throw great parties or butterflies to show that they are experts at communicating and taking care of animals. These special abilities help the ponies out in their everyday lives in the two main cities of the show, Ponyville and Canterlot, which are located in the land of Equestria. The show centers around six ponies who live in Ponyville. They are Twilight Sparkle, who is a purple unicorn pony with a large purple star surrounded by tiny white stars as her Cutie Mark which represents magic, Applejack, an orange earth pony with apples for a Cutie Mark to show she is good at growing apples, and Rainbow Dash, a blue pegasus pony with a rainbow mane and a Cutie Mark of a cloud with a rainbow lightning bolt coming out of it which represents that she can control the weather and make rainbows, not to mention sonic rainbooms. The other three main ponies include Rarity, who is another unicorn pony who is white with a purple mane and gems for her Cutie Mark to show she is fashionable and creates clothing for the ponies, Pinkie Pie, an all-pink earth pony with balloons for a Cutie Mark which means she throws the most awesome parties, and Fluttershy, a yellow with a pink mane pegasus with butterflies as her Cutie Mark to let others see that she is an expert at caring for animals. All six of the main ponies report to Princess Celestia, an alicorn goddess who rules over Equestria and has a sun for her Cutie Mark, which represents that she has control over the sun. The main six ponies go on all kinds of adventures all throughout Equestria, reporting their findings on friendship to Princess Celestia.

 

In their first adventure, which spans the first two episodes of season one, the show does a good job of introducing the characters and setting up some background for the series. In the beginning, we find that Twilight (as her friends call her) lives in the royal city of Canterlot with her talking pet baby dragon, Spike, and is a student under the guidance of Princess Celestia. Twilight would rather study than make friends, and during her studies, she finds that a sinister prophecy stating that an evil mare who has been imprisoned on the moon for 1000 will return within the next few days and shroud Equestria in nighttime eternal. Twilight tries to warn Princess Celestia about the prophecy, but it seems that the princess does not believe her, and instead of believing her, she sends Twilight and Spike to the town of Ponyville to oversee the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration, and also tells her to make some friends there, because she spends too much time in her studies. While checking on different areas of the preparations, Twilight meets Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie. In the end of the first episode, at the Summer Sun Celebration party, Princess Celestia goes missing, and the evil mare, Nightmare Moon, the one who was banished to the moon 1000 years ago, appears and announces that she is going to cover Equestria in eternal night.

 

In the second episode, Twilight finds that the only way to defeat Nightmare Moon is to use the Elements of Harmony, which are in the ruins of an old castle in the Everfree Forest, a very strange place that scares everyone. On Twilight's journey, she is accompanied by Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie, and together, they get through all of the challenges that Nightmare Moon makes appear in the forest. They finally arrive at the castle ruins, find five of the six Elements of Harmony, and the five ponies that came with Twilight leave her alone so she can concentrate on some magic to create a spark to make the sixth element appear. While she is alone, Nightmare Moon appears and teleports her and the elements to a different section of the ruins. The other ponies see this and rush to help their friend. While alone with Nightmare Moon, Twilight creates a spark and believes that she has started the Elements of Harmony and is going to see the sixth element appear, but they fail, it appears that Nightmare Moon breaks them, and all seems lost. But when Twilight hears her friends' voices, a new spark ignites, one within her, the spark of friendship, and she realizes that there is still hope. The elements were not in the now-broken stone carvings that lay at Nightmare Moon's hooves, but were indeed in each of Twilight's new friends. Applejack represents honesty, Rainbow Dash had loyalty, Rarity showed generosity, Fluttershy's was kindness, and Pinkie Pie received laughter. Twilight got the sixth and most important element of all, magic, and by combining all six of the elements, they defeated the wicked Nightmare Moon. Princess Celestia appears, reveals that Twilight and her friends were the only ones who could defeat Nightmare Moon, and shocks everyone by revealing that Nightmare Moon is actually her younger sister, Princess Luna. Everything becomes well again, and Twilight is allowed to stay in Ponyville to continue her studies on friendship. While this may not be the normal outline for a regular episode, it is the very first story arc, and it gets the viewers introduced to the main cast and what the series will be about. And while it is apparent that the show is intended for little girls, you can also see that it may not be the little girl show you were expecting it to be and why us Bronies like it so much and have created a fan group for it.

