# "Brony" type phenomena prior to MLP:FIM **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 26, 2013, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brony-type-phenomena-prior-to-mlp-fim/648446 "2013-01-26T17:37:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2013, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brony-type-phenomena-prior-to-mlp-fim/648446/1 "2013-01-26T17:37:53Z")
In a nutshell, “bronies” are male (many of them adult) fans of the TV show “My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic”, the reboot of the MLP franchise which was historically considered a show for little girls. Some people consider the phenomenon of adult men loving a story intended for little girls to be amusing, interesting, or potentially perverted. Are there any other “girls’” media that have or have had similar phenomena where there was a significant fandom of boys or adult men? I seem to remember that there was a fairly large male fandom of the show _Sailor Moon_ back in the day, but I don’t hear much of it anymore. I remember that it has been revealed in _South Park_ that several male characters, including Eric Cartman, read _Nancy Drew_, but I don’t remember there ever being a significant male following in RL that received any sort of notoriety. Was there a large underground fandom of males “borrowing” their sister’s or daughter’s Nancy Drew books? This thread is not intended for debating what it is that makes bronies into who they are. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2013, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brony-type-phenomena-prior-to-mlp-fim/648446/2 "2013-01-26T18:12:42Z")
I don’t think it was aimed entirely at girls but Powerpuff Girls had a huge boy/man following back in the day. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2013, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brony-type-phenomena-prior-to-mlp-fim/648446/3 "2013-01-26T18:48:48Z")
Bronies are a real thing? :dubious: I thought it was just something made up by **Hot in Cleveland** to mock furries or cosplayers. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2013, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brony-type-phenomena-prior-to-mlp-fim/648446/4 "2013-01-26T21:44:09Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > Bronies are a real thing? :dubious: I thought it was just something made up by **Hot in Cleveland** to mock furries or cosplayers. They are very much a real thing. They even have a convention: [Bronycon.](http://www.bronycon.org/) One of my son’s friends went last year. I’m trying to figure out if we can some how make it this year. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2013, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brony-type-phenomena-prior-to-mlp-fim/648446/5 "2013-01-26T22:48:11Z")
I’m 31 and male. I unironically enjoyed The Powerpuff Girls when it was running in the late 90s, and I was 16+. I also read Nancy Drew books alongside Hardy Boys books. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2013, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brony-type-phenomena-prior-to-mlp-fim/648446/6 "2013-01-26T23:17:51Z")
Sailor Moon is a pretty good example - it’s intended demographic is young girls…it has a fairly impressive fandom of teen and adult men, too. It’s not actually a very unusual form of peripheral demographic. Though MLP is remarkable for having done it without attractive human(oid) females… ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2013, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brony-type-phenomena-prior-to-mlp-fim/648446/7 "2013-01-26T23:24:57Z")
My mom taught 3rd grade for many years, and found that the American Girl books (from the company that makes the dolls) were quite popular among her students of both genders. Though admittedly that’s not adult men. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2013, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brony-type-phenomena-prior-to-mlp-fim/648446/8 "2013-01-27T00:32:06Z")
I believe that there was a certain degree of this phenomenon when it came to Barbie dolls. It was parodied in _The Simpsons_ with Smithers’s Malibu Stacy obsession. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2013, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brony-type-phenomena-prior-to-mlp-fim/648446/9 "2013-01-27T01:20:39Z")
> [@Kamino\_Neko](#): > > Sailor Moon is a pretty good example - it’s intended demographic is young girls…it has a fairly impressive fandom of teen and adult men, too. _Sailor Moon_ is the only specific example I can think of off the top of my head, but it’s my impression that among Western anime/manga fans it’s fairly common for guys to like things that are considered “girl shows” or “girl comics” in Japan. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2013, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brony-type-phenomena-prior-to-mlp-fim/648446/10 "2013-01-27T01:36:21Z")
It’s an interesting question, and off the top my head I can’t think of anything that comes close to the Brony phenomenon. > [@Ephemera](#): > > I also read Nancy Drew books alongside Hardy Boys books. Oddly enough, we watched the Nancy Drew movie tonight. My wife referred to the entire back shelf I still have that has all of the books, but I only bought them after I ran out of Hardy Boys and Three Investigators to read. And as far as I know, none of my other friends read them… ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2013, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brony-type-phenomena-prior-to-mlp-fim/648446/11 "2013-01-27T01:43:34Z")
I liked the Powerpuff girls. I watched them with my kids and they weren’t all home runs, but in the better ones the writing and characters were deliciously subverted. In truth it was a fairly brutal show at times. Honestly not really getting the Sailormoon or MLP fanboy love if you are a adult, heterosexual male as they to seem to be very deliberately tuned to adolescent female sensibilities, but opinions are like bellybuttons. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2013, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brony-type-phenomena-prior-to-mlp-fim/648446/12 "2013-01-27T01:44:58Z")
I remember while in college, and my mother came to visit me, her being quite amused at how much we were all into Melrose Place. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2013, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brony-type-phenomena-prior-to-mlp-fim/648446/13 "2013-01-27T01:49:46Z")
