Why is liking ponies considered "weird"

[GHO5T_Official]

I had a post and a blog update earlier and it made me think. "how is liking a show that promotes peace, tranquility, gender equality, and learning considered a bad thing?"

What gives a lot of people the right to judge who watches what?

When you watch the show, the ponies aren't at war, they aren't ruining they're world to provide more space for industrial growth. How is liking that bad?

sorry, just being phyisophical.

[the4thImpulse]

Because we grow up in a scociety that forces you to fit in and not be unique, think of how much easier it is to get a desk job at some random high rise building in a big city compared to being a one of a kind artist. Starting at school we are taught to blend in with everyone else like an army of ants and not stand out and think truely for ourself. I'm not saying this is entirely bad or anything but this is the mind set that decided men must like manly things and do away with cute things to focus on being the alpha male of the house.

One of the reasons I watch the show is to sort of 'escape' from the real world, its fantasic the show is just cute ponies living in an almost utopian setting but its to bad this is looked down upon in the real world today. If everyone watched this show and even attemted to pratice some of its lessons the world could be a much better place (sadly that won't happen).

[Likonan]

Many true words of wisdom

Agreed to a fault.
Actually, we're not that different from them. Even in "Stepping Your Hoof Down" we see that their attitudes (both good and bad) are identical to ours. It is also my absolute certainty that I would be able to encounter any one who could essentially be the real life version of any pony in the series.

So I have hope. And I could care less about those who ridicule bronies and MLP. What do they care?

[2Noponies]

Thinking philosophical as well, i have thought of this and come up with some interesting points (in my mind).

1: What people automatically think when we say "PONIES": When people think MLP, they think G1-3 which is basically (in my opinion) a failed marketing scheme for little girls to buy colored ponies. Now G4 has character development, intriguing stories, and good original music which we all know and love

2: The fact its a kids show: Yes it is a kids show. We all know. I have grown up on cartoons and have loved them all my life. Just because it involves characters that you would not expect in a good cartoon, aka ponies, does not automatically make it a bad show. Pixar is an amazing example of great cartoons and i hold MLP:FiM with just as high regard.

3: Community: With a whole bunch of grown males (and females) enjoying a little kids show, as well as making events out of it, can seem like a little much. I cannot tell you how funny my parents looked when i told them there was a Bronycon in New York. Or the time when i told them that i was helping to create the biggest brony meetup in Houston. Even though i have showed them the show, they do not see to get it like we do. It just makes you want to.... do something. The only response i can get on people who do not get it is "you could be into worse things" which implies that MLP is on the bad list. The part I do not understand is this: How can MLP be such a bad thing when it makes you want to be a part of something? A community that sees the world the same as yourself (and if not, we love/tolerate the sh*t out of you anyways). I guess what i am saying is that this is a place where people belong. No matter what anyone has been through. That my friend is what people do not understand.

[the4thImpulse]

Many true words of wisdom

Agreed to a fault.
Actually, we're not that different from them. Even in "Stepping Your Hoof Down" we see that their attitudes (both good and bad) are identical to ours. It is also my absolute certainty that I would be able to encounter any one who could essentially be the real life version of any pony in the series.

So I have hope. And I could care less about those who ridicule bronies and MLP. What do they care?

I said almost because the way I see it, yes, they have problems of their own and its certinly not perfect but they make it seem much better then our own world as they dont have to worry about terroisism, world wars, true evil (I am religious), epidemics, ect.. they deal with more personal problems with individual characters which I imagine you would still find in a real world utopian scociety. Thats kind of my reasoning for it.

[Navron]

I'm usually the one making long replies, but the answer to the question is relatively simple.

Liking ponies is considered weird because stereotypes are weird. Stereotypes are weird because enormous amounts of people devote their lives to them.

If enormous amounts of people weren't idiots for falling into this so called, "manly man," alpha male persona, then they'd be more likely to watch a show for its quality, they wouldn't feel the need to berate others for what they do, and the world would be free of a good chunk of morons.

There is absolutely nothing weird about liking FiM. It's a high-quality show, and I watch high-quality shows because they're awesome.

Sometimes I wish people stopped treating bronies like a crazy phenomenon, because it isn't. People just enjoy quality shows. And no, we shouldn't consider ourselves special, or that we have a weird quirk. We just like a goddamn good show (I should say that again):

"WE JUST LIKE A GODDAMN GOOD SHOW." Simple, straight, and to the point.

If anything, we're more normal than society's masses. How is not liking something because some unknown source told you it was girly normal? If anything, the haters are the weird ones.

[colortwelve]

Because we grow up in a scociety that forces you to fit in and not be unique, think of how much easier it is to get a desk job at some random high rise building in a big city compared to being a one of a kind artist. Starting at school we are taught to blend in with everyone else like an army of ants and not stand out and think truely for ourself. I'm not saying this is entirely bad or anything but this is the mind set that decided men must like manly things and do away with cute things to focus on being the alpha male of the house.

