/mlp/

My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic discussion board on 4chan October 2025 October 2025 /mlp/ – Pony 4chan logo.svg 4chan.org/mlp/ -mlp-_screenshot_on_April_14_2025.png /mlp/ catalog on April 14, 2025 Yes 4chan imageboard English Optional Hiroyuki Nishimura Christopher "moot" PooleLagorio-Chafkin Christine We Are the Nerds: The Birth and Tumultuous Life of REDDIT, the Internet's Culture Laboratory 2 October 2018 Little, Brown Book Group 323 978-0-349-41635-9 https://books.google.com/books?id=UwpUDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT323 15 July 2024 2012 02 16 Online Fandom /mlp/Pronounced either as the individual letters "M-L-P" or as "slash M-L-P" is a board on the English-language imageboard website 4chan dedicated to discussion of the animated television series My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic. The board serves as the gathering place on 4chan for adult fans of the series, commonly known as bronies, to share and discuss images, videos, fan fiction, news, and other fan-created content related to the show and its fandom. The brony fandom began on /co/, the comics and cartoons board of 4chan. In response to the overwhelming amount of pony-related content flooding 4chan, its founder Christopher "moot" Poole created the /mlp/ board on February 16, 2012. Following its creation, moot enacted "Global Rule 15" (which banned all pony-related content on 4chan outside of a few select boards) and directed all such discussions to /mlp/. Like other boards on 4chan, /mlp/ allows non-registered users to create threads with images and post anonymously. /mlp/ maintains distinctive (and often transgressive) traditions and terminology that combine general 4chan culture with brony lingo. Users often refer to themselves as horsefuckers in a tongue-in-cheek manner; other terms include ponyfagWhen used as a term of identification, the -fag prefix carries a neutral connotation on 4chan.Bailey John Harvey Brenna 'That pony is real sexy': My Little Pony fans, sexual abjection, and the politics of masculinity online Sexualities 2017 22 3 325–342 10.1177/1363460717731932 See -fag. and nor/mlp/erson. Some /mlp/ users even outright reject or distance themselves from the brony label in favor of one of the more transgressive identifiers. Like /b/ and /pol/, /mlp/ has been the subject of academic research. The board has also been involved in controversies in which users have created racist or grotesque content. Despite the original television series ending in 2019, the board continues to be active, with discussions primarily centered around Friendship Is Magic rather than newer entries of the My Little Pony franchise. History My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic fandom#History thumb|Christopher Poole, 4chan's founder, in 2012 Early fan activity on 4chan (2010–2012) Initial discussions about My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic began on 4chan's "comics & cartoons" (/co/) board shortly after the show's premiere. Jones Bethan My Little Pony, tolerance is magic: Gender policing and Brony anti-fandom The Journal of Popular Television 2025-04-01 3 1 119–125 10.1386/jptv.3.1.119_1 These early threads featured positive reactions to the show alongside backlash from users who found the content inappropriate for the board. As interest in the series grew, pony-related discussions spread to other sections of the website.Schimpf Kaitlyn Elizabeth Straight from the Horse's Mouth: A Case Study on the Adult Male Fans of My Little Pony MacEwan University Student eJournal 2 1 October 2015 10.31542/j.muse.192 free By early 2011, the prevalence of pony content had generated considerable conflict within the 4chan community, with many users expressing frustration over the high volume of Friendship Is Magic content appearing across the site.Hagen Sal No Space for Reddit Spacing: Mapping the Reflexive Relationship Between Groups on 4chan and Reddit Social Media + Society October–December 2023 9 4 1–19 10.1177/20563051231216960 https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/20563051231216960 Sage free 11245.1/daceca76-8eff-4085-8e5e-bf02f977cfbe free On February 26, 2011, 4chan implemented a total ban on pony-related content, which resulted in immediate bans for users who posted such material. Following this ban, displaced fans established dedicated online communities outside of 4chan, like Ponychan and Equestria Daily. Fans also shared fan content on mainstream platforms like Reddit and Facebook. This exile lasted nearly a year before 4chan administration reconsidered its position. After recognizing the substantial and persistent nature of