The Issue I Have With the Big Brother Ponies

[NoDivision]

I have no problems with the Big Brothers at all.  I'm just happy that they made boy ponies.

[Elisto]

I'd wanted boy ponies for as long as I knew they existed, and was so excited when I finally got my first one a few years ago, but even still, I actually am a little uncomfortable with their symbols being all stereotypically "male" things to the point of being silly. Though I do very much appreciate that they are also pink and purple, not just "boy colors." I think it's perfectly OK to feel both things about them.

[Lollipop]

I have no problem with Big Brother ponies but they could of called them Shire ponies that is after all whet they are supposed to be hehe

Love the little boys too they are all just so cute hehe.

Tbh a few of the 'girl' ponies I always think of a boys haha for example Magic Star, Tootsie (original not white), Bubbles & Scrumptious
I know they are not boy's but..... thats how I have always seen them & played with them like that since I was little, I know there was a few more can't remember atm though :p

Wish they had brought more G1 boy's out

[Starly]

And some people say FiM has a lack of boy ponies, bah! Total lies. Theres tons of males in FiM, just a few less than there is mares, not a huge difference. And theres pegasi and unicorn stallions too! G1 has no such thing, all boys were EARTH.
I guess fluffy hooves make you grounded and unable to use magic in ponyland. idk

Now therre just need to be more G4 stallion toys as we'd be set.

[Malicieuse]

I really am not bothered by the big brother ponies in any way. It's a toyline for girls and i don't see the problem with most of the characters being girls. (It's not as if most toylines aimed at boys are filled with female characters...So this is not just a Hasbro/MLP thing.)
Not saying that there shouldn't have been more male ponies or different species...but i don't care that much. Also, "big brother" sounds cute. A lot cuter than the use of "mare" and "stallion" in Fim.

[gabumon]

Let's not forget the Mountain Boys in this topic!  They're great too!

[KarentheUnicorn]

I love all the big brothers, and besides you don't have to go by the American name, you don't even have to call them Big Brothers.

The were called Adventure Boy ponies in the UK and some of their names were different in the UK. Tug, Tracks, Trucker, First Base.

Plus Mountain Boys were released around the same time in the UK, actually I've read info that say Mountain Boys came first. (quote from Taffeta's website)

Released around the same time as the Adventure Boy/Big Brother Pony first set (reliable UK sources say before, and indeed they appear on an earlier insert dated 1987 than the Brother Ponies), these six ponies did not come with hats or bandanas.

I really didn't put a lot of stock in the cartoon, it was like a really fun accessory to the toy, not the end all and be all of MLP creation. To me the cartoon was never the official pony land it was just there to be watched for entertainment purposes.

I guess for folks who based a lot of their My Little Pony dreams/life/hopes/fears off the cartoon (this goes for the G1 thru G4 cartoon obsessed), well I guess it's more likely you're going to be disappointed.

But if you were like me, collected the toy for the toys sake, used your own imagination for pony adventures instead of whatever hasbro decided to throw at you on the TV show - you to could live like I did, where there were no limits placed by hasbro on ponyland.

Plus, since there are awesome customizers out there, you to can own all kinds of big brother ponies. Not just what hasbro wanted you to buy.

[nollilols]

I've always loved Tex, but I dislike the designs of all the other BB ponies. I've never thought about it beyond that, though. The whole gender, audience, sexism etc etc aspect of that kinda thing... just never occured to me as a child. Or an adult. It's a cartoon for girls. *shrug*

[Shiromisa]

And some people say FiM has a lack of boy ponies, bah! Total lies. Theres tons of males in FiM, just a few less than there is mares, not a huge difference.

Fun fact: there have been studies done, and if a show has 33% or more of the cast as female, people perceive the show as having mostly female characters, or the women outnumbering the men. Interesting (if depressing), huh?

And I suppose Hasbro could have gone with "colts"!

[claricesponies]

So... you don't like the name or that they are separate from the other ponies?

Remember that this was a toy line aimed at little girls. They were probably just trying to make the name appealing and assumed they wouldn't sell well to the target market.

This is absolutely correct!

[ringwraith10]

The name "Big Brother" has always made me a bit uncomfortable, too, but that's because I over-think children's toys. There are mother ponies and there are baby ponies, but there are few male ponies specifically labeled as "daddy" ponies (and we know exactly who their children and mates are, as they all came as a set). Who are the big brothers related to, sibling-wise? Where did baby ponies like baby Gusty and baby Sundance come from? Do the ponies all practice incest? These questions are, of course, rhetorical because I don't think we really want to think too deeply about this subject. But that, of course, is why I personally protest the name "Big Brother."

On the other hand, though, I do love male ponies. I love the way they look, even if they do perpetuate a stereotype that men are bigger and stronger than women.

[himmie]

Lucky was called a Stallion, and he's a baby...

I have no problems with the Big Brothers at all.  I'm just happy that they made boy ponies.

Yes.

[Al-1701]

The problem is all I had was the cartoon.  I wasn't aware of MLP until the 90's when it aired on the Disney Channel, by then the toys were on their way out.  I only bought my first G1s at the My Little Pony Fair this year.

[Shiromisa]

The name "Big Brother" has always made me a bit uncomfortable, too, but that's because I over-think children's toys. There are mother ponies and there are baby ponies, but there are few male ponies specifically labeled as "daddy" ponies (and we know exactly who their children and mates are, as they all came as a set). Who are the big brothers related to, sibling-wise? Where did baby ponies like baby Gusty and baby Sundance come from? Do the ponies all practice incest? These questions are, of course, rhetorical because I don't think we really want to think too deeply about this subject. But that, of course, is why I personally protest the name "Big Brother."

On the other hand, though, I do love male ponies. I love the way they look, even if they do perpetuate a stereotype that men are bigger and stronger than women.

...that's a bit of an odd response. Can't someone's big brother be someone else's husband?

[NovelNerd]

Lol, it amuses me a little that people are disturbed by the Big Brother name and want something different. IF you want to go into the more realistic side of things and call them stallions then might as well be satisfied with the small amount they made. After all stallions are not typically friends nor do they share mares with other stallions. You wouldn't need a bunch of males.

I don't think anything in the pony world is meant to be realistic. That's why they are ponies with symbols on the rear and bright colors. Breyers and other models for realistic stuff.

Nothing about the brothers ever bothered me except I wasn't a fan. I was a little girl and wanted cute girl ponies. The only reason brother ponies are in my house now is the wife likes them.