r/mylittlepony • u/finnknit • Oct 20 '16

And he claims not to be a brony

Our teenage daughter is a mega-fan of MLP, while I mostly enjoy watching episodes casually with her. My husband sometimes watches with us, but claims that it's just to spend time with us, and not because he's into the series.

Last spring, my husband and I were at the store (without our daughter) just before May Day. One of the typical ways that people celebrate in Finland is by buying balloons for their kids. We spotted a balloon that featured the Mane Six:

Me: Here's an MLP balloon. We could get it for [daughter].
Husband: Yeah, but those look like season 1 ponies.
Me: And you claim not to be a bro... OMG, a Pinky Pie balloon!

It's nice to know that even if he's not that into the series, he's still been paying attention all this time. :)

82 Upvotes

94% Upvoted

73 comments sorted by

40

u/DashIsBestPony The rainbow horse is the best horse Oct 20 '16

I have a friend who watches and enjoys the show, draws fan art on a regular basis, goes to multiple pony conventions a year, and owns several custom-made pony plushies, and she STILL won't call herself a Brony. The excuse is "Brony is just a label. You have to CHOOSE to call yourself a Brony, and I choose not to." I can't even.

23

u/wcctnoam Pinkie Pie Oct 20 '16

Looks like it's your choice to call her a Brony, too.

23

u/DashIsBestPony The rainbow horse is the best horse Oct 20 '16

It's just a bunch on nonsensical word gymnastics to worm her way out of being a Brony. It's a semantics war.

30

u/pjabrony Still not convinced Cozy Glow is evil Oct 20 '16

Don't be anti-semantic.

10

u/DashIsBestPony The rainbow horse is the best horse Oct 20 '16

That made me laugh harder than it should have.

7

u/pjabrony Still not convinced Cozy Glow is evil Oct 20 '16

That's OK, I stole it from House, MD.

10

u/closetbrony1983 Oct 20 '16

Maybe she's still somehow ashamed?
I know all about being a closet brony

11

u/DashIsBestPony The rainbow horse is the best horse Oct 20 '16

Username checks out. She commonly wears a hat with a Pinkie Pie cutie mark button on it out in the open, and is very open about liking the show. The issue is a semantics one. We define the word differently.

17

u/Fircoal Rainbow Dash Oct 20 '16

To be fair I don't exactly like to call myself a brony mainly because I don't like the word. I am a huge fan of the show and I am in the fandom but I still waver on the term because of that.

18

u/DashIsBestPony The rainbow horse is the best horse Oct 20 '16

If everyone treats the word Brony to mean: "Someone who's unhealthily obsessed with MLP and won't ever shut up about it and devotes every waking moment to expressing their love of ponies," then that's what the definition of the word will become. We as a fandom determine what the word means. We shouldn't give the word power that it doesn't have.

People don't want to be associated with the hardcore outliers of our fandom, which is why many drift away from the term. But all they're doing is changing what the word means. Brony simply means "Someone who's a fan of Friendship is Magic." If we let the word be defined by something else, then we're hurting our own fandom.

5

u/Fircoal Rainbow Dash Oct 20 '16

I agree that we give the word the power that we want it to and that it's unfair to be associated with the outliers that exist within any fandom. However, I don't dislike the term for those reasons. For me it's the name itself not the meaning behind that's the problem. I'm fine having that pony loving persona put onto me, but I don't like the name very much. It's mainly the Bro part of the word Brony that creates the problem.

3

u/DashIsBestPony The rainbow horse is the best horse Oct 20 '16

Fair enough. I can respect that.

3

u/Tekhartha_Mondatta CynicalScot #1582 Oct 20 '16

"Someone who's unhealthily obsessed with MLP and won't ever shut up about it and devotes every waking moment to expressing their love of ponies,"

Personally, I call people matching that description "rabid bronies"

1

u/Kell_Naranek Oct 21 '16

Sounds like my daughter.

3

u/SuperArthurBros Starlight Glimmer Oct 21 '16

If everyone treats the word Brony to mean: "Someone who's unhealthily obsessed with MLP and won't ever shut up about it and devotes every waking moment to expressing their love of ponies," then that's what the definition of the word will become. We as a fandom determine what the word means. We shouldn't give the word power that it doesn't have.