I would try to refute this, but sometimes I forget that the whole world is not quite so open as California is (not bragging, sometimes it gets a little weird ). Around here, I don't think it's even considered weird, it's more a matter of 'what's so cool about it?' or something to that effect.

As for the rest of the world, I might agree with you simply on the point of necessity. There are few areas that are so naturally diverse that one can truly say that anything goes - thus, most communities that remain fairly homogeneous distrust any new idea to some extent. As sad as it is, it's simply human instinct. Here, doing so would turn you into a sociopath, since you encounter in a single day more ideas and customs that may be new to you (or would have been had you not been/lived here) than one may in a lifetime spent in the Midwest.

So really, all 'weird' means in reference to an idea is 'new,' the new idea here being a form of entertainment that is so high-quality that its viewer base defies the stereotype. But the more open one is to new ideas, the less one will consider weird. As a country, I think the U.S. is on the fence, as most media shoutouts to the FiM fandom are either ambivalent or poke fun in a way that implies noninflammatory intentions. Oddly enough, it might come down to politics - one can only imagine that a brony would be more welcome in California than, say, small-town Texas (just an example, calm down ).

In a word, there is a reason that Faux News is the only one to genuinely dislike us.

[GHO5T_Official]

Because we grow up in a scociety that forces you to fit in and not be unique, think of how much easier it is to get a desk job at some random high rise building in a big city compared to being a one of a kind artist. Starting at school we are taught to blend in with everyone else like an army of ants and not stand out and think truely for ourself. I'm not saying this is entirely bad or anything but this is the mind set that decided men must like manly things and do away with cute things to focus on being the alpha male of the house.

I would try to refute this, but sometimes I forget that the whole world is not quite so open as California is (not bragging, sometimes it gets a little weird ). Around here, I don't think it's even considered weird, it's more a matter of 'what's so cool about it?' or something to that effect.

As for the rest of the world, I might agree with you simply on the point of necessity. There are few areas that are so naturally diverse that one can truly say that anything goes - thus, most communities that remain fairly homogeneous distrust any new idea to some extent. As sad as it is, it's simply human instinct. Here, doing so would turn you into a sociopath, since you encounter in a single day more ideas and customs that may be new to you (or would have been had you not been/lived here) than one may in a lifetime spent in the Midwest.

So really, all 'weird' means in reference to an idea is 'new,' the new idea here being a form of entertainment that is so high-quality that its viewer base defies the stereotype. But the more open one is to new ideas, the less one will consider weird. As a country, I think the U.S. is on the fence, as most media shoutouts to the FiM fandom are either ambivalent or poke fun in a way that implies noninflammatory intentions. Oddly enough, it might come down to politics - one can only imagine that a brony would be more welcome in California than, say, small-town Texas (just an example, calm down ).

In a word, there is a reason that Faux News is the only one to genuinely dislike us.

Yeah I actually grew up in Cali too, haha, I just find it odd that people think they have anything close to the right to think they have a say over whats good and what people can watch, act like, ect.

And as much as a little kid show that it is I couldnt help but notice a lot of the lessons learned on the show seem almost for an adult audience to begin with, like the episode where twilight talks to her future self(not good with titles, my bad) and the lesson was to not worry about the future and calm down and just let life happen, I.E. calm your ahit and just live. And the thing that kept popping up in my mind was, "this is a show leaned more towards a younger audience, but that sounds like a lesson a 29+ buisness man who cares to much about his job than seeing his family should follow, I don't know many young kids how should have to worry about how the futures gonna turn out, that's why they're young"

Just more thoughts haha

[Kibbie]

I say let people complain about my little pony. If they find jersey shore more amusing than our favorite show, well thats their loss

[Icky]

It's a show marketed towards girls age 4-8, ofcourse people will think it's weird.

[LunchBagMusic]

It's a show marketed towards girls age 4-8, ofcourse people will think it's weird.

Despite all your stereotyping talk, THIS RIGHT HERE.

[Legion]

It's a show marketed towards girls age 4-8, ofcourse people will think it's weird.

Despite all your stereotyping talk, THIS RIGHT HERE.

Yeah, this is one of those 'sad but true' situations. As much as I'd like everybody to be accepting, bronies break pretty much every gender, age, and culture norm. And considering those norms are pillars of modern society, it's fairly unsurprising that we're considered so weird.

[colortwelve]

Seriously, this thread makes me feel like I live on another planet

[Ed Viper]

Seriously, this thread makes me feel like I live on another planet

I know what you mean All of my friends are totally cool with me being a brony, even if they don't watch or like the show themselves. I haven't met anybody in person who dislikes/hates bronies. In fact, I see people with MLP shirts at school all the time, and they're always up for a brohoof

[LFP]

Seriously, this thread makes me feel like I live on another planet

I know what you mean All of my friends are totally cool with me being a brony, even if they don't watch or like the show themselves. I haven't met anybody in person who dislikes/hates bronies. In fact, I see people with MLP shirts at school all the time, and they're always up for a brohoof

Is it okay if we change shirts so I can be you and go to your school for a day?

