The MLP Arena
Pony Talk => Pony Corral => Topic started by: Empress Celestia on December 03, 2014, 11:33:21 AM
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Personally I think G1 came closest to this (at least with the show) but will Hasbro ever decide to appeal to both boys and girls, instead of only reluctantly doing so after a large male fandom springs up?
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Depends on what you mean exactly.
Do I think they'll change the show to appeal more to boys? Gosh I hope not, but some argue they already have (shoutouts, etc.).
Do I think they'll market the toyline differently? There is already a lot of merch. put out to appeal to Bronies, particularly licensed goods. Do I think we'll ever see a pony at a toy store with a little boy on the packaging or not in the "pink aisle"? Doubt it, because there isn't enough push from parents for this type of thing. I think there's always going to be a boys and girls section at stores and therefore always toys marketed as one or the other and that MLP will always fall into the "girls toy" category.
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I don't know about gender neutral. Maybe release some male ponies. I personally would have preferred if the Big Brothers had been 2 of each earth, unicorn, pegasus (or 4 earth and one each of the other two which became a trend in 87) like other specialty sets. However, I think it should remain predominantly female.
Also, as we've seen with Shining Punching Bag and Brad, male characters haven't done well in the current series.
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G1 was supposed to be gender neutral. Bonnie originally designed the ponies to be colored more like real horses, but the company pushed her to make them pink and purple.
Honestly though, that never really stopped boys from playing with them. My brothers and I would play with my ponies all the time. The target audience may be girls, but boys can still play with them if they want.
It's mostly because the idea of liking horses in general had been pegged as "girly" (which is funny because only men could ride horses way back in the day), and almost all horse-related products are marketed to girls.
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I would love to see adult shirts of MLP for both ladies and guys in stores like Walmart and Target, but what gets me is how they have tons of shirts/clothes for little girls - but nothing for the boys! Tons of boys like MLP, my nephew is one of them. He'd love to have pony merch. Missed marketing potential from Hasbro. :/
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I think, personally, that trying to make something "market to boys" is a very negative ideal to strive towards. Our culture (in the US anyway) has this very strong caricature of overly-violent machismo that they think is "masculine", and it's really not something I think anyone should be emulating, especially young boys.
Personally, I think that you could already consider the current MLP show appropriate for boys as much as it is girls, because it focuses on friendship, navigating emotional crises, and doing what's right. These are all things little kids need to know! Little kids all need help figuring out how to treat others kindly, how to deal with their emotions, how to empathize with their friends, and how to keep their promises, be kind to others, etc. And it's all packaged in an amusing, entertaining package, with colorful and silly characters.
If you're talking about merch, I'd love to see more gender-neutral shirts made in little kids sizes (like a scaled-down version of the adult shirts!), but I'm sure boys would be bullied for wearing them. :(
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Always a fun topic and I may get things thrown at me for it...but why should it ever have to be gender neutral?
I personally have never seen a problem with some toys being aimed at boys and some toys being aimed at girls. Not saying there is no cross over in preference and of course no harm in it either way. But I just have never understood the need to try to make everything appeal to everyone. Girls are often put in the corner and more money, time and effort put into boys lines. So what if girls actually have ownership of something? There is no harm in girls having their own thing, their own toys and there own voice to like something aimed at them without the need to make it suddenly appeal more to boys as well - by doing that it may loose its fundamental appeal to little girls.
MLP is aimed at girls and while a toy that would appeal to boys was the original concept of G1 that was when the ponies were naturally coloured. As soon as Cotton Candy, Bluebelle and Blossom hit shelves in their Rainbow packaging teaching little girls how to braid there hair...they became a girls toy.
So for the sake of the MLP line that we all love - pastel coloured little ponies on fun and frivolous adventures with brushable hair in frilly & girly playsets - I hope it doesnt.
Hasbro has a nice balance in G4 - lots of merch made my licensees to appeal to the adult male market - be they t shirts or vinyl figures. I think that's the way the line should go - that ensures the fundamental MLP line stays as it is. And the adult fandom that has been generated by the show is satisfied.
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I think, personally, that trying to make something "market to boys" is a very negative ideal to strive towards. Our culture (in the US anyway) has this very strong caricature of overly-violent machismo that they think is "masculine", and it's really not something I think anyone should be emulating, especially young boys.
Of course we're talking a show that just has a knockdown drag-out fight for its latest season finale.
I would like to see the brand as a whole embrace high fantasy more, but not to be gender neutral. Why do shows for girls seem stuck in the slice of life rut? Why can't girls have some great endeavor or struggle?
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They made a G1 shirt for guys which was found in Target. I bought it in fact even though I'm female.
Also, there is a huge guy fandom so obviously MLP is appealing to guys even before the Brony fandom became known guys liked MLP too.
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The current show itself kind of is already. A lot of boys the age of the target demographic girls watch it. The only thing left really to be made gender neutral is the main Hasbro toy line. As mostly anything not made by Hasbro (except maybe the Aurora plushies) doesn't go out of it's way to promote itself as girls only toys.
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maybe if the ponies become natural looking?
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Truth be told, I rather like MLP's girlyness. A lot of stuff out there is already marketed to men. I rather like having it as a girly sanctuary. But nothing wrong with guys enjoying it and being fans/collectors. I love MLP as it is, that's all.
And I think G4 has already expanded to both genders and created a G1 hating fanbase amongst some, which makes me sad. :(
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I would love to see adult shirts of MLP for both ladies and guys in stores like Walmart and Target, but what gets me is how they have tons of shirts/clothes for little girls - but nothing for the boys! Tons of boys like MLP, my nephew is one of them. He'd love to have pony merch. Missed marketing potential from Hasbro. :/
Actually I've seen Brony shirts at Hot Topics and Walmart had a shirt with a Pony silhouette that had the word Stud underneath in KISS-like letters. I thought it was pretty funny
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Or how about we just accept that guys can like girly toys instead of making everything "gender neutral"?
Heaven forbid a guy needs to buy something in a pink packaging...
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I'm another one that doesn't really see the need for it to become gender neutral. I feel as though the aim of the question was more along the lines of "do you think Hasbro will ever make ponies more typically boy-friendly", because honestly, a gender neutral pony would be like yellow with a tree symbol (lol, I just realized that mostly fits G3 Breezie!) or white with a house symbol. It would have to be colors that weren't automatically associated with "boys" or "girls" and symbols of the same, and I think that would make them less appealing to everyone. If you think about it, there are several ponies already that could be considered gender neutral, and I don't really see the need for the entire line to try to change. I'm in the same boat as Malicieuse that it should be just as acceptable (and honestly, we're getting closer to that point all the time) for anyone to like any toy. Besides, if you love MLP right now, you must love it for a reason. If it changed, it wouldn't be the same MLP, which is why several collectors seem to hit rough spots every time big changes are made between generations.