the fandom, 4chan reversed its stance by creating the /mlp/ board on February 16, 2012, a year after the implementation of the initial ban.Tiffany Kaitlyn 2020-06-23 'My Little Pony' Fans Are Ready to Admit They Have a Nazi Problem https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2020/06/my-little-pony-nazi-4chan-black-lives-matter/613348/ 2021-06-04 The Atlantic en June 5, 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20210605104345/https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2020/06/my-little-pony-nazi-4chan-black-lives-matter/613348/ liveEdwards Patrick Chadborn Daniel P. Plante Courtney N. Reysen Stephen Redden Marsha Howze Meet the Bronies: The Psychology of the Adult My Little Pony Fandom McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers United States 9781476663715 134 September 11, 2019 Concurrent with the board's establishment, Poole implemented "Global Rule 15", which confined pony-related content to /mlp/, redirecting all such discussions to the new board. Abraham Kavi Marlin-Bennett Renee Cyberplace: Conceptualizing Power and Politics in Extended Reality American Political Science Association 2013 Annual Meeting 2013-08-22 26 2301241 2025-04-13 https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2301241 April 13, 2025 https://web.archive.org/web/20250413222929/https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2301241 livehttps://wiki.bibanon.org/4chan/History 4chan/History - Bibliotheca Anonoma April 13, 2025 April 13, 2025 https://web.archive.org/web/20250413222928/https://wiki.bibanon.org/4chan/History live https://www.wired.com/story/4chan-moderation-buffalo-shooting/ Inside 4chan's Top-Secret Moderation Machine Justin Ling 2023-06-05 2025-04-15 Wired "All pony/brony threads, images, Flashes, and avatars belong on /mlp/," the rules read. April 15, 2025 https://web.archive.org/web/20250415234757/https://www.wired.com/story/4chan-moderation-buffalo-shooting/ liveErasmus Dennis Containment Breach: 4chan's /pol/ and the Failed Logic of "Safe Spaces" for Far-Right Ideology https://www.boundary2.org/2019/07/dennis-erasmus-containment-breach-4chans-pol-and-the-failed-logic-of-safe-spaces-for-far-right-ideology/ b2o July 1, 2019 August 22, 2026 https://web.archive.org/web/20250812190125/https://www.boundary2.org/2019/07/dennis-erasmus-containment-breach-4chans-pol-and-the-failed-logic-of-safe-spaces-for-far-right-ideology/ August 12, 2025 live Notable events On May 27, 2013, Lauren Faust, the creator of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, hosted a Q&A session on /mlp/.Connelly S. Ponyville Confidential: The History and Culture of My Little Pony, 1981-2016 https://books.google.com/books?id=E3VPDgAAQBAJ 2017 McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers 9781476662091 2016044897 183 August 13, 2025 April 13, 2025 https://web.archive.org/web/20250813024110/https://books.google.com/books?id=E3VPDgAAQBAJ live On November 11, 2014, an infamous incident known as the "Rainbow Dash Cum Jar" (or "Pony Cum Jar Project") gained notoriety when images of a Rainbow Dash figurine submerged in semen left to boil near a radiator were shared on /mlp/.Hartman Helina From Ponies to Men: The Hypermasculinization of My Little Pony Dialogues Rutgers University 19 2024 126–140 The images spread across various social media platforms and became an Internet meme.Broderick Ryan What This Guy Claims To Have Done To A "My Little Pony" Figurine Will Horrify You BuzzFeed News 2014-12-01 https://www.buzzfeed.com/ryanhatesthis/the-pony-cum-jar-project 2025-04-05 April 9, 2025 https://web.archive.org/web/20250409184357/https://www.buzzfeed.com/ryanhatesthis/the-pony-cum-jar-project live Three years later, in 2017, the poster returned to /mlp/ to transfer the contents of the jar to "another, more secure jar". When asked by BuzzFeed News, the poster claimed he conducted the experiment out of "sheer curiosity and scientific research".https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/katienotopoulos/this-my-little-pony-figurine-in-a-jar-will-delete-your-faith A Guy On 4chan Has Completed His Disgusting Mission To A My Little Pony BuzzFeed News Katie Notopoulos 2017-01-12 2025-04-14 April 14, 2025 https://web.archive.org/web/20250414075540/https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/katienotopoulos/this-my-little-pony-figurine-in-a-jar-will-delete-your-faith live On April 1, 2017, 4chan temporarily merged /mlp/ with the politics board (/pol/) as an April Fool's Day joke, creating a hybrid board dubbed "/mlpol/."https://mackenzierudd.medium.com/my-little-nazi-the-curious-link-between-the-alt-right-and-the-my-little-pony-fandom-13d753919418 