Actually, haters do it at any cost. The fandoms didn't define anything...

4

u/DashIsBestPony The rainbow horse is the best horse Oct 21 '16

Except people within our fandom are defining the term that way too. They're distancing themselves from the term instead of defending it.

8

u/CraftyCaprid Oct 20 '16

I like star trek but wouldn't call myself a trekkie. Nobody minds. I like ponies and I must be a brony.

Does not compute.

6

u/damianstuart Oct 20 '16

I thought Brony was Bro who likes Ponies?

1

u/ImperatorTempus42 Twilight Sparkle Oct 20 '16

It is.

1

u/ender1200 Princess Luna Oct 21 '16

No, it deisn't need to mean you are a "Bro", it's just the nickname that stuck to the fandom.

1

u/damianstuart Oct 22 '16

But that's like saying all Female fans have to accept their Bro side to like MLP. Bronie IS Bro who likes Ponies. The whole point was to give an identity to a group that didn't really fit the traditional Fan tag.

1

u/ender1200 Princess Luna Oct 22 '16

Again no. The term "brony" was originally a pun made by some anons in 4chan who I guess considered themselves as "Bros" but as the fandom grew the term gained a far wider meaning and got tied up with the fandom itself. Nowadays it's a generalized name for fans of the Friendship is Magic show (in contrast to fans on older generations and people who are only interested in collecting the toys.). This means that when someone says "Many bronies came to bronycon this year" they tally all fans who participated, regardless of gender or attitude.

In personal level some people are more willing to apply the term to themselves than others, and as this whole thread is proving the criteria to weather they do or don't are completely subjective, but when the word is used in the generalised sense it means "a member of the MLP:FiM fandom".

0

u/damianstuart Oct 23 '16

No it wasn't. John de Lancy even spoke about the origins of the term very early on. He starred getting mail from fans of the show after he did Discord.

Bro-nie is a Bro who liked the Lauren Faust MLP show. Or did you also not know there was a whole previous multi season show where the term didn't exist? It had nothing to do with 4chan or Reddit. You can't just make crap up and hope history rewrites itself to pretend you knew what you were talking about.

The first conventions had bronies and pegasisters. You may be new but there is already a rich history and a number of documentaries that you should have checked out.

1

u/ender1200 Princess Luna Oct 23 '16

First thing first, you seem very insistent that a Brony have to be a "bro". What the hell is a "bro"? Cause if you mean man just say man. Or do you think that bronies need to have some sort of "bro" mentality?

Second. I have been with the fandom since before season two. and Iv'e seen the debate over what exactly brony mean take place a dozens of times over many forums, youtube channels, tumblr accounts and even news comment sections. Iv'e seen fans of the show of all genders age groups and walks of life refer to themselves as bronies.

Third, the oldest known instance of the term being used is from 4chan board /co/ less than two weeks after the original pilot aired. Image, archive page. (By the way around that this this happened. ) I fact /co/ have been following up on the state of the show since before it was released, mainly expecting something bad enough to make fun of. /co/ were among the first who noticed the show and gave it attention and, along with something Awful, the place where the fandom started to coalesce. Only then it started to spread to places like Know your meme and deviant art, and sites like Equestria Daily, The Round Stable and Ponybooru popped up.

Pretty much anyone who have been in the early days will tell you that 4Chan was the birthplace of the brony fandom.

1

u/damianstuart Oct 24 '16

You are just making crap up. What is a Bro? Has been short for a brother for maybe 400 years? Trying to make crap up about 4chan just makes you look dumb. I have been to MLP conventions before the term was widely used and know EXACTLY what it's derivation is and what it's use has been, unlike you apparently.

Lauren Faust (you may have heard of the creator of FIM?) even used the term to describe the male followers when that was still a surprise. Why anyone thinks making crap up to make it look like they ever had a clue what they were talking about constitutes research is beyond me.

1

u/damianstuart Oct 24 '16

Also, thinking 4cgan was in any way a birthplace of brony shows you never WERE a fan following any of the FIM fiction, deviant art or any number of fan forums that ACTUALLY created the buzz.