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I think MLP can become "gender neutral" when we get a push for all kid's stuff to be gender neutral. Until then (if it happens at all) MLP should stay aimed at girls because there's so few girls' products with it's quality/appeal. And if that push does happen, I'd say it shouldn't be the few good "girls'" things that go first.
I personally don't like the whole gendered toys/cartoons thing, but I think right now, the first step to breaking down that division is to make it OK for boys to like things aimed at girls, otherwise, the underlying negativity about feminine things in general won't be challenged, just hidden.
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Always a fun topic and I may get things thrown at me for it...but why should it ever have to be gender neutral?
I personally have never seen a problem with some toys being aimed at boys and some toys being aimed at girls. Not saying there is no cross over in preference and of course no harm in it either way. But I just have never understood the need to try to make everything appeal to everyone. Girls are often put in the corner and more money, time and effort put into boys lines. So what if girls actually have ownership of something? There is no harm in girls having their own thing, their own toys and there own voice to like something aimed at them without the need to make it suddenly appeal more to boys as well - by doing that it may loose its fundamental appeal to little girls.
MLP is aimed at girls and while a toy that would appeal to boys was the original concept of G1 that was when the ponies were naturally coloured. As soon as Cotton Candy, Bluebelle and Blossom hit shelves in their Rainbow packaging teaching little girls how to braid there hair...they became a girls toy.
So for the sake of the MLP line that we all love - pastel coloured little ponies on fun and frivolous adventures with brushable hair in frilly & girly playsets - I hope it doesnt.
Hasbro has a nice balance in G4 - lots of merch made my licensees to appeal to the adult male market - be they t shirts or vinyl figures. I think that's the way the line should go - that ensures the fundamental MLP line stays as it is. And the adult fandom that has been generated by the show is satisfied.
I really agree with this, and was what I was thinking. It's true, boys get a lot more lines devoted to them and directed at them, and then when something big happens for girls, there's issues with 'gender neutrality.' Which isn't fair. :/
I would rather see toys like Legos, which originally were intended to be gender neutral back when they first came out, be more gender neutral.
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Always a fun topic and I may get things thrown at me for it...but why should it ever have to be gender neutral?
I personally have never seen a problem with some toys being aimed at boys and some toys being aimed at girls. Not saying there is no cross over in preference and of course no harm in it either way. But I just have never understood the need to try to make everything appeal to everyone. Girls are often put in the corner and more money, time and effort put into boys lines. So what if girls actually have ownership of something? There is no harm in girls having their own thing, their own toys and there own voice to like something aimed at them without the need to make it suddenly appeal more to boys as well - by doing that it may loose its fundamental appeal to little girls.
MLP is aimed at girls and while a toy that would appeal to boys was the original concept of G1 that was when the ponies were naturally coloured. As soon as Cotton Candy, Bluebelle and Blossom hit shelves in their Rainbow packaging teaching little girls how to braid there hair...they became a girls toy.
So for the sake of the MLP line that we all love - pastel coloured little ponies on fun and frivolous adventures with brushable hair in frilly & girly playsets - I hope it doesnt.
Hasbro has a nice balance in G4 - lots of merch made my licensees to appeal to the adult male market - be they t shirts or vinyl figures. I think that's the way the line should go - that ensures the fundamental MLP line stays as it is. And the adult fandom that has been generated by the show is satisfied.
I really agree with this, and was what I was thinking. It's true, boys get a lot more lines devoted to them and directed at them, and then when something big happens for girls, there's issues with 'gender neutrality.' Which isn't fair. :/
I would rather see toys like Legos, which originally were intended to be gender neutral back when they first came out, be more gender neutral.
Exactly this! I agree heartily. My feeling is, the MLP line/show shouldn't become gender neutral - it should remain as it is, primarily marketed to girls. (And as for the signs we're seeing that Hasbro is trying to appeal to boys with more violence, memes etc. - for shame!) That doesn't mean boys SHOULDN'T appreciate it - media shouldn't be so strict in its gender norms anyway! Lots of girls watch the Avengers movies, why can't boys watch MLP?
Girls have very little media dedicated to them as is. Why not try to take 'male' franchises and make them more feminine? (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles used to be more open to both genders, now they barely have any female characters at all! Lego used to be gender neutral in its marketing, He-Man had She-Ra as a companion series, GI Joe could have more female characters added to it!)
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It's true, boys get a lot more lines devoted to them and directed at them, and then when something big happens for girls, there's issues with 'gender neutrality.' Which isn't fair. :/
My take is that girls liking things aimed at boys is generally more acceptable than boys liking things aimed at girls, and so for people who recognize that boys are uncomfortable liking girl's things even when they actually do, it's easier to try to re-image the thing as gender neutral than it is to try to change the society norms that lead to that discomfort.
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And unfortunately many boy brands idea of "gender neutrality" is making spinoffs for girls they play into stereotypes. You don't have gender neutral packaging and marketing for the Lego's main sets. We instead get Lego Friends which is "colored" for girls and based on what they think are girl things. The brand as a whole might be more trying to appeal to girls, but they're still maintaining the divide.
So, My Little Pony should stick to its guns. Maybe release some boy brushables (with proper hair please), but keep them in the minority and unmistakably MLP.
Speaking of males. FiM seems to phone in their designs in lately. All the new characters are the same lanky model and males have always had a bland pallet.
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So, My Little Pony should stick to its guns. Maybe release some boy brushables (with proper hair please), but keep them in the minority and unmistakably MLP.
What?? You don't like Shining Armor's Treasure Troll hair????? :lol:
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What?? You don't like Shining Armor's Treasure Troll hair????? :lol:
Well, he's probably the one pony you can style into a permanent fro. Make a tacky polyester suit and he'd be ready for the disco.
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What's wrong with MLP being a girl's franchise, and the boys that like it, you know, just being able to like it for what it is?
Yes, we really should stop being so rigid with these gender things, but... If we force "gender-neutrality" instead of just letting people like what they like, aren't we just making things worse? Guys generally hate MLP because it is 'girly'. Instead of changing MLP, we need to make society 'grow up' and learn that being 'girly' isn't a bad thing.
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What's wrong with MLP being a girl's franchise, and the boys that like it, you know, just being able to like it for what it is?
Yes, we really should stop being so rigid with these gender things, but... If we force "gender-neutrality" instead of just letting people like what they like, aren't we just making things worse? Guys generally hate MLP because it is 'girly'. Instead of changing MLP, we need to make society 'grow up' and learn that being 'girly' isn't a bad thing.
Agreed. I am of the mentality that "gender-neutrality" doesn't really exist. The only way for it to really work is for peoples perceptions to change. Things will be gender neutral when people stop seeing things as being gender specific....... :shocked: It is kind of a mind freak......lol.
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I think in general, even many of the horse toys fall into the 'girl' toy category in most stores... Natural color or not.
Though in some cases I -do- think how a toy is packaged plays a role as well.. from the color to what images/models they use on the packaging.
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I really don't see a problem with boys liking "girly" things, and I think mlp is fine as is (though I'd love a chocolate colored pony!) I just really think that people should be able to like whatever they like without others giving them grief over it.
