Does being a Brony prove anything about your character?

[ReGen 1,466]

This recently came to mind: Does the fact you are a Brony say anything about your character?

 

I say yes.

 

Most of us here are grown men, yet we watch a show originally meant for children.

 

To me, you have to be a pretty open-minded person to do that.

 

But I also believe that being a Brony means that you are caring for those around you and not judging others for who they are and what they like. "Love and Tolerance" is something that you remember everyday. You keep an open-mind that got you into this ultra-supportive fanbase to find something new to enjoy everyday.

 

But hey, i'm just a dumb kid rambling.

 

What are your thoughts?

[Kitsuneirou 21]

But I also believe that being a Brony means that you are caring for those around you

Really? I frequently ramble about how I hate people when I'm on skype, but that probably has to do with the fact that I just hate social media.

 

I'd have to say I am sort of open-minded, but I also don't care about what people think. If I was afraid of judgement, I would never have become a brony.

Edited April 12, 2013 by Kitsuneirou

[Champion RD92 8,658]

It would seem to me that bronies tend to be more open-minded than others, due to the fact that they gave the show enough of a chance to become a fan of it. An person who isn't as open-minded would automatically assume that it's some gay stupid little girl's show and not even give it a chance.

 

However, when it comes to being kind people, bronies tend to be nicer than most, but there are still bronies who can be rude and mean.

[Sunbro 4 Lyfe 939]

 

 

bronies tend to be more open-minded than others, due to the fact that they gave the show enough of a chance to become a fan of it.

And yet this fails to solve the question: Why are we so closed minded to Equestria girls?

 

and before I saw the show I just thought "Meh" to everything. Life, school, friends. Just Meh. And while I may have changed a little I'm still exactly like that. meh.

[Kitsuneirou 21]

but there are still bronies who can be rude and mean.

I agree somewhat, (If that was intended towards what I said, I didn't mean I was a mean person or anything, I just don't like how some people act) I've met bronies who were really nice, and great to hang out with.

 

And I've met that kind of brony who thinks he needs to be rude to somebody who doesn't like the show even ifhe isn't hating.

Edited April 12, 2013 by Kitsuneirou

[Tex 88]

It certainly does... To an extent. As it's been mentioned, it shows that you're more open minded than the average shmuck who probably couldn't even accept that the show had any messages aside from 'ponies are cute her-der' even if it was explained in full detail. I myself didn't quite noticed any of the underlying messages of the show until I started watching in depth reviews, but when I did begin to see other opinions on what was being expressed, I quickly began to understand why I even liked the show.

 

That being said, a person's opinion on the show will show more about them despite whether or not they're a fan. A person with an open mind could like the show's writing, and still not be a fan simply because the medium/art style doesn't pertain to them, and the magnificent writing will not make up for it in their books. Alternatively, a person could also like the show for reasons aside from it being well written, perhaps for the fact that they just like a certain character a whole lot or just really like the art. 

 

Going even deeper, the way people talk about the show can differ in validity, depending on what parts of the show they like/understand.

 

But I digress. 

 

Being a brony can be taken at face value, but you can't say a whole lot about someone who's a brony just because they're a brony. Their opinions on different aspects of the show are what really defines them.

Edited April 12, 2013 by Tex

[Homura Akemi 974]

In real-world situations, no. It comes to show you may be a little more opened-minded in media compared to some but that's really it.

[Jokuc 8,174]

Well. yes. It proves one likes ponies If you call yourself a brony, you are probably a person who really likes or needs happiness in their lives. Also as everypony already has said, it shows that you are more open-minded than other people. And it shows that you're not the typical "hey everyone look at me I do a lot of cool things, I'm cool" a brony follows his or her heart and whatever their interests are.

 

But there is also this.. thing with bronies. I just don't know how to explain it. Some sort of child within...

ugh that Jokuc just talks about stupid shit that no one understands

Edited April 12, 2013 by Jokuc

[CloudFyre 848]

I've met cool Bronies who are neat people, and I've also met Bronies that sicken me. As a whole though, I think I have to agree with Sparkle's post:
 

 

 

In real-world situations, no. It comes to show you may be a little more opened-minded in media compared to some but that's really it.