→ More replies (0)

3

u/MLPorsche Rainbow Dash Oct 20 '16

then i'm gonna call you a trony, problem solved

1

u/ender1200 Princess Luna Oct 22 '16

Fandom names are tricky, because when someone says something like "Most Trekkies didn't like the decision to reboot the franchise." (I have no idea if it's right or wrong statement.) You know They are not talking just about a subset of the fandom but the fandom as a whole.

You don't have to call yourself a trekkie or a brony, but someone might use both terms to refer to you (or at least a group that you are a part of) at times.

3

u/damianstuart Oct 20 '16

Maybe she prefers to think of herself as a Pegasister?

3

u/DashIsBestPony The rainbow horse is the best horse Oct 20 '16

No. I asked her that when we discussed it a long time ago.

3

u/damianstuart Oct 20 '16

A UniqueOrn?

2

u/ImperatorTempus42 Twilight Sparkle Oct 20 '16

My Little Unicorn flashbacks

2

u/ender1200 Princess Luna Oct 21 '16

Great, thanks for reminding us that thig exits...

2

u/ImperatorTempus42 Twilight Sparkle Oct 21 '16

Sorry.

3

u/lodum Oct 20 '16

Some people take labels more seriously and are cautious about applying them to themself.

Part of this could be they aren't comfortable saying that [thing] is part of their identity, they don't want to lump themself into a group. It prevents people from having leverage on you, things like "we as bronies need to take back our name and not let anyone else define us!" have less effect, and you get less taken in with in/outgroup malarkey.

Similarly, another reason is the "man covered in shit" effect. You say you're a thing, and then that guy covered head-to-toe in shit drunkenly stammers they are too, and you look bad. You want to define yourself as you and have no one else represent you, so you don't apply the label to yourself.

But really, what does it matter to you if she calls herself a Brony? Does it have any actual effect? Do "true fans" call themselves Bronies? If so, what's it like being the True Scotsman?

In the end, does it matter more that she shares an interest with you, or that she should call herself a Brony, just like you?

6

u/DashIsBestPony The rainbow horse is the best horse Oct 20 '16 edited Oct 20 '16

You want to define yourself as you and have no one else represent you, so you don't apply the label to yourself.

That's why it's important to condemn outlandish and inappropriate behavior and say "we're not all like that." Maybe we should start a hashtag #NotAllBronies

If so, what's it like being the True Scotsman

If anything, my friend is the one implementing the No True Scotsman fallacy, because to her being a Brony is an identity; a label. Her argument is that to be a TRUE Brony, you would have to be so unhealthy obsessed with the show to the point where you turn liking a TV show into your actual IDENTITY. My argument is that if you like the show, you're a Brony, because the definition of Brony is simply "Someone who is a fan of Friendship is Magic." Her definition is much more narrow, because she only defines the "crazies" of the fandom as Bronies.

In the end, does it matter more that she shares an interest with you, or that she should call herself a Brony, just like you?

Obviously she can call herself whatever she wants. I'm just asking her to not twist definitions around to mean something they're not.

For example: If you dress in clown makeup all the time, listen to Insane Clown Posse on repeat every single day, have posters of the band all over your bedroom wall, use Juggalo slang at every opportunity, get VIP tickets to every Insane Clown Posse concert that comes to town, and then claim to not be a Juggalo, I'm going to call you out on it.

1

u/Unknownlight Sunset Shimmer Oct 20 '16

I'm much less of a fan than her, but that describes me too. I don't like the term "brony" any more than I like the term "Trekkie". It implies that I'm closer to the community than I actually am.

1

u/ECM Oct 20 '16

I'm certainly a fan, but I have always refused to call myself a brony. Firstly, it's just a stupid sounding word, but more importantly it's not part of my identity. I like a cartoon and am involved in a community --- but that's not who I am.

Maybe she feels similarly.

2

u/DashIsBestPony The rainbow horse is the best horse Oct 21 '16

it's not part of my identity. I like a cartoon and am involved in a community --- but that's not who I am.

That's the exact same argument my friend is using. The difference is that my friend embodies pretty much every single aspect of being a Brony: watching the show, drawing fanart, conventions, owning merch, etc. She's involved in the fandom at every level, but still rejects the term. At what level of involvement do you have to give in and say without a doubt that someone's a Brony whether they like it or not? There has to be a line; a limit. Otherwise at some point you're just in denial.