 

Although our group has been around for a few years, it has still not been fully accepted. Many other social groups that seemed strange or different at one time or another have been accepted, but we Bronies are still having a hard time getting others to accept us, and it is just because we watch MLP: FiM. Let me ask you this: people who watch anime, or Japanese cartoons, and dress up in costumes and go to conventions have been accepted fairly fell, correct? And how about the people who collect comic books and go to Comicon each year? They have been accepted into society to some extent, but people think that men watching MLP: FiM is creepy. Why is that? Do people who read Superman comics and watch Naruto not enjoy cartoons, also? Rebecca Angel, a writer for Wired's GeekMoms and the author of the article “In Defense of Bronies,” is shocked by statements that say Bronies are creepy because she is “currently writing with a group of adult women who regularly partake in culture aimed at young boys.” She does not think that it is creepy for her to enjoy Avatar: The Last Airbender (Angel), even though it is a show aimed at young boys. And what about Disney films? I still enjoy watching Bambi and Toy Story, and I am 19 years old. I do not find it strange or odd that I still enjoy these movies, and I know plenty of people who are older than me who would agree.

 

Another group that may have had hardships to get past when it first appeared was the Rock-and-Roll group. I interviewed Gary McFarland, my grandfather and a person who grew up in the era of Rock-and-Roll. He said that “It started in the 1950s. I grew up with it as a child and I liked it” (McFarland). He listened to a few artists, such as “Buddy Holly and Bill Haley” (McFarland), but he said that his parents “didn't care for it, they liked country music better” (McFarland). He was asked if he ever thought it was going to be fully accepted, and he said “Yes, because as the youngsters who grew up with Rock-and-Roll became older, it became more accepted” (McFarland), but he did say that “1960, probably” (McFarland), was around the time that it started becoming more accepted in mainstream society, so that means that it could still be a while before Bronies are fully accepted. When asked, however, if he was surprised that Rock-and-Roll was still around, he said “No, because its just part of our musical history” (McFarland). That means because Bronies are integrating themselves as part of the culture now, we should not be surprised if they are still existing 50 years from now. But still, there are some people who do not like Rock-and-Roll, and the same goes for Bronies.

 

Many people who dislike us Bronies are called “Haters,” and they enjoy annoying us or trying to hurt our feelings so that they can get a rise out of us. I interviewed a gentleman who is not really a hater, but does dislike the Brony community for his own reasons. His name is Ryan Leonetti, and he is a coworker/friend of mine. He said that he “first heard about the group known as Bronies sometime during the summer of 2011. Eventually, the Brony culture leaked into many of the facets of my internet life and quickly became acquainted with them” (Leonetti). His first reaction to them was “neutral as I did not watch the show, but it eventually grew into distaste as it spread pretty much everywhere with it's rabid fanbase and seemingly limitless barrage of fanart, meme, and music” (Leonetti). He has listened to some Brony music online and has seen a lot of fanart, and says “for the most part they are the typical fan affair that makes decent dance music. And as I've stated previously, there has been more than enough artwork literally everywhere on the internet” (Leonetti). Most people who do not like Bronies have never seen an episode of MLP: FiM, but Leonetti said that “Yes, I ended up watching 'Party of One' from the first season.” I asked him what he thought of it, and he said “Overall, it was decent for a kids show. The writing was basic enough to get the story, but the animation, however, was the bad part” (Leonetti). I asked him why exactly he dislikes the Brony culture, and Leonetti replied “It's not just Brony culture I dislike, but any micro-culture that becomes obsessive to a point where it takes over other aspects of a person's life and the lives of those around them that bothers me. To me it is like a person who would concentrate on Chess and winning at it that they do not see the fun in other games like Checkers or Go.” I understand where Leonetti is coming from, because I was just like him before I was formally introduced to the show, but eventually, I hope that we, the Brony community, can get him, and others like him, to see us in a new light as normal people.

