Bronies occupy a space easily misunderstood by individuals not familiar with the fandom as effeminate men relishing in a fantasy world of ponies. As Henry Jenkins suggests, most fandoms have negative connotations surrounding them because of their seemingly obsessive practices and rituals in relation to the media text. Discovering young adult men enjoying a show targeted toward little girls is potentially unsettling to people looking at the fandom from the outside because they cannot fathom what the show could offer these fans.
As such, some Brony fan practices do not mesh well with traditional concepts of masculinity. Young men talking about friendship, cosplaying as ponies, and singing songs about smiling do not run parallel with many of the gender norms many young men and boys are taught from an early age. As Brenda Weber proclaims, “American masculinity has long been predicated on the values of the self-made man, the concept that manhood finds its greatest source and definition in self-determination, autonomy, and individualism.” With that being said, the emergence of the Brony fandom shows conventional gender norms are not as stable as previously thought.
However, the Brony fandom attracts a number of
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One might be hard-pressed, sure, when seeing college-age guys wearing pink wigs and furry faux tails walking into a convention center—as this writer saw, outside what turned out to be BronyCon 2013 in Baltimore, an event that drew over 12,000 people—not to look for some LGBT connection. But the vast majority of them are indeed heterosexual, according to scientific studies of the fandom.
For the uninitiated, the existence of this fandom does appear as a community of effeminate or homosexual men trying to escape into a pretty fantasy world. However, the majority of fans identifies as heterosexual and are media consumers who discovered a text they enjoy that just so happens to appear
“What can be gained by ‘acting like’ an exalted group or reifying the stereotypes attributed to a subordinate group. These are two strategies an FCP uses to deal with her femaleness: either acting like a cartoon man – who drools over strippers, says things like ‘check out that ass,’ and brags about having the ‘biggest cock in the building’ – or acting like a cartoon woman, who has big cartoon breasts, wears little cartoon outfits, and can only express her sexuality by spinning around a pole” (Levy
Kidd expands on society’s sexual perspectives in mass media and illuminates the stress pushed towards the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender population. He outlines sexuality as one of many influences on the ways we interpret the culture we consume. He supposes that popular culture has five major social roles: generating basic social norms, producing social boundaries, producing rituals that generate social solidarity, generating modernization, and generating social progress. He pays particular attention to Emilie Durkeim and connects his sociological
“Boys will be boys, and girls will be girls”: few of our cultural mythologies seem as natural as this one. But in this exploration of the gender signals that traditionally tell what a “boy” or “girl” is supposed to look and act like, Aaron Devor shows how these signals are not “natural” at all but instead are cultural constructs. While the classic cues of masculinity—aggressive posture, self-confidence, a tough appearance—and the traditional signs of femininity—gentleness, passivity, strong nurturing instincts—are often considered “normal,” Devor explains that they are by no means biological or psychological necessities. Indeed, he suggests, they can be richly mixed and varied, or to paraphrase the old Kinks song “Lola,” “Boys can be girls and girls can be boys.” Devor is dean of social sciences at the University of Victoria and author of Gender Blending: Confronting the Limits of Duality (1989), from which this selection is excerpted, and FTM: Female-to-Male Transsexuals in Society (1997).
Blum, Deborah. “The Gender Blur: Where Does Biology End and Society Take Over?” Signs of Life in the USA: Readings on Popular Culture for Writers. 6th Edition. Sonia Maasik and Jack Solomon. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2009. 573-580. Print.
The complexity and depth in the fan fiction is that the homoerotic relation and desire between the women are more obvious and clearly revealed. “They know each other intimately, in the ways friends and lovers know each other, [...]” (UbiquitousMixie). Comparing this to Cunningham, who has described the
Myers mentioned in his article that this generation of young discouraged, angry men feels abandoned with the today’s norms. Male movie stars and athletes have further influenced the masculine norms. In males perspective, liking a feminine color, doing feminine actions, listening to specified girl music is considered to be less manly. These have greatly affected the likes and dislikes of many men. The entertainment industry has created a big gap between what is masculine or feminine. This has caused a big separation and it's getting worse. Male are taught to be man of the house, strong, and powerful, but sometimes they’re belittled by society that they can’t do certain things and all the power is
It is easy to understand the idea of masculinity and femininity even as a young child. It is clear as day that the media we consume contributes to and is a reflection of how we think and function as a society. What is interesting about children’s movies is that there truly is such a wide variety of films; different genres, characters, and morals/themes. But, the majority of these films one way or another
The Bro Code breaks down the establishment and encouragement of sexism into four “steps” that society uses to form sexist men (Keith). These steps are: “1. Train Men to Womanize, 2. Immerse Men in Porn, 3. Make Rape Jokes 4. Obey the Masculinity Cops”(Keith). Thomas Keith begins by addressing the fact that he grew up in this “bro culture” and that men today are continually taught to have the same mentality that Keith had when he was younger. However, he claims that “bro culture” has changed and has become a more “dangerous sexist” (Keith). Our culture continually promotes this behavior through music, television and media, all which tell men that in order to be successful and true men they must be rich, strong and surrounded by women.