Mackenzie Rudd My Little Nazi: The Curious Link Between the Alt-Right and the My Little Pony Fandom Medium 2019-03-18 2025-04-13 April 13, 2025 https://web.archive.org/web/20250413222927/https://mackenzierudd.medium.com/my-little-nazi-the-curious-link-between-the-alt-right-and-the-my-little-pony-fandom-13d753919418 live In December 2017, a series of leaks were posted to /mlp/ reporting that the ninth and final season of Friendship Is Magic would air in 2019, and that an upcoming fifth generation of My Little Pony would be following it.Polygon https://www.polygon.com/2018/8/28/17788132/my-little-pony-friendship-is-magic-ending-bronies-fandom Friendship was magic: How Bronies are preparing for the end of My Little Pony William Antonelli 2025-04-15 2019-09-12 August 28, 2018 https://web.archive.org/web/20180828175917/https://www.polygon.com/2018/8/28/17788132/my-little-pony-friendship-is-magic-ending-bronies-fandom liveGeek Reply My Little Pony Seasons 8/9 and G5 Info Leaked https://geekreply.com/geek-culture/2017/12/19/little-pony-seasons-89-information-leaked Ule Lopez 2017-12-19 2025-04-15 May 11, 2025 https://web.archive.org/web/20250511013908/https://geekreply.com/geek-culture/2017/12/19/little-pony-seasons-89-information-leaked live On January 20, 2020, anonymous posters from /mlp/ uploaded a book titled Horse PussyAccording to its description, "[it] was written in a week by a large (and unknown) number of anonymous writers who banded together on a thread on the /mlp/ (pony) board of the site 4chan". There were no rules to what could be included in the book; as a result, "there are vomit-inducing sections of the book, as well as subtle romances, racist sections, anti-racist sections, rape scenes, wholesome scenes, and philosophical sections, all of which may even occur at the same time". onto Google Books.Y mous Anon Anony mous Horse Pussy: /mlp/'s Fanfic January 12, 2020 Independently Published 9781659313123 English 310 On October 10, 2020, M.A. Larson, a screenwriter for Friendship Is Magic, hosted a Q&A session on /mlp/.https://www.equestriadaily.com/2020/10/ma-larson-did-q-on-4chan-revealing.html M.A. Larson Did a Q&A On 4chan, Revealing Cancelled Scripts, Early Show Discussion, and More! Shaun Scotellaro Equestria Daily 2020-10-11 2025-04-27 January 8, 2025 https://web.archive.org/web/20250108202802/https://www.equestriadaily.com/2020/10/ma-larson-did-q-on-4chan-revealing.html live On April 14, 2025, 4chan—along with its boards (including /mlp/)—was hacked and taken down by an anonymous user of soyjak.party.Cunningham Andrew 2025-04-15 4chan has been down since Monday night after "pretty comprehensive own" https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2025/04/internet-cesspit-4chan-apparently-hacked-mostly-unreachable-since-monday-night/ 2025-04-16 Ars Technica en-US April 22, 2025 https://web.archive.org/web/20250422190929/https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2025/04/internet-cesspit-4chan-apparently-hacked-mostly-unreachable-since-monday-night/ live The site returned on April 25.Chen Jackson 4chan is back after a nearly two-week shutdown, but it still has some serious problems https://www.engadget.com/social-media/4chan-is-back-after-a-nearly-two-week-shutdown-but-it-still-has-some-serious-problems-171124240.html 2 May 2025 Engadget 27 April 2025 September 24, 2025 https://web.archive.org/web/20250924101345/https://www.engadget.com/social-media/4chan-is-back-after-a-nearly-two-week-shutdown-but-it-still-has-some-serious-problems-171124240.html live Culture Terminology and Identity Slang of the My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic fandom Many users of /mlp/ distance themselves from the mainstream "brony" label, which they associate with openly expressing interest in My Little Pony—a behavior colloquially described on the board as revealing one's "power level." Instead of identifying as bronies, users often adopt self-deprecating or tongue-in-cheek labels like horsefuckers or ponyfag. As one poster on /mlp/ wrote: "The way I see it, bronies are those fans who don't hide their power level in real life... In what way is someone a trekkie if nobody knows they like Star Trek? I'm a horsefucker, because I want to fuck pastel ponies but no-one will ever know." The term nor/mlp/erson is also occasionally used to describe the users of /mlp/.https://www.horse-news.org/2014/04/mandopony-releases-song-that-gives.html Mandopony releases song that gives suspicions of his nor/mlp/ersonness Horse News 2014-04-30 2025-04-13 April 29, 2025 https://web.archive.org/web/20250429223051/https://www.horse-news.org/2014/04/mandopony-releases-song-that-gives.html live