Am I a Brony or Something Else? Help needed.

[wurmund]

So, being a male fan, I've always referred to myself as a Brony. Until recently, I never thought anything of it. Recently though, I've had several verbal attacks made towards me, calling me a freak and a deviant and when I asked what on earth they were talking about they pointed out the general public view of the term Brony. I've never been part of the "Brony Community", I'm just a guy that grew up with ponies and loves the toys and shows. Not into it as a lifestyle. So, I'm now wondering, if I'm not a brony, what should I consider myself? Just "a fan" seems so simple and doesn't convey my passion yet brony brings all sorts of negative vibes it seems. So, I ask you guys, what am I as a male fan, in my 30s, that's a well adjusted father and husband? I've picked my own brain until it hurts and cannot think of any title or term that best describes my fandom....

[OctoberFlash]

"brony" is just a word, really. uwu People tend to have a negative attitude towards it, however, because of some very outspoken parts of the brony fandom that have been rather awful. Unfortunately this has caused the name "brony" to be not so good to some people.

I used to refer to myself as a brony until I realized the association with this name, and I decided instead to drop the title. (Granted, I'm a 16 year old girl, and "brony" tends to refer to an adult man, so there's that too.) I call myself a collector now, since a collector's kind of like a passionate fan (with a pile of toys to boot, hehe! ). What you call yourself is up to you, really! If you feel the word brony fits you, go for it! If it doesn't, maybe something else does! Unfortunately I'm not much help there, but I hope that you find something that fits you!

My advice would be not to worry too much about it!! Just enjoy what you enjoy!!

[hathorcat]

Call yourself whatever you like if you feel the need to have a designation. Brony, collector, Fred, awesome-pony-person. You don't need a community to justify, understand or even accept who you are and what you do. And you ' don't need to conform to all the other similarly named people in order to use the word to describe yourself. You can be a brony and love all generations, you can be a collector and only collect one particular pony - its your call. But most of all just have fun collecting ponies and watching the shows you are interested in.

I have never and will never understand the need for designated "fandom" orientated names - they just seem a way to separate a group out rather than make it all inclusive. The most pony collectors ever called themselves in the past was "pony collector" or "collector" - really imaginative right? And not even a formal name just more a description of a hobby. We survived 20+ years without having to brand ourselves something. So just enjoy ponies and try not to worry about it.

[moonflower]

I've always referred to myself as a collector, but I wouldn't worry too much about giving yourself a label.

[samuelkingsley]

Call yourself whatever you want.  Even though I'm a brony I'm beginning to get tired of the phrase simply due to the negative press we get.

[sd_dreamcrystal]

you are what you want to call yourself, just remember any fandom tends to have it's own negative. Shoot I reject calling myself 'brony' (even though I'm a girl there are female bronies) or 'pegasister' because I dislike those terms in general. I call myself a pony fan because it's more of a general term that really can cover more than one type of pony (real or make-believe) but I still get those people who try to fight and say I am a brony or pegasister... really I do believe it at some point those were for more of the FiM fans and older fans just adopted the terms (well at least some)

[melipuffles]

I still consider myself a Brony, I think the name is cute, and ignore the "unsavory" fans. There are plenty of nice and kind people who consider themselves Bronies, but, like in every fandom, there are a good amount of crazies as well.

[MJNSEIFER]

I still consider myself a Brony, I think the name is cute, and ignore the "unsavory" fans. There are plenty of nice and kind people who consider themselves Bronies, but, like in every fandom, there are a good amount of crazies as well.

Pretty much my view as well.

But ultimately, you are what you want to be.

[doxiechic16]

I agree with others who have posted and say don't worry too much about labels.  If "brony" brings about too much negative attention, perhaps try calling yourself a "collector" as others have suggested or maybe a "MLP enthusiast."   

[Doedeardarling]

You can call yourself what ever you like. I personally prefer not to call myself anything in particular, I just say that I like and collect My Little Ponies.

[spottedslug]

You can make up your own name for yourself, hehe. Ignore the negative people.

I could never be a brony or pegasister because I don't relate well to them. I'm much older and I'm a collector more than a rabid fan, (tongue in cheek people- don't take offense). I talk with the local bronies and find them to be a generally friendly group of teens and early 20-somethings. I think they are kind of adorable. hehe. Plus it's fun to have an insane amount of MLP knowledge when I'm an older lady who has no outward signs of being "pony-ish." The shocked looks are fun.

[Shiromisa]

If you dislike the associations with the word brony, make your own word up! Pony fanatic, pony-obsessed, or simply "I'm passionate about ponies!" Though, er, you may want to give clear context for that last one.  Or, if you want to "clear" the brony name as it were, try convincing other bronies not to do the things that give the name bad associations. They may listen to someone in their demographic better than they would to any of us. Good luck!

[Violet CLM]

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[rosietrot]

You have GOT to see the Brony documentary.  It's on Netflix.  It's great.  See it and feel better about yourself and the sad, sad people who just can't understand.

[HoustonCollector72]

Well I decided to drop the Brony  not long ago, my first screename here was HoustonBrony72,  but as I learned more about the fandom and the other generations I felt my new name was a much better fit for me ,as I dived into collecting all generations,which is not very popular with most bronies,and then I read somewhere that a  brony was a young man in  their 20's who liked MLP FIM only.
so I'm in my 40's and I like all the cartoons from G1 to  FIM ,so I felt  I was more of a Collector .
I have never been to any Con's so that is one other thing that I saw I was not making me one, up to this day I have not been to any such event.
I did explore the Houston Bronies online and they were just young people doing things together and it was great seeing their pics on their events ,but I never saw any people my age in their groups .
So nope, not a Brony ,I'm a Collector of MLP .