Being Open: How?

[DarkSun493 51]

Though, this may seem like a silly subject, I think that it's something that's warranted. I've been trying to become more open about my Broniness for a couple of reasons. Somehow, I believe that it may boost my confidence/ego/esteem, whatever you want to call it. But just thinking of that, I've never been able to look at myself in the morning and say "I'm going to wear this Rainbow Dash shirt, and I'm going to like it and I'm going to be proud".

 

I'm just wondering if there's anybody out there who's open and wears merch, or just doesn't afraid of anything. What have been your experiences with it, and how could you teach someone who's anxious and self-conscious when he/she is open about MLP?

 

Anything you have to say will help!  

[Nulln 754]

I'll just wear a shirt or whatever and when people try to tease me about watching a little kid show and liking it or whatever, i just say yup.  

 

I don't go flaunting it and talking about it nonstop, but if I want to wear a shirt, I'm gonna.

[Dattebayo 2,850]

I'm not open. A few friends know, my fam too, but I don't make it a point to be open about it.

It's a...very hard to explain thing.

[child of the night 271]

Just wear a shirt, if someone starts to tease you turn to them and ask them if it is a problem that you watch the show, if they say yes respond by saying this:

 

"Then cry me a river, build me a bridge, and get over it because nothing about me is changing"

 

atleast that is what I do

[RNgineer 161]

i wore my orange applejack cutie mark shirt today in public......like a boss

[Colorful Respawn 399]

I would wear a Rainbow Dash, aka best pony, shirt. If someone came up to me and said, "Dude you're gay!" I would just stare at them and say, "Thank you, I respect your opinion."

[~SadisticFluttershy~ 779]

Mate,

 

I wear my merch. Wallet, shirts, rubber bracelet.. Etc. im not afraid to wear it. Hell no i aint. Its no big deal, its just another shirt to people. You could run into haters, but im like.. Screw you, im proud to wear this shirt cause its awesome.

 

I dont have much. I plan on buying more

 

Dont be afraid to wear your merch. Youll feel alot better when you do. You are human. There are no wrong morals. Dont be ashamed, embrace what you love, wear ponies, listen to fan made music and be awesome. As awesome as you can be. You will be 20% cooler, and feel 20% cooler.

[Rainblow H. Ash 5,090]

Just about all my friends and family know I like the show, and I sometimes wear pony stuff in public.

 

Just bought a new Rainbow Dash shirt I'm finnin' to wear too.

[Nulln 754]

I went dressed as Rainbow Dash to college for halloween and everyone pretty much loved it.  XD

 

I even found a Luna and a Derpy later that day.

 

Just remember that YOU'RE NOT ALONE!!!

Edited May 23, 2014 by ScumCandy

[Discordian 6,013]

There's really no reason to be open about it specifically but why not just stop trying to hide it? If it never comes up, don't bring it up unless it's relevant. Being a brony isn't something to necessarily be proud of so treating it as such just opens you up to unnecessary criticism.

[FlyingChicken 154]

I would wear everything that is MLP relate but sadly, I have none and I don't think I can afford them either. 

But I can give you advice. 

1) Be proud even though it might feel weird at first.

2) If you are still scared, try to be more open to your family or the one that are close to you first.

 

3) go out in public wearing pony merch wouldn't hurt anyone. They would see you today but you may or may not be seeing them again later. So, you don't have to care on how they think of you.

 

4) People have different taste, you don't want people to judge you so you don't judge people based on what they wear or how they look like, too. The most common thing to do is to respect other people choices.

 

5) like I said above, be proud and if you still think you can't do it. Try finding some friends who share the same interest as you do and hangout with them. It helps a lot when you have friends and friendship is magic.

 

What do you think? I'm I ranting too much xD This is all I can give you as I am the one who like carrying Fluttershy plushie with me when I go outside.

[Justin_Case001 4,857]

I just got into the fandom recently.  I'm still pretty new.  I don't have any merch yet, but I'm planning to get some shirts.  If I can find it, I want the black one with the Fluttershy "yay."  I'll wear it anywhere.  I don't care.  I made an ancient greek themed, black skirt type thing modeled after Kratos's outfit from the God of War games.  I wear that everywhere.  And that's not easy.  Let me tell ya, if you can wear that, you can wear a simple t-shirt, that's for sure.  But there's no getting away from it--expressing yourself and wearing what you want is often very scary and difficult.  Not to sound cheesy, but you've got to look inside to find the inspiration to do it.  Believe in yourself.  And if you do it, I guarentee you'll be proud of yourself.  And remember: even if you get some negative comments, even if no one says anything nice about it, there's always someone that will like it.  They may not comment, but everywhere you go, there's almost always someone who will like seeing your shirt.  Maybe some closet brony.  It will make his day, and then he will go home and tell his parents about this guy who wasn't afraid to express himself, and it will inspire him to wear his MLP shirt.  That's how we make this world a better place.