Fan fiction My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic fan fiction Isekai On /mlp/, regular threads are devoted to My Little Pony fan fiction, where audiences follow works by "writefags". Like other 4chan boards, /mlp/ operates through anonymity and lack of user registration, with users commonly referring to themselves and others as anons. Self-insert fiction plays a large role, with "Anon in Equestria" being a popular format where a generic human character finds themselves transported to Equestria and interacts with the show's pony characters. These stories often function as wish fulfillment, allowing fans to imagine scenarios where they receive acceptance from or develop romantic and/or sexual relationships with pony characters. Horse News Horse News is /mlp/'s fan news website. On May 23, 2014, Horse News released an exposé that revealed that the term brony did not appear in official Hasbro content until 2012 while the term was first used on 4chan in 2010, contradictory to Hasbro's attempts to claim the rights to the term.https://www.horse-news.net/2014/05/hasbro-claims-rights-to-word-brony-c.html dead https://web.archive.org/web/20140530043859/http://www.horse-news.net/2014/05/hasbro-claims-rights-to-word-brony-c.html May 30, 2014 May 23, 2014 April 13, 2025 Horse News Hasbro Claims Rights to word "Brony", C&D's usage.https://www.themarysue.com/hasbro-tries-for-brony-control/ Lock Up Your Bronies, Hasbro May Be Claiming Creative Control Over My Little Pony's Adult Fans Carolyn Cox The Mary Sue 2014-06-17 2025-04-13 April 18, 2025 https://web.archive.org/web/20250418102459/https://www.themarysue.com/hasbro-tries-for-brony-control/ live Mare Fair thumb|right|upright=0.6|The Mare Fair logo (pictured) has been described as a reference to equine genitalia. Mare Fair is an annual adults-only My Little Pony convention held in Orlando, Florida organized by users of /mlp/. Founded in 2023 by Corpulent Brony, the convention operates under Snowpity, Inc., which describes itself as a "volunteer organization hosting events to help equines in need".https://snowpity.org/ Snowpity 2025-10-25 Snowpity, Inc. November 4, 2025 https://web.archive.org/web/20251104011151/https://snowpity.org/ live In 2024, Equestria Daily called Mare Fair's website "seriously an impressive design" with "an armada of amazing artists putting their skills into it."https://www.equestriadaily.com/2024/01/mair-fair-returns-to-orlando-florida.html Mare Fair Returns to Orlando, Florida for 2024 Equestria Daily 2024-01-17 2025-10-25 Shaun Scotellaro October 26, 2025 https://web.archive.org/web/20251026172431/https://www.equestriadaily.com/2024/01/mair-fair-returns-to-orlando-florida.html live Over 1,000 people attended the convention in 2024.https://www.equestriadaily.com/2024/11/mare-fair-2025-is-go-1026-people.html Mare Fair 2025 is a Go. 1026 People Attended in 2024. Shaun Scotellaro Equestria Daily 2024-11-22 2025-10-25 September 11, 2025 https://web.archive.org/web/20250911220102/https://www.equestriadaily.com/2024/11/mare-fair-2025-is-go-1026-people.html live Since 2023, Mare Fair has worked with Fallen Oak Equine Rescue and Rehabilitation as their charity benefactor. Mare Fair's charity auction raised over $50,000 in 2023,https://www.equestriadaily.com/2023/11/ponyville-ciderfest-hits-100k-at.html Ponyville Ciderfest Hits 100k at Charity Auction! Shaun Scotellaro 2023-11-19 2025-09-08 Equestria Daily July 17, 2025 https://web.archive.org/web/20250717091444/https://www.equestriadaily.com/2023/11/ponyville-ciderfest-hits-100k-at.html live $103,483 in 2024,https://www.equestriadaily.com/2024/10/mare-fair-breaks-charity-auction.html Mare Fair Breaks Charity Auction Records with $103,483 Earned for Fallen Oak Equine Rescue Shaun Scotellaro 2025-10-10 2025-09-09 Equestria Daily October 26, 2025 https://web.archive.org/web/20251026042109/https://www.equestriadaily.com/2024/10/mare-fair-breaks-charity-auction.html live and $115,660 in 2025.https://www.equestriadaily.com/2025/09/mare-fair-breaks-their-previous-fandom.html Mare Fair Breaks Their Previous Fandom Record at the Charity Auction - 115k! Shaun Scotellaro 2025-09-08 2025-09-08 Equestria Daily November 29, 2025 https://web.archive.org/web/20251129020921/https://www.equestriadaily.com/2025/09/mare-fair-breaks-their-previous-fandom.html live The latest iteration of Mare Fair took place 5–7 September 2025.https://www.equestriadaily.com/2024/12/mare-fair-set-for-september-5-7th-in.html Mare Fair Set for September 5-7th in 2025 Equestria Daily Shaun Scotellaro 2024-12-16 2025-10-25 December 5, 2025 https://web.archive.org/web/20251205014611/https://www.equestriadaily.com/2024/12/mare-fair-set-for-september-5-7th-in.html