How Friendship and Magic Affect American Acceptance

A story I wrote for AP Language and Composition on Symbolism in American and what it states about our culture

How Friendship and Magic Affects American Acceptance

On February 11^th, many teenage boys and men across America will be waking up bright and early to be glued to their televisions. When their wives or parents come in to see why there is light on in the living room, most will change the channel or pretend they have fallen asleep. Yet, there will be those brave ones who will look the intruders square in the face as “My Little Pony, My Little Pony. Ah Ah Ah Ah!” is heard from the television, initializing the start of the “We Heart Ponies” Mare-a-thon.

These teenagers and men are called Bronies.

The term “Brony”, originating from a website called 4chan, is a fan of the show “My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic”. While the word is mainly for the male audience, older females use the term as well, and both are fairly involved in the community. The show is based around, as bronies call them, the Mane Six (from left to right), Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Twilight Sparkle, and Rainbow Dash, and how they live their lives in Ponyville. Life for the Mane Six varies from kicking dragons out of volcanoes, slumber parties, and even stopping native buffaloes stampeding into an old western town.

When looking at the title and the animation, it appears to be a show for little girls, and people would be right. But Lauren Faust, executive producer of the show and other popular shows, such as Powerpuff Girls, has out done herself. Not only has she given back life to a show for girls that has been mocked for years, but half of her fans are grown men. She claims she designed the show so that parents wouldn't want to kill themselves while watching, but it is doubtful that she planned for the fathers to watch it as they would a sports game.

The question has been asked as to why men are watching this show at all, but is it truly shocking? Adults enjoy watching Disney movies. They enjoy a fresh chocolate chip cookie. Getting their hands covered in glitter is fun again. Riding a roller coaster is terrifying, yet exciting at the same time.

So, if this is acceptable, why isn't watch a television show that not only makes you giggle at what they say, but truly makes you happy and feel good about yourself? I am a brony myself, and it is acceptable for me because I am not male, but when I tell them that my guy friends are bronies, they automatically assume that they are gay or bi-sexual, which is almost never the case. Americans, mostly this generation that is slowly advancing our country, is taking huge steps backwards if they can not accept diversity and individuality.

Gender roles play into this as well. Just because a show lacks blood, gore, or gorgeous women, men are not allowed to enjoy it. Many bronies keep their fan-dom a secret as to not be made fun of or discriminated against. Many believe they would be thought of as a girly girl, which is not the case.

This Wednesday, on February 8^th, 2012, Washington legislators voted to legalize gay marriage in their state, when in reality it never should have been illegal. By nature, there are people and animals who are attracted to the opposite sex, yet we treat humans like they are not worthy of rights and respect like those who are “normal”. There is nothing wrong with these peoples, it is simply in genes, a trait usually passed down in the DNA of a family. Bronies and My Little Pony get the idea of acceptance of all across well, with the main phrase of bronies being “Love and Tolerate”, saying that no matter what a person believes, they are not to be shunned out of society for this. The show combines the Mane Six, who are all very different from each other, to create a strong friendship that has never been broken.

“Love and Tolerate” is a term that Americans across the country should adopt and use when disagreeing with someone else opinion before criticizing it.