 

But still people do not see us as normal. Instead, they see creepy grown men watching MLP: FiM and label us as pedophiles or homosexual in our sexual orientations. Angel states that “Pedophiles are mostly men who have been sexually abused as children and become predators themselves.” She then goes on to state that “A group of young men openly hanging out in a dorm doom watching a cartoon is NOT pedophilia” (Angel). But, even after disproving the pedophile problem, we are still left with the homosexuality accusations. Jessica Blank, who is an organizer for BroNYCon, a convention for Bronies located in New York City, says people continuously ask her if Bronies are gay, and she replies “Actually, the overwhelming majority are straight” (Vara). This statement can be backed up by the research that professor Patrick Edwards, who has a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology, and professor Marsha H. Redden, a member of the American Psychological Association, have done on the matters of the Brony community. One of their major finds in their study was that only 1.7 percent of the Brony participants in the study are homosexual, while a whopping 84 percent of Brony participants were heterosexual (Edwards), or, in other words, totally straight. Although most people think that “The pink and sparkly factor” (Angel) of the show is emasculating, it has been shown that that is not true at all. While some Bronies are what you would call “Secret Bronies,” Bronies who are afraid to tell their family and friends that they enjoy MLP: FiM for fear of ridicule, we find that there is a larger percentage of “Social Bronies,” a large group of Bronies who share their love of MLP: FiM (Edwards) and they do not find it emasculating at all. But still, many protective parents of the younger Brony population have many “problems” that they like to worry about.

 

While most Bronies are above the 21-year-old line, there are still some who are as young as 14 years old and have parents who are worried about this Brony cultural movement. One of the main reasons that protective parents of young Bronies are worried is because they think that this new sub-culture in society is going to negatively affect their children. Mike Males, in his essay titled “Pop Culture Does Not Negatively Influence America's Youth,” uses the fact that people have blamed things like violent video games and other such things as a cause for teenage violence, and shows that is not the case. He states that “From 1990 to 2000... four million teen and pre-teen boys took up violent video games” (Males), but then he states “From 1990 through 1999, teenage violence and other malaise plunged” (Males). He sites statistics that suggest this, such as homicide down 62 percent, school violence down 20 percent (Males), and many more things like that. This should tell overprotective parents something, that even if they do not like that their children are into something that they themselves do not like, such as MLP: FiM, it does not mean that their children are going to turn into rabid crazed psycho pedophiles, like everyone thinks Bronies are. But still, some parents out there have a fear of their child turning into a pedophile or a pervert when they grow up just because they watched a show for little girls. While I have already fully noted that this show will not instigate pedophilia, there may be a little merit to the perversion side of this argument, but very little.

 

As most people who use computers and the internet know, there are certain “rules of the internet,” and one of them just so happens to be “rule 34.” For those of you who are not familiar with rule 34, it's definition clearly states that “If it exists, there is porn of it.” While some rule 34 of MLP: FiM probably does exist somewhere out there on the internet, people (and parents) must realize that rule 34 exists for everything on the internet, so protective parents would need to protect their children from the internet entirely, which would be impossible. They need to realize that rule 34 exists, and eventually, your teen will stumble upon it. I am in no way saying that you should let them look at this type of thing, I am just merely trying to warn parents so that they can be ready for the fateful day that their teen accidentally stumbles upon this blemish of Brony, and indeed, internet culture.

 

And speaking of Brony culture, people who think that we just watch the show need to look deeper into it. While there may be a tiny bit that you want to worry about here or there (such as clop-fictions and rule 34 pictures), there is plenty of other stuff to show why Brony culture is so great. We have really great fanfics, and one that comes to mind is My Little Dashie, which is a story about how a lonely Brony in a dying city finds a baby Rainbow Dash, cares for her, raises her for 15 years, then has to let her return to the place where she came from. It is a very sad but touching story. We also have a plethora of MLP: FiM-related music and artists, such as Discord by Eurobeat Brony, which is about one of the show's main villains, and Stuck in Time by Bronyfied, which is about the background pony Dr. Whooves.

