Yep. They may be rarer than unicorns, but Men’s Rights Bronies (MRBs) do indeed exist. For proof, see this post on the Men’s Rights subreddit, in which an MR Brony calling himself Bullywar tries to convince fellow MRAs (and MRBs) that the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic season two finale (of which the video above is an excerpt) is some sort of grand antifeminist statement from the show’s creators. (Oh, SPOILER ALERT for everything that follows.)
You don’t have to be a brony, or even care for MLP at all to get this – just hear me out. If you don’t care to watch the 44 minute episode, I’ll summarize: an impostor shapeshifting queen disposes of a bride to be in a high-profile wedding and plans to use the groom’s magic against him in a lust for power. The linked song will pretty much get the whole episode’s plot across succinctly enough.
The song juxtaposes the heroine’s desire to complement her groom, and the villain’s desire to subjugate him; even though that (until the climax of the episode) everyone sees the latter as the former. It even references one of feminism’s battle cries for the last lyric in the reprise. Watch the whole episode on Youtube to get a closer look.
To see a wildly popular show aimed at girls, conceived and written by a woman, giving such a message to young girls today strikes me as nothing less than resounding vindication for our cause.
Because feminists are all about marrying dudes and exploiting them?
Happily, other Bronies with less of an ax to grind came along and put Bullywar straight.
CrawdaddyJoe, a critic of MRAs who usually gets downvoted on r/mensrights, garnered himself a few upvotes by noting that
Um…. feminists aren’t plotting to marry you and take your money. That’s not even remotely what feminism is about, and most feminists would find such behavior abhorrent and demeaning. Don’t be a paranoid twit.
Drinkthebleach, an actual MR Brony and Pokemon fan, asked:
Isn’t Lauren Faust [the show’s original Executive Producer] a pretty outspoken feminist? Also you left out the part where they talk about how important it is to have a male influence in your life, when she talks about how much she loves/misses/needs her brother.
RotoSequence, who doesn’t seem to regularly post in r/mensrights, offered a more nuanced analysis of the episode:
This is a ridiculous argument. The entire point of This Day was to illustrate that Chrysalis only wanted posession of Shining Armor because by manipulating his emotions, it gave Chrysalis tremendous power. Cadance and Shining Armor, on the other hand, love each other so much that they want to start a family together while the manipulative, evil Queen plans to take that away from them as collateral damage so that Chrysalis can conquer a land that isn’t hers. If anything, the lesson to take home from the finale is “we’re stronger together than we are apart,” and the corny stalwart “love conquers all.”
At least I assume that’s a more nuanced interpretation. As a non-Brony, I really have no idea.
@Rutee Katreya
Alright, perhaps misandry is a strong term. Still, media does constantly convey and uphold some pretty nasty stereotypes about both women and men, and I think it should be taken into account in the discourse. We seem to at least agree on that. It was pretty much what I attempted to convey.
@M Dubz
This, basically all of this. Thank you for expressing yourself so much more efficiently than I could. :3 (And thanks for the little review of MLP.)
@Fatman
I agree. These anti-humanity myths about men really should be destroyed not only because they are dangerous (absolve men from responsibility, as Rutee and you outlined) but also because they are really, really insulting. Or at least I would consider them extremely offensive, if I had a male identity or body.
‘sup, mral.
No, that is not how wars are won.
TMAA I keep seeing you go on about this “Cold hard evidence based logic”. Where is it bro? It’s missing from your statements.
“…I don’t know who you are, that you think you’re being clever, but this fake troll thing was old when it was just Ami and Ozy.”
Not a fake troll.
Real, motherfucker.
This is another silencing mechanism; to pretend my views are out there enough so as to dismiss me as a kook.
Not a kook, motherfucker.
Many men feel the same way. Sick and tired.
Sick and tired, motherfucker.
and I am a dragon
So TMaA is a real troll? 100% grade A troll?
I dunno, the cold hard logic is very much missing. I mean, why would someone of the disposition of “cold hard logic” react so harshly to being called a fake troll?
Ok, TMaA, you are a real troll. Does this make you feel better?
>Amazingly rich and prolific actors, a position ultimately very vulnerable to popular approval
>Denigrated endlessly
If you’re for real, you’re rock-stupid, but I doubt that very much. Also, someone needs to teach you how to fucking use a swear word for emphasis, and you need to learn to write, generally, but your ilk usually does. But then, that’s if you’re for real, which I doubt.