 

That sums it up nicely - however, as I'm sure many have noticed, there does seem to be a trend of Bronies being nicer/more generous/etc. than some other groups.

Edited April 12, 2013 by CloudFyre

[Vinyl Rave 67]

I have to say yeah it does. But it doesn't affect us. It's who we already are. There are a certain category of people who like different things (this explains hater) and people who don't. If we can't like the shows we want to watch then I don't want to live on this planet any more.

[Scootalove 10,689]

Well, in a way it does. It shows that I'm opening up to people in a community, and showing myself that I have to suck up my pride and make friends. That's exactly what I did.

[Fanboy_Of_Things 7]

I would have to agree that being brony says a lot about anyone.  I would like to believe it says that we are open minded, independent people with a strong sense of community. But it essentially it falls back to reality that people are different and react differently to the experiences. this I find is mostly apparent in the usage "Love and Tolerate". Some take to an extreme that counters its own meaning, or how some respond to haters.

 

 

However this does not mean that Brony as a word for the community or the indivdual, can still imply open mindiness, independence and togetherness; if we choose to represent them.

[~Master~ Button Mash 2,307]

At the very least it means you're more open minded. Above that though, like in all fandoms ,we have our positives and our negatives. However, it does seem like overall the brony fandom has a statistically significant greater amount of positive than other fandoms, so to speak. We try to make friendship and kindness part of our culture, and I think it shows.

 

In other words, yes, when the fandom is viewed as a whole. On a case by case basis, though, YMMV like in all other cases in life.

Edited April 12, 2013 by AtomicBassCannon

[Pony Of The Month 534]

Well, it proves that you're open minded enough to watch a cartoon meant to sell toys for little girls.

 

BUT THAT'S IT!
 

Being a brony doesn't make you better than everyone else. It's okay to feel proud of yourself, but saying that being a brony makes you a better person is ridiculous!

[NavelColt 22,881]

This thread appears to be related to the My Little Pony franchise and/or the Bronydom in general. Thus, it has been sentenced to Sugarcube Corner.

 

This is an automatically generated message, by the way.

[PoniesPlease 365]

Interesting. I'm certainly a generally nicer person.

 

I feel I have two modes to my life. My Brony mode, in which i try to be as kind and awesome to other people as possible. And then, about once a week, my footie fan mode, in which I scream all kinds of obscenities at the opposition whilst a match is on. Funny, i'm almost a polar opposite when football's on.

[lincolnshirepony 527]

I think there are certain traits people have that will make them more open to enjoying MLP. Granted, everything has exceptions, but it does take a more open minded person to give a show about colorful, cartoon ponies a chance. I don't think being a brony says anything in particular about one's character. I think that what specifically draws a person to the show can be more telling though.

[HailthornX 47]

Nothing unique really, but I feel it's made me more of an open-minded person about things. I mean, I didn't actually know too much about the fandom before I started watching, but I had always associated My Little Pony with young females. Then I started seeing topics about My Little Pony everywhere from Kotaku to Gamefaqs to Yahoo, particularly about the male demographic, and it sparked my interest. Obviously now I know there's nothing at all weird about it. Then again I used to think it was weird that I liked Totally Spies as a teen, but that is another story.

 

It's also made me appreciate supporting the creators more, and that's why I buy the comics now. The comics are pretty awesome by the way for anyone who hasn't read them.

[Thunderchild 875]

I think the fandom tends to draw folks who are generally non-conformist in their approach to things. Whether that's a good or bad thing would depend on your personal viewpoint. 

 

The people I've interacted with on this forum have been some of the most polite and friendly I've encountered in many years of posting on forums. I think that speaks volumes about the sort of people this show attracts.

[Nature's Spell 526]

I found this this show and fandom through my children, but I guess I'm somewhat more willing to explore TV shows/moies that are more traditionally female leaning. I hate chick flicks, but I loved the BBC Pride and Prejudice and as a boy I watched She-Ra. LOL I don't feel like I have anything to prove as a guy.

