I do not want to be called a Brony.

[Sky_Rocket_Sammie]

No (where's Grumpy cat when you need him). I've been a fan of MLP from childhood (early 80s). And like others have all ready said, there is a section of the fandom. That makes Brony, not something I ever want to be associated with.

Seconding what Tirac said. If anyone approached me to do something like that. I'd be calling them out. That hay doesn't fly with me. Ever.

That being said, it's nice to know that the whole fandom isn't like that. It's something I do mention when I get the whole "uggh are you a brony?".  In fact I've pointed folks in the direction of the Arena. As proof. Thanks Arena. 

[shabbychicdee]

Sorry to raise a necro thread, but I reject the brony label as well. I call myself a big brother pony, to coincide with the names of the G1 males

i really love the big brother name it sounds so friendly, i think you started something there

[Kaeldre]

Eugh...people tried to pin that label on me when I started getting into the FiM fandom. >.<  My fiance called himself that and, while he wasn't horrible as some... he was still...out there.   As the fandom got worse, we backed away from it and dropped the labels.

[Elfpony]

I've done several mlp panels at anime cons and frequently been called a Brony. Without thinking about it, I've corrected people saying I'm a collector. What's the difference?  To my mind, calling myself a collector is akin to specifying that I've been in the fandom longer than fim. No judgement call, just my way of identifying myself in the fandom.

Elf

[Sarah-Bee]

I wonder how many mods *headdesk* when these threads appear/reappear

[Sky_Rocket_Sammie]

We need a zombie smiley, for dead threads popping back up (like daises!). 

[Moonracer]

Me, personally - I don't really feel bothered by the darker themes that appear in peoples artwork, fiction or the official comics, being a huge fan of all things horror and all things creepy. But gore and violence on the other hand... I don't mind gore in horror films, but in stuff like "My Little Pony", not only is it out of place, but it also feels so sick, disturbing and just... wrong. This particularly goes for all the nasty artwork featuring the, so-called, fluffy ponies.

Similar thing goes for the sexually explicit art: it just feels wrong on so many levels... but I won't delve into that any deeper.

As for labels. In the beginning I used to think of myself as a pegasister/brony. But after some time, I just decided to drop this label all together, and go as a regular "My Little Pony fan/collector" instead. This is mostly because I like "My Little Pony" as a whole, and not G4/Friendship is Magic. That and the fact that G1 feels more close to my heart, because it was a generation I grew up with.

[hathorcat]

I wonder how many mods *headdesk* when these threads appear/reappear

[Sarah-Bee]

We need a zombie smiley, for dead threads popping back up (like daises!). 

[lonewolf]

I've only known the term as "male pony fan" (let's me say "I was brony, when brony wasn't cool" ), so I didn't mind the term. Though I will admit it does carry a bit of stigma to it to where It's even starting to bug me. Of course like any other fanbase the extreme ones are always louder than the normals, and they're the ones non fans take note of.
 For the record I do like some of the darker stuff, and I love crossovers (Ace Combat, Monty Python, Team Fortress 2, and Weird Al, to name a few). I've written one (and working on another) fanfic that crosses FiM with Ace Combat (pony flies the jet  ). And as being a member of the of the New Lunar Republic fanbase, I'll say most who consider themselves part of it don't want Celestia dead (Cele has her "Solar Empire" fans who are the same way). Most just prefer Luna over Celestia.

[content edit ~ many thanks ~ hathorcat]

[Tenar]

I think many here are being too harsh on the bronie community. I don't think that many people realize how hard it is for these young men to admit to liking the show. Here is a good video that touches on how the bronies have to fight against defined gender roles: http://youtu.be/Est3UNs-LIk

For that kind of fight they should be celebrated. If they want to have fun and make equestria a dark place filled with political upheaval that's their prerogative as an expression of (fan) art (yes fan fiction is a form of fan art).

I'm not saying that anyone else has to like or agree with that expression and no if you don't want to draw that then don't take the commission, however, you shouldn't dis-encourage people from expressing themselves.   

[mercynova]

I am still seeing some females in this thread and others calling themselves a brony....

Seriously. You can't be a brony if you are a girl, that's stupid! Bro is short for brother, brothers can only be male. This is pre-school stuff.

[reanna-mator]

I am still seeing some females in this thread and others calling themselves a brony....

Seriously. You can't be a brony if you are a girl, that's stupid! Bro is short for brother, brothers can only be male. This is pre-school stuff.

... that was sarcasm, right?

[mercynova]

I am still seeing some females in this thread and others calling themselves a brony....

Seriously. You can't be a brony if you are a girl, that's stupid! Bro is short for brother, brothers can only be male. This is pre-school stuff.

... that was sarcasm, right?

Deadly serious.

[Shiromisa]

I think many here are being too harsh on the bronie community. I don't think that many people realize how hard it is for these young men to admit to liking the show. Here is a good video that touches on how the bronies have to fight against defined gender roles: http://youtu.be/Est3UNs-LIk

For that kind of fight they should be celebrated. If they want to have fun and make equestria a dark place filled with political upheaval that's their prerogative as an expression of (fan) art (yes fan fiction is a form of fan art).

I'm not saying that anyone else has to like or agree with that expression and no if you don't want to draw that then don't take the commission, however, you shouldn't dis-encourage people from expressing themselves.   

That's kinda the thing that gets me though. Look at it this way: when a girl likes something "traditionally" for boys (let's take video games or science fiction as examples, though in reality the fanbases for both are about equally split between genders now), she gets grilled on trivia and ridiculed and told she's just there for attention, or a poser, or a dozen other hostile, uncomplimentary things. Conversely, when a boy likes something "traditionally" for girls (say ponies or knitting), he's welcomed as something special and uncommon and given preferential treatment in fandom.

Now, that's not to say we shouldn't be welcoming to all fans--we should! But male pony fans are just that, and no better or worse than anyone else.