Bronies! Are you ashamed of yourself? - UPDATED

[SpectacularWebHead]

I'm not a brony, and I used to have a real problem with people who were, on the grounds I'd only ever come across people who liked it ironicly or people who were like "PONIES! PONIES EVERYWHERE! If you don't like them you're a communist!" But then I started talking to non-idiotic bronies, and it really is just like anything else anyone would be into.

I can get why some people would have the attitude I used to have, but to be honest, in hindsight you can't judge the entire group by the actions of the loudest and most irritating. Who am I to judge? My favourite hobby is dressing up as Robin and going to comiccon.

Essentially, while I'm not and never will be a fan (Watched an episode, didn't get it) I don't have a problem with those who do, and I don't think anyone else should, and the fans have nothing to be ashamed of. Except the guys who post ponies everywhere and live to annoy. With Ponies.

 

[toadking07]

I think a lot of people probably didn't read the OP, as the comments, "It's just a Cartoon show, why would I be ashamed?" doesn't really answer the questions posed.

On the other hand some people really do not care at all what other think (more power to them though I think not as many people belong to that group as they say) Maybe they aren't ashamed to the point that they only watch MLP in a locked room late at night, but I'm not so sure everyone would walk down the street shouting "I LOVE MY LITTLE PONY!" without some hesitation or embarrassment.


Anyways, I'm just going to say that I've openly told my GF I watch the show and even watched it in front of my roommates. I knew I would get some raised eyebrows and snarky comments but I persisted and kept watching. I did not "Not give a fuck" but I was not so ashamed as to hide my liking of the show. I don't know, maybe I'm not really a brony, or as big a fan as others, but I do enjoy the show a lot and have watched all of it on my own free time/will.

 

[THE_JOKE_KING33]

No.

The same way I'm not ashamed of gaming or liking bacon in the presence of vegetarians. I do what I want because I enjoy it.

^This.

Would you walk down the street in a Pinkie Pie t-shirt

I do that everyday, heck ALL of my t-shirts have a character from MLP on it(ironically now that you mention it, most of them have Pinkie Pie on them.)

 

[SonicWaffle]

Kind of, I try to keep it secret as possible from anyone I know in real life, as far as I know it no one beyond the internet knows of it
Then again, I have gotten a bit more lazy about how I hide it, but to answer your question, yeah, a little bit, considering my idiotic ideals

Now there's the response I was looking for!

So why do you hide it? Do you also hide the fact that you like video games, and any of the other traditionally nerdy pursuits you may enjoy? What is it tat makes you hide MLP specifically?

Someone in real life has a pretty biased view to these sorts of things, they see MLP as a little girls show and nothing more, whereas on the internet there's more of a vibe to not judge without first researching (Not a huge amount, but it's how you get common interests in the show, it is personally how I came to it also, out of curiosity for the love of such a show) Also because I care less of what someone on the internet thinks of me.

I dunno, I've seen a lot of hate here on the internet levelled at MLP and the Brony phenomenon. Much more so than offline, though that's probably because the average person on the street has no idea that My Little Pony is still a thing, whereas on the internet it's rather hard to escape.

All, or at least the vast majority, of the Brony-hate seems to come from fellow geeks. That's what puzzles me. As if there's some geeky high ground that they occupy and Bronies don't.

 

[itsthesheppy]

I am a brony and proud

and to all the haters out there

That's awesome! I love it.

 

[SonicWaffle]

It would be about lameness, yeah, but a show about ponies that's actually intended for little girls just instantly goes beyond "that's lame" and straight to "why would you watch that?". And since it's guys watching a show for girls, the next assumption that comes along is that they're gay. It's like a guy who prefers boy band music; it's supposed to appeal to the other gender. Just look at any time any news syndicate anywhere have made an article on the fandom and the revolving subculture: the reactions are gonna be split between not caring, finding it quirky, announcing the end of masculinity and recommending a good psychiatrist.

Personally, I've never associated liking MLP with homosexuality, but then that's because I can't see a link there. Just the other day a world-class boxer came out as gay, and the first thing I though wasn't "I bet he likes ponies!", it was "Sucks to be the first homophobe to have a go at that guy!"

I can see what you're saying, but the more common reaction (that I've seen, at least) was more "this is so uncool" than "what a load of bummers"

But hey, opinions can change. During college I kept a printed poster of Rainbow Dash on my dorm wall, and the first conclusion from a soon-to-be-friend was that I was gay. One month later I was the manliest man in the world and liking ponies was cool.

