Why the hate on bronies?

[Ruki-the-Zorua]

I've been around the brony community for nearly a decade (actively engaging in populous chatrooms, roleplaying, forums, etc). I can safely say that nearly all of the chatrooms I've been in have devolved into rapid toxicity and a dog-eat-dog mindset within just a few years after its inception.
I dislike bronies not because of what they are, but because of what they've become to be.

Ah, that's unfortunate. Sorry to hear that pal.

 

[Eli_the_Wolf23]

There needs to be a thread on Road Rovers too

 

[Eli_the_Wolf23]

 

[quoting_mungo]

There needs to be a thread on Road Rovers too

Nobody’s stopping you from starting one. This thread is about how furries react/relate to MLP:FiM fans.

 

[Eli_the_Wolf23]

Yeah I know

 

[Balskarr]

For me as someone who actually dislikes bronies? It's actually come from being around them and seeing how they act within their own communities. Seeing how toxic they have been and how morally reprehensible (Sometimes legally reprehensible) they were in their tastes across a number of things. Then other individuals have never really repaired this bad impression I've had since then. Either finding more like them or those just overly defensive and even hostile.

 

[The-Courier]

For me as someone who actually dislikes bronies? It's actually come from being around them and seeing how they act within their own communities. Seeing how toxic they have been and how morally reprehensible (Sometimes legally reprehensible) they were in their tastes across a number of things. Then other individuals have never really repaired this bad impression I've had since then. Either finding more like them or those just overly defensive and even hostile.

I second this.

 

[Troj]

Some people are inclined to just be critical of a fandom because they just inherently dislike the thing the fans are gathering around. There's usually no pleasing such folks. In this case, there are people who hate bronies because they feel men shouldn't like a cartoon about pastel ponies learning about friendship.

Other people will come to resent certain fandoms because of the behavior of their fans. So, some people have come to hate bronies as a group because there are bronies who can't shut up about being bronies and/or who combine their pony interest with either their politics or sexuality in ways that strike other people as "cringey" (or worse).

 

[LameFox]

Weird timing; they hardly seem to exist anymore.

 

[Deathless]

Everything gets at least some kind of hate, no matter what it is. I personally have no issues with bronies, I used to be a huge fan of the show myself a few years back, but however, there's always something to hate about everything. People hate on bronies the same way they do with any other fanbase: they're weird, unusual, cringe, etc. Usually anything of interest, if it's put out there, will get attention, both good and bad. You just can't please everyone.

I don't see any harm in liking a show or a certain hobby, as long as it's not harming anyone, who cares!

 

[LabyrinthMaster]

There used to be a small un-official internet war back in 2012/2013 between bronies versus furries, because bronies would be identified as furries and vice versa due to how similar both fandoms are. I joined the brony community shortly after the furry community and was scared of admitting I was part of the other group because of this drama. But in the end it came down to a few individuals who disliked the other group and made a huge fuss about it, creating attention and causing rumors to spread.

Weird timing; they hardly seem to exist anymore.

There's still a couple of cons happening in Central and Western Europe, such as UK PonyCon which has been going on way before the brony community was a thing and will continue existing after the fandom's "death".

 

[Bororu]

I don't think people who join the "Brony" fandom too much care what most people think. At least they shouldn't. I mean...how can you, right?

MLP as a media franchise has always been identified with very young children. It started out as a toy line for little girls. To start, the very idea of a "Bronnie" might seem a bit off-putting for most people as it is. I'm not a brony, but if I were I would just find the idea that people think about me enough to hate me kind of funny.

 

[Filter]

Fandoms sometimes clash with one another. Especially when they share something in common. In this case, anthropomorphic animal characters. Can't like both and and be a true (tm) fan. Heaven forbid you also like Star Trek and Star Wars. Heretic! Yeah, it's nonsensical.

I'm not a Bronie myself, but live and let live.

