Psst, hey, culture warriors, over here! Yeah, here! I got somethin' for ya'. It combines homo-eroticism, bestiality, the media, and man-child love all in one. What's it called? My Little Pony.
Seriously. As a father of three young girls, two of whom are old (and yet young) enough to be obsessed with My Little Pony, I find this story deeply, deeply disturbing. Check it:
One of the researchers, Daniel Chadborn, who is currently enrolled in the psychology Ph.D. program at Southeastern Louisiana University, says Bronies have gotten a lot of attention over other fandoms because they violate a number of social norms. “There is a societal idea of what it means to be male or female, and they are going against that,” he said. “The show is predominantly marketed towards prepubescent girls. Bronies are saying, ‘We’re not only not prepubescent girls — we’re not girls.’”
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| Nope, there's nothing perverted about this guy at all. |
Oh, and in case you were wondering: "Male Bronies are actually less likely to be gay than other men," according to another researcher. (What's with all these "researchers" at Brony conventions? Note to self: If I ever get caught in a compromising place, tell them I'm a "researcher.") Gee, what a relief. They're simply perverted, not gay and perverted.
The investigative journalist, Jennifer Goforth Gregory, made more efforts to assuage our fears and prejudices about "Bronies":
Walking into BronyCon 2014 for the first time was a bit nerve-wracking. As the mother of a tween girl, I didn’t know how I would feel about a room full of men dressed up in costumes typically seen on young girls. But surprisingly, it wasn’t creepy. My 12-year-old daughter and I never felt uncomfortable, and we didn’t see any deviant or perverted behavior.
The perverted behavior in question entails grown men dressing up like cartoon ponies like little girls do, and organizing a convention where such behavior is acceptable. Do I really have to be the one pointing this out??
I know a bit of what I speak. Although I haven't attended any Brony conventions, (you're not surprised, I hope), nevertheless, through my daughters, I've already encountered the plethora of re-dubbed MLP cartoons, and other cartoons, on YouTube that sometimes are harmless but too often put YA themes -- and language -- into the mouths of these cute cartoon horses.
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| "Chicks dig us." |
But why?? Who in the world has: a) the time; b) the desire; and c) the technical know-how, to do this??
I would like to sit all these YouTube posting weirdos down in a sharing circle and alternately marvel at their pathetic life stories, one by one, and scream myself hoarse at them, Sam Kinison-style: "Get a life! Get a life! Geeet aaaa liiiiiiiife! Ah-Ah-AHHHHHH!".
P.S. -- For the record, "Goforth Gregory" sounds like a My Little Pony name.
By Jennifer Goforth Gregory
August 8, 2014 | The Atlantic