 

And if I ever feel skittish about wearing an MLP shirt, I'll watch the comic con MLP panel with Hasbro VP Mike Vogel wearing his Fluttershy yay shirt.

(3:25) I mean, look at that guy.  He's awesome.  Ain't nobody gonna make fun of him.  I mean, just look at him.  I don't think anyone who values their life is gonna hasle him for wearing a shirt.  It always inspires me to watch him.  If he can do it, we can do it.

[hawkflame 3,308]

There's no secret to being open, just do it.  The vast majority of people out there aren't going to care.

 

I wear brony shirts in public all the time.  If anyone ever notices or says something, they say it with a brohoof.

[OG CHUCK 64]

My parent know  i just tell them the truth without fear of embarrassment and i wear mlp merchandise without fear like spike jacket to the outside word

 dont be afraid of the heaters they envy us i dont know how to say this.. we are more man than  them this is not the mediaval age this is the 21 century the word is changing i sleep with mlp  bed set and my parent accept me i wil stop here i cant go on and on for hours.etc.

[Felix 1,363]

I haven't quite reached being completely open about it yet, but I have increased my confidence a bit. I started with Discord. Discord is a character of mlp that's very recognizable, but not entirely by the outside community. Yet, it's recognizable enough that people who don't watch the show still know about it a bit and give me a few reactions. So far, the reactions have done nothing but make me feel better about myself. Really, the people that actually approached were pretty much my friends, and all they did was laugh a little but treat me like a bro in the meantime. They didn't care. Anyone else noticed, but they looked away just as easily as they looked. There was no glaring or eye rolling. They looked, looked away, and not a single expression was seen. They didn't care

 

Now, that was just Discord. Noticeable, but not as much as a pony themselves. I'm still working on that. It's getting better. But here's what I learned, as it seems to be this way with other bronies.

 

People who don't obsessively troll or hate on any fandom won't give you any problems or even care if you wear a shirt related to it. I think people get so scared of expressing themselves because they spend too much time on the Internet. Really, that's where it comes from. All these people that say mean things, well, yes it can happen in real life, but it's so much easier on the Internet that it happens way more often than in real life. Otherwise, hardly anyone cares! And if you do get hate, don't be taken back. Just shrug it off or reply with a "yup" because it shouldn't need to be taken any farther than that. If you're worried about public in general, just remember that the people that walk by are gone just as fast as they came.

 

Don't be afraid. Just consider these things. If it helps, do what I did. Start small. Then wear the shirts that full on represent the show when your progression of comfort reaches that point.

Edited May 23, 2014 by FeIix

[Frith is Magick 1,471]

Just go for it. If you don't make a big deal out of it, other people will be less likely to. If they do respond negatively, tell them 1) if they haven't seen the show, they have no basis for judging it or it's fans, 2) people have different taste in media, get over it, and (if they persist in being an arsewad about it) 3) Feck off (more for peers than for family).

 

If it is a confidence issue, deal with it start small and build. Start with a pin, dog tag, bracelet, shirt partially hidden under a jacket, something that people won't notice in passing, then gradually become more obvious. Don't go around waving it in people's faces and being annoying about it (I hate when people shove something in my face, even if I agree with it), but don't be so ambiguous that other bronies aren't sure. At the end of the day you just have to find what you're comfortable with and go for it.

[Ziggy + Angel + Rain 11,298]

I haven't worn anything pony out there in the real world (a place I don't often visit anyhow), but I've worn everything from that sexy green M&M lady to the Sailor Scouts to a Yoshi shirt.  Because I ought not to give a damn, and I think I'm sufficiently creepy-looking to keep any pesterers away.  I'm only really open about my fondness for dem ponies with my family and my one irl friend.  Considering some of the other stuff I've gotten into, they couldn't have been all that taken aback lol. 