 

[Purplefuzz]

Because it was the next best thing for people cringe over for stupid reasons. Like saying what not okay for a 27 year old to enjoy, While being in other "kiddy" hobbies like gaming/anime/etc. Now it seems like since bronies is fading away and furries are now seen everywhere. I've noticed a upsurge on people crying about NSFW art as if ignoring it too much, Or them upset they can't be 2edgy4u like the old days?.

 

[MaelstromEyre]

Some people are inclined to just be critical of a fandom because they just inherently dislike the thing the fans are gathering around. There's usually no pleasing such folks. In this case, there are people who hate bronies because they feel men shouldn't like a cartoon about pastel ponies learning about friendship.

Other people will come to resent certain fandoms because of the behavior of their fans. So, some people have come to hate bronies as a group because there are bronies who can't shut up about being bronies and/or who combine their pony interest with either their politics or sexuality in ways that strike other people as "cringey" (or worse).

This.

The show itself, I don't care one way or another.

It's when adults obsess over it, try to over-analyze character relationships and story lines to make it seem more profound and mature, or sexualizing the characters. . .that's where it starts to be cringey.

I could never get into the show because I can't stand the character design/animation style.

 

[Troj]

I actually love me some quality bronyanalysis. The show is much more sophisticated than the "moral-of-the-day"-type cartoons I grew up with by a mile, and that makes me happy for modern kids and other people who actually learn things from it.

Some people definitely project more onto the show than is actually there in the text, but it's definitely a smarter, savvier show than, say, all of the previous incarnations of My Little Pony (yuck).

I was impressed by the animation when I first came across it because I'd always assumed Flash=crap.

"Clop" makes me uncomfortable, personally. There are fictional characters I'm fine with thinking of "that way," and some I'm not, and the ponies are definitely the latter for me. But, to each their own.

 

[quoting_mungo]

Some people definitely project more onto the show than is actually there in the text, but it's definitely a smarter, savvier show than, say, all of the previous incarnations of My Little Pony (yuck).

The original 80s cartoon isn’t bad at all, and while it can be a bit simplistic in its good/bad dichotomy, it’s leagues better than any of the other generations before FiM. Just how much so differs from episode to episode, though, and it does have some impressively ridiculous animation boo-boos in places.

In general, though, if you (gen) want to criticize adults overanalyzing content intended for younger audiences, that’s like half of AO3 right there.

 

[Minerva_Minx]

Why do people hate furries? because enough people who don't know about furries hate based on television.

Why do people hate bronies? Because while the fandom was going, the popular American opinion was they were gay and not mature, masculine and aggressive enough.

It's easy to hate what you fear and easy to fear what you don't understand or what shames you. Personally, I find most bronies are straight up decent people. And yeah, the qualities of friendship are magical in how they can unite or tear apart people, and how friendships can evolve or change over time. And I respect bronies for it and encouraging those qualities because with the rest of the fandom, it really was a celebration of decency. And I don't see conventions over Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood.

So why the hate? Because deep down, I don't think we have reached a level of civil discourse where we can use words and accept feelings without the machismo and fisticuffs. Even our leaders right now disparage those qualities. So yeah, it's hate for popularity and hates sake, so sonic rainboom it up!

 

[Kurushimii]

I've been around the brony community for nearly a decade (actively engaging in populous chatrooms, roleplaying, forums, etc). I can safely say that nearly all of the chatrooms I've been in have devolved into rapid toxicity and a dog-eat-dog mindset within just a few years after its inception.
I dislike bronies not because of what they are, but because of what they've become to be.

But is it fair to dislike all bronies over that specific group of bronies?

 

[The-Courier]

But is it fair to dislike all bronies over that specific group of bronies?

When almost every encounter with bronies 2014-onwards has been the exact same, yes.