Also a lot of feminine things begun as masculine things, heeled shoes, the color pink were worn by males. (Cannot remember which history book or reading I saw this) But really, why should things matter? We're all human in the end, why should this be a problem?
My nephew LOVES ponies and their pink hair, the excitement that little guy has when I give him a g3.5 starsong, g3.5 scootaloo and G3.5 rainbowdash is just brilliant and I don't think anyone should ruin this happiness because they're girly. Let people be happy with what they love! And well, mlp does help teach kids about love and acceptance!
I just really do not like at all the attitude that boys like boys things and girls like girls things and anything else is not right, I just hate it, it's causing a lot of upset for kids, the amount of stories of children being shouted at by parents that they're "not getting that boy/girl toy because you're a girl/boy" is just upsetting, do stereotypes and social "norms" matter more than your own kid being happy? Why is it such a bad thing? Because they look gay? Well what's wrong with being gay? Why should any of this be a problem? I just don't get it. I'm all for whatever makes a person happy.
Wow I rabbited on there! I'll just go crawl back into my pony filled room and shush now :p
Also, I agree with so many people here!
Oops I forgot to say that adults of both genders should be happy too! I did mean that in my above text wall but forgot to put the words "adult" in. To be honest, one of my male friends is really the only friend I have in person who loves ponies as much as I do! He certainly is not ashamed of these delightful little horses and I think that's just awesome and he's very happy! There should be nothing shameful in liking something (in a perfect world...)
[post merge ~ many thanks ~ hathorcat]
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What's wrong with MLP being a girl's franchise, and the boys that like it, you know, just being able to like it for what it is?
This is how I feel about it too.
The example I would use is Transformers. The current TF comic books have about a 40% female readership but the stories are still about robots in space who have big guns and fight wars and occasionally die. It's not "girly", there's not a lot of pink, but lots of girls like it, and that's fine.
(Actually the "robot blood" is pink in the comics so there is a lot of it but, uh, you know what I mean.)
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I've loved Transformers ever since I was a little girl and I never saw a need for everything to turn into pink glittery rainbows. Why would My Little Pony have to change just because boys like to watch a cartoon?
And honestly, in the 80s there were plenty of little boys who liked MLP and had one or two of their own. Rainbow colors and all things cute naturally appeal to small children. Why should they have to be deprived because boys aren't suppose to like that sort of thing? It broke my heart when I heard a father shaming his toddler son for wanting to go into the "girls section". My little pony and Transformers are already gender neutral. Society is the one deciding who gets to enjoy it and who can't.
And... as a little girl, I got a lot of slack for liking boy toys and I still see that divide now. Sure it's more acceptable but there are plenty of people who like give girls a hard time for liking "boy things".
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In my opinion I think the world itself needs to find a gender neutral median. So do I think MLP is a great start? Yes. Why is it a great start? (Look at how many school kids get hurt badly from bullies because of MLP)
I don't support bullies quite contrary. I support the idea that men need to get out of their shell and be what real men are. Real men have a heart and desire to be themselves without trying to prove that they are unbreakable. Of course back when I joined the MLP fandom Friendship is magic had yet to be thought of. I had a lot of negativity from people who had the gender roles at the highest priority. There was a lot less men who liked mlp
Do I think we need men who are obsessed with the color pink and wear dresses? (No) What I do think is there need to be a world where people can be who they are without people trying to tear them down because they think the world should be in pink and blue colors. I believe in a world of Rainbows darling rainbows!
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Going to try to only stand on my teenie soap box here... but I've seen this discussion before in much less friendly terms and it always irks me. There is a fairly large sub population of adult male fans (not saying that's necessarily anyone here, but you know they're out there) who think that MLP FiM should not be for little girls, and should be made more masculine, or more 'balanced' in terms of character genders in the show. And you know that? I don't agree.
There are very, very, very few quality cartoons aimed at girls. This is something I've discussed at length with a lot of people in the animation industry. Most girls cartoons these days are pretty horrible (horribly written, horribly animated, etc) and send messages that really are not doing girls any favors. My Little Pony Friendship is Magic is a show for girls that, while not perfect, is overall pretty good quality and usually has a good message. Honestly? Just let it be for girls. Let girls have this one. Boys can watch it too, of course they can, and they do. But in the industry categorization of things, this is a girls show, and you know what? That's okay! It's a victory for young girls programming. So let little girls have this one.
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This thread is beautiful. I think guys that like MLP are awesome AND I think girls that like MLP are awesome. I don't really prescribe to the idea that certain hobbies are only for one gender, but there is a definite divide on what people think is acceptable for a certain gender to enjoy and companies like Hasbro take notice. For example, I like to collect MLP but I'm also a huge gamer. People might think it's weird, but it makes me happy. On the other hand, I do understand why people might want things to not be so sharply divided. As a gamer, I'm often flat out frustrated by the portrayal of women in games. Do I think that those games should be more "gender neutral"? I sure do. In the same vein, I wish that there were a lot less "girls" franchises that did the whole Slice of Life thing. MLP would be pretty awesome an adventure high-fantasy series like the G1 cartoon. In the end though, we can't just have EVERYTHING become gender neutral eventually because hopefully one day these barriers will dissipate and little boys will show of their collection of G7 ponies while girls excitedly play videogames with their friends.
Sorry if that was hard to follow, I'm not very good at typing out my ideas sometimes.
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For a moment I thought the title was referring to having characters of non-binary genders. Which is still unlikely, unfortunately.
On the actual topic at hand, though:
Or how about we just accept that guys can like girly toys instead of making everything "gender neutral"?
Heaven forbid a guy needs to buy something in a pink packaging...
Yeah. I don't really see the need to make colorful plastic ponies exclusive to one gender or another.
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Everyone makes really, REALLY good points. I think I agree most with the assertion that if we didn't have such stringent expectations of how boys and girls should act and what they should like that we wouldn't need to be having discussions about gender neutral toys. Kids could just play with whatever they wanted.
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Instead of changing MLP, we need to make society 'grow up' and learn that being 'girly' isn't a bad thing.
Yes! This!
Being seen as feminine is bad. So that must mean being female is bad, right? I don't think so!
It's more acceptable for women to like things aimed at men rather than the other way around. People need to get over their sexism and enjoy what they like whether it be masculine or feminine.
I like how feminine MLP is. The girlyness appeals to me. And the fact there are male collectors out there willing to buy them "despite" the pink packaging is awesome.
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I would love to see adult shirts of MLP for both ladies and guys in stores like Walmart and Target, but what gets me is how they have tons of shirts/clothes for little girls - but nothing for the boys! Tons of boys like MLP, my nephew is one of them. He'd love to have pony merch. Missed marketing potential from Hasbro. :/
Actually I've seen Brony shirts at Hot Topics and Walmart had a shirt with a Pony silhouette that had the word Stud underneath in KISS-like letters. I thought it was pretty funny
I would like to see pony shirts at Walmart in Target for women in general not just for juniors or toddlers. I've seen several G1 shirts but they are all in toddler or junior size that I would not fit into.
