Why is the MLP fandom so toxic/full of bigots, MRA?

Virtua Sanus

Member
Nov 24, 2017
4,365
Most especially large current cartoon fandoms I have seen are intensely toxic. I honestly cannot think of one that is not off the top of my head. It is extremely easy to find the positive side to all of them, but just like with Sonic stuff people love rushing to the weird stuff or the content created specifically to bait negative reactions.

I rarely associate myself with cartoons online now even though I love them because confirmation bias pushes people to judge you based on nothing. The fact that it is so prominent on here is super annoying but not really shocking.
 

samoyed

Member
Oct 26, 2017
14,652
There's conservative furries as well, not the mention the really embarrassing conservative Sonic fans. I think there's a strange social phenomena where you enjoy non-normative entertainment but also internalized conservatism in your childhood that produces really bizarre combinations of opinions like being "sexually deviant" while also being a conservative.

Anglo/evangelical-conservatism is based on persecution complexes, and enjoying things outside of what society says is "okay" for you to enjoy tends to set yourself up for persecution, which winds up reinforcing the conservatism ironically.
 

Typhon

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,882
There's conservative furries as well, not the mention the really embarrassing conservative Sonic fans. I think there's a strange social phenomena where you enjoy non-normative entertainment but also internalized conservatism in your childhood that produces really bizarre combinations of opinions like being "sexually deviant" while also being a conservative.

Anglo/evangelical-conservatism is based on persecution complexes, and enjoying things outside of what society says is "okay" for you to enjoy tends to set yourself up for persecution, which winds up reinforcing the conservatism ironically.
Except furries are pro LGBTQ+ and sex positive. Conservatives aren’t exactly welcome in the fandom. Unlike bronies we make an active effort to kick out bad actors.
 

SigmasonicX

Member
Oct 25, 2017
9,687
There's conservative furries as well, not the mention the really embarrassing conservative Sonic fans. I think there's a strange social phenomena where you enjoy non-normative entertainment but also internalized conservatism in your childhood that produces really bizarre combinations of opinions like being "sexually deviant" while also being a conservative.

Anglo/evangelical-conservatism is based on persecution complexes, and enjoying things outside of what society says is "okay" for you to enjoy tends to set yourself up for persecution, which winds up reinforcing the conservatism ironically.
David Willis had a Shortpacked comic a while ago about the trend of Christian fan artists drawing Sonic and others tearfully converting to Christianity. The conflict between ingrained ideology and the content of the things they like does weird things.


How old are those ponies supposed to be again?
It used to be ambigous, but they're definitely older than other characters who are explicitly high school age, at least.
 

Deleted member 2625

User requested account closure
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Oct 25, 2017
4,596
This isn't why people hate bronies. They hated them because they were into something deemed "too girly" for "men" to be participating in.

I don't like the show myself but the fans themselves dealt with a lot of toxicity.
I don’t think it’s just that. It’s the proximity to children’s toys. It invites an easy judgement of paedophilia.
 

samoyed

Member
Oct 26, 2017
14,652
Except furries are pro LGBTQ+ and sex positive. Conservatives aren’t exactly welcome in the fandom. Unlike bronies we make an active effort to kick out bad actors.
I think it's because the pony fandom is relatively young and hasn't established its own "ROE" and what the community actually wants to be, as it were. Left furries piling on Nazifurs is common, but I don't see as much crossfire in the pony fandom though that just might be due to lack of exposure.
David Willis had a Shortpacked comic a while ago about the trend of Christian fan artists drawing Sonic and others tearfully converting to Christianity. The conflict between ingrained ideology and the content of the things they like does weird things.
Yeah the Christian Sonic stuff is a hoot.


Liking something your upbringing taught you not to like does bad, bad stuff to your head.
 

samoyed

Member
Oct 26, 2017
14,652
MLP has a "live and live" message and it's possible the non-conservative elements of the fandom internalized that so instead of trying to drive the conservatives out they just make peace with it and self seclude. There isn't such a "holy text" for the furry fandom on the other hand so people have to draw their own lines.
 

SigmasonicX

Member
Oct 25, 2017
9,687
Aren't they in high school in one of those films?
Equestria Girls is an alternate universe. As odd as it sounds, a lot of the big "ponies are actually older than high school age" stuff started appearing after Equestria Girls started, so we can only assume the pony versions are older than the human versions.
 

mutantmagnet

Member
Oct 28, 2017
12,058
I would strongly recommend talking with bronies that aren't part of a MLP dedicated website.

