MLP: FiM fandom terms revisited.

[impy]

  I've vented about this before so I'll keep this brief. I think the term brony is a bit of cute wordplay that if it were just relegated to those who want to use it would be fine. However many, many, MANY FiM fans have objected to its use as a catchall term for FiM fans for a variety of reasons. Usually the most cited and most passionately defended is that it invalidates the long time female fans of MLP with the implication being that "guys like it, it must be cool because tee hee, boys rule the world!" Needless to say, this rubs people the wrong way. They have explicitly stated why on more than one occasion and your argument that it's not a gendered term is wrong. I DON'T CARE that your little sister and your grandmother both self identify as bronies and to you (you special, special snowflake you) it's simply what MLP: FiM fans are/should be called. I call everyone dude, but I'm not going to try and say that it's genderless. :P If you ask me to not call you dude, I will attempt to not call you dude. Given how frequently I say it, it may take me a while to fully stop, but I will try.
   Just because you say it/think it does not make it true.

  Given the way the thread over on equestriamlp blew up (seriously. It went from like, 18 posts to 185 while I slept), I'd say that it's a pretty contentious issue. Especially since by the time I went to sleep, the kerfluffle had stopped and they'd moved onto "sales posts: yay or nay?"

  Here's the secret: I think pegasister is cute, but that's a two-fer. One, it is cute. Brony is cute. But pegasister isn't going to catch on anywhere near as much as brony did so it's not really... something I worry about. Thus it may remain cute. If this makes sense to anyone else, have a cookie.
   Not the secret. The secret? I don't want a cute fucking name for this fucking fandom because it doesn't need a fucking nickname. As far as I know, MLP fans didn't have any majorly cutesy nicknames previously and you know what? I don't fucking need one now.

  If a part of your fandom says "no. I do not want to be known as this because I find it to be degrading/wrong/whatever" and backs it up with a semi-valid reason as to why they feel this way, guess what? Continuing to insist that it's all harmless fun and cute is telling them to shut up. Which is just rude. Rarity would not approve.

Comments

[picklepud.livejournal.com]

I screwed up big time.

[snarky-imp.livejournal.com]

*hug* There's only so much brony a person can take before they go insane. (I'm pretty sure scientific studies are already underway.)

[picklepud.livejournal.com]

Hahahaha

[luxken27]

First of all - link? I could use some amusing flame-bait wankery right about now...

Second of all - this is why I've stayed far, far away from this show. Well, one of the reasons. I, for one, don't think anything from the 80s needs to be updated/remade. CHEESY NOSTALGIA FOREVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[snarky-imp.livejournal.com]

FiM does seem to invoke the rule o' crazy fairly often for a show about ponies. But the show itself is surprisingly good and my expectations were at "you have got to be kidding me. Seriously? Seriously?!" But Spike is adorable and somewhere in the third or fourth episode maybe (the first episode/two parts is such a different kind of show than what the rest of it is) I... realized it was pretty awesome.

But I'm also a fan of PPG and Foster's Home for Imaginary friends as well as the original MLP, so... yeah. My love was destined.

[zallia.livejournal.com]

I was just going to leave a "I've hated the word brony since I first heard it months ago", but then WHOA, saw it come up on sf_drama. Now I HATE not just the word, but the guys themselves! And some of the female fans. And well, just good job all around, ya'll.

[mippa.livejournal.com]

It's so strange, as I have friends on both sides of the "Pegasis(ter)" debate posting about the explosion of comments on the community recently.

I...really don't understand the uproar. It's unlikely that the term is going to really catch on like "Bronies" did...though if someone refers to me as a "Pegasis," I'm not going to be offended as though they called me a cunt or a slut or something...or even "otaku".

Am I failing to see the offense in the term?

I consider "Brony" to be terminology for this phenomenon in a "nutshell," whereas I don't really think female fans--the target audience--necessarily need a coined phrase. But that's as far as my thought on the matter goes.