Will MLP ever be gender neutral?

[Noxxbunny]

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.

[LadyMoondancer]

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?

[Al-1701]

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.

[LadyMoondancer]

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.

[Al-1701]

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.

[KarentheUnicorn]

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 :/

[lovesbabysquirmy]

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!    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. 

[Sparkle Pony]

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.

[Elisto]

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.

[Al-1701]

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.

[reanna-mator]

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.

[SaphTalon]

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.     

[ghouldilocks]

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.

[Snapdragon]

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.

[Al-1701]

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.