 

I WANT this one Art Nouveau Rainbow Dash shirt that I would feel compelled to actually wear, and I have an MLP / The Legend of Zelda mash-up that I've yet to wear.  Waiting until my brother maybe takes us out somewhere.  I'm not quite there yet, but I think MLP has helped me come out of my paranoid, near-reclusive shell a bit.  I managed to collect a package at the nearby post office; despite being an OCD-sufferer and somewhat-agoraphobe.  What was in said package?  Ponies!  I mean, I had to use the back of my wrist or my shirt to get the doors open and one of my feet to keep it open long enough to enter / exit; 'twas somewhat awkward.  And I avoided the two people in there like they were diseased (well they could've been - Idunno).  They probably didn't even notice that I was wearing a pair of Bobbie Brooks socks...

 

I forget where I was going with this.

[ghostfacekiller39 23,857]

I wore a Rarity shirt to school today, actually, and I got more than a few compliments. I also carry around a small Rarity plushie with me in public, and the majority of people are cool with it

The unfortunate thing is, you can't help it if ignorance is spawned in humanity, because it always will be - best you can do is avoid it, and enjoy life the way you feel is the right way to enjoy it

[Ryzu 984]

Self belief is a major thing in this. If you can't believe you can do it, then you absolutely will not. If you believe you can and push through, you will. Simple as that. I'd be open about being a brony if the majority of my school wasn't a bunch of spoiled snotty rich kids.

[John 793]

I think this is like day 900 for me with NOBODY KNOWING A THING..  (At least I hope so)

 

Just your average college kid by day, but by night I become...   DR BRONY!!!..

 

I'm too afraid to tell anyone haha.  Too much negative st0ff associated with the fan-community.  I don't want to "weird" my friends out or anything..  That would be totally awkward..  o-o

 

My sister walked in on me once when I was on forums, but she hasn't said anything yet so...

 

 

If you do "come out" which itself is an exaggeration, try getting a shirt that has subliminal MLP-related stuff on it that only Bronys will understand.  I've recently done that for some League-of-Legends related material, and so far nobody has gotten the references and told me about it haha.

[tfred82 17]

Who cares what people think... If being a brony is your thing than go for it. You may get a negative comment but is that going to kill you or leave a scar? No. More likely you are going to run into another brony who IS afraid to be open in public and end up making a friend or - Luna forbid - a boy/girlfriend. I personally don't wear any merchandise but I'm in a work uniform 99% of my life... But I do have a Dashy plush sitting on my monitor at work and a Pinky mini taped to my ambulance's dash. Everyone I work with knows I'm into it, yes there is friendly joking between all of them and me, but it's not meant to hurt. And a lot of the people I work with, the ones who make the most jokes, will grab something they see in a store for me if they think I would want it.

 

There is so much social stigma and bad stereotypes tied around MLP and the fans of it, if more people were proud of their hobby - and we should be proud, if for no other reason we are a HUGE community and a lot of us produce amazing fan-made content - people would look at us in a different light. Look at it another way, years ago anime fans had to deal with some of the things we deal with now. But enough fans were open about it and proud of it and now it's commonplace in America, we will get to that point someday...

[Archer Dash 163]

As soon as my friend revealed me from my hiding, I just went all gung ho into it.  Started wearing a cyan polo with RD's cutie mark, and not caring what anyone thought of me anymore.  It's kind of nice actually, being lifted from this whole self-conscious era that we seem entrenched in.

[Kel_Grym 1,917]

I neither flaunt or deny it. Same thing with my orientation. I don't put it in anyone's face, but if someone wants to get in my face about it after they ask me and I answer truthfully, I'll stand my ground.

 

So no worries. This approach is one that I think gets the most respect.

 

i don't make a big deal about, so why should they? It's just a thing.

[Everleaf 541]

Don't worry about it (I put ponies in most of my stuff) if they start insulting or whatever smile say haters gonna hate and walk away be as open as you want if it is too hard it's fine open or not you are still one of us

I would wear a Rainbow Dash, aka best pony, shirt. If someone came up to me and said, "Dude you're gay!" I would just stare at them and say, "Thank you, I respect your opinion."

 

Good idea actually I may try that if it comes to it XD

[Jeric 46,835]

Take a page from Tyrion Lancaster and wear it like a shield ... in other words be confident in what you decide to do and how to put it forth ...

 

I don't own any wearable merch for any comic/movie/show property ... but I can tell you that confidence was needed to survive a trip to Texas as I proudly wore my Philadelphia Eagles stuff.

Edited May 23, 2014 by Jeric