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I don't really see a need for it to be more gender neutral. For one, it's been a girls toy for over 30 years, you'd have to put in a lot of time and effort to make one of the most well known girls toys into something neutral.
In any case, some things will just appeal more to one gender than another. My Little Pony is definitely one of those things.
Besides, part of the charm of MLP (particularly the show) comes from its girliness, and taking that away would just make it more bland.
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MLP would be pretty awesome an adventure high-fantasy series like the G1 cartoon.
And this really isn't making it gender neutral. This is accepting that girls can be adventures too.
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MLP would be pretty awesome an adventure high-fantasy series like the G1 cartoon.
And this really isn't making it gender neutral. This is accepting that girls can be adventures too.
Very true. I think some of this topic is kind of a contradiction, no? What innately makes MLP girly? Please, definition. Because it has lots of pink and pastel colored horses? Or deals with a lot of life lessons in friendships? How is that innately girly? Because there's a lot of girl characters? FiM still has better male representation than most 'male' or action genre shows have for women. But I digress, what innately of those things makes MLP girly? Isn't classifying it as such making it more gender restrictive? Why can't boys like frilly and frou-frou things? If we want to be 'gender neutral,' than we should be able to accept that children, no matter their perceived gender, can be anyway they want, and just because a girl likes to roll around in the mud playing with transformers, and a boy wants to wear dresses and play with pretty ponies, why does the girl have to be classified as boyish, and the boy girlish? Children's play is just that, and I think if we want to break down binaries and encourage this gender neutrality, then we need to accept that certain colors, styles of dress, objects, toys, items, animals, etc, are not in anyway innately girlish or boyish. But simply children's play. The whole masculine and feminine and perceptions of what defines each are societal constructs.
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For a moment I thought the title was referring to having characters of non-binary genders. Which is still unlikely, unfortunately.
On the actual topic at hand, though:
Or how about we just accept that guys can like girly toys instead of making everything "gender neutral"?
Heaven forbid a guy needs to buy something in a pink packaging...
I don't really see the need to make colorful plastic ponies exclusive to one gender or another.
This really isn't about making things exclusive to one gender. Every time i see a topic like this it's basicly about making ponies "less girly".
Cause "girly" (whatever that means) is bad or something.
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I think the better goal is to make "girly" less of a bad thing. Our perception of "girly" is weakness and frivolousness. G1 seemed to be trying to buck that trend by having a bunch of female ponies with ribbons in their tails go on adventures you could just as easily see male characters go on. The ponies were girly, but their conflicts weren't always stereotypical "girl" conflicts. I'm really not sure if I worded that right but I hope you get what I mean.
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I think the first step is just... not caring?? I didn't as a kid.... I watched TMNT, Care Bears, MLP, and Power Rangers. I just did whatever I felt like. Being told "girls don't do that" didn't matter to me... I ran around like a hooligan, I once head-butted a mean boy, but I also played with girls and did fairy-tale things. If I enjoyed it, it was for me. Girl or boy was meaningless.
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For a moment I thought the title was referring to having characters of non-binary genders. Which is still unlikely, unfortunately.
On the actual topic at hand, though:
Or how about we just accept that guys can like girly toys instead of making everything "gender neutral"?
Heaven forbid a guy needs to buy something in a pink packaging...
I don't really see the need to make colorful plastic ponies exclusive to one gender or another.
This really isn't about making things exclusive to one gender. Every time i see a topic like this it's basicly about making ponies "less girly".
Cause "girly" (whatever that means) is bad or something.
Yeah, I can't help but laugh at Bronies who are so happy to exclaim that they're defying gender roles, only to turn around and insult the earlier generations for being "too girly". Or even more contradictory, they turn around and claim that FiM is "gender-neutral", or "not for girls anymore".
If being 'girly' is something that is bad to them, they clearly aren't defying any gender roles whatsoever.
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Or how about we just accept that guys can like girly toys instead of making everything "gender neutral"?
Heaven forbid a guy needs to buy something in a pink packaging...
This! And what Harthrocat said.
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I think the better goal is to make "girly" less of a bad thing. Our perception of "girly" is weakness and frivolousness. G1 seemed to be trying to buck that trend by having a bunch of female ponies with ribbons in their tails go on adventures you could just as easily see male characters go on. The ponies were girly, but their conflicts weren't always stereotypical "girl" conflicts. I'm really not sure if I worded that right but I hope you get what I mean.
I see what you mean. But we need to teach that being "girly" isn't all about weakness. You can be "girly" and still be a strong person. We need to re-define what being girly really is.
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I see what you mean. But we need to teach that being "girly" isn't all about weakness. You can be "girly" and still be a strong person. We need to re-define what being girly really is.
That's what I'm saying. It needs to be demonstrated that girls, and not just the tomboyish girls, are just as capable to handling themselves as boys. Girly is cunning. Girly is determined. Girly is maybe not as violent but capable of resolving conflicts of weight.
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I think that this argument was misunderstood. At least for me it was when I posted my comment. For that I am sorry if I offended anyone. This debate upon MLP being gender neutral is taken way too many directions and I find it sad if there is no agreement among us or at least a resolution.
Let me make this statement one last time. I probably should have posted it here first but I was not thinking.
It is reasonable that the females on this forum desire to keep My little pony's target audience on the girls. If you stop to consider how few boys liked MLP back in the 1980's you realize that most of the women on this forum have a child hood that they hold dear to their hearts. This thread was posted out of curiosity and its responses was not in any way intended to be an attack on us male members of MLParena.
I failed to see that and now that I realize my mistake I want everyone on here to understand this as well. We all love My little pony and the original audience was little girls. The fact is little boys are now part of the audience nothing will change this.
Don't take me wrong because I love that the females in this fandom cherish their childhood. Its admirable that they want the young girls they have in their lifes to have the same opportunity to have a pleasant childhood. Even if My little pony becomes gender neutral nothing will take away your childhood or the value that My little pony has in its morals for little girls. It will always have value and for the record I find value in the morals as well and so does the men and young men of the Fandom. I ask from the deepest part of my heart for the female part of this forum to have compassion enough to share your child hood joy with us.
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This thread was posted out of curiosity and its responses was not in any way intended to be an attack on us male members of MLParena...I ask from the deepest part of my heart for the female part of this forum to have compassion enough to share your child hood joy with us.
An attack on male Arena members? What are you talking about? Everyone in this thread seems very supportive of guys liking MLP.
And you "find it sad if there is no agreement among us or at least a resolution"? There's some disagreement about what exactly "girly" and "gender neutral" mean, but everyone here seems to be in agreement that MLP should continue to be marketed to or aimed at little girls, but that boys absolutely should not be excluded or discouraged from liking it at well. I really don't understand what you're saying/seeing here.
