“There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.”
~ William Shakespeare, “Hamlet”
“Don’t be a hater, first get understanding.”
~ Gerardo
What do the names Twilight Sparkle, Applejack and Rainbow Dash have in common? No, they’re not new types of martinis. What about Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and Rarity? Heavy metal bands you say. Nope. Give up? These are names of some of the ponies from the popular cartoon series “My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.”
My twelve year old, Nathaniel, is a Brony (also spelled Bronie). Brony is the name given to the male fans of “My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic” cartoon. Think Bro + Pony = Brony (singular), Bronies (plural). These male fans range in age from 12 – 35 although I found a few online Bronies who admitted they were over 40.
A few months ago, I picked Nathaniel up from school and he was wearing a My Little Pony t-shirt. His old 5th grade teacher, Mr. Stiles, intercepted me asking me if Nathaniel was serious about his My Little Pony interest and I answered, “Yes” playing the role of the supportive parent while giving Mr. Stiles the “I dare you to say something about my son” look. All the while, I was agonizing, wondering why Nathaniel is so into this frilly, tea and crumpet eating, girlie-girl cartoon.
Since then I continued to fake acceptance on the outside, but on the inside my thoughts were spiraling downward fearing Nathaniel was becoming an effiminate weirdo. Nathaniel has a strong, independent nature but I was convinced My Little Pony was a step in the wrong direction.
Last month, McDonald’s had a My Little Pony promotion where you could collect all of the main ponies. Nathaniel eagerly aggressively collected all of them within the first two weeks – the Pretty Lady and I visited alot of McDonald’s during this time. I remembered being triggered by the look of surprise from a McDonald’s clerk when Nathaniel asked him for the toy and he initially brought him a car, then an airplane and Nathaniel said he wanted a pony.
My turning point came when Nathaniel was belting out one of the shows songs, “Winter Wrap Up.” He asked me if I was proud he was a Bronie and I reluctantly answered, “Yes.” After my answer, I decided to learn for myself why grown men are into My Little Pony. Here’s what I learned:
- Today’s “My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic” is not the “My Little Pony” of the “80’s. The frilly, tea drinkin’, crumpet eating, girlie-girl cartoon I remembered. The creator of “Friendship is Magic”, Lauren Faust, said the show was created for people of all ages and genders.
- Lauren is the same person who created the Powerpuff girls. The Powerpuff girls were three crime fighting sisters with superpowers. Nathaniel and I both watched the Powerpuff girls when he was younger and I found the show very entertaining with broad appeal.
- My Little Pony is produced by Hasbro to market to kids to buy the line of toys it’s based on, just like the company’s “Strawberry Shortcake” and “Rainbow Brite” cartoons. Despite the marketing the cartoon’s popularity and fan base continues to grow.
- Bronies are attracted to the new show by it’s animation, acting, writing and humor.
- The website for older fans, Equestria Daily, has over 35 million views worldwide.
- Not all of the ponies have cutesy, girlie-girl personalities:
- Twilight Sparkle is obsessed with learning. In one episode, she literally goes nuts because she’s almost late on a report.
- Applejack is a hard worker. She works with her family to keep her farm up and running.
- Pinkie Pie’s purpose in life is to make everybody happy, and she’s really good at it. She’s also a prankster.
- Rainbow Dash is athletic and narcissistic. She likes to brag about how great she is at flying.
- Fluttershy is shy and sweet, but it doesn’t stop her from taking out a manticore, dragon, cockatrice, and wrestling a bear to the ground.
- Rarity is a fashion designer and obsessed with fame. However, she’s very generous, and a hard worker. In one episode, she works tirelessly to create dresses for all five of her friends for an upcoming gala.
- My Little Pony emphasizes the importance and value of friendships which is why it’s great for all ages. For us adults, it serves as a reminder of what we learned as children and forgot as adults. It also encourages us to appreciate what we have more.
- Every episode is simple and easy to follow, ending with a moral, for example: “If you try to please every pony, you often times end up pleasing no pony.”
- Watch Season 2, Episode 3: Lesson Zero; Season 1, Episode 11: Winter Wrap Up or Season 1, Episode 25: Party of One and you will see why it has gained a following. Episodes are available on You Tube and HD versions can be purchased through iTunes.
Take Aways
When becoming a member of your new blended family it easy to begin judging things especially your stepchildren as good or bad based on your perceptions and experiences.
- Accept your stepchildren as they are without judgement and make a genuine effort to understand why they’re that way. Remember, they experienced a significant loss and are in various stages of grief and healing. By accepting things as they are, you will save yourself alot of frustration and grief from wishing for something else.
- Expect things to go differently than planned, you should expect family members to make mistakes including yourself. This is just the way the world is – the way things actually are.
- You may consider it too negative to expect things to go wrong, however, it’s only negative if you see it as negative, if you judge it as bad.
- This doesn’t mean you can never change things but change things not because you can’t accept things as they are, but because you enjoy the process of change, learning and growing.
Remember judging a person doesn’t define who they are it defines who you are. The next time you catch yourself judging like we all do from time to time and wanting something different try a different approach: accepting and understanding. It might lead to some interesting results. Who knows you might even decide to become a Brony. 😀 If you like this article please send this to your favorite social network using the buttons below. Thank you and Bro-Hoofs.