From my experience if bronies are part of another culture group they won't be toxic and they self police the creepiest members.

Brony culture used to be cool at the start because it was a group of men who didn't fit masculine stereotypes could coalesce and be a group where masculine expectations normative men could have an outlet when needed. About 2 years in it got weird most notably with conventions.
 

samoyed

Member
Oct 26, 2017
14,652
This is new to me. Bronies are full of MRAs? That seems like a broad generalization.
The idea is "why does the MLP fandom, which is centered around a show that's thematically at odds with conservative/MRA thought, have any notable conservative presence at all?"

And the answer is conservatives are no strangers to cognitive dissonance.

"Full of" means more in the sense of "more highly represented than you'd expect."
 

Mobu

One Winged Slayer
The Fallen
Oct 28, 2017
5,520
Because all the cool guys left the fandom after the Twilight alicorn bullshit
 

TheCthultist

Member
Oct 27, 2017
6,809
New York
somehow, liking my little pony hasn’t turned me into a shitheel yet
Ditto. For what it’s worth, it could just be that the worst people just also happen to be the loudest. Considering all the perfectly normal/pretty cool people involved in the fandom, it’s less a “There’s a lot of these awful people in here” and more of a “There’s a lot more of these awful people in here than you would expect” sort of situation.
 

Wetwork

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
2,607
Colorado
A little off topic, but I honestly thought the MLP fandom was a joke when it first popped up. Like, ironic watching, until I started to notice it wasn't.
 

Typhon

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,882
That's like saying Pokemon is for pedophiles or something. Doesn't really make sense.
Pokemon is Nintendo, it's meant for all ages. MLP targets a very specific demographic and that's preteen girls. It's probably not a fair assumption...I take that back, it's a very fair assumption and I say this as an ex-brony
 

Typhon

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,882
What makes you say that?
Let me be clear, I'm saying it's a fair assumption to associate MLP with its expected demographic, not that it's fair to associate the Brony fandom with pedophilia.
I base this on its near 40 year history of being associated with preteen girls, that and brony is incredibly niche, probably more so than furries. I can't fault anyone for not expecting adults to enjoy the show.
 

SigmasonicX

Member
Oct 25, 2017
9,687
Let me be clear, I'm saying it's a fair assumption to associate MLP with its expected demographic, not that it's fair to associate the Brony fandom with pedophilia.
I base this on its near 40 year history of being associated with preteen girls, that and brony is incredibly niche, probably more so than furries. I can't fault anyone for not expecting adults to enjoy the show.
Oh, alright.
 

Deleted member 8001

user requested account closure
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Oct 26, 2017
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Pokemon is Nintendo, it's meant for all ages. MLP targets a very specific demographic and that's preteen girls. It's probably not a fair assumption...I take that back, it's a very fair assumption and I say this as an ex-brony
Men should be allowed to like kid shows that are a bit girly just like women can watch shows targeted at boys and enjoy them.

It doesn't mean anything. And I really doubt people got into MLP to get off to the chars, every MLP fan I've had a chance to talk to a bit always goes on about how the characters have progression and are relatable with the situations they deal with.
 

Raggie

Member
Oct 16, 2018
163
MLP can be enjoyed as regressive comfort food. I think there are plenty of people who seek such comfort because they have a variety of issues, which also makes them easy prey to alt-right.
 

PixelatedDonut

Chicken Chaser
Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,304
It has a large amount of white people.....like I'm not trying to be racist, but all these groups tend to have that in common.
 
Oct 25, 2017
6,640
There is probably significant overlap between weird internet shut-ins and pony fandom. That’s not to say the correlation is 100%, but rather to say that the factors that make some people bronies also make them hostile and toxic.
 

John Kowalski

Member
Oct 27, 2017
18,564
There are toxic people in every fandom and community. It's not a bronie thing by any stretch of the imagination. People just want to enjoy their shit in peace in harmony without harassment trolling and bullying.
This is made pointless by there being a variable amount of terrible people per community. There are a lot of communities with few toxic elements, and there's many efforts communities can make to reduce the likelihood of shitheads.