Male fans of My Little Pony

[Alfred001]

This is one of the oddest thigns I've ever seen:

 

http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2014/08/bros-and-my-little-pony/375793/

 

If you don't want to read the whole article, there is apparently a lot of young men (average age 21) who are fans of the cartoon My Little Pony, and they have conventions where they dress up and do all the other typical stuff that happens at conventions.

 

What is not explained at all in the article is what the appeal is. Has anyone read about this before and can anyone explain what the appeal is?

[Phi for All]

This may be a faulty memory, but I remember watching the show with my daughter when she was much younger, and I recall MLP being much more cutesy and girley. I think the show changed at some point, possibly aiming more humor at the adults who were watching with their children.

 

I remember loving Warner Brothers cartoons as a kid, then rediscovering them as an adult and realizing all the bits that went right over my head as a kid. Lots of political and social humor in those old cartoons that kids don't pick up on.

 

My daughter is still a fan as a teenager, and I've seen some of the shows recently. They do a lot more character development than most kids shows. I'd be willing to bet these adults who like the show like it for certain characters more than anything. The plots are sort of convoluted, which again may be more appealing to adults than kids.

 

The few episodes I've caught lately seem to mention what's happened in the past more often than most situation shows. This seems to inspire fandom since it's not always easy to follow along if you're only catching an occasional episode.

[md65536]

Not speaking from experience, I can imagine some of the major draw is fantasy and a sense of belonging.

 

With fantasy, you can escape reality and make your own. In your mind you can make your alternate reality as important and fascinating and magical as you want. So even if the cartoon is not a richly developed world, or aimed at your demographic, you can build it out in your mind and get attached to what you've imagined. Then once you've escaped into this alternate reality---which you might have done partly out of not feeling a sense of importance or belonging in the real world---and you find like-minded people who accept you and your interests, the sense of importance and community in the fantasy world becomes a real feeling. Maybe for some it starts as a slight interest, and then they get pushed away from people who think they're weird toward people who embrace and accept them. Then, the more you get in to a fantasy world, the bigger it gets for you, and the more you feel disinterested or out of place in the "real" world. This applies to any fantasy world, I think. What bronies see from inside that world is a lot bigger than what we see from the outside.

 

It's probably very different for different people, but I see the two aspects of a fantasy world and of seeking acceptance of quirky interests as appealing.

[Delta1212]

I haven't seen any of the show, but from what I've gathered from conversations online, it has a lot better writing than a typical kid's show, "girly" premise notwithstanding.

 

Edit: While I haven't seem MLP, I did enjoy Power Puff Girls when I was younger. Not to the point of fandom, but still. I imagine it's something similar in that just because a quick glance at a show makes it seem like the target demographic is young girls doesn't necessarily mean that it's written in a way that other groups won't enjoy.

Edited August 15, 2014 by Delta1212

[Phi for All]

It's probably very different for different people, but I see the two aspects of a fantasy world and of seeking acceptance of quirky interests as appealing.

 

Great insight. And it made me remember the basis of the show. It's about friendships and their development.

[Moontanman]

I was and am a big fan of Rocky and Bullwinkle, the humor was aimed at both adults and children... In fact I used to do a imitation voice of Boris Badinoff. My kids loved it...