 

Ah, yes, now we get to the fact that we have named some of the background characters in the show we all love so much because they appear quite a bit and it is rather fun. A few that come to mind are Dr. Whooves, a brown earth pony with an hourglass for a Cutie Mark and reminds everyone of the famous Dr. Who, DJ Pon-3 (aka Vinyl Scratch), a white unicorn pony with a blue mane and a music note as her Cutie mark to denote the fact that she is a DJ, and, of course, Derpy Hooves, a gray pegasus pony with a blond mane and bubbles for a Cutie Mark and messes everything up a lot, has what we call “derp eyes,” which are eyes that point different directions, and is loved by pretty much every Brony on the planet. There was even a whole issue surrounding her, which we Bronies call “Derpygate,” where all of the Bronies came together in protest, for they were planning on changing our Derpy just because some parent or something thought she was made to make fun of the mentally challenged, which is not true. We may have failed, and they may have changed her, but we still remember her for who she really was, if not because of the one episode where Rainbow Dash actually called her Derpy, then we will remember her through all the artwork she is in made by many proud Brony artists.

 

The Brony community has a great many fine artists, and their works range from parodies of the show to humanized versions of the characters, main and background, and everything in-between. And many Brony artists have made artwork with other mediums that just pencil and paper. Some Bronies make show-accurate plushie commissions, and others make funny or cool videos. And still some Bronies have taken it a step farther and put things from MLP: FiM on clothes. Angel states that “Wearing My Little Pony insignias on sports clothing has become more popular.” It is not just the insignias, either, that are ending up on t-shirts. Everything from Cutie Marks to entire ponies are showing up on our Brony clothes, and they are not the only thing to become “ponyfied.” Buttons, bags, hats, convention badges, and even cars have been ponyfied in one way or another, and it just goes to show that we love our show a lot, no matter what anyone says about us.

 

For those of you who have actually stayed with me through this entire essay that I have painstakingly written about the awareness and acceptance of Bronies, I'm sure the whole community would love to thank you. Most people would have destroyed this essay just for the fact that it is an essay about Bronies, but you did not do that. You have read that Bronies are not strange or weird, they are just regular people with specific interests. We are not pedophiles, and most of us are actually heterosexual. We may be shunned as a sub-culture for the time being, but our culture is interesting enough without being integrated into the regular culture for right now. Hopefully, I have enticed your interests in Bronies and perhaps made you think about watching an episode or two of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. You will not regret it if you do, believe me. This essay was just to get the word about Bronies to the unknowing populace, and, hopefully, those of you that have read this have gained some awareness and have become more accepting of our ways and our culture. That is all we Bronies really want, to be loved and tolerated, just like everyone else.

 

 

Works Cited

 

Angel, Rebecca. “In Defense of Bronies.” Wired.com. N.p., May 27, 2012. web. 23 Jun 2012.

 

<http://www.wired.com...e-of-bronies/>.

 

Edwards, Patrick, and Marsha H. Redden. “BRONY STUDY (Research Project) Study Results.”

 

bronystudy.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Jun 2012. <http://bronystudy.com/id1.html>.

 

Espejo, Roman, ed. Opposing Viewpoints: America's Youth. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2003. 27-33.

 

Print.

 

Leonetti, Ryan. E-mail Interview. July 12, 2012.

 

Males, Mike. “Popular Culture Does Not Negatively Influence America's Youth.” Opposing

 

Viewpoints: Americas Youth. Ed. Roman Espejo. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2003.

 

27-33. Print.

 

McFarland, Gary. Personal Interview. July 15, 2012.

 

Vara, Vauhini, and Ann Zimmerman. "Hey, Bro, That's My Little Pony! Gu'ys Interest Mounts in Girly

 

TV Show --- 'Bronies' Enthralled by Cartoon Equines; Characters 'Aren't One-Dimensional'."

 

Wall Street Journal. (2011): n. page. Web. 20 Jul. 2012.

 

<http://search.proque...countid=40640>.

 

 

 

Again, thanks for reading it!

 

*Cracks knuckles*

Alright, let the proof-reading begin.

...

...

...

*Puts keyboard down*

I've highlighted some questionable bits of grammar and crossed out some unnecessary slivers. I love the content you provided in this *ahem* quaint piece of MASSIVE WORK.

 

I was only able to do the first paragraph (due to lack of sleep), but I can come back to work on the rest of it tomorrow if you'd like. (I intend to come back, EVEN IF YOU DON'T LIKE!)

(When is the deadline?)

 

Looking good, friend!

Quick note: Try to avoid over-using the word "just".

Quake in my supporting accomplishment!