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I've never felt personally attacked here. If anything, I feel more at home here than I do on most brony boards.
And their is a resolution to this. Keep My Little Pony a girl brand and work to help society not see "girly" as a bad thing. If My Little Pony became "gender neutral", I think we would have lost something.
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I ask from the deepest part of my heart for the female part of this forum to have compassion enough to share your child hood joy with us.
I don't see how anyone excluded males from being in the MLP forum. If anything we've been singing praises to guys who like something girly for once that finally break the double-standard.
I am going to try to formulate my next statement to where it does not offend and I hope people get my point. I think it's misogyny on the part of the fellas that want it more gender neutral. Those that do want it to be that way.....well, I get the impression they may be embarrassed or ashamed they like something labeled as feminine. We live in a very patriarchal world. I feel like MLP has done a fine job at catering to male fans as they get their own MLP t-shirts and the G4 comics to me seem more male-pandered. Just my opinion. Let those who enjoy femininity have their sanctuary. MLP as it is, is just wonderful.
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I think that this argument was misunderstood.
I'm honestly still kinda confused on what exactly the OP meant by the question. :blush:
Like, what in your mind would have to happen to make MLP gender neutral?
Obviously, a lot of males like it already.
If anyone here sounds defensive I think it's just because they like MLP the way it is and don't want it to change in order to appeal more to a different audience.
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It is reasonable that the females on this forum desire to keep My little pony's target audience on the girls.
It's not just "females" that want to keep MLP a girl brand. A lot of people with sense realize that women-centric quality programming is extremely hard to come by. MLP is generally a quality program, and USUALLY brand (let's not get into that one) so why not keep it for girls? Why the "neutrality"? Why can't men and boys play with pink horses?
Another thing that always gets me with FIM especially is the latest battle with Tirak, and how bronies immediately have said things such as "and people consider FIM girly, this aint girly!" A female character fighting anything does not make it "manly" or masculine.
I failed to see that and now that I realize my mistake I want everyone on here to understand this as well. We all love My little pony and the original audience was little girls. The fact is little boys are now part of the audience nothing will change this.
The "fact" is that little boys have always been part of MLPs audience.
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If anything, I think Friendship is Magic is trying to be too gender neutral right now by referencing memes and doing "cool" things like turning the Mane 6 into thin parodies of actual superheroes.
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I think that this argument was misunderstood. At least for me it was when I posted my comment. For that I am sorry if I offended anyone. This debate upon MLP being gender neutral is taken way too many directions and I find it sad if there is no agreement among us or at least a resolution.
Let me make this statement one last time. I probably should have posted it here first but I was not thinking.
It is reasonable that the females on this forum desire to keep My little pony's target audience on the girls. If you stop to consider how few boys liked MLP back in the 1980's you realize that most of the women on this forum have a child hood that they hold dear to their hearts. This thread was posted out of curiosity and its responses was not in any way intended to be an attack on us male members of MLParena.
I failed to see that and now that I realize my mistake I want everyone on here to understand this as well. We all love My little pony and the original audience was little girls. The fact is little boys are now part of the audience nothing will change this.
Don't take me wrong because I love that the females in this fandom cherish their childhood. Its admirable that they want the young girls they have in their lifes to have the same opportunity to have a pleasant childhood. Even if My little pony becomes gender neutral nothing will take away your childhood or the value that My little pony has in its morals for little girls. It will always have value and for the record I find value in the morals as well and so does the men and young men of the Fandom. I ask from the deepest part of my heart for the female part of this forum to have compassion enough to share your child hood joy with us.
The ability to seek insult where none was intended and discontent where none exists is worrying.
Lets not debate something which was never posted please.
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I ask from the deepest part of my heart for the female part of this forum to have compassion enough to share your child hood joy with us.
I don't see how anyone excluded males from being in the MLP forum. If anything we've been singing praises to guys who like something girly for once that finally break the double-standard.
I am going to try to formulate my next statement to where it does not offend and I hope people get my point. I think it's misogyny on the part of the fellas that want it more gender neutral. Those that do want it to be that way.....well, I get the impression they may be embarrassed or ashamed they like something labeled as feminine. We live in a very patriarchal world. I feel like MLP has done a fine job at catering to male fans as they get their own MLP t-shirts and the G4 comics to me seem more male-pandered. Just my opinion. Let those who enjoy femininity have their sanctuary. MLP as it is, is just wonderful.
But I do feel like most on the forum have a low opinion of Bronies! I don't mean to sound offensive, but it sometimes feels like you guys think that Bronies have somehow 'stolen' MLP and made it their own! But that's just my opinion.
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Not all male fans of My Little Pony are bronies (and not all bronies are males). I'm a male fan of My Little Pony, but I don't consider myself a brony. I've been a fan since 1992, and actually prefer G1 to FiM. I also don't like the attitudes some in the community have others are complacent in.
And in a way the bronies have have taken My Little Pony and made it their own. They have the ear of the show staff and Friendship is Magic has started show their influence. The result has been the series becoming more generic in its storytelling, more flanderized with its characters, and more forced in its humor.
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Not all male fans of My Little Pony are bronies (and not all bronies are males). I'm a male fan of My Little Pony, but I don't consider myself a brony. I've been a fan since 1992, and actually prefer G1 to FiM. I also don't like the attitudes some in the community have others are complacent in.
And in a way the bronies have have taken My Little Pony and made it their own. They have the ear of the show staff and Friendship is Magic has started show their influence. The result has been the series becoming more generic in its storytelling, more flanderized with its characters, and more forced in its humor.
I agree with you! I consider myself a Brony but prefer G1 and all the bronies I know just don't get why. But I do still stand by my comment that the ones who watched MLP since G1 look down on Bronies.
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And in a way the bronies have have taken My Little Pony and made it their own. They have the ear of the show staff and Friendship is Magic has started show their influence. The result has been the series becoming more generic in its storytelling, more flanderized with its characters, and more forced in its humor.
I agree with this. There are great bronies out there, don't get me wrong. But the ones I have come across have had a low opinion of G1, G2, and G3. They have taken MLP as their own as you have said.
I think this forum should welcome bronies, don't get me wrong. But what I love about this place is there is love for all generations here. Not just G4. I have burnt out on G4 thanks to the hate for G1 bronies have done. I hold G1 ponies dearly because they are part of my childhood. Thanks to G1 I have become a collector and met many WONDERFUL people at the Arena!
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And in a way the bronies have have taken My Little Pony and made it their own. They have the ear of the show staff and Friendship is Magic has started show their influence. The result has been the series becoming more generic in its storytelling, more flanderized with its characters, and more forced in its humor.
I agree with this. There are great bronies out there, don't get me wrong. But the ones I have come across have had a low opinion of G1, G2, and G3. They have taken MLP as their own as you have said.
I think this forum should welcome bronies, don't get me wrong. But what I love about this place is there is love for all generations here. Not just G4. I have burnt out on G4 thanks to the hate for G1 bronies have done. I hold G1 ponies dearly because they are part of my childhood. Thanks to G1 I have become a collector and met many WONDERFUL people at the Arena!