What about Kim Possible? That wasn’t so much aimed at just girls, but with a female hero it seemed more focused on girls than boys. I know a lot of adult men (including my own spouse) who like it. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2013, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brony-type-phenomena-prior-to-mlp-fim/648446/14 "2013-01-27T02:04:33Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > _Sailor Moon_ is the only specific example I can think of off the top of my head, but it’s my impression that among Western anime/manga fans it’s fairly common for guys to like things that are considered “girl shows” or “girl comics” in Japan. Pretty Cure also comes to mind, but at least a few series of that were done with a deliberate dual demographic of young girls and older guys. It seems to be really common thing for magical girl series to pick up a male audience, and some of the PreCure creators decided to run with it deliberately. (Holy cow, the shippy subtext!) ---
**Author:** ![marshmallow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2013, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brony-type-phenomena-prior-to-mlp-fim/648446/15 "2013-01-27T16:33:31Z")
Disney owes a lot of its fortune to quality “girly” media being popular for all ages. Most of its classic movies revolve around princesses and singing about love and other touchy feely stuff. I remember back in middle school there was a rift among boys on whether The Little Mermaid was awesome or gay as hell. The Last Unicorn movie has lots of male fans. I don’t think it’s particularly girly beyond superficial appearances though. Is Sailor Moon actually girly? I’ve never seen it (and I should considering how iconic it is) but isn’t that about girls in fetishistic outfits fighting aliens and demons? The original '80s MLP (G1) started off with good cross gender appeal. The pilot episode was about a demon lord who kidnapped the ponies, turned them into dragons, and used them to pull his chariot of doom across the sky so as to bring about the apocalypse. Its artstyle was probably grittier than maybe 90% of what FiM has done so far, but then it started to go downhill rapidly and then it developed the “tea parties and pillow fight” stereotype that stuck until Faust rebooted it in 2010. > [@An\_Gadai](#): > > I don’t think it was aimed entirely at girls but Powerpuff Girls had a huge boy/man following back in the day. It was the most popular show on Cartoon Network for several years and I don’t think it was aimed at girls hardly at all. It was originally pitched as Whoopass Stew and it’s [fairly violent](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFesEaOeUgQ#t=0m49s). There were also lots of pop culture references and under the radar jokes that little girls [might not understand.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8iDFG6d734#t=1m04s) Of course, some people think anything with a mostly female cast or female protagonist = girly. The PPG movie had a bit of a backlash because ignorant mothers took their kids to see it and were shocked it was full of fighting. ---
**Author:** ![Namkcalb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c89c15/32.png) [@Namkcalb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Namkcalb)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brony-type-phenomena-prior-to-mlp-fim/648446/16 "2013-01-28T01:06:28Z")
I’m a adult-male MLP fan, the current series wasn’t just targeting young girls, it seems to go for a similar demographic to the Simpsons. What about Spongebob Squarepants? I haven’t seen much of it, but it used to have a huge following. Maybe trending a lot more Gay than bronies but men are men. ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brony-type-phenomena-prior-to-mlp-fim/648446/17 "2013-01-28T22:57:31Z")
Sailor Moon definitively had some fan service aimed at males. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Angel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d26b3c/32.png) [@Johnny\_Angel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Angel)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brony-type-phenomena-prior-to-mlp-fim/648446/18 "2013-01-28T23:54:41Z")
> [@astro](#): > > Honestly not really getting the Sailormoon or MLP fanboy love if you are a adult, heterosexual male as they to seem to be very deliberately tuned to adolescent female sensibilities, but opinions are like bellybuttons. [This helpful video explains what’s going on.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=OV-OF9wZWDs) I haven’t been watching My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, because the title makes me want to stab a singing nun, but apparently it really is different from the typical mindless girly cartoon. ---
**Author:** ![MichaelEmouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/michaelemouse/32/101_2.png) [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2013, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brony-type-phenomena-prior-to-mlp-fim/648446/19 "2013-01-29T00:09:10Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > Bronies are a real thing? :dubious: I thought it was just something made up by **Hot in Cleveland** to mock furries or cosplayers. We haunt this very forum: [My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic - General Discussion [edited title] - Cafe Society - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=617846) > [@Johnny\_Angel](#): > > [This helpful video explains what’s going on.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=OV-OF9wZWDs) > > I haven’t been watching My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, because the title makes me want to stab a singing nun, but apparently it really is different from the typical mindless girly cartoon. Thanks for the link Johnny. Quite appreciated. Was that on the tune of a Gilbert & Sullivan piece? ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2013, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brony-type-phenomena-prior-to-mlp-fim/648446/20 "2013-01-29T03:00:51Z")
> [@MichaelEmouse](#): > > Thanks for the link Johnny. Quite appreciated. Likewise. I knew it was going to be a treat when they deftly inserted a “plot” joke in the intro. DeLancie had no idea what he was getting into when he signed on to voice Discord. 🙂 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brony-type-phenomena-prior-to-mlp-fim/648446.md?page=2)