[Gone for good 1,593]

Actually being a brony proves that you aren't going to stick with stereotypical archetypes about who you supposed to be and what you're supposed to like. There really is no denying this.

[Shanks 10,816]

It does show that you are a bit more open minded when it comes to entertainment choices and aren't willing to let outdated gender stereotypes define you. What it dosen't mean though is that you are a better person than anyone else, granted this show does bring out the best in a lot of people but lets not forget that this fandom has jerks just like any other, fortunately far less than most other fandoms but there are still a small handful.

[Arylett Charnoa 4,919]

No, I don't think it proves barely a thing.

 

All being a brony means is that you are a (to me, because this is my definition of the term) a male fan outside of the target demographic. And sure, it means you're more open to trying out things outside of norms... maybe.

 

Because you see, there are fans who like the show ironically. And that means absolutely nothing on their character. Many of them as well? Sure, they were open to trying to watch the show. But many I've heard resisted it a lot. They were like: "What the hell? Why ponies?" Including me. It was only because it was so frequent on the internet, invaded their lives, that they decided to explore it just to see what all this silly hype was about. It wasn't a genuine desire to be open-minded, it was more. "Okay, let's see why everyone likes My Little Pony. And why they've gone crazy." This does display open-mindedness to an extent, but it is important to note that the show was RESISTED.

 

Many also reject the feminine elements, and denounce it as a show for little girls. Saying it is different above them all - because it's manlier or something and think it might be for them. Such thoughts are definitely not open-minded. A truly open-minded person is willing to accept something for what it is. Not try to substitute elements that aren't there to prevent their pride from being shattered. This honestly doesn't say much about your character at all, or about open-mindedness.

 

It all depends on how you like the show, why you like it,  and how you got to like it.

 

Further, the brony community isn't as friendly as everyone touts it out to be. Because it represents a slice of the human population, it displays all the same traits - just as many assholes as there are those who are kind and decent. This is the same with all fandoms. Some might have more vocally annoying fans, sure, but I'd say it's just your standard slice of the human population. Not any better, or worse. (Though admittedly, I find the brony community to be more annoying for my own personal reasons. I hang around here really more for this specific community than the fandom.) 

 

Because of this, I think it says very little. It's just liking a little girl's show. It's not some revolution or some gigantic movement or anything really too relevant as a lot of people seem to think. 

[Zacharias 191]

I'm not really sure, but for one it definitely shows that you're probably fed up with the world around you, and you might want to be as different from "normal" as possible. But I think it also proves that bronies are people who found their inner nicer selves, and didn't give up fighting the ridiculous "laws" created by society.

[Shanks 10,816]

Many also reject the feminine elements, and denounce it as a show for little girls. Saying it is different above them all - because it's manlier or something and think it might be for them.

I have noticed that too and think it is a little ridiculous to deny that, one thing this show has proven is that just because something is a little girly dosen't mean it has to be some stereotypical dumbed down drivel where all the characters are text book Mary Sue's who brush their hair and have tea parties all day. I fully accept the show for what it is even its more feminine elements, if anything those have in their own strange way have really grown on me, while I am a fairly masculine male this show has made me realize that me own feminine side is a lot stronger than I thought it was. I suppose what some of them are trying to say but are not articulating very well thought is that is it is not only little girls that are allowed to enjoy it.

 

 

"Okay, let's see why everyone likes My Little Pony. And why they've gone crazy." This does display open-mindedness to an extent, but it is important to note that the show was RESISTED.

Yes, I will admit that that describes me pretty accurately as well. This friend of mine has talked about it with me for at least a few months before I gave it a try, when he first told me my first thought was "is he really talking about THAT My Little Pony?" Because before I found out about bronies my only exposure to MLP was seeing some of the old G1 cartoons when I was a kid thanks to my pony crazy cousin. When I did find out about them I thought it was harmless but really bizarre, what finally convinced me to watch it was when my friends wanted my opinion on Discord. So I watched the Return of Harmony two parter and though I wasn't really a full fledged fan of the show yet was and still am a huge fan of Discord and thought "maybe there is something to this show after all." I watched the rest of the episode in order and the rest is history.