Well don't worry! There are some Bronies, like myself, who love G1!
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I ask from the deepest part of my heart for the female part of this forum to have compassion enough to share your child hood joy with us.
I don't see how anyone excluded males from being in the MLP forum. If anything we've been singing praises to guys who like something girly for once that finally break the double-standard.
I am going to try to formulate my next statement to where it does not offend and I hope people get my point. I think it's misogyny on the part of the fellas that want it more gender neutral. Those that do want it to be that way.....well, I get the impression they may be embarrassed or ashamed they like something labeled as feminine. We live in a very patriarchal world. I feel like MLP has done a fine job at catering to male fans as they get their own MLP t-shirts and the G4 comics to me seem more male-pandered. Just my opinion. Let those who enjoy femininity have their sanctuary. MLP as it is, is just wonderful.
But I do feel like most on the forum have a low opinion of Bronies! I don't mean to sound offensive, but it sometimes feels like you guys think that Bronies have somehow 'stolen' MLP and made it their own! But that's just my opinion.
And with that post...I will lock this if necessary :/
I am sick (5 days of the flu is seriously getting to me)...I cannot be bothered with a debate about bronies v collectors.
So I am going to say this like it is...
This is a collectors forum - its been about before G4, it will be about after G4. The majority of people on here are collectors, they are not bronies. Is there a feeling that we, i.e. those who have been collecting and supporting MLP since before G4, have got a little shoved out in favour of a cooler, larger and perhaps more willing to spend their $$ group? Yup, there is. But you know what? In the main, we handle ourselves with class and simply accept it. We have the occasional rant (I include myself in that) because when you see certain things happen within the community, within Hasbro, within licensees its easy to have your nose put out of joint. But thats it - nothing more, nothing less than some personal feelings. And it is far from the sentiment of everyone on this forum - lots of people love what G4 is doing for adult collectors.
Typically everyone gets along, we aim for rainbows & sunshine and sure sometimes we miss and get some rain and thunder but anyone who wishes to join us (scammers excluded) is welcome and I would love to see someone point to a thread or a post which made someone feel unwelcome. So what if some people have a low opinion on bronies on here? I am sure some people on other forums or sites have low opinions of collectors. If anyone gets nasty with it...yup we will lock it down and the poster may feel some penguin wrath but seldom does that ever happen (we get more bent out of shape about things like doll hair and whether a pony should stay MIB than about being a "collector" or a "brony").
None of us care if you are boy or girl, if you only collect G1 or only watch the G4 cartoons. Everyone is welcome; everyone is entitled to their opinion. But I, for one, do get fed up with the "I feel as though no one likes me because I am a guy or because I am a brony" sentiment that is sometimes posted. I never see that anywhere and it feels a little imagined sometimes.
AND THAT WAS WILDLY OFF TOPIC...but I am allowed...I am ill :P (plus I can access the lock button).
Please get back to the previous 4 pages of interesting discussion and not any of the "nasty bronies v snobby collectors" or "ewwwww boys!!!!!" comments made. :P
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All sunshine makes a desert and you need rain for rainbows. Still, we don't need a hurricane in here.
Back on topic. What if, in the next installment of MLP media, the main group has a male pony in it similar to how some boy shows have a female character in the main group?
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All sunshine makes a desert and you need rain for rainbows. Still, we don't need a hurricane in here.
Back on topic. What if, in the next installment of MLP media, the main group has a male pony in it similar to how some boy shows have a female character in the main group?
I'd like to see this. And you know, not have them be the "little brother" character like Spike. Or a love interest to another member of the main group. But an actual equal. I think there needs to be more messages in girls shows out there that it's okay to be friends with boys. I got so much flak when I was a kid for having a friend that was a guy and not hanging out with girls 100% of the time. And even today, recent shows portray the "hanging out with the girls" thing all the time.
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I don't want a main character guy pony (not a little brother type) because then we'll inevitably get romance plots.
And I'm fine with romance in, for example, Jem and the Holograms or Barbie Life in the Dreamhouse. Nothing against romance in general.
But I think it's good that girls have some brands with minimal romance because sometimes it seems that's all being a woman / girl is about. ROMANCE! BOYS! Being the HOT SCIENTIST GIRLFRIEND of the main dude character instead of just "the smart scientist". You know?
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Very true. Though, it might be an incentive to try to have a guy in a mostly female group and there not be a romantic undertone to it. Girls and boys can be friends and even close friends without being girlfriends and boyfriends.
The shippers would have a field day with him, but the shippers are shipping the Mane 6 six ways from Sunday including to each other, so it's not like that would be a change.
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No matter how much they intended for the guy to just be a friend to the girl ponies, I really don't think it's possible because there are some tropes that are so familiar they run in ruts, you know what I mean? Whoever was in charge would have to crack the whip on everything EVERY writer produced because it's almost ingrained that "adult male + unrelated adult female + proximity = ~romance~".
Sort of like how with Pinkie Pie, "humorous lighthearted pony who is somewhat eccentric" morphed into "LOL 100% crazy all the time breaking-the-fourth wall pony". It was a trope, and poor Pinkie Pie got sucked into it and good luck undoing it.
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Pinkie Pie is part of the bronies have the show staff's ear as they want LOL 100% crazy all the time breaking the fourth wall pony. However, I see your point. And I doubt the current staff could help themselves.
It would be a noble endeavor that would probably solve the problem I think this thread wants addressed than making the brand gender neutral. A male or small number of males included in a larger group of female friends as an equal would demonstrate that it is acceptable for a boy hangout with girls. However, you're right that it would require going against the grain and require such a high level of diligence.
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I'm not sure what the expectations are with the topic. How exactly would you like MLP to become 'gender neutral'? Exactly where would you change the brand? Is this just hasbro and store location that makes it girl or boy leaning?
Seems to me it's a personal choice in what you want for yourself, not exactly sure how people on the forum are going to answer/change or direct a question like this?
I like MLP, I am female. I've liked MLP for 30 years, this goes well beyond happy childhood memories at this point. So I'm not sure exactly HOW you want me to change myself or MLP to make it this magical gender neutral you speak of.
I'm assuming the only way we can do that is make everything tan and grey because apparently the minute you add pink or blue to something, people start putting it in the boy or girl zone. And last I checked you really can't control everyone in the population, especially in a free population where people are allowed to choose things they want.
Especially as adults, at some point you need to get beyond your own prejudices and stop worrying about what other people thing of your hobby. Frankly guys are not the only ones who get judged for liking MLP. I was judged as a teenager for liking it back in the 80's and I'm a female.
Frankly at some point it becomes much to do about nothing.
Like what you like, especially if you are an adult, you don't really have to answer to anyone for liking MLP :/
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I'm also of the opinion that this is a issue with society, not with collectors!
