Define brony.

So this is a question I've had for a long time.

It's been a year-ish since I've taken up ponies, but I've never had this question answered. At least, not consistently. Clearly the word means different things to different people.

Lemme start the topic with a joke:

I've never gotten along with bronies.

Every one I mysteriously end up in conversation with ends up hopping mad for some reason or another. Maybe I just have a flawed personality, or I'm a serial murderer who escaped conviction through a clearly phony trial that was televised all over the nation. But whatever it is, no matter what I say or do, they always seem to hate me. I'm not trying to turn this into a "bawww y no one like me" thread, I just find it ironic how despite the lightheartedness of the show, the fans are some of the most humorless people I've ever met. They can't take jokes, they have no patience for anything outside of ponies, they aren't willing to talk to you unless you know the name and backstory of every background pony and can recite the lyrics to every song backwards.

So naturally whenever I don't do one of the things they think a brony ought to do, the response is some permutation of "You aren't a true brony." Groan.

I still watch and enjoy the show, but over time I've taken a very negative opinion of the fandom. I've gone out of my way to not associate with bronies or call myself one (or whatever it is non-male bronies are called), because their kind of intolerance just makes me sick.

That's what "brony" means to me--it's an insult. I don't want to be called one because that's what they represent.

And yet most of us here call ourselves bronies anyway.

So what do you all think "brony" means? Is it something simple like "oh, anyone who watches the show is a brony" or is there more to it (bigotry or otherwise)?

Rest assured that whether or not I fit your definition doesn't bother me in the least; I'm just curious at this point. Why do you call yourself a brony?

 

To me, a brony is someone who watches Mlp Fim. They often get hated by people who have the "Stop liking what I don't like!" mentality, but they still manage to get by and continue enjoying the show and the fan content. They're also one of the few fanbases I know of who are heavily awknowledged by the people who work on their beloved show.

And personally, I think they're apart of the best fanbase I've ever seen.

 

Brony: A fan of NLP:FiM who watches it for their enjoyment; not some man who hoards children's toys and dresses like a fictional character.

 

Brony: a made up word from 4chan for a group of people who like a TV show that appears to be ironic to society.

 

This, absolutely this. I've only ever thought of a brony as being someone who watches and is part of the fanbase of MLP:FIM. Although I also don't really consider myself a brony, in the same why I don't really consider myself to be any particular label other than just me.

 

Woop, woop.

 

I think that a brony is someone who enjoys the show. But since brony is not an official term, there is no official definition so the word can mean whatever you want it to mean.

 

I used to think this. But then I realised that people shouldn't need a kids' show to be decent human beings.

So now my definition has been simplified a lot.

 

A brony is someone who is usually a adult male or teenage male fan of MLP FiM but can also be either a adult woman or teenage girl.

 

Honestly, it's an awful sounding word. Even trekkie is a better word. I don't call myself brony for... well, that reason and I don't really need to validate my love for the show that way.

 

for me, brony is simply a person that enjoys MLP:FiM.

 

The definition is that a person (typically male) who watches My Little Pony that is outside of it's target demographic.

That is the definition. Get over it. Some gay men do not like being called gay, but look at the dictionary, that's what it says. This is like when a teacher gives you a test that asks what the author meant when he said the sky was blue. For Christ's sake, he meant the sky was blue, not that he was sad (unless they're Eiffel 65, but if you get a test on them your teacher is awesome), not that he was on acid, not that he was a bucking hedgehog (wasn't even trying for the slight Sonic reference).

Why is this a thing on EVERY forum? What you guys are talking about is whether or not someone's a decent human being, not the word itself.

Now, I leave with a picture of...
a kitty on a laptop. (Why link it? Because I suck at putting images in my posts, haven't you ever seen my blogs? My wonderful reaction images will go forever unseen!)

 

*Shrugs*

As long as the moral change results in a more ethical lifestyle, then I see nothing wrong with people claiming cartoon ponies as a tool for self-improvement. How is it any different than people claiming a particular book or religion was the trigger that transformed their lives for the better?

For my part, I found the experience of reading Les Miserables was a revelation for me. It really opened my soul and made me question how I was living.
I won't lie, either, that certain episodes of MLP have really hit close to home. Watching Sisterhooves Social, in particular, caused me to re-examine my relationship with my young nephew, who is more like a little brother to me, and to consider decisions I have made in regard to him from his point-of-view.

My Little Pony addresses fairly universal issues. Things we all struggle with. If it can awaken a sense of moral responsibility in people, then I think that is absolutely wonderful.

 

I agree with everything you just said.

 

I'm about as unbrony as you, my friend. I have zero pony related items (plush toys, shirts, etc.), I enjoy much non-pony stuff on Youtube, games, other internet stuff. I could live my life without ponies if I had to, and simply live with all of the other things in life to be happy for. Yet, I still watch mlp whenever I want to, I still contribute to art, and, soon, I will be making pony music (I have to get good at non-pony music first). And, throughout all the non-pony things I do, I still call myself a brony.

Unfortunately, I cannot relate to being called "not a true brony", because I don't know very many bronies(in this case, mlp watchers) outside the internet. Instead, I can relate to is Christians not behaving as they should. As a Christian myself, I want to behave my best to honor God and set an example(even though I'm not perfect at it), but when I look around me, I see very few Christians acting as they ought to, and simply put, they blend in with everyone else. The only reason I would know that they are Christians is if they said they were Christians. They don't even live different.
This goes the same for bronies. We are supposed to be about "love and tolerance", and possibly uphold the values about friendship that the show teaches us. If anything, the people calling you unbrony are more unbrony than you.

(For clarification, watching MLP isn't a religion. I was using Christianity as an example to relate to.)

Considering bronies not liking you, this may be from just humans being humans: some people want to feel superior to other people. The term for this is bullying. Don't be like those people. You need to set a good example for what people see as what a brony really means.

Finally, to answer the question, I consider the term "brony" to mean MLP fans outside of the intended group targeted (which is little girls).
Remember that this is a term that has a subjective meaning. If you don't want to considered a brony, that is completely O.K.


Off topic:
One of the things that scares me is all of the things I hear people on 4chan do. I've never been on 4chan, but from what I hear, it seems like people act like whatever they want, which is being trolls, swears in every sentence. What REALLY scares me is the fact that people doing whatever they want might show who they truly are. I really hope that human nature isn't like the troll-nature that I hear about.

How about some hope:
Look for the people who you want to be around, and avoid the people that you don't want to be around. Be positive, and look for the good things in life.