Summary: Bronies in the Press

The newspaper articles about the Bronies I have come across focus either on the fact that males like My Little Pony and try to trace the origins of the “virus” or attempt to determine the outcomes the new fandom brought about in terms of gender changes. In its mini documentary about Bronies, The Guardian searches the reasons for the phenomenon of male adults who were not the intended audience of the show do not only watch it but become active fans.

In addition, the video shows a fan who is modelling his own ponies and an interview with business entrepreneurs who are producing merchandise and profit from the boom. Washington Post from April 6, 2012 also briefly comments on the merchandise that is part of the fandon: “this is a subculture that literally wears its heart on its sleeve.”

Further, there is an attempt to delineate the demography of the fans and collectors, so that The Guardian from October 5, 2012 concludes that: “Many of the collectors are art students, or illustrators.” Huffington Post from November 23, 2012 goes further: they cite findings by two psychologists who compared personal and emotional differences of 24,000 Bronies with about 3,000 non-Bronies and found out that “Bronies were more agreeable, which is consistent with the show’s message of conflict resolution and tolerance.” All in all, these newspapers tend to be just like the Bronies – tolerant and agreeable towards the phenomenon.