Hot Topic finds: Not sure how to feel

[Spike]

I'm Australian. We don't have Hot Topic here. I'm glad we don't! I'd be too tempted to buy everything. I wouldn't buy the 'brony' stuff though.

[Bergamot]

In my younger days, I hated Hottopic for repackaging and marking up the " punk" style that I held so dear. I was a thrift store shopper, finding my own look then later finding similar styles on their shelves for a small fortune.

Nowadays, I'm over it, though they're still up to their old tricks. They seem to repackage artifacts of the anime convention crowd, this time!

But hey. Cool vinyl ponies. I'm game.

[reanna-mator]

I actually love the "brony" label on a lot of the new items. It definitely makes me proud of the fanbase. I overspent a bit last time I was in Hot Topic on pony stuff, but I don't regret it! Yeah, a lot of people have gripes about both bronies and the Hot Topic brand, and they're entitled. Me, I'm just enjoying the sweet sweet swag. Especially the vinyl Pony and the socks. Well played, Hasbro.

[DazzleKitty]

I don't like the brony label at all. It's like they are alienating female collectors and fans.....kinda like I heard they do on the internet. :/

I love G4 merchandise though. I just don't like going in Hot Topic. I feel out of place there.

[Spike]

I don't like the brony label at all. It's like they are alienating female collectors and fans.....kinda like I heard they do on the internet. :/

I love G4 merchandise though. I just don't like going in Hot Topic. I feel out of place there.

Yeah I feel that it's alienating too.. I mean there is the title "Pegasister" But you NEVER see Pegasister socks or merchandise!

I see more grown men nowadays (that should really be into Hot wheels or something) playing with what is supposed to be for girls, pony dolls. I mean I get the satisfaction out of it but I am a woman, and I'm not bashing fellow bronies. It's just overwhelming, that's all! Not to mention different.. If they do it for collecting that's fine to me!

[Mlphammy]

I've never heard of Hot Topic. I've heard the figures are bad quality though. But I agree, everything screams BRONY these days.

[reanna-mator]

I don't like the brony label at all. It's like they are alienating female collectors and fans.....kinda like I heard they do on the internet. :/

I love G4 merchandise though. I just don't like going in Hot Topic. I feel out of place there.

Yeah I feel that it's alienating too.. I mean there is the title "Pegasister" But you NEVER see Pegasister socks or merchandise!

I see more grown men nowadays (that should really be into Hot wheels or something) playing with what is supposed to be for girls, pony dolls. I mean I get the satisfaction out of it but I am a woman, and I'm not bashing fellow bronies. It's just overwhelming, that's all! Not to mention different.. If they do it for collecting that's fine to me!

I don't know... I like the term "brony" as an all inclusive term, and I think that's how many see it. I know the word itself denotes masculine tones, but I actually prefer one title for the whole group. I've said it before, but I happily call myself a brony.

Hoo boy, I hope this stays peaceful... I've got my eyeroll moments with my fellow bronies now and then, but I freaking love the fandom in general. A good show is a good show, and I really see nothing in FiM that screams "for girls" unless one subscribes to traditional gender roles, which in itself is rather alienating to one who grew up playing with both Barbies and Ninja Turtles.

[Spike]

I really love the show too, especially the fandom. Just the term Brony is a little bit of a throw off to me! Why can't they just be called "My Little Pony fans" or something hehe :o

I think people do have a right to their opinion as long as they keep it clean so we shall keep this clean!

[HollowZero]

I don't think a lot of people understand why brony is such a bad term, and bronies in general is a bad thing.

There's been mainly female collectors (and children playing with the toys of course) for a very long time in ponydom. There were scant few males.

Hasbro threw us a bone once and a while--the 25th anniversary sets (even though they were pretty flawed, they were appreciated) the "art" ponies, etc.

But now, the male dominated fanbase, which isn't even all that big mind you, gets an entire clothing line? Wallets? Belts? Plush? Backpacks? Socks? Show characters they want either in BB or brushable form? Vinyl collector editions? A comic book?

This surely didn't happen with a female fanbase.

[Bergamot]

The My Little Pony franchise has seen a huge boost in marketability with G4. Licensing for the MLP brand is being sold by Hasbro like never before, and these third-party producers have found that the "Brony" label is marketable.

Perpetuation of this term can be attributed simply to the fact that people associate with it and are willing to buy things with that label on it. The word "Brony" has reached brand name status.

Personally, I don't think it's entirely a bad thing. There's still plenty of Pony merch out there for those like myself who enjoy the franchise but doesn't necessarily care to buy into the "Brony" end of things.

[Wardah]

The reason I feel the "Brony" generation (of which there are plenty of girls) gets more attention is they have made their presence known through social media. The internet and social media are second nature to this generation while those who grew up with G1 had to adjust to the internet later in life and just seem to approach it differently. If you do a survey here of who has a twitter or tumblr or fb account and divide it by those born before the 90s and those born after I am sure there will be a big gap in percentages.

[BrightSide]

-voms at term 'brony'-

ugh I'm sick of this phenomenon tbh. I know a couple of guys (no girlies..) who consider themselves 'bronies' and are FiM fans, but as I'm a pony collector sometimes I am assumed to be likewise - and I do not wish to be!!

FiM is fabby, don't get me wrong.. but I don't collect ponies bc of some stupid internet meme or whatever, I do so for reasons which are more personal (and closer to heart)- I was introduced to FiM by someone who gave me hope in a hellish situation (we used MLP as a distraction mechanism), and it's an escape from reality (which is often difficult).

Sigh stupid internet n00bs.. :x

[Kaeldre]

I just realized that I'm guilty of buying into the whole "brony" thing.  BAck when the fandom was new, I bought the "Brony" shirt from HT (the one with the Rainbow Dash silhouette on it) and wore it out in public a few times.  I still have it, but I don't wear it out in public anymore.  I just bought it because I liked the silhouette. >.>

[Bow Tie]

I found this at Target for $10 in the Men's Section. I bought it of course! <3

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[michelle53]

I found this at Target for $10 in the Men's Section. I bought it of course! <3

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I sent that shirt to the lovely SummerBlade for the Army swap!  It's a great shirt:)