Men aRe Angry Lieutenant, the MRM is not helping you to be a happier person. They have nothing to offer you but a feedback loop for your anger. You don’t want to end up like the bitter angry men that are lifers in the MRM. You can change, you can abandon this hateful ideology that you are following, but you have to want to do it. You have to want to attain happiness rather than continue wallowing in anger. Coming back to troll Manboobz again and again is not helping you. It is not making you happier, stop it.
I dunno if you’ve come across another troll who called himself “FactFinder”, TMAA, but his one indisputable failure was at finding facts.
Also, anger is an emotion… so how does help with your use of cold hard logic if, as you say, “The Men Are Angry”. U MAD BRO?
It is possible to be angry and yet logical.
Angry at the objective injustice of the world, but calm at the center.
Having emotions does not mean letting them get in the way of reason and logic.
In Avatar, Azula was able to use lightning, the “cold-blooded fire”. She needed a calm center.
She wasn’t a psychopath, but when the time came, she was able to suppress doubt and hate.
And use the lightning.
The principle is similar.
…I totally believe that a 42-year old man can make Avatar: The Last Airbender references by way of explanation with a straight face.
Mister CrankyPants: You are wrong.
Men are not the advantaged class; we are the disadvantaged class, at least in the Western world.
In fact, you seem very emotionally invested in denying the existence of misandry.
Typical Dworkinite.
Let me fix this for you.
“Women are not the advantaged class, they are the disadvantaged class; in more than the Western World.
You seem insensibly obsessed with denying this.
Typical misogynist.
Us MRAs don’t get emotional.
We have cold hard logic.
The facts. Nothing more.
Unh hunh. Haven’t take a look at your confederates screeds and rants and manifestos have you?
But, if you have that “cold hard logic” maybe you’d like to demonstrate it.
It would be more interesting than the claptrap ridden slogans you’re spouting now.
Might even be more convincing.
Wait, is this an example of your lack of emotional response?
Not a fake troll.
Real, motherfucker.
This is another silencing mechanism; to pretend my views are out there enough so as to dismiss me as a kook.
Not a kook, motherfucker.
Many men feel the same way. Sick and tired.
Sick and tired, motherfucker.
idgi are you saying hating women makes a wizard?
I’m sure someone’s pointed this out already but…
If they think “it’s better to marry someone for love than because you want to manipulate them” is an antifeminist message, what the hell to they think feminism is?
“Feminism” has just become this all-purpose boogeyman ideology that wants to destroy puppies and rainbows, hasn’t it.
Ahahahahah! So angry boy wants to bring up Avatar?? Yeah actually, she was the definition of a psychopath. And this is a character you want to emulate??
Not to mention she’s also the perfect portrayal of everything you claim the hate about women and feminists.
Hey. I have a theory to test.
MenAreObviouslyMRAL thinks men will do anything for vagina, right?
If you apologize nicely, then stop posting on Manboobz forever, I will have sex with you.*
That’s guaranteed to work, right?
*No, I won’t actually, but that’s all part of women’s wiles, according to his theory. All we have to is tease, right?
@cliff
using sex to manipulate men and take their money.
i dunno, i feel like theyve been pretty clear that that’s what they think feminism is.
i dont remember avatar that well was azula the angry fire princess girl. because yeah he confused me with that too.
Yeah she’s the angry fire chick, daughter of the Fire Lord.
Maybe angry boy likes her because she’d make a very sadistic domme.
@TMaA:
Paragraphs, motherfucker.
Have you heard
of them?
But what about Daenerys? What does she teach us about women?
http://youtu.be/_n5E7feJHw0
… No, really. You’re using a violently self-centered, psychologically-abused child as your explanation for having a calm heart in a storm of rage?
You do realize that all the people Azula terrorizes into fighting for her abandon her eventually, and at the climactic fight with her brother, she loses it and gets taken down by a water bender, right? Right? Your role model lost. You did watch that episode, right?
Or did you stop at the one with the piss-taking play and assume that the story played out pretty much like the Fire Nation propaganda said it would?
Wait, wait, he’s not even talking about Avatar the 3D James Cameron piece of crap… he’s talking about Avatar the kids movie? Dude, how old are you?