Controversial: Sexism In MLP

[Castle Bleck 19,387]

Well, that is heavily dependent on species, environment ect.

As for the show, I assume it is meant to be a 1:1 ratio between the sexes (monogamous heterosexual relationships seem to be the norm). The actual gap in the show (which has been getting smaller as of late) is mostly likely due to female ponies being easier to create rather than any hidden meaning behind it.

Actually, I've always believed it's more 51% (females) to 49% (males); still more females, but only slightly, so monogamy can still be the norm without causing population problems.

 

P.S.,

Say you're writing a fanfic, and "herding" exists in your version of Equestria... Why, then, is only your OC doing it? Why are all the other relationships monogamous? That s*** always bugs me.

[Silverwisp the Bard 2,354]

P.S.,

Say you're writing a fanfic, and "herding" exists in your version of Equestria... Why, then, is only your OC doing it? Why are all the other relationships monogamous? That s*** always bugs me.

Ehm, are we talking a fictional person writing such a fanfic? Because, for the record, I think that idea is stupid too...

Edited January 16, 2014 by Silverwisp the Bard

[Castle Bleck 19,387]

@Silverwisp the Bard,

 

It can be anybody/pony writing it, really.

[Freewave 1,145]

Hasbro is a business.

 

MLP is a brand.

 

They are in this to make money.

 

Why did I just bold those fonts? Simple: because these are important things to remember. The target audience is, has been, always shall be young girls. Girls at that age are not really interested in boys as statistics show. So as a result they do not show many male characters because really when you're 7 and female, at that age most boys are still "icky". It has nothing to do with sexism, and everything to do with: "that is what sells." 

 

It's what little girls want to see, and it's what will make the money. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.

 

How many male toy figures have their been for MLP:FIM characters though?  Clearly franchises like Barbie have had various versions of Ken (ie the token male) in the past but MLP has more characters to choose from but hasn't made hardly any. I'm not going to say that it's "sexist" not to make them as I'm sure even older male fans (of which bronies are a majority) wouldn't necessarily rush out to buy them, but it's weird that I haven't seen many attempts. There's a lot of insignificant background ponies on the shelves who aren't even fannon favorites and yet no Big Mac's or Soarin's as far as I have seen....again this is really up to Hasbro's toy line and not to the writers of the show. If the show was male oriented there's a chance that bronies wouldn't feel the same way about the series.

I hate how this attitude pervades the MLP fandom in particular too. The misogyny in this fanbase is so prevalent that it's becoming normalized and accepted as okay. And I feel that we must call this sort of behavior out wherever we see it, as silence condones.

 

Many - not all, but many - male fans of the show view any complaints about misogyny in the fandom as "just women whining" (nevermind that many men also oppose misogyny). This fandom is full of unabashed sexism, rape jokes, and objectification and marginalization of female fans, but if anyone speaks out against it, certain male fans inevitably start freaking out and claiming that by having their sexist normativity challenged at all, then suddenly they're the ones being oppressed by women. This is how pervasive misogyny is. Simply speaking out against misogyny and striving for equal treatment is - from their perspective - somehow "misandrist."

 

I'm glad more fans are calling this out, and I encourage more of the so-called "silent majority" of tolerant fans to stop being so silent and speak out against brony bigotry. If we agree that the bigoted fans are a vocal minority, then we need to speak up and be more vocal than they are.

 

You have brought up the weird fact that bronies are predominantly a guy's club for a girl's show and that can make it seem that girls in real life are not as welcomed or that we don't necessarily act as we should (and a lot of that comes from the young age of our members). It might even be easier to be accepted as a gay or transgendered male then a female member of the community (this is just a guess) but if that's the case I guess I'd like to know what we CAN do to make this a better fan-based community where there are more women fans and they're satisified with how people act. Bronies can be seen as a part of a nerd-culture so part of this can be a fascination with the feminine but a lack of knowledge on how to act around real women, Ignorance isn't necessarily a prejudice is what I'm getting at.

[Guest]

How many male toy figures have their been for MLP:FIM characters though?  Clearly franchises like Barbie have had various versions of Ken (ie the token male) in the past but MLP has more characters to choose from but hasn't made hardly any. I'm not going to say that it's "sexist" not to make them as I'm sure even older male fans (of which bronies are a majority) wouldn't necessarily rush out to buy them, but it's weird that I haven't seen many attempts. There's a lot of insignificant background ponies on the shelves who aren't even fannon favorites and yet no Big Mac's or Soarin's as far as I have seen....again this is really up to Hasbro's toy line and not to the writers of the show. If the show was male oriented there's a chance that bronies wouldn't feel the same way about the series.

 

They had Ken in Barbie, because little kids generally play house, hard to do without a husband figure. I think it's a matter of market research shows that there is little demand from the target audience for those male figures. It's not really sexist, it's saving money. Clearly they have determined that the characters wouldn't sell enough to justify making them.