I am a Brony.

For those of you who don’t know, a Brony is an adult, usually male, fan of My Little Pony: “Friendship is Magic”. The show started out as a show for little girls in the late 80s. Some of my earliest memories involve begging my parents for happy meals so that I could get the “My Little Pony” toy that came with the hamburger. As the years went on, different generations of the ponies came out. “Friendship is Magic” is the fourth generation.

The appeal of the show comes from a few different elements. First, the show is very well written. Each character is fleshed out. These characters are not the cookie-cutter cartoons I watched as a little girl; they’ve matured just as I have.

The storylines are unique as well. The show does not rely on juvenile humor as many other kids shows do and doesn’t deliver heavy-handed messages seen in shows like “Barney and Friends” and many current PBS kids shows. Yet there are still messages: Put others first, don’t be greedy, don’t ignore your friends’ problems. These are lessons that people often need to be reminded of. Are they elementary? Yes, but that does not make them any less important.

Before this generation, “My Little Pony” never really had a large base of adult fans. For those of you old enough to remember, think about the controversy that “SpongeBob Squarepants” started when it was discovered that adults watched the show too. “Friendship is Magic” is going through a similar scandal. It is made even worse because not only are adults watching a kids’ show, but adult men are watching a show aimed at little girls. Oh, the horror. Next thing you know, women will be wearing pants and leaving the kitchen.

I take issue with society’s revulsion for a few reasons. First, we’re making mass judgments about a large group of people by only looking at a small few. Second, we have become obsessed with gender roles. And third, we are ignoring the contributions that this same group are making to society.

First, let’s discuss the idea of “Cloppers.” Cloppers are people who get sexual pleasure from watching MLP. Yes, they exist. A very small minority of Bronies are Cloppers. Cloppers would exist with or without Bronies. However, since this is an unusual fetish, people are going crazy publicizing it. In July 2012, Howard Stern spent two shows discussing Bronies and labeling them all Cloppers. Had he done more research, he’d have found that Bronies find Cloppers just as unusual as the rest of society does.

Personally, I advocate that what people do behind closed doors is their own business. However, I do understand the revulsion as masturbating to children’s characters is uncomfortably close to pedophilia. For this reason, I find it important to distinguish Cloppers from Bronies while not excluding them.

As a woman, I will often hear that it’s okay for me  to like “My Little Pony” because I’m a girl. It doesn’t matter that I’m in my twenties; I have ovaries, so it’s fine I like a “girly” show. This suggests that Bronies are looked down upon because most of them are men.

Now, I am not getting into the territory of men’s rights. That is for another article. But I do take issue with the connotations of finding it unacceptable for men to like a girly TV show. This enforces the idea that each gender has certain roles, an idea I will always vehemently protest. As a woman, I am never criticized for liking so-called “manly” things like video games and Star Wars, yet I witness many of my male friends come under fire for enjoying what is perceived as “girly.” There is a reason we students can major in women’s and gender studies; it is because inequality exists.

When we find a culture like Bronies, we start to witness the breaking of gender roles. This is especially awesome because the Bronies are doing things for society. One of the first events I witnessed as a Brony was a worldwide volunteer initiative. The goal was for Bronies to give back to their respective communities. It didn’t matter where you volunteered, just so long as you did it. Many wore pony shirts to identify themselves, but most just did the work. There is also contribution to the arts as well. We have seen a massive increase in fan art, and not just bad doodles uploaded to the bowels of DeviantArt. Don’t believe me? Check out SnowDrop on YouTube or look up some pony-inspired music like “Discord” by EuroBeat Brony. The creativity of this fandom continues to amaze me every day.

Bronies are a unique group that should be appreciated. We are a large group of friends, we have our own inside jokes and our own inside gripes. We prefer to smother trolls with friendship and love rather than feed them. We won’t hate you if you dislike the show, so don’t hate us for enjoying it.

Kjerstine Trooien is a staff writer for The Dakota Student. She can be reached at [email protected].