WHICH IS TO USE THE TERM "MEN" LOOSELY:

Meet 'bronies' -- grown men who are fans of My Little Pony (Kelly House, 9/17/11, The Oregonian)

The phenomenon began taking hold soon after "Friendship Is Magic" debuted last fall. As the brony ranks grew, monthly viewership -- which was 1.4 million a month in November -- nearly tripled to 4 million by the end of the first season. The bronies expect another growth spurt after the show begins its second season today.

 "We are getting new members by the day," says Nathan Shepard, 20, who helped organize the Portland group. "There's been a lot of buildup."

Shepard planned to wake up early this morning to catch the 6 a.m. premiere of the show, which follows a brigade of six kindhearted young ponies as they battle the forces of darkness. Such die-hard enthusiasm isn't uncommon among the bronies, who say they're just as shocked as the general public that the show has attracted such a fan base.

"About the fourth episode in, I had that moment that all college 20-year-old guys get: 'Wait, I'm watching a show for little girls?'" Schultz says. "Right after, I had that moment I was like