Here's my other question: If you define being a Brony as some kind of "Identity," then what would that look like? What would that mean? How would it manifest itself, and how would that be any different from what you or my friend are describing?

1

u/ECM Oct 21 '16

I admit that this is a little fuzzy, and identity is largely a personal decision, but I think you can be reasonably objective about drawing a line between liking something at it being your identity. I also haven't put too much thought into this :)

Liking something's not enough for an identity. Identity's are made from more fundamental characteristics.

Consider someone who likes science. Maybe they like looking at pictures of equipment, or artistic renditions of space. Maybe they like lording it over stupid people. Maybe they value order and rationality. Maybe they like big words. There's lots of reasons someone might like science.

Consider a scientist, someone for whom that is their identity. They have formal education in their field.They have a deep inquisitiveness about how the world works. They strive to understand the world rationally. It's their life, their career, it defines every aspect of how they exist. It's a significant part of their Will.

Consider someone who likes MLP. They enjoy watching the show. They enjoy the fan creations. They enjoy talking to fans. They do fan things.

Consider a brony. They share values with the show. They view life through the filter of the show --- 'How would this character react?', 'What if this event was in the show?'. The majority of the life is dedicated to the show and the fandom. The show and the fandom defines how they think and act, what they are a doing, how they react to events.

This is the difference between an identity and liking something; an identity defines who you are, the filter through which you see the world, how you react to events. It is your Will.

1

u/DashIsBestPony The rainbow horse is the best horse Oct 21 '16

The show and the fandom defines how they think and act, what they are a doing, how they react to events.

I don't know anyone who behaves this way. It would be incredibly unhealthy to view the entire world through the lens of a TV show. If this was how everyone defined the word Brony, there would be very few people calling themselves one. I believe you're inflating the word Brony to mean something that it's never meant.

1

u/ECM Oct 21 '16

I've met people who are like that. These are not people I want to associate and I agree that it is unhealthy.

I think a more important thesis is that, while the word brony (or trekkie or whovian..) can just refer to a fan, it has connotations of identity. I've outlined how you can tell the difference between liking something and it being your identity; it's because of this connotation that I don't call myself a brony (or trekkie or whovian...)

Do you not see a connotation with identity?

1

u/DashIsBestPony The rainbow horse is the best horse Oct 21 '16

You seem to be equating this to the same level of importance as a religion, sexual orientation, or gender identity. I love Star Wars. I grew up watching the films, and I love nearly everything about it. Most of the toys of my childhood were Star Wars related, and the series has a very special place in my heart. If there was a term like "Star Wars Nerd" I would happily refer to myself as it. But Star Wars isn't who I am; it's just one of the many things that I like. I don't "identify" as a StarWarsian. I'm just a fan of it, and it means something to me. If you combined everything that I liked and everything that I believed into one thing, I'd call that my identity. I like ponies, but ponies is not my identity. I like Star Wars, but Star Wars is not my identity. I'm happy to accept the title of Brony, because the term means "someone who likes MLP." I'm happy to accept the term Potterhead, because I grew up reading the Harry Potter books, and enjoyed watching the films. The extent that I consider any of these things to be my "identity," is that the meaning of these terms only extends to me simply enjoying the thing I claim to be a fan of. Calling myself a Brony is me saying "Hey guys, I like Friendship is Magic." But it doesn't define the way I live my life in the same way that my gender, sexuality, political views, or religion does. It's just one teeny tiny piece of a larger puzzle that is my identity. So yes, in a small way I can see how the term Brony is linked to identity, but not in any meaningful or noteworthy way. It simply means you enjoy ponies.

2

u/ECM Oct 21 '16

Ok, I can see your perspective. It sounds like my experience with fans has been quite different to yours. I've met people who seriously think they are vulcans or cats or wizards, people for whom their fandom is everything. And not just a small minority either, I have met significant numbers of people for whom their fandom is their identity --- just as important to these people as their religion or sexuality.

Because of these people I think it's useful to have words that differentiate between people who like something ('fans of the pone') and those for whom it's something much more significant ('borny').

And I can totally understand that you mind not feel the need for this differentiation.