 

 

Also, you can trust me. I've been in the highest type of English class since the beginning of my academic career. Hooray! Though, remember, you are the final decider.

(Red = Cut, Blue = Spelling mistake, Green = Punctuation, Yellow = Added/modified words)

 

Sorry if I'm being a tad overbearing, but hey, you asked for modifications! I'm sure you're going to receive an excellent grade, bro.

Edited July 24, 2012 by Guest

[Shadow Chaser 633]

Won't lie. TL;DR, but I give you many props for even writing it. Not necessarily for writing it about ponies/bronies but for writing an essay about a fandom. Not an easy task, sir.

[Veiled Enigma 389]

"...only four known alicorns in the world of MLP: FiM, and they are all either princesses or queens"

I derped out thinking about who the 4th alicorn was for awhile, lol.

 

I thought it was a very well put together, and thought out essay with no major grammatical mistakes that I could pick out. You had many different opinions from different people, interviews from personal acquaintances and major sources, as well as facts about the fandom. Very awesome, and honestly much better than anything I have done, or can do.

[Glaceon 793]

Oh wow. If i was your teacher/professor I would give you a perfect grade. This is amazingly well written and thought out. Good job!

[Count Paradox 3,548]

 

 

*Cracks knuckles*

Alright, let the proof-reading begin.

...

...

...

*Puts keyboard down*

I've highlighted some questionable bits of grammar and crossed out some unnecessary slivers. I love the content you provided in this *ahem* quaint piece of MASSIVE WORK.

 

I was only able to do the first paragraph (due to lack of sleep), but I can come back to work on the rest of it tomorrow if you'd like. (I intend to come back, EVEN IF YOU DON'T LIKE!)

(When is the deadline?)

 

Looking good, friend!

Quick note: Try to avoid over-using the word "just".

Quake in my supporting accomplishment!

 

 

Also, you can trust me. I've been in the highest type of English class since the beginning of my academic career. Hooray! Though, remember, you are the final decider.

(Red = Cut, Blue = Spelling mistake, Green = Punctuation, Yellow = Added/modified words)

 

Sorry if I'm being a tad overbearing, but hey, you asked for modifications! I'm sure you're going to receive an excellent grade, bro.

 

well, the deadline is, uh, ya know, TOMORROW.... I'm not really worried, though. I think I'll manage to pull it off.

 

Oh wow. If i was your teacher/professor I would give you a perfect grade. This is amazingly well written and thought out. Good job!

 

why, thank you! I took 3-4 weeks to get it written! I had a lot to do on it so I went ahead and started really early.

 

"...only four known alicorns in the world of MLP: FiM, and they are all either princesses or queens"

I derped out thinking about who the 4th alicorn was for awhile, lol.

 

I thought it was a very well put together, and thought out essay with no major grammatical mistakes that I could pick out. You had many different opinions from different people, interviews from personal acquaintances and major sources, as well as facts about the fandom. Very awesome, and honestly much better than anything I have done, or can do.

 

lol, which one did ya forget? and I did put a lot of work into it, because I wanted to show the world just how awesome we can be.

 

Hm, I really should show this to my mother...

 

Anyways, it was awesome! There were like one or two words I didn't understand, but that's because English isn't my first language xD

 

wow, I feel honored that you would want to show this to your mom... i really do.

 

oh, and today is the day that it must be turned in, I couldn't make very many corrections to it, so wish me luck everyone!

[Guest]

well, the deadline is, uh, ya know, TOMORROW.... I'm not really worried, though. I think I'll manage to pull it off.

 

Honestly, I think you're fine. When in college, I think the professors only look for content and word flow. You've got a very decent amount of both in your essay -- you have nothing to worry about. I won't mess with it any more, then.

 

Quite quality, bro!

[Count Paradox 3,548]

Honestly, I think you're fine. When in college, I think the professors only look for content and word flow. You've got a very decent amount of both in your essay -- you have nothing to worry about. I won't mess with it any more, then.

 

Quite quality, bro!

 

thanks. wish me luck as I turn it in today! I'm not really nervous about it really, but... I guess I could have done better in some areas...

 

OMG HE SAID IT WAS GOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Not that everthing else I do is terrible, but YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!