live The convention came under public scrutiny in October 2025 due to allegations of extremist imagery and accusations of zoophilia among its founders (see Controversies). Pony Preservation Project Science and technology in the My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic fandom 15.ai#History The Pony Preservation Project (PPP) is a collaborative project on /mlp/ founded in 2019 dedicated to preserving Friendship Is Magic by assembling and annotating large amounts of voice data to be used for artificial intelligence models. This work has notably been used by the popular free web application 15.ai, whose creator interacted with the PPP and used its dataset to enhance the accuracy and emotional variety of the generated voices.https://gwern.net/doc/anime/my-little-pony/index#fifteen-kun-project-2020-section “15.ai ”, Fifteen-kun & Project 2020 Gwern Branwen 2020 Gwern.net October 14, 2025 https://ghostarchive.org/archive/d4SuU March 3, 2026 liveTemitope Yusuf December 10, 2024 15.ai Creator reveals journey from MIT Project to internet phenomenon https://guardian.ng/technology/15-ai-creator-reveals-journey-from-mit-project-to-internet-phenomenon/ Lagos, Nigeria December 25, 2024 The Guardian https://web.archive.org/web/20241228152312/https://guardian.ng/technology/15-ai-creator-reveals-journey-from-mit-project-to-internet-phenomenon/ December 28, 2024 live In January 2022, it was discovered that a blockchain-based company called Voiceverse had plagiarized voice lines of Friendship Is Magic characters using 15.ai, pitched them up to sound unrecognizable, promoted them as the byproduct of their own technology, and sold them as non-fungible tokens without permission.Innes Ruby January 18, 2022 Voiceverse Is The Latest NFT Company Caught Using Someone Else's Content https://www.kotaku.com.au/2022/01/voiceverse-caught-using-someone-elses-content/ February 28, 2025 Kotaku Australia https://web.archive.org/web/20240726140924/https://www.kotaku.com.au/2022/01/voiceverse-caught-using-someone-elses-content/ July 26, 2024 usurpedPhillips Tom January 17, 2022 Troy Baker-backed NFT firm admits using voice lines taken from another service without permission https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2022-01-17-troy-baker-backed-nft-firm-admits-using-voice-lines-taken-from-another-service-without-permission live https://web.archive.org/web/20220117164033/https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2022-01-17-troy-baker-backed-nft-firm-admits-using-voice-lines-taken-from-another-service-without-permission January 17, 2022 December 31, 2024 EurogamerWilliams Demi January 18, 2022 Voiceverse NFT admits to taking voice lines from non-commercial service https://www.nme.com/news/gaming-news/voiceverse-nft-admits-to-taking-voice-lines-from-non-commercial-service-3140663 live https://web.archive.org/web/20220118162845/https://www.nme.com/news/gaming-news/voiceverse-nft-admits-to-taking-voice-lines-from-non-commercial-service-3140663 January 18, 2022 December 18, 2024 NME Waifus Waifu thumb|A ponified (“clop”) depiction of Wikipe-tan, portrayed in a softcore, suggestive pose|215x215px Users of /mlp/ commonly adopt the practice of having a waifu (a character from the show for whom they feel particular attraction or affection) and often discuss which characters they find sexually attractive. Controversies 1/1 right horizontal 320px SpaceX_BLM_original_racist_meme.jpg Creatures_ponies_atlantic_2020.jpg A meme that juxtaposes SpaceX astronauts with Black Lives Matter protestors (above). The "ponified" version of the meme (below), in which the astronauts are replaced with ponies and protestors are replaced with zebras (who are African-coded in the Friendship Is Magic universe). A report by The Atlantic described it as an example of racism in the brony fandom. Racist content Since its inception, segments of the My Little Pony fandom, particularly parts of the /mlp/ community, have faced scrutiny regarding the presence right wing elements. Due to the fandom's early roots on 4chan, some users introduced politically radical content to the community. In June 2020, during the George Floyd protests, The Atlantic reported that the My Little Pony fandom was experiencing an "all-out civil war" regarding racist content. The article noted that some /mlp/ users mocked the protests with racist art, many of which was posted to Derpibooru, the fandom's primary fan art repository. On Derpibooru, art mocking the protests received substantial upvotes while pro-Black Lives Matter art was heavily downvoted. This conflict led to the site's first significant moderation policy