My husband's favorite color is pink. Everyone assumes the pink item is for me, nope it isn't! :D We collect Hello Kitty stuff together, and he contributed about 60% of it when we got married!
It is so ridiculous that society frowns upon men liking girly things. There is nothing wrong with being girly! As kaoskat said, maybe we need to work on THAT definition rather than make everything gender-neutral. If a boy wants to play with dress-up, fine whatever. And so if a girl wants to drive trucks and play in the mud, fine whatever. If that person wants to paint a mural, fine whatever. Gender only matters when you need to get undressed! ;)
And I think the male collectors are awesome. Not because you've challenged and overcome the stereotype (although yay! if you have!) but because YOU LIKE PONIES TOO. :) You have great insights into your collections, when you choose to share. Many of the Arena guys have Big Brother avatars/Signatures, and some don't. Some have personas, some don't. :)
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All sunshine makes a desert and you need rain for rainbows. Still, we don't need a hurricane in here.
Back on topic. What if, in the next installment of MLP media, the main group has a male pony in it similar to how some boy shows have a female character in the main group?
Spike kinda fills that role when he appears in any generation. I think it would be cool to have a male pony lead though. Especially if they approached it in a way that showed the male pony doing stereotypically "girly" things and that that was okay.
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All sunshine makes a desert and you need rain for rainbows. Still, we don't need a hurricane in here.
Back on topic. What if, in the next installment of MLP media, the main group has a male pony in it similar to how some boy shows have a female character in the main group?
Spike kinda fills that role when he appears in any generation. I think it would be cool to have a male pony lead though. Especially if they approached it in a way that showed the male pony doing stereotypically "girly" things and that that was okay.
I actually always liked this about Spike...well, at least for as long as I've thought about it. Sure, he's younger, so that is a slightly different dimension than what I think people here are talking about, but even still, no one in show criticizes or teases him for having all these female friends or doing stereotypically "girly" things (like baking or supervising the baby ponies). Honestly, even Danny in G1 never himself expresses any discomfort about hanging around all this pink female ponies, at least as far as I remember. So at first I thought I wouldn't really like having a male main character as part of the group, but now I think it could very much could be OK depending on how it's handled.
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Danny actually seemed to be more on the ponies' level than Megan was. He made fun of Molly (especially in the movie) but that was more of a brother/sister thing. He also had a close friendship with Surprise with no hint of romance to it for obvious reasons, probably the kind of friendship Megan was supposed to have with Sundance.
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All sunshine makes a desert and you need rain for rainbows. Still, we don't need a hurricane in here.
Back on topic. What if, in the next installment of MLP media, the main group has a male pony in it similar to how some boy shows have a female character in the main group?
Spike kinda fills that role when he appears in any generation. I think it would be cool to have a male pony lead though. Especially if they approached it in a way that showed the male pony doing stereotypically "girly" things and that that was okay.
Ooh, I agree! The fact that a male lead in MLP hadn't even occurred to me is a sign that it would be a fascinating twist for the franchise. Unfortunately I'm not sure how likely it is that it will happen, but I think that would be really cool.
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Sorry for not responding. Just got a chance. Sorry Hathorcat about jumping to conclusions. I really felt strongly about it and was worried. Of course that rule about back seat moding applies to my poor decision. I appreciate you making relevant that this is a friendly debate.
I still love the way that the females of MLParena hold onto their childhood the way they do. It makes this forum so inviting. I look forward to what the future may hold. I still have faith that no matter what happens MLP will still give children a pleasant child hood and valuable morals.
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I feel like if Hasbro introduced a male MC to be Just Friends, Okay? in the Mane 6's group, it would turn into some thing about him being for bronies - as in, he's representative of bronies in general or something. Then there would be some kind of nonsense about Why Doesn't Twilight Like Male Friend Instead Of Flash Sentry, That Guy Is Such A Jerk And Male Friend Is Such A Nice Guy
Even if that didn't happen, I still agree that at some point, there would be romantic story arcs, with either one of the Mane 6ers crushing on him or vice versa.
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I feel like if Hasbro introduced a male MC to be Just Friends, Okay? in the Mane 6's group, it would turn into some thing about him being for bronies - as in, he's representative of bronies in general or something. Then there would be some kind of nonsense about Why Doesn't Twilight Like Male Friend Instead Of Flash Sentry, That Guy Is Such A Jerk And Male Friend Is Such A Nice Guy
Even if that didn't happen, I still agree that at some point, there would be romantic story arcs, with either one of the Mane 6ers crushing on him or vice versa.
That's sort of how I feel, too. As it stands, we do have a male character who plays a large role in the Mane 6 friend group - Spike the dragon! Sure he's younger, but he's played a large role, he's had multiple episodes centered around him, he generally plays a big part in the series. He even helped save the crystal empire! (I would argue he gets almost as much screen time as Applejack, who seems to be the least-represented Mane 6 character in general.) If anything, I'd hope to see more screen time with him, rather than shoehorn in a male character to help men feel 'more represented' or whatever.
We're already seeing the concern for 'reverse representation' in the crowd scenes (Season 1 was 99% female crowds, now it's more 60-40 on male and female backgrounders from what I've noticed), and I'd hate to see it become so obvious that it becomes part of the main storyline. :/ I can't help but feel like it's a bit forced, and probably due to pressure from the fandom, and not in the spirit of the first season.
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I wasn't talking about doing it now. I was talking about a future generation. And I would definitely not want him to become a representative of bronies because again not all males who like MLP are bronies.
And I personally don't like what they've been doing with Spike lately. Spike is a sidekick built to be a sidekick, and when they make him a main character for an episode it shows how thin and grating his personalty can be.
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I wasn't talking about doing it now. I was talking about a future generation. And I would definitely not want him to become a representative of bronies because again not all males who like MLP are bronies.
And I personally don't like what they've been doing with Spike lately. Spike is a sidekick built to be a sidekick, and when they make him a main character for an episode it shows how thin and grating his personalty can be.
Well (at risk of going off-topic), I think the issue isn't 'Spike is just a sidekick', but the flanderization of all of the characters, Spike included. I think in the first episode especially, we see him as having more personality - attending a birthday party without Twilight, talking back to/disagreeing with her, supporting her but not unquestioningly - than we see in later episodes. He became more two-dimensional, and because he is a baby dragon, he became an even more grating stereotype. Instead of "kind-hearted but innocent, easily misled or confused due to being a child" became "literally incapable of doing anything on his own without completely ruining everything he touches, useless and annoying." :P
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And when it comes time for him to have to save the day, everyone must be nerfed because he doesn't have their capabilities. "Let's disable our chief means of dealing with an emergency because death and injury are nothing compared to the unspeakable evil of cheating." Though, Spike's only unique capability is being a fax machine which doesn't make for interesting episode ideas.
I was just thinking how well Arcee and Airachnid fit in with their "male" colleagues in Transformers Prime and if My Little Pony could do the opposite.
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I think they could get away with a male main character if he was already in a relationship with someone outside the group.
