Why I’m No Longer a “Brony”

I joined the fandom in October 2014, right it the middle of the show’s longest hiatus and its transition away from the now defunct Hub Network to Discovery Family.

I was not there for the early days of the fandom, nor was I there in its golden era in 2012/2013.

That said, I have noticed something over the years, and it’s growing more and more prevalent. A minority in the fandom has become very comfortable and confident in their degeneracy. The cloppers and nazis tend to be louder than ever, to the point where I believe even Lauren Faust has grown to resent us. Yes, I said us. Am I a clopper or a nazi? No, absolutely not. But those looking in don’t know that. They see the word “brony” and the image that comes into their head is of some overweight manchild living in their parent’s basement, Cheeto-dust covering their shirt, trash all around, several “homework” folders on their desktop and maybe even a swastika or two.

Throughout the 2010s we made immense progress on showing the world we aren’t what they assumed us to be, but now? We’re even worse than before.

The worst part of it all? The term we use to identify ourselves for our love of the show has been poisoned by these individuals. They use the same word to describe themselves too: Brony. No matter how much good you do, how much you show the world you’re better, all it takes is one bad actor calling themselves the same thing and now everyone lumps you into that same group.

For this very reason I now refuse to use the word Brony to describe myself, as it has been claimed by the worst of us. Do I believe we should come up with a new word? No, absolutely not. Any word we make that becomes popular enough will eventually be claimed too.

I am a 29 year old man, and yes I am a fan of the show My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, but I am no longer a brony.