 

[WolfSpark]

i used to be one on a mlp forums site and its alright but after everything that has happened this year from the virus to well the protesting it seems they got a bit more political then they were way back , ya its ok to talk about it and all but it gets tiredsome when they talk about it almost every single day , it just got to ware they dont talk much about the show they love or the ponies they like about, i think its just when the show ended it got kinda stale after words and things started to slow down i know there is a generation 5 / pony life thats coming out soon but i just dont feel that much excitement as i used to when season 5 started , personaly i think i am more happy that i joined the furry fandom a lot more ^^ and the furry fandom can go on forever :3 i dont hate bronies or anything i just lost the excitement and joy out of it thats all.

 

[KD142000]

I don't think it's fair at all to generalize bronies, but I won't lie and say that the fandom hasn't done some really cringey things in the past (I particularly remember that person who said they couldn't empathize with Holocaust victims unless a sad pony was in the picture as well... yikes.)

There's bad apples in every bunch. Trouble is, hardly anyone bothers to root them out and they end up giving everybody a bad name.
Also, that person wasn't a person. I've seen more morally superior turds come out of my bum.

 

[ZeroVoidTime]

I have to be honest, I quite respect the Bob's Burgers episode that talked about Bronies. Rare to see an adult animation tackle a minority with a sense of respect. There are a little weird in the show, but portrayed as mostly harmless except for the antagonist of the episode, which might just be a representation of what everyone thinks of bronie is supposed to be.

I would hate to see a Family Guy episode tackling the subject.

Episode Layout: Main Theme -> Opening starts with plot A on Bronies -> Random Cutaway Gag -> then plot B starts with furries -> Random Cutaway Gag -> the show starts getting more grotesque -> Random Cutaway Gag -> episode ends with a grotesque and weird moral ending that makes South Park look like saints (Not really South Park is pretty equally bad about black comedy...XD).

 

[Fruitythebeetle]

Speaking as a former Brony (or a pegasister since I’m not a guy), fanbase had it’s fair share of bad eggs that soured the bunch so to speak. Although I personally haven’t been in a lot of toxicity since I was more of a observer than anything else. However, I can’t help but feel there’s some similarities with certain anime subcultures such as moe and waifu communities. Back when the show was being leaked, some critics have liken the designs anime due to their big eyes and cute appeal. This inadvertently caused mass appeal upon straight male demographics who were into this sort of stuff, right there to best pony arguments being a common topic. The more I realized this, more I kinda starting losing interest in the show over the years especially with all the gross characters among the fanbase. Though I do blame the fact I kinda grew up and had a changed in taste after while. On the other hand, some folks still grab hold of any remnants the show still has. That’s not getting into the discourse over one brony (who I forget the name of) who was allegedly a pedophile. Then there’s the characters themselves that are more or less feral shaped horses which makes a lot of mlp porn come off as borderline zoophilla.

I was grateful the show pretty much lost steam at this point, as I felt the show just wasn’t appealing to me anymore. Then again, I loathe implied waifubait shows with horny male fan bases so take that as you will. Aside from that, a lot of these facts factor into why some folks generally despise bronies considering some of the cringe stuff they’ve done in the past. Don’t get me wrong, not all bronies are like this, but it makes it really hard to take them seriously.

 

[PercyD]

Straight up-

"Girl" properties never get good treatment. They are completely forgotten at worst, or they are never given any treatment for newer ages to enjoy. Things like Rainbow Bright, Strawberry Shortcake, etc...

Now, in more recent times this is changing, which is good. You've got Shera and even original content like Steven Universe. This movement of applying modern treatment of Girl properties started with My Little Pony in the mid 2000s. This is good.

But then you get these guys who come in and push the girls out. Part of it for reasons already mentioned, the "moe" culture- which has a lot of problematic roots of its own grounded in misogyny against real women. These characters just take over the property and spaces online, so it's difficult for the intended audience to connect and like them.

I'm not gonna waste my time coddling bronies either. Whether you are pushing girls out of the fandom or not-- I feel like if you're not willing to acknowledge the problems in your fandom, you are just as part of the problem as the 'bad apples'.