I’m a brony.
Call me “just a fan of the show”, but I’m sticking with the name. I don’t know about you guys, but to me the bronies are still largely a bunch of adult males (among the classification that also applies to other genders and ages) who want to stand out and be different. And they have been. They’ve shown the world that there is no shame in liking a show catered to little girls.
But this wasn’t new.
I’ve started enjoying cartoons like most people would at a young age. One that probably paved the way was The Powerpuff Girls. I never really knew why I liked that show. I didn’t really care. Little kindergarteners kicking ass seemed okay. Until I found the man behind the show. The name that appears at the title card. Craig McCracken.
Damn. This girly-girly superheroine show was the brainchild of a guy. No other show at that time stood out much like the Girls did and my love for this show went on until it ended its run (though I have an issue with the 2014 special.)
Not a whole lot was around after that. I guess there was Foster’s (also by CMC) before I discovered Doctor Who in 2011. Until one fine day when I chanced upon a particular video off YouTube. Episode 1. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.
It clicked with me on three points. Coupled with sheer curiosity and intrigue, it was Flash animation and had two familiar names: Lauren Faust and Tara Strong. Lauren Faust worked with Craig McCracken on the aforementioned animated series I loved and Tara Strong was really having her voice all over the place.
So actually, I was already captured by the show as is. I was a fan, not yet a brony. I only heard of the term after a bit of exploring. I guess I wasn’t the only male fan of the series.
I did think of these people as over-the-top. Perhaps weird. (This was before I realised what fandoms were, mind. Most fandoms can be weird.) Then, hey, I was pretty weird too. I slowly embraced the term around the time when I realised people were checking my fanart out, around the time I realised these folks are actually doing a whole lot of good by helping out.
Naturally, I discovered what some people were calling out the bronies for. As stereotypical gross nerds who have a thing of sexualising a TV show meant for little girls, demanding it be for them, in the most disgusting ways possible. I didn’t like that at all. Not just because I wasn’t one of them, but because there was a stereotype.
You don’t stereotype a particular group of people because of all the bad things people associating themselves to the group. That’s not right.
I love the show for what it truly is. A show that teaches you and me about friendship. It’s a show for children, but also one for adults because we all forget how important friend are. I was really isolated and not quite sociable amongst people. Being a fan of this particular show changed that, because there were others who saw the show this way. I also met real people and became less of an introvert.
But also don’t let a show run your entire life. It’s just a show. Shows that teaches you things are just that. You pick it up, carry it with you, and share the messages to other people who may need it.
So even if this show and the fandom were to evaporate one day, I’m just glad to have hung on for the ride.