Haters are Not Bronies in Denial

[DITR 180]

Am I the only one out there who doesn't think that haters are bronies in denial? I would think that idea comes from the fact that some homophobic people are gay themselves and insecure about it, but liking other men in a society that favors heterosexual individuals is a much bigger deal than liking a cartoon for a younger audience. While I can definitely understand a hater turning into a brony after giving the show a chance, the concept of someone pretending to hate a show because they're insecure about liking it is absurd. I think The Brony Chronicles did I it best by saying that haters hate because we live in a culture that defines masculinity as hating things targeted towards girls.

Edited June 24, 2013 by DITR

[An Old Head 4,815]

Of course not. I've never thought so, and I'm sure a lot of others haven't either. Everyone's experiences with the Brony fandom will be different; some will be embraced by the good side and either like the idea or become a Brony, some will just about catch wind of it and remain indifferent, and then some encounter those Bronies that are insufferable with the way they throw it about obnoxiously and proceed to see no good in it from there. The latter is where almost all haters come from; misconception.

 

Either that or they're jealous because we're having more fun than them

[Lunas Husband 2,777]

I must agree! I'm sure that 60-70% of the haters out there are bronies too. They just don't want their friends to make fun of them for it, which is sad... cause lying to everypony about who you are is not a good thing! and lying to your self well that's even worse! but give it time I'm sure they will open up and just give in and stop hating so much and join us once and for all! they cant fight the magic of friendship forever!

Edited June 23, 2013 by xPrincess Lunax

[Thrashy 2,798]

I would agree, it does seem highly unlikely that most (or even just a good portion) of haters are secretly in love with the show. But I would submit that a good majority of them, at least the male haters, are wildly insecure about their masculinity. That's really the only feasible explanation I can think of as to why they cling to their own outmoded beliefs on what constitutes "manly" or "girly" or whatever.

 

Also, tying in with what you brought up about many homophobes being closet gays (or bis, as the case may be), the fact that so many haters like to throw the word "fag" around to describe us...well, it kind of adds a whole 'nother variable to the equation, wouldn't you agree? So while they may not necessarily be insecure about a secret affinity for ponies, they're definitely insecure about something, to be sure.

 

Haters...what an enigma those people are.

Edited June 23, 2013 by Lowline

[Nohbdy 4,108]

No, you're certainly not the only one. It's unlikely that haters dislike bronies because they're secretly in love with the show. No, there are so many other factors involved, some of which are the fandom's own fault. 

 

On the haters' end, there's the factor of ignorance. Undoubtedly, many of them grew up in a world in which My Little Pony was a sickly sweet hyperfeminine franchise with terrible writing, boring characters, and juvenile themes. And the target audience? Prepubescent girls. Combine these with society's long-standing division of male and female interests, and you have the basis for prejudice. 

 

MLP:FiM is still technically a show for girls, with the ultimate goal of selling as many toys as possible. However, we know that the show is well written, with lovable characters and universal themes. There's a level of creativity and attention to detail that no other generation has matched. We, as fans, know that this is a show for all ages. 

 

Yet, that's not something that people will see--not unless they take the time to understand what the show is about. It's human nature to make judgment based on superficial observations. Since G4 still looks like a pure, uninspired girly show on the outside, it's only natural for outsiders to compare it to what they already know (i.e., previous generations). Thinking about it in these terms, it's easy to see why many accuse bronies of being manchildren, homosexuals, and creepers. 

 

Bronies aren't without blame, either. For example, I'm sure we've all seen the missionary-type bronies. You know, the type who go around trying to spread the good news. They're the guys who go on completely unrelated YouTube videos or forum threads and talk about ponies and how great they are. They're the guys who talk about ponies all the time, even when they're clearly being obnoxious. Some go as far as to spam R34 or talk about their sexual fantasies. 

 

Sure, ponies are great. Yeah, you have every right to be proud of your interests. But it's rude and extremely annoying to go around and shove it in everybody's faces (and then proceed to play the victim when met with hostility). Before I became a brony (heck, even after I became a brony), this was among my biggest peeves with the fandom. I'd wager that it's only a minority who actually act this way, but the vocal minority is what gets heard. 

 

Bottom line: Outsider ignorance and some bronies' obnoxious behavior are arguably the leading causes of the public's animosity toward the fandom. 

