Bronies are a growing fandom that faces challenges by heteronormative conceptions of gender and must navigate how they will disclose to others, if at all. The harassment many fans encounter may not have any direct correlations with age or gender as the quantitative data suggests, but it does not dismiss the fact that a lot of fans experience harassment directly related to their association with the fandom or that many fans will never divulge that they are a Brony to anyone for fear of repercussion. However, there are examples throughout this project that provide rationale for private Bronies to remain silent. In much the same way that the fag identity degrades members of the fandom or the repeated labels of immature and childish behavior, accusations
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If secretive fans want to mitigate this negativity towards the fandom they are going to have to risk disclosing themselves to others. While no quantitative data found significance in the correlations to gender, age and self disclosure, there is a new question regarding how secretive fans understand the term “private.” Within the subsection of private fans, there are 27% (n=82) who indicate disclosing both online and in person about their fan activities. There are numerous possibilities to how this misunderstanding of terminology arose. The label of private Brony was limited to mean someone who did not tell anybody or a limited number of individuals about their activities in the My Little Pony fandom. The expectation was that if they identify as private Bronies, they may have disclosed to a close friend or family member in the strictest of confidence. It appears that a number of fans take the term private Brony to mean something not intended nor anticipated in this project. However, their interpretation of the term does make sense. Their definition of a private Brony includes not projecting their fandom upon others. They may not be afraid to share their fandom with others, but feel it is not appropriate to talk about ponies constantly. Other fans cite that they are introverted or shy and do not feel comfortable or obligated to share their interests. They claim having no problem if people know that they are a Brony, but feel that is not a fan’s prerogative to let others know about Bronies unless they are specifically asked about
If secretive fans want to mitigate this negativity towards the fandom they are going to have to risk disclosing themselves to others. While no quantitative data found significance in the correlations to gender, age and self disclosure, there is a new question regarding how secretive fans understand the term “private.” Within the subsection of private fans, there are 27% (n=82) who indicate disclosing both online and in person about their fan activities. There are numerous possibilities to how this misunderstanding of terminology arose. The label of private Brony was limited to mean someone who did not tell anybody or a limited number of individuals about their activities in the My Little Pony fandom. The expectation was that if they identify as private Bronies, they may have disclosed to a close friend or family member in the strictest of confidence. It appears that a number of fans take the term private Brony to mean something not intended nor anticipated in this project. However, their interpretation of the term does make sense. Their definition of a private Brony includes not projecting their fandom upon others. They may not be afraid to share their fandom with others, but feel it is not appropriate to talk about ponies constantly. Other fans cite that they are introverted or shy and do not feel comfortable or obligated to share their interests. They claim having no problem if people know that they are a Brony, but feel that is not a fan’s prerogative to let others know about Bronies unless they are specifically asked about