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AIBU?

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Original poster

to think those grown up-men who like My Little Pony are "a bit" weird?

125 replies

CloudyApple · 27/09/2014 00:39

I have met a couple of them who were really into My Little Pony TV show. They knew the name of ALL the ponies, all the songs, collected figurines, etc
Oh, and they had no children.

My first question, as a parent who has live with the back noise of those voices would be... why would anyone without kids watch this?

But then, seriously, why? I mean, why?

What do you think they find in it?

OP posts:
MrsTerryPratchett · 27/09/2014 01:33

I met a Bronie in Toys R Us. Very useful young man who explained which of the sets had both a pony and a doll in them. I was a little taken aback but he knew his pony-shit (geddit?).

LadySybilLikesCake · 27/09/2014 01:39

My 15 year old son's a bronie. I hide his pony t-shirt just before his school's non uniform day. He likes the morals of the stories.

SavoyCabbage · 27/09/2014 01:57

That was something that came across in the film LadySybil, the morals and the friendship values of the stories seemed to be a big pull.

LadySybilLikesCake · 27/09/2014 02:17

He's a lovely boy and likes morals, so I get why he likes it. We also seems to meet a lot of grown men who like playing pokemon Confused

kali110 · 27/09/2014 02:32

I love mlp but i love all the retro cult tv shows! I do have a load of figures and old 80-90's cartoons but that's as far as it goes.
Don't think i'm a bronie, i personally hate the new mlps,think theyre horrible.

missingmumxox · 27/09/2014 02:41

Oh I don't know why an adult male might like MLP? Maybe the same way I looooved Dr Who as a child I have a word for it now, geek, I had the great sense to leave my 200 plus books and Tardis toffee tins at home when I started my Nurse training, as Dr Who was considered a male obsession back then.
For such a harmless obsession I can't get why people are so annoyed, that men should like it? Can't they show their caring child like side?
Just as us ladies can show our masculine side?
After all it just a toy?

PenelopeLane · 27/09/2014 03:18

I know someone who even went to a Brony convention Grin He's not weird, just a bit geeky. He says as a show it has a lot of subtext to it.

I'd much rather my DS be into MLP than violent video games

ihaveadirtydog · 27/09/2014 03:32

I know a couple of bronies. One is definitely weird and always has been. The other is pretty normal.

When I was about 16 I used to get up early on a Saturday to watch Barney and teletubbies. Goodness knows why!

neiljames77 · 27/09/2014 03:44

Jesus!! And there was me worrying because I knew all the words to "64 zoo lane "
(it's because my kids watched it all the time......... honest)

wonkyandproudish · 27/09/2014 03:57

I think there are more teenage/adult male fans of mlp these days than there are kids.

I'm female but still have rainbow dash as my desktop wallpaper... And my Firefox header

nooka · 27/09/2014 04:56

I think you are probably right wonky, my 15 yr old ds is a brony and will (if asked / not stopped) provide lots of background info on the series, including all the nods to the fans and the extensive fanwork concept tie ins (like Dr Hooves, a fan creation that has been featured in the series). The writers are certainly very conscious that they have a large adult following.

Personally I don't really see the appeal of the show, but dh and I have loved other children's shows (Mr Ben or Noggin the Nog for example :)). The original spread to an adult audience came largely from army fathers sharing with their little girls. I thought it was rather sweet. For ds part of the appeal is definitely in being very 'in your face' about liking something so obviously girly so that he can draw out the homophobes and then verbally rip them apart. Not sure how I feel about that really, but if it helps boys to be OK with liking pink, rainbows and unicorns then that has to be a good thing doesn't it?

londonrach · 27/09/2014 05:33

I love arthur and im old. Best cartoon ever.... Everyone likes different things. Just bought box set of mysteries cities of gold and have a queu of friends wanting to borrow it. Better than some of these scary films and the news..

wonkyandproudish · 27/09/2014 05:37

Dr hooves?
Her name is derpy hooves! (classy)

I don't even watch it!
4chan also loves mlp read into this what you will.

nooka · 27/09/2014 05:40

Is it really? I thought it was a Dr Who reference! Shows how much I actually listen to my children doesn't it Blush

Renart · 27/09/2014 06:14

wonky

Dr Hooves - background pony that looks like David Tennant, recently seen wearing 3D glasses in the background of a scene.

Derpy Hooves - background pony with wonky eyes from an animation error, adopted by the fandom as a mascot and included in lots of background visual gags.
(She was given a speaking role in one episode, but that was pulled after complaints from US 'soccer moms' who felt that having visibly disabled characters was offensive)

Lots of fanworks (and rather good audio adventures on Youtube) where the two team up to defeat Weeping Pegasus, Cyber-Ponies, etc...

It's a very strange, but rather fun, fandom!

nooka · 27/09/2014 06:21

Phew, my mlp knowhow wasn't so bad after all! I didn't know that Derpy had a surname though. ds did go through a phase when that's pretty much all he talked about so I did tune out quite a bit.

My dd is into shipping. There are lots of crazy fandoms out there! The mlp ones do put a significant investment into their stuff though, lots of videos and music, some really quite good.

ChillieJeanie · 27/09/2014 06:29

There was a piece on Jezebel about BronyCon a few weeks ago, if anyone is interested. I hadn't really heard about this fandom before but they seem quite sweet.

nooka · 27/09/2014 07:08

That's a really good article, thanks :)

I do slightly wonder whether my ds really hears the messages behind mlp sometimes though, respecting others is not one of his top 10 characteristics
(goading them until they reveal their less pleasant characteristics maybe).

mynewpassion · 27/09/2014 07:23

MLP has been around for many, many years. These 40 year olds might have grown up watching it and start collecting it.

nooka · 27/09/2014 07:35

Pretty unlikely though mynewpassion, the brony thing is associated with the Friendship is Magic version which began in 2010, and was pretty much a total reboot. I don't think most bronies are keen on the earlier stuff (my ds certainly isn't).

DogCalledRudis · 27/09/2014 08:41

Its a sorts of subculture i think. Like tabletop wargaming.

StickEm · 27/09/2014 08:46

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

juneybean · 27/09/2014 08:48

It's the in thing but I get sick of people judging others hobbies because they're not mainstream.

Micksy · 27/09/2014 08:49

Its basically star trek tng with ponies, and the fans strike me as being similar also. I think it's a good kids show, up there with kipper and peppa pig.

jezzapaxmanslovechild · 27/09/2014 08:53

Bronys! - Bro -hoof! My ds 1 is a brony - he's 17, and his girlfriend is a brony too. For his birthday she sewed and made him a cuddly rainbow dash! They went to some comic / hero convention in London and his girlfriend went as rainbow dash. Ds1 is quite quirky, funny and bright and loves alternative stuff - I was a bit mystified at first though...

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