This section of the fandom has the distinction of being recognized at almost all Brony conventions for their military service and their presence at these events alters people’s perceptions about Bronies. Similar to previous sections of this project, there are a number of service members who were not comfortable at first letting others know that they were watching My Little Pony. Molly Lambert describes one incident in which a number of military Bronies were afraid to openly admit their enjoyment of the show with fellow soldiers:
One especially poignant moment shows a meet-up of military Bronies, who all confess to thinking they were the only Brony in the armed forces and being afraid to poll their fellow soldiers to see if anyone else stanned …show more content…
If Kurt Schlichter had actually taken the time to research the brony fandom, he would of [sic] found that there is a surprising number of military bronies that have served in Afghanistan, Iraq, or both (such as myself). I wonder how the knowledge that combat veterans are also among the brony fandom would affect his opinion on the matter.
This soldier does the raise the question of how much gender plays a role in perceptions about these two seemingly independent lifestyles. Even as Schlicter voices his opinion, he does not substantiate his claims with any evidence. One soldier admits that he made attempts to dialogue with Schlicter about the fandom and the military, “I called out Schlichter on Twitter after that statement came out. His response was polite. Some of his friends, not so much.”
Representation of United States soldiers in an underlying issue for Schlicter and, for him, the soldier represents an ideal that is worthy of praise because of their sacrifice for serving the country. Bronies, as Schlicter sees them, represent a weakening culture that retreats into fantasy worlds replete with rainbows and unicorns. The failure on Schlicter’s part is how he cannot see how the two communities could intersect as one sailor illustrates how one aspect of a service member’s life does not encompass everything about them. He …show more content…
Just as the military has a representation of power and might, there is more to a service member’s life than shining boots and rifle proficiency. Soldiers have other interests besides drill and ceremony, they have hobbies and responsibilities which may not easily congeal with perceptions of the military. This sailor illustrates the point by describing what he and fellow shipmates do in their off time which includes games of Dungeons and Dragons while submerged in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
Drawing delineations between on and off duty hours is one way service members can rationalize their interest in the show. Service members who voice their opinions on the matter suggest My Little Pony is a support for their morale as they occupy hostile areas and are looking to ease the tension after a patrol. As one soldier puts it:
The only thing I can say about this is that if given more info on the young men and women that are serving overseas, and the hobbies they have developed, I.e. MLP, he might change his opinion. I have met a great deal of Military Bronys [sic] and they have told me that they had MLP as a source of support while deployed. So developing an opinion without little to no info was very ignorant on his
One especially poignant moment shows a meet-up of military Bronies, who all confess to thinking they were the only Brony in the armed forces and being afraid to poll their fellow soldiers to see if anyone else stanned …show more content…
If Kurt Schlichter had actually taken the time to research the brony fandom, he would of [sic] found that there is a surprising number of military bronies that have served in Afghanistan, Iraq, or both (such as myself). I wonder how the knowledge that combat veterans are also among the brony fandom would affect his opinion on the matter.
This soldier does the raise the question of how much gender plays a role in perceptions about these two seemingly independent lifestyles. Even as Schlicter voices his opinion, he does not substantiate his claims with any evidence. One soldier admits that he made attempts to dialogue with Schlicter about the fandom and the military, “I called out Schlichter on Twitter after that statement came out. His response was polite. Some of his friends, not so much.”
Representation of United States soldiers in an underlying issue for Schlicter and, for him, the soldier represents an ideal that is worthy of praise because of their sacrifice for serving the country. Bronies, as Schlicter sees them, represent a weakening culture that retreats into fantasy worlds replete with rainbows and unicorns. The failure on Schlicter’s part is how he cannot see how the two communities could intersect as one sailor illustrates how one aspect of a service member’s life does not encompass everything about them. He …show more content…
Just as the military has a representation of power and might, there is more to a service member’s life than shining boots and rifle proficiency. Soldiers have other interests besides drill and ceremony, they have hobbies and responsibilities which may not easily congeal with perceptions of the military. This sailor illustrates the point by describing what he and fellow shipmates do in their off time which includes games of Dungeons and Dragons while submerged in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
Drawing delineations between on and off duty hours is one way service members can rationalize their interest in the show. Service members who voice their opinions on the matter suggest My Little Pony is a support for their morale as they occupy hostile areas and are looking to ease the tension after a patrol. As one soldier puts it:
The only thing I can say about this is that if given more info on the young men and women that are serving overseas, and the hobbies they have developed, I.e. MLP, he might change his opinion. I have met a great deal of Military Bronys [sic] and they have told me that they had MLP as a source of support while deployed. So developing an opinion without little to no info was very ignorant on his