Twintix said:
Well, they're people, for one thing.
Which means, some of them are über-creative, some are funny, some are jerks, some are nice, some take themselves waaaaaay too seriously, some have more self-distance and are willing to laugh at themselves.
They're straight, gay and everything in between, they have interests and talents elsewhere, they probably have jobs or go to school and I'd hazard a guess that they probably like Saturday nights.
They're just...people. People who happen to like a show about candy-colored horses. They shouldn't be defined by this alone, not by themselves or by other people.
^This guy, right here.
Hello Escapist, I'm a brony. Le gasp! I'm male, pushing 30, and very much a fan of a cartoon show intended for the marketing of small plastic-coloured ponies. I can go into why, if anyone's interested, but I doubt that's the point of the thread. I'm pretty heavily involved with the fandom, having helped run events and even chairing a convention, but it's far from the only thing in my life. I wouldn't call it an obsession so much as something I love and get nerdy over, same as every other show I love and get nerdy over. ;-)
My experiences with bronies? They are, indeed, people. Some good, some bad, far more of the former than the latter. Yes, before anyone asks, there are a higher number of autistic-spectrum folks within our fan group than in the general populace (though still a minority), but who cares so long as they're decent? I'm happy that we provide them with a space and a group within which they feel accepted and confident.
The people within the fandom I get most brassed off by are the #horseFamous - it's a term for people who want to be famous within the fandom, and develop egos accordingly. There are some clashing egos in there, but again we're talking minorities. For the fights I've gotten into as an organiser trying to protect others, the fandom on the whole has been a net positive experience.
It honestly saddens me that even within this thread fandom members are immediately dismissed as "losers", "creepy", or my personal favourite, "suffering from disorders." I'm pretty certain I can look up any fandom and point to someone creepy in there, but that does not a fandom make. Just this morning I was totally dismissed by someone on another forum because "ew, a brony" - so what? I like a cartoon- hell, I like tons of cartoons! - what does that have to do with the rest of me? It's really rather stupid that the majority of the time online I have to keep my appreciation of a TV show hidden so that I'm not dogpiled on. (Imgur's terrible for that, incidentally.)
Anyway, happy thoughts. If you want to know how bronies go, I'm a brony now and I've been a brony since the end of S1. I'm not afraid to say it, I'm not ashamed of it, it changed my life for the better and I'm happy to chat about it.
Even furries are less creepy than those.
Thanks. <_<
TL;DR - I'm a brony! Ask me anything.