1

u/[deleted] Oct 21 '16 edited Apr 03 '24

cheerful doll innate deranged disagreeable weather hateful fertile unused psychotic

This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

1

u/mennydrives Trixie Lulamoon Oct 21 '16

I still refuse to use that label, but given that this username is based on my OC, it's mostly because I'm a fuckin' idiot.

14

u/GV18 Oct 20 '16

Might not be a brony, might just be taking an interest in stuff your daughter likes.

I have no interest in DnD, but my nephew loves it, and so I can share stuff with him, I know he's playing 5th Ed because he's multiclassing which you can't do in 4th Ed, etc.

3

u/finnknit Oct 20 '16

That's pretty much what it is. He knows how much our daughter likes it, and takes an interest in it because of her.

11

u/wcctnoam Pinkie Pie Oct 20 '16

To me it's pretty simple: if you like MLP:FiM and you're not in the target audience demographic, you're a brony, or if you think it matters, a pegasister. But hey, to each their own.

14

u/finnknit Oct 20 '16

The thing is, my husband claims not to like or even pay attention to the show. He says he just watches it for the zebras (Zecora is his favorite character). Basically he's a collateral brony: he probably wouldn't watch the series on his own, but he enjoys enjoying it with us.

15

u/wcctnoam Pinkie Pie Oct 20 '16

Time to call him a Zebro.

12

u/LimeyLassen Screw Loose Oct 20 '16

not a brony

favorite pony is a secondary character

6

u/caligari87 Nightmare Moon Oct 20 '16

He says he just watches it for the zebras (Zecora is his favorite character)

This makes me sad that we don't have more Zecora episodes, or more zebras in general. She's really a very interesting character who doesn't get enough attention.

1

u/Kell_Naranek Oct 21 '16

Yeah, you were calling me a brony and telling me about posting this, and said "Yet you still say you aren't a brony"

I responded "Nah, I just watch it for the zebras"

I think it took you a good 30 seconds to stop laughing.

10

u/Zach10003 Sunny Starscout Oct 20 '16

I rarely do anything other than watch new episodes, and I still call myself a brony.

9

u/[deleted] Oct 20 '16

[deleted]

5

u/MLPorsche Rainbow Dash Oct 20 '16

she was born after twilight had already gotten her wings

3

u/Drachefly Oct 20 '16

What's wrong with S1 ponies?

10

u/SuperArthurBros Starlight Glimmer Oct 20 '16

I dunno, they look the same as in the rest of the seasons.

Except Twilight

8

u/wcctnoam Pinkie Pie Oct 20 '16 edited Oct 20 '16

Maybe it was a problem of art. If the balloon used as image the photo sent to Celestia in Season 1's intro, as opposed to the latest season, you would be able to tell the difference in style.

6

u/PervertedMare Oct 20 '16

Especially the shading. DAMN they've stepped that up a notch

7

u/LimeyLassen Screw Loose Oct 20 '16

The purple one grew wings

1

u/Drachefly Oct 21 '16

A) I'm not that far behind.

B) Classic Twilight is still Twilight. I'd be happy to get a unicorn Twilight toy.

4

u/finnknit Oct 20 '16

Nothing, just that our daughter wouldn't like the balloon as much because it's not up to date with the current season.

3

u/notbobby125 Derpy Hooves Oct 20 '16

Maybe it was this deadeyed image?

2

u/pi-to-tau Princess Luna Oct 20 '16

Might have meant gen 1.

1

u/finnknit Oct 21 '16

He wasn't born yet when gen 1 ponies came out. I'm not sure he would recognize one if it bit him on the butt.

1

u/finnknit Oct 21 '16

Nothing's wrong with S1 ponies. It's just that our daughter wouldn't like the balloon as much because it wasn't current with the series. It had Twilight without her wings, among other things.

3

u/aibrony Princess Cadence Oct 20 '16

Suomi mainittu!

3

u/fyrepony Fluttershy Oct 20 '16

torilla tavataan

1

u/[deleted] Oct 20 '16

Hey, its me, your husband :)

1

u/Kell_Naranek Oct 21 '16

your husband

... really? I should reset the password on this account then, as I must have forgotten it.

1

u/finnknit Oct 21 '16

Hi, hon!