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I wasn't talking about doing it now. I was talking about a future generation. And I would definitely not want him to become a representative of bronies because again not all males who like MLP are bronies.
And I personally don't like what they've been doing with Spike lately. Spike is a sidekick built to be a sidekick, and when they make him a main character for an episode it shows how thin and grating his personalty can be.
I agree with you. If they make a male character for the main six right now we can kiss what little of a good reputation for Bronies good bye. Forget about improving the situation. Hasbro has cursed us! (Sigh) Thank goodness they have not done this yet because it gives us time. If there can be a part of the Brony fandom we can make positive in the eyes of who grew up with MLP. This will be an accomplishment. It is a goal of mine and my other friends on FB. There may be tolerance now in which I am grateful but I would like to see if we can improve our current reputation.
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Though, Spike's only unique capability is being a fax machine which doesn't make for interesting episode ideas.
I don't know, maybe there could be a huge conspiracy where he was caught leaking classified information to the changelings! :P
But yeah, I agree that Spike has gotten flatter and flatter over the seasons (which is a shame, considering how much development the others have gone through). At this point, Friendship is Witchcraft Spike has more depth and character than FiM Spike, which is just terrible.
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I love Spike. I don't think he needs to be a superhero to be worthwhile. But I will agree that all the characters seem to have lost something in these last few seasons.
But yea, I guess I also wonder what is meant by gender neutral. Even adding a character of another sex really doesn't make it gender neutral. I loved Transformers Prime but Arcee and Arachnid still lived in a male centric world. Even when digging deeper into Arcee's inner most motives, she still focused on a male and suggested romantic loss. That's not really wrong at all. I loved the show and her. But it's definitely not gender neutral.
But as said before, it's hard to find any shows at all that aren't male-centric and I think that's what makes My Little Pony special and unique. Most male stereotypes take charge/romance/outsmart/save/show up female main characters in one way or the other. I feel that any male character introduced into MLP would be pressured by fans/consumers to do the same and that would turn MLP into something completely different. If the character were a male version of Rarity, sure. But I really doubt that would happen.
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Maybe that's why I'm fascinated by matriarchal societies where females are expected to be in the roles of leadership. Even though so many writers have made the bonehead move of making the females of such society exactly like stereotypical males (or worse over compensate) in their attitudes. That's why I like My Little Pony because it shows us a matriarchal society that doesn't fall into this trap.
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If this has already been mentioned please excuse me (going to read back through the thread after posting), but animals in general are marketed as a girl thing, because in my experience they mainly appeal to girls and women. Working within the animal care/welfare industries, you tend to find a very high percentage of women staff. Vet clinics, shelters, zoos, wildlife parks, labs, horse riding or agistment, dog walking, grooming, animal boarding, catteries and kennels - most of them would have a majority of female staff. When I was at TAFE doing the Diploma of Animal Technology, I would say there was one guy for every 10 girls in my classes. Of course animals appeal to men just as much as women, but women seem to be driven more to caring for and working with animals as a life choice.
I believe that's why animal toys are mainly marketed as girl toys. Fur real friends, pound puppies, puppy in my pocket, my little pony/puppy/kitty, pony/puppy/kitty surprise, stuffed animal toys, those giant 'realistic' ponies like Butterscotch - all very typical girl aisle toys. Media catering to animals, especially horses, is also little girl central - Black Beauty, Pony Club, Saddle Club, Flicka, etc. Animals, especially baby animals or animals about to give birth, strike on the nurturing/caring/keeping healthy interactive elements. Of course that kind of play style can appeal to boys and I do see little boys looking through the animal stuff and playing with the 'stroke my back to hear me make a sound' realistic animal toy types, but overall its the girls who desire and consume such products, so of course they would be marketed heavily into the pink, sparkly and maternal themes.
As for MLP in particular, I really don't see a problem with the abundance of little girl's marketing. It is obvious from the brony crowd that they don't care if its supposed to be for them or not, they will consume what they like regardless of company marketing, and I believe a lot of kids these days are the same. I see plenty of little girls looking at action figures and toy cars, and little boys looking at dolls and collectible charms. Quite often I see pairs of opposite gendered siblings walking the toy aisles together, saying 'Look at this! Look at that!' and enjoying everything. The girl's aisle and the boy's aisle still exist but the rule of only being able to enjoy one or the other is steadily breaking down, I really don't think boys will be turned away from MLP or lose interest solely because Hasbro continues the girl targeted marketing. In fact it's a good thing - femininity and masculinity are both distinct and appeal for different reasons. A bland grey neutral toy is going to appeal to nobody. A pretty pink princess and a battle-scarred hero are two very different things that can potentially appeal to anybody! Diversity in toys and marketing is good, forced segregation and denial of choice is what should be stamped out.
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I have to imagine toy companies would love to see the forced segregation and denial of choice stamped out because that improves says. However, everything has to have a style to be appealing and styles will almost always favor masculine or feminine and feminine best fits My Little Pony.
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Well, it's true that marketing a product involves selling an "image" of the kind of person who buys this product because that's what people relate to, and so yes, companies do tend to move towards a forced "segregation" of "masculine" and "feminine" concepts because that's easy and familiar to conceptualize since it's a concept that already exists, but they don't have to use that dichotomy, and using it doesn't even have to mean it's a reflection of some natural preference state. It's more of a feedback loop, where they have a predictable market if they can convince people that this is the epitome of what girls like or what boys like, and in turn, the more people are convinced, the more they ask for that kind of thing.
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Well, it's true that marketing a product involves selling an "image" of the kind of person who buys this product because that's what people relate to, and so yes, companies do tend to move towards a forced "segregation" of "masculine" and "feminine" concepts because that's easy and familiar to conceptualize since it's a concept that already exists, but they don't have to use that dichotomy, and using it doesn't even have to mean it's a reflection of some natural preference state. It's more of a feedback loop, where they have a predictable market if they can convince people that this is the epitome of what girls like or what boys like, and in turn, the more people are convinced, the more they ask for that kind of thing.
Some one give this girl a golden metal! Great response :iconclap:
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Bonnie Zacherle wanted it neutral, and Hasbro kinda made it that way on G1, but G4 is just a bit less girly than G3 was, so I guess it will never be.
It might be, but probably not in the next following years.
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All the generations were pretty damn girly. (I mean that in a non-negative way; it's just what they were.)
Arguably the least girly generation was G2. (Reminder: MLP Tales is not G2. G2 is the toyline with the skinny horses.) It had pretty many bright "non-pink" color schemes (at least once the line hit Europe), the boy and girl poses were identical so you could assign any pony to a "boy" role, and there wasn't any TV show to reinforce the "this is a land of singing and hearts and sparkles" aspect.
I wonder if there were more boys (in Europe) who played with MLPs compared to G1 or G3?
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Nah....this is an old thread and I was done babysitting it some time ago :) Its gone in circles for 6 pages. Lets try something new...*oooooh look shiny shiny...throws confetti, locks thread and vanishes*