It does have some enjoyable original songs and reasonably good animation, and I’m very pleased that it’s increasing the variety of female characters in children’s media, but overall I don’t understand the high praise this show gets.

I can totally get why someone might enjoy the show, I enjoy A LOT of shows. But Bronies don’t just seem to enjoy watching the shows, they’re fetishists.

Stand between the television and 90% of the population of the UK when DWTS is on and tell me how long before you get out of the full-body cast.

Yes, it’s a show which was primarily designed to appeal to little girls. In addition to that, it’s a great show with fantastic writing, surprisingly deep characters, great animation and is often hilarious.

No matter what you want to say about weirdness in the fandom, the show is really GOOD.

Also, people should realize a lot of the costumes and things you see are pictures taken at conventions where it’s always been generally all right to play dress up no matter what. You’ll see just as many costumes at a Star Trek or Transformers convention.

1. Don’t be ashamed of liking the things you like.

2. Not everything you like is “for” everyone.

3. The best way to respond to trolling is to show kindness, keep calm, and keep doing what you’re doing.

4. Colors are awesome. All of them.

5. Friendship is magic.

Also: girls can be bronies too. While the term nominally only describes male fans, the vast majority of female fans have adopted it as well.

These fandoms can be seen as a vacation from the negativity and cynicism that infuses modern life.

You can find repainted ponies based on every imaginable theme or popular character, many of the people who make them have no interest at all in the new show.  I’ve always loved Pony Mods myself but haven’t gotten into the show even though one of my partners is a Brony.

That one is particularly adorable, but then again I also love bondage kitsch.

The insistence, despite all evidence to the contrary, that all bronies are perverts is just another way of associating liking female things with being wrong. It reveals a default assumption that the only way a boy could like girl things is if they were broken.

Ponies aren’t my primary fandom right now, but I do like them a lot, and I consider myself a brony. Most of the pony stuff I encounter is happy and cute, not fetishistic. Is there some sexualized stuff? Sure, rule 34 applies to this, as it does to all things. But it is a pretty damn small slice of the fandom.

I’m looking at the front page of a pony tumblr right now, and the pictures are: a beautiful sketch of a winged girl, an awesome rainbow-wigged cosplayer looking super satisfied with herself, and a cute sketch of my favorite character in footie pajamas.

How… psychologically troubling.

But as you pointed out yourself, you understand why the extreme end of the scale attracts a fair few odd glances.

I started out like many people, watching the show out of curiosity. After watching all of it, I shared it with my friends, and they loved it, too. Our games nights quickly became populated with discussions and predictions. I pushed on past most of my friends, and started participating in online forums about MLP, mostly reddit. It wasn’t long before I found myself with some merchandise on my hands post-birthday. I ended up doing a MLP costume for halloween 2011. That’s about as far as I went. I haven’t paid too much on merchandise, and most of the stuff I have has been handmade from friends or myself for fun. I consider myself to be a “moderate” fan, neither casual or a fanatic. I also used to judge the fanatics severely. I’ve talked to them online and in person, and even I couldn’t understand there angle. However, I eventually decided that they’re having fun just like I am. What I’m doing is almost as weird, and I’m doing it and ignoring what most people say because I enjoy it, and their opinions for the most part don’t matter. That’s basically when I decided that, despite how cripplingly awkward it can be to be in their presence sometimes, the fanatics have every right to exist and have fun, and I have no right to judge how they get their jollies. 

So that’s the lesson I learned, that I can’t put the “normal” brony fans over here, and the “crazy” ones over there, and say one is okay and the other isn’t. I think everyone is just having to have a good time, and there’s no reason we should discriminate against that.

I have had a few very long conversations with my friends about things like this, but I don’t want to write a complete paper, plus I just woke up and words aren’t flowing too well right now.

MLP FIM is totally unlike any other girl-oriented program, in that the creator applied the Powerpuff Girls mojo to the show. It’s not about glitter and shopping, it’s about interpersonal relationships and badassery. All teenage boys like to learn about badassery, and they need to (and secretly want to) learn about interpersonal relationships. The fact that they have to do so ironically while watching a show ostensibly aimed at girls is just part of manning up in the 21st century.

So as long as we’re passing judgement on groups of people, what’s up with the brony trolls?  I mean, what drives a person to lash out at strangers like that?  I am starting to wonder if it is not merely the troll projecting his own sexual confusion on those he perceives to be more open or liberated.

I’m afraid I still don’t think they’re the same thing, even if they share some common ground.

There’s still something inherently creepy about Bronies (actual Bronies, not just people that like the show, distinction has now become crucial).

and this is why they’re so freaking creepy — at the end of the day, they’re a bunch of furries lusting after pastel cartoon ponies based off of a little girl’s toyline.  the nsfw “fanart”/porn/plush speaks for itself.

I guess it does depend on how you apply the term though. I’ve seen enough images of men dressed as glitter laden ponies (2, to be precise) to feel a bit squirmy about the whole thing. But that makes it difficult if people identifying as Bronies are people that just like watching the show – as my comments about mental stability end up on the laps of people that just ‘like’ a show on TV. There’s a difference between being a fan, and being a fan.

I don’t quite understand it myself, but then I don’t have the patience to watch TV episodes of anything (except Monk) these days.

I’d like to say that I understand an over attachment to Star Trek (Science! Communism!) more than to My Little Pony – but that’s likely due to my own interests.