“The unprecedented growth of the gay community in recent history has transformed our culture and consciousness, creating radically new possibilities for people to ‘come out’ and live more openly as homosexuals”(Herdt 2). Before the 1969 Stonewall riot in New York, homosexuality was a taboo subject. Research concerning homosexuality emphasized the etiology, treatment, and psychological adjustment of homosexuals. Times have changed since 1969. Homosexuals have gained great attention in arts, entertainment, media, and politics. Yesterday’s research on homosexuality has expanded to include trying to understand the different experiences and situations of homosexuals (Ben-Ari 89-90).
There is stigmatization surrounding the idea of being a slash fangirl. They are perceived by some as creepily fixated on same sex romance. Therefore, I was reluctant in admitting I enjoyed reading slash fiction. However, I came to realize that people interested in same sex relationships in fiction were maligned as being myopically concerned by sex. This ignores the fact that many slash fans are LGBT individuals who don’t want
The identity of homosexuality seems to originate from a stereotype, so much so that sometimes it seems that homosexuals have created their identities based on such stereotypes. The ideal for me, is either effeminate or manly. These are not true identities at all, as homosexual male identities are formed from predated stereotypes of femininity. The audiences have allowed this idea to propagate as it helps to understand this very identity, which was once invisible in media productions. The mannerisms of a homosexual character have been exaggerated in order to make it easier for audiences to notice it. Certainly, the main characters of the show are neither effeminate or manly. Austin, Russel and Raul are
The 1990s saw surge of gay characters in both television and movies. From Ellen Degeneres and her character Ellen Morgan coming out under much scrutiny on the TV show ‘Ellen,’ to Julia Roberts and Rupert Everett comedically playing off each other in the motion picture ‘My Best Friend’s Wedding.’ Sure, gays and lesbians have been around forever, especially in Hollywood. But never has there been a time to be more out. With the popularity of shows like Will and Grace, which feature leading gay characters, as well as Dawson’s Creek and it’s supporting character of teenager Jack McPhee, we are slowly seeing gay and lesbian characters creeping into the mainstream media.
As I explored this particular term “Bronies” I was intrigued, this term is something I’ve never heard of, or was aware was actually real. The term, “ ‘Brony’ is an internet slang term used to describe a teenager or adult male fan of the TV cartoon series My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic” (Triple Zed). Bronies get together and have their own events, trends, and have their own unique interests, the Brony fandom comes together and supports each other, they are a unity. As I continued my research on Bronies I found out in depth why they are so interested in this cartoon and fandom, ultimately this is their escape to happiness.
We’re all familiar with the stereotypes and myths about what it means to “be a man.” The victorious leader gets what he wants using aggression and does not accept failure; he is smooth with the ladies, and he is often good with a gun. He is usually rich and in control, especially in control of women, like a father who loves his daughter dearly but will be damned if she’s going to go out dressed like that. The list could go on and on with the stereotypes. But the Coen Brothers’ cult-classic film, The Big Lebowsk (1998), with its hero “The Dude,” contradicts these notions of masculinity. The Coen brothers offer several familiar stereotypes of masculinity (the Vietnam vet, the successful capitalist, an oversexed bowler, some aggressive German nihilists), yet it is these characters that throughout the film are shown to be absurd, insecure, and even impotent. It is these stereotype men that the Coen brothers criticize. “Sometimes there’s a man,” says the narrator over and over again, pointing out the Dude’s non-stereotypical masculinity as the true representation of what it means to be a man. The brothers then illustrate that the men who give no thought to their identity, who ignore the pressure to conform to cultural expectations, are to be regarded as “real men.”
The purpose of the essay is to answer the question: How has Archie Comics reflected changing gender norms in the United States of America from World War II to the present of women in contemporary American society, in its eventual challenge of the position of men as the dominant sex, and in its inclusion of previously marginalized sexual orientations? As entertainment primarily targeted to middle-class America, Archie is a helpful avenue by which to understand acceptable views. This paper will present gender roles portrayed in Archie Comics in three different time frames: the Forties, the Sixties, and the new millennium. It will analyze the establishment of traditional gender roles set forth in the earliest Archie Comic strips. Next it will critique the ways in which it responded to the challenges to these traditional norms and assess whether the comic incorporated these challenges or rebuffed them. Finally, this paper will evaluate the role of modern-day Archie Comics as a vanguard in the new discussion of gender roles and sexual orientation in America. For the purpose of analysis, issues of Archie representative of the era will be examined in conjunction with larger historical developments. These include: the sexual revolution of the 1960s, the post-feminist world following the 1970s, and the rise of LGBT acceptance.