[SoarinBlue 202]

My experience has been that people that dislike ponies are generally just people that hate it constantly being shoved in their face.  My area of experience, 4chan, was basically that.  People didn't really hate ponies at first, they either ignored them or spammed the pony thread with gore or porn for funsies, but they really started hating it once it started spreading and taking over everywhere.  And that's how /mlp/ was born, as a cancer containment board to keep ponies off of the rest of the site because people were tired of them being everywhere.

 

There's also likely a bit of sexual insecurity, the whole "you like ponies?  what are you, gay?" bit.  Ironically I heard this once from a dude that had been discussing his love of traps earlier in that thread

[♥.:Yulaiyre:.♥ 290]

I didn't even think this was a thing. I'm pretty shocked that it is. 

 

I can't understand the people who think that everyone can be a fan if they just watch a certain episode. 

It's not that great of a show really, in comparison to others.

[Jadefire 2,796]

I think mmost of it is just a sour response to the bronies fast spread over the internet. There are a lot of bronies out there who do shove ponies in peoples' faces and are otherwise rabid about MLP, which gives the fandom as a whole a bad name.

[Thunderbirds360 22]

Some people are haters because they see pony stuff everywhere. Others hate because in their opinion we shouldn't like a cartoon made for little girls (G4 MLP was made for the whole family to watch, IMO). And some love the show but doesn't want to admit it so people won't judge them as weirdos and stuff.

 

 

Or they hate just to feel better or just for trolling people in general (I did that for a short while before becoming a brony, to be honest)

[Lume WMj 228]

I honestly never thought about that, I didn't even know it was a thing... But it does seems really unlikely that someone would pretend to hate something just because he/she feels embarrassed for liking it - in my opinion, this doesn't sound like a very smart decision.

 

Buuuuuuuut these discussions about pony haters are always way too fragile for me to cast a vote in... So I'll be on my way now. \o/

Edited June 24, 2013 by Lume~WMJ

[Gigapony 650]

People probably wouldn't have as big a problem with bronies if we weren't such a "big" thing. If there was only a handful of bronies then it'd just be seen as a weird fringe group (not unlike furries) and although we'd get a share of haters we'd be allowed to exist in relative peace.

 

If it were any other show, we'd be fine. If it were a massive amount of older girls/women liking MLP and not men, we'd be fine. If it were just a few men liking it, we'd be fine. But it's the fact that it's SO DAMN MANY men, that's getting us all that hate.

 

It's causing people who are accustomed to the traditional MAN to feel like their idea of manliness is crumbling, and they see us as the acid that's wearing it down. They're blaming us for the death of the manly man, and this is all way too far out of their comfort zone. It's too much change for them, and I don't want to say they're "afraid" of us, but they do feel challenged by us.

 

They see the whole brony thing as (and please excuse my words) the "faggification" of their society and they're conditioned to fight back against this, not only to preserve their cultural norms, but also to reaffirm to everyone around them that they're most emphatically NOT a part of this, and thus prove to themselves how manly they are.

[Shanks 10,811]

Just so we are clear by haters you mean people that actually go out of their way to troll bronies right? Because some people seem to group them together with all non fans. Assuming we are talking about only the former. While not all haters are closeted bronies I think quite a few of them are, what other reason would so many people go so far out of their way to make such ridiculous accusations such as immaturity, homosexuality, Autism or even pedophilia which have no basis in fact? Exactly what are these people so damned afraid of? The phrase "thou doth protest too much comes to mind" but even for many haters where this is not a factor are haters because of deep seated insecurities about their own masculinity, sexuality or both why else would they see something that has no personal effect on them other than running into the occasional pony pic on the internet or the occasional annoying brony? 

 

There are some haters though that are haters because of negative personal experiences with bronies that are a little nuts alot of these people have limited experience with fandoms and don't fully understand that all fandoms have crazies in them not just MLP. Yes it is still ignorant of them but it is at least a bit more understandable.

Edited June 24, 2013 by EarthbendingProdigy

[Orablanco Account 3,705]

I think it's just meant to be a quick comeback to people harassing Bronies, like the whole "homophobes are just closet homosexuals". Though I have no doubt that there are insecure people out there who insult something out of fear of being associated with it.

[Paleopony 690]

I think a few might be bronies in denial but the vast majority of haters probably hate bronies because they don't fit their preconceived notions of what an adult male or female should enjoy or not.