How did you become the manliest man just from a poster? Did you roll it up and beat marauding wolves to death with it or something?

 

[SonicWaffle]

I'm just curious about something, why is Warhammer 40K tabletop games frowned upon? I've seen it, hell, I even saw it at the Expo, and I thought it looked awesome. The only reason why I haven't touched it is the same reason why I haven't done Malifax, I'm poor. Well, I at least spend too much on video games and Magic to do much else, unless I tried to wing myself off something for a little while.

In fact, that's the premise of the article, the Brony stuff is just a sidebar. Why is Warhammer uncool? It seems cemented in the minds of the general public that playing WH is super lame, but I can't for the life of me figure out how this was assessed. Why is playing with little models any worse than playing with video games or a football?

There were also other types of fights with these people, and in the end, I kicked one of their hands when they decided to make fun of my pants and were tugging on them, and then they said they were going to kick my ass. After two days, the one that I kicked smacked me in my head, sat down, and my friend and I never talked with them ever again. I'd rather not go through a similar situation.

The kids at your school have apparently bent the laws of biology enough to be simultaneously assholes and pussies; when did "kick your ass" become "smack you around the head"? I mean, good for you that it didn't go further, but seriously. I read about how kids are knife-wielding psychos these days, you'd think they would at least have the decency to go for a nutshot...

 

[SonicWaffle]

Bronies! Are you ashamed of yourself?

Briefly.
But about ten minutes after I've had a wank, it passes.

Of all the responses so far, I'd say you're the winner

 

[SonicWaffle]

I'm not ashamed at all. Why would someone be ashamed of enjoying something?

Peer pressure. A lot of people like to say they aren't ashamed or whatever, but when someone actually face-to-face asks them they'll back down so as not to be seen as a loser.

 

[Arcadian Legend]

Ashamed? Hell no, I'm PROUD to be a brony, they're the sweetest, kindest, most creative and inspirational fandom I've ever had the privilege to be a part of, even if there are a few nutters around. I am kinda shy about it though, mostly because I'm in the UK where the show doesn't air and bronydom has no presence at all in common culture. I've not yet brought it up in conversation but would gladly admit to being a brony if anyone asked me.

Sorry if this was a bit long but the OP said it was for science so I thought I'd give a thorough response.

Honestly? Couldn't have put it better myself, though I will add/change a few things. Most of my friends know I am one and turned out to be surprisingly open minded, hell, one of them even became a semi fan of sorts due to some of the great content the fandom has churned out. (I'm looking at you Two Best Sisters Play series) The family knows I am one too, due to my pony filled iPad that gets passed around and used as often as the local bus. So am I ashamed? No, maybe I used to be at first when I started to like the show, but now? Such thoughts have vanished from my mind.

 

[SonicWaffle]

Ashamed? Hell no, I'm PROUD to be a brony, they're the sweetest, kindest, most creative and inspirational fandom I've ever had the privilege to be a part of, even if there are a few nutters around. I am kinda shy about it though, mostly because I'm in the UK where the show doesn't air and bronydom has no presence at all in common culture. I've not yet brought it up in conversation but would gladly admit to being a brony if anyone asked me.

So you're not ashamed, but also not likely to bring it up around people you don't already know to be a part of the fandom? I dunno, that sounds like shame to me - if I love an action movie I can feel secure telling all and sundry, but if I like a chick flick it's better not to mention it for fear of how people will react.

Sorry if this was a bit long but the OP said it was for science so I thought I'd give a thorough response.

For this website, that was a very short response

Oh, and while I do enjoy being thought of as doing things FOR SCIENCE!, I'm not sure that me being lazy about writing my articles qualifies...

 

[Notere]

No. I don't care. Is it a rule violation to post a short post that's simply to the point?

Don't care. All fucks given follow this sentence.

 

[Innegativeion]

I've been judge my entire grade school career for being so into gaming, fantasy, sci fi, other general 'nerdy' stuff, and the like...

Eventually (around the end of middle school), I threw my hands up in the air, said "fuck it!" and decided no one's opinion of the media I consume will ever affect me ever again.

It didn't.

In fact, that's the premise of the article, the Brony stuff is just a sidebar. Why is Warhammer uncool? It seems cemented in the minds of the general public that playing WH is super lame, but I can't for the life of me figure out how this was assessed. Why is playing with little models any worse than playing with video games or a football?

In my experience, generally anything held to be "lame" by the "cool kids" is utterly arbitrary.

 

[Bloodtrozorx]

That's exactly the point. Geekiness is becoming mainstream - why are we singling out certain hobbies and claiming they are somehow worse than others?