[ChromaticChaosPony]

Everyone in my school, with some exceptions, hates ponies. They typically think that the show is for little girls and call it gay. They are afraid to call me gay because they also judge me as a serial killer for liking death metal and not vomitting after reading Cupcakes (I liked the story, who gives a fu- BUY SOME APPLES!).

Given both cases, I compare them to a bunch of mentally retarded cattle (no offense to people who like cows). I have very limitted common ground with them because of how ignorant they are. They can't even form a solid arguement of why they hate ponies so much. I also can't have an intelligent conversation with them because all they ever seem to do is complain and curse.

Hold on a moment, I should have put this in the venting thread. Shi- BUY SOME APPLES!

[LunchBagMusic]

Everyone in my school, with some exceptions, hates ponies. They typically think that the show is for little girls and call it gay. They are afraid to call me gay because they also judge me as a serial killer for liking death metal and not vomitting after reading Cupcakes (I liked the story, who gives a fu- BUY SOME APPLES!).

Everyone in my school, with some exceptions, hates ponies.

Everyone in my school, with some exceptions. They typically think that the show is for little girls and call it gay.

some exceptions

Meet your friends. Be nice to them and feed them cake.

Just act like you don't care. When they call you gay, just respond with

"So?"

It doesn't matter if they think you're a raging homosexual. You should know your sexuality, and that's all that matters

[ChromaticChaosPony]

Meet your friends. Be nice to them and feed them cake.

Just act like you don't care. When they call you gay, just respond with

"So?"

It doesn't matter if they think you're a raging homosexual. You should know your sexuality, and that's all that matters

Ok. Thanks for the advice.

Feed them cake, lol.

[Ed Viper]

Seriously, this thread makes me feel like I live on another planet

I know what you mean All of my friends are totally cool with me being a brony, even if they don't watch or like the show themselves. I haven't met anybody in person who dislikes/hates bronies. In fact, I see people with MLP shirts at school all the time, and they're always up for a brohoof

Is it okay if we change shirts so I can be you and go to your school for a day?

Haha if you go Tuesday or Thursday I'd be fine with it, I don't have class those days :3.

Also, today I was at a family dinner, and my uncle happened to see some comments I made on pony fan pages on Facebook. He asked me at dinner today, "So, what's up with all the pony cartoons, man?" My heart stopped for a second - "It's like, an inside joke with some of my college friends."

Yeah, I haven't told any of my family yet :/ Don't know that they'd be accepting like my friends.

[vladnuke]

Idk, emp, twelve, and I are all LA bronies, so we all live in a pretty brony positive area. The only time I've seen people get mad at bronies is on the internet, and they are all typing dogs, so what do I care? Some people don't like it because they don't know what it is. It's unfamilar, therefore frightening. But LA is full of the unfamiliar, so people give it a try and see that it's a good show.





Oh God, I just realized I am the reason others hate people from LA. (the whole "better than thou" attitude). I should probably stop now. Forget I said anything, lol.

[colortwelve]

Forget I said anything, lol.

It's already been said - we live on a different planet than the other bronies.

[AlicornBob]

Most people are against us because of the stereotypes that have been in place for the last several centuries. They see us as weird because we watch a show that they consider is "for little girls", due to their lack of knowledge about the in-depth fandom of our community.

For the people who aren't all about stereotyping, it's about the fact that a lot of the bronies they come across are over-the-top bronies who don't seem to do anything if it's not related to the show.

If we could get some good publicity out to the general public, we could get better acceptance from them.

[AlicornBob]

Oh God, I just realized I am the reason others hate people from LA.

I don't care for people from LA. (And by that I mean I don't care to like or dislike them because I don't stereotype and haven't met anyone from there.)

I keep speaking about stereotypes even though I live in an area where there are none.

Well, there are a few conformist, but that's not my problem.

[AlicornBob]

They are afraid to call me gay because they also judge me as a serial killer for liking death metal and not vomitting after reading Cupcakes.

Yeah, everyone used to think I was going to be the kid to bring a bomb to school. I've pretty much become everyone's friend (with a few exceptions), and most of them are okay with me.

There are a few that are against bronies, but they still talk to me and hang around with me.

But yeah, I'm a heavy listener to metal.
I also introduced dubstep to my school. My friend Ethen jizzed in his pants when we played it in his truck with everything cranked.

[AlicornBob]

When they call you gay...

So... What if they don't call me gay?

Most of them are accepting. Others are just confused by it.

And for a few, the fact that I'm so into this show makes them even more scared of me than they were before.

Honestly, some people don't want me to know where they live.

It hurts my feelings.

(Also: Why can't I love?)
Seriously. I want to ask this girl out so badly, but I'm just not sure if what I feel is strong enough to be acted upon in good conscience.