Has the rise of the Bronies been a bad thing for MLP?

[Empress Celestia]

As a Brony who is beginning to tire of my own fandom, I've come to the conclusion that we've had too much influence over MLP.
Also I've become a big fan of G1, and I'm  thought of as weird by my fellow Bronies!

[HoustonCollector72]

Mlp has not been influenced by the Bronies , just a different demographic fan base and some companies have cashed in it with that new demographic in mind, as far as I can see the show was never created with the Bronies in mind and that is still unchanged.

 

[reanna-mator]

I think that's a very complicated and thorny question. There has been some good and some bad, but it's almost impossible to tell what MLP would be like now if the brony thing had never happened. We can really only speculate about that and in the end I don't think there can be a consensus with such a polarized issue and fandom. I'm just happy for MLP's continued success, for better or worse, bronies or no.

[removed for back seat modding ~ many thanks ~ hathorcat]

[Noxxbunny]

I suppose it's a bad thing depending on what merchandise you like. My understanding is that the rise of molded manes came with G4. I'm new to ponies, so I could be wrong though.

[MJNSEIFER]

It's kind of a double-edged sword really.  I don't think they're ultimately helpful or harmful to MLP, though some bronies lead to one side more than the other, depending on how they behave.

But it would be pointless for outsiders to judge the whole thing on the fault of one side of the fandom, so anyone who did juge the whole fandom on them, probably don't really care about ponies anyway, if that makes sense.

So yeah, neither helpful nor harmful, but some are better than others when it comes to representing MLP.

Also I've become a big fan of G1, and I'm  thought of as weird by my fellow Bronies!

I know how you feel, but the majority of those bronies haven't bothered to watch the older generations propperly yet - they have grown up thinking that MLP was a lame thing that became good, but most of what they like about FIM/G4 is present in the previous generations.

This seems to take forever to happen, but I have seen bronies change their minds about the older generations, so maybe one day all gens will be respected?  Just keep hoping.

I think that's a very complicated and thorny question. There has been some good and some bad, but it's almost impossible to tell what MLP would be like now if the brony thing had never happened. We can really only speculate about that and in the end I don't think there can be a consensus with such a polarized issue and fandom. I'm just happy for MLP's continued success, for better or worse, bronies or no.

[removed for back seat modding ~ many thanks ~ hathorcat]

This.

[zombienixon]

I honestly don't think we have too much influence over the brand.  Sure, we've had lots of merchandise directed towards us and other older fans, but on the whole about the only thing we've managed to accomplish is getting a few shots of fan-favorite characters (Octavia, Lyra, etc.) in the show, and having Celestia toys changed from pink to white. And the latter was probably due more to the complaints of children/parents than us.

Also, you've seen G1. You have to know that kind of thing is an acquired taste.  A number of my brony friends like it, others just don't get it.  G3/3.5 is more so, since it's so overly cutesy and saccharine.

It's a two-way street, honestly. I think they're a little weird for listening to so much pony music and reading fanfiction, some of them won't get what I like about earlier gens.

From what I've seen, though, the people in the fandom have come to appreciate older gens a little more as they're exposed to more of it.

[Silver_mirror46]

I think it's brought good and bad, MLP has gotten more attention in the collector's area (whather it caters to which side of the MLP fandom as a whole is another issue) and well while some aspects have grown infamous I think reanna is right, we'll see eventually what it has summed up to and yeah it's great the franschise has grown for better or worse

[Navi]

Anytime something gains more visibility, like MLP has in recent years, it'll bring in different kinds of people. I don't think it's good or bad, just a broader audience. It's keeping the brand alive, that's for sure!

[spottedslug]

Dropping in an early warning to keep things respectful. 

I like to think of bronies as chaotic neutral myself.   

[lovesbabysquirmy]

I like to think of bronies as chaotic neutral myself.   

I'll just quote a moderator since that seems to be about all we can say!  :-p

[sweetiebabyfizzy]

I dunno maybe, it's hard to say.

I don't think it's all that terrible that guys want to like MLP. Why can't they have a sensitive side? Why can't girls like transformers? 

OK here's my theory:

Based on many financial studies, facts and figures, men as a general population have more money than women.

Men are still getting paid more overall then women, they progress in their careers faster than women (glass ceiling), and they just overall have more disposable income.

Therefore, they have more money to spend on hobbies like MLP. And they are also more willing to spend more money on hobbies such as MLP.

Women, being we inherently make less, don't have has much money to spend on hobbies such as MLP. Women also spend money on many other things, based not only on regular family duties but also pressure form society.

Everything women purchase to "fit in" be pretty, accepted and beautiful is very expensive.  Make-up, clothes, jewelry, weight loss products, beauty products women spend a lot more money on these things and they are not cheap. (this is just one example of many other things that women spend their money on that men do not)

Men, on the other hand don't need to spend as much money on these types of things. It's perfectly acceptable to wear a couple tee shirts and the same two pairs of jeans and be done with it. Men also aren't as concerned with brands as much as women are (and they don't have to be)

Guys can roll out of bed; wash their faces with water (no face wash) run their fingers through their hair, put on a tee shirt, board shorts, and sandals and are totally sexy! 

Women buy and use a lot more products and clothes to accomplish the same things.

And don't even get me started on single mothers. I know for the USA, the number of single mothers as increased highly over the past 10-12 years. These women have even less money to spend on hobbies like MLP.

Ok sorry long post:

I think based on my theory that men have more disposable income, and are more willing to spend that disposable income on MLP, Hasbro has started producing more products that will appeal to this audience because they want to make money. 

So, it kinda sucks for us old school G1 collectors, we get pushed to the side because we simply won't give Hasbro as much bang for their buck in the production of MLP. (aren't there still 2011 Fair ponies for sale? Those were made for collectors, not bronies)

I think Bronies is a phase that will pass. But I do feel a little depressed sometimes that Bronies receive so much attention and it's so hip and cool to like MLP now, when I've liked MLP since 1982. 

[spottedslug]

I like to think of bronies as chaotic neutral myself.   

I'll just quote a moderator since that seems to be about all we can say!  :-p

I mean it as a complement too!

[Dreamer]

Huummm, I don't have anything against men liking ponies... and without them we would not have so much G4 merchandise and some brushables such as Lyra and Muffin... but MLP is recieving some bad publicity because of them... and I'm going to stop here. I already know that not all bronies are like that, sure, but...

[shimmlight]

No, I don't think so. If anything it's done the opposite.

[PinkiePosh]

I'm just going to drop my opinion: yes.
But that's only my opinion. I don't really care for G4 or the fanbase. Those who know me will know why. Also, Hasbro seems to cater to them.

I'd like to expand on the molded hair comment : what is the point if they don't have hair? As a hairstylist and MLP collector this makes Pinkie very angry. Grrrr.