My tribe versus your tribe. I'll do my damnest to convince myself that my tribe is better than your tribe.

People don't hate on bronies (bacon lovers, gays, hippies) in order to make them feel bad, but in order to feel good about themselves. It's a self-validation thing.

A wise man (I forgot who, maybe he wasn't that wise, or he was) once said "A man's worth is determined by the enemies he made."[/i]

"You can calculate the worth of a man by the number of his enemies, and the importance of a work of art by the harm that is spoken of it." -Gustave Flaubert, Letter to Madame Louise Colet (June 14, 1853)

I would think that in light of this discussion the quote could be applied to both the Brony and his chosen art, MLP. If we judged MLP and therefore it's fans by this merit then they should be considered very important indeed.

At any rate, I am not a brony so I cannot speak for being ashamed of that particular show, I am however a gamer and yes I get looked down on in the "real world" but that doesn't interfere with my passion. I certainly would hope that Bronies do not allow any judgmental twats to interfere with theirs.

 

[Eddie the head]

Bronies! Are you ashamed of yourself?

Briefly.
But about ten minutes after I've had a wank, it passes.

It's ok, with that I am ashamed enough for you.

 

[AetherWolf]

I'm ashamed of the fandom, I'll admit that. Though I'm not really as into MLP or it's fandom as much as I used to be I'm not ashamed of enjoying the show.

 

[Mr.Squishy]

Not really. Partly because I like to think I'm capable of enjoying the show without shoving it down everyone's throats, and that being the case, I don't see any reason I should be ashamed about liking a good show. Also, people don't ask the same thing about...*groans* adventure fucking time. I suspect that's 'cause that whole show just reeks of detached hipster irony and 'lolrandumb' that makes me want to curbstomp finn, not helped by his insanely grating voice and...sorry about that, got derailed for a moment.
TL;DR: No.

 

[MortisLegio]

No, Why should I be ashamed in my liking of ponies or 40k? I like what I like and I am not ashamed in my self for those things. People can have their opinions on what they like and if we differ that's ok. If they feel they should make fun of me or what I like they're the ones with the problem.

Spoiler: It's what the God-Empress commands

 

[Byte2222]

Ashamed? Hell no, I'm PROUD to be a brony, they're the sweetest, kindest, most creative and inspirational fandom I've ever had the privilege to be a part of, even if there are a few nutters around. I am kinda shy about it though, mostly because I'm in the UK where the show doesn't air and bronydom has no presence at all in common culture. I've not yet brought it up in conversation but would gladly admit to being a brony if anyone asked me.

So you're not ashamed, but also not likely to bring it up around people you don't already know to be a part of the fandom? I dunno, that sounds like shame to me - if I love an action movie I can feel secure telling all and sundry, but if I like a chick flick it's better not to mention it for fear of how people will react.

According to Wiktionary, shame is a feeling of regretting something, as if you've done something wrong; I do not regret being a brony and do not feel like I've done anything wrong or dishonourable. Wiktionary also lists proud and ashamed as antonyms. I hesitate to raise the subject because, as nice as the people I know are, I'm nervous that they'll get the wrong impression since they probably know nothing about the show, brony fandom or it's works. I'm afraid of being judged based on faulty information. And you know what, they probably would understand but, having been lonely at times, I care enough about what my friends think about me to get paranoid easily.

 

[C F]

Well, let me put it like this. I don't walk down the street in my Pinkie Pie shirt, but that's only because I don't have one.

I don't talk about MLP with friends and family (barring one cousin) because they're not into it. Usually don't talk about it much at all, to be honest, but I'm not ashamed. Listen to pony music (fan and official) in the car and on my PC all the time.
I used to get harrased by one of my friends about it, but then I mocked WWE (seriously, wrestling is more "gay" than MLP is) and now he shuts up. Other friends and family couldn't care less.
I don't usually go out of my way to tell people I like MLP, but it may crop up in a conversation when they see my phone wallpaper or whenever. It's not something I dwell on or put into people's faces.

I'm just going to take this, because barring the "mocking WWE" part (I know nothing about it, which is a margin less than what you need to form any witty jabs at it), it's a pretty good representation of my stance.
Well, you can also change "one cousin" to "two sisters", but the rest of my family and friends either aren't big on it, or have no clue about the show and its fandom at all.

I wish I had a shirt.
...I have a cheap button [http://garra1010.deviantart.com/art/Brony-Pin-286031037] that I got at the mall that I wear in public sometimes. Does that count?