change, with administrators banning images "created for no reason other than to incite controversy" and temporarily removing content mocking the protests. The article specifically identified Derpibooru as having "became[sic] a playground for the right-wing posters [from /mlp/] who could upload their art." One controversial image described in the report was a modified version of a white nationalist meme that juxtaposed SpaceX astronauts with Black Lives Matter protesters “rioting.” The meme, which was first posted on /mlp/, replaced black protesters with cartoon zebras (who are African-coded in the Friendship Is Magic universe). The Atlantic noted that zebras are commonly referred to on /mlp/ using the word zigger—a portmanteau of zebra and nigger—and quoted a user's comment on the image that praised it as "perfect for subtle messaging". Mare Fair extremist imagery and staff zoophilia allegations thumb|right|upright=1.25|Images of the human swastika formed at the venues' pools during Mare Fair 2023 and 2024 In October 2025, Mare Fair lost its venue for future events in what its organizers described as a breach of contract. The convention had moved between three venues in three years while gaining outside attention for controversial incidents. These included attendees forming human swastikas at the hotel pool, selling Nazi-themed merchandise, the convention's logo alluding to explicit equine anatomy, and its founders' financial ties to cryptocurrencies. Weeks later, an exposé compiled from accounts by other bronies and horse rescue staff stated that Mare Fair's leadership included an individual known as Lightsolver, who had made comments online defending zoophilia and had been accused of sexual abuse of animals at a horse rescue he worked at. The exposé also stated that Lightsolver had gained control over another horse rescue that had been knowingly supported by the convention. The exposé additionally stated that Corpulent Brony, one of Mare Fair's founders, owns a My Little Pony fan video hosting website whose "about" page included the statement that "NSFW videos (including of actual horses) are welcome, but please mark them as NSFW." According to the exposé, this website was found to be hosting bestiality content that Corpulent Brony had personally supported; this content was removed prior to the publication of the exposé, but after controversy emerged about Lightsolver's sexual abuse of animals.https://web.archive.org/web/20251024023457/https://dogpatch.press/2025/10/23/mare-fair-nazis-zoophile https://dogpatch.press/2025/10/23/mare-fair-nazis-zoophile 2025-10-24 dead Dogpatch Press Patch O'Furr 2025-10-23 Mare Fair enabled shady crypto nazis and a zoophile organizer who preyed on horse rescues Analysis Analysis of the My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic fandom In a 2017 eight-month ethnographic study published in Sexualities, sociologists John Bailey and Brenna Harvey found that /mlp/ users constructed a collective identity around sexual desires that positioned them outside normative heterosexuality.Sert Ebru Gamergate, SJWs, and QAnon: Context for the Digital Perspectives Directing Political Discourse Bachelor's thesis Purchase College, State University of New York August 2021 Unlike mainstream bronies, they found that /mlp/ users often incorporate their sexual attraction to pony characters as a central element of communal identity. Many users of /mlp/ engage in self-policing by differentiating themselves from bronies who openly share their interest in the show, and many view women as advantaged and men as victims in sexual and social contexts. Bailey and Harvey wrote that /mlp/ illustrates how online communities formed around stigmatized interests can develop distinct political orientations shaped by shared marginalization, inadvertently reinforcing hegemonic masculinity. In a 2024 sociological analysis published in Dialogues, Helina Hartman examined hypermasculinization within /mlp/. Hartman wrote that /mlp/ users tend to "masculinize" the show by creating artwork involving violence or the military, sexualizing the characters, or creating otherwise grotesque content like the "Pony Cum Jar Project"; she suggested that this was a coping mechanism to reconcile their enjoyment of the show with societal pressures to conform to traditional masculine norms. Hartman wrote that /mlp/ was a resistance to traditional gender roles despite reinforcing hegemonic masculinity through their "masculinization" of a feminine show. See also /b/ /pol/ /mu/ /x/ Notes References External links Horse News Category:4chan Category:Internet properties established in 2012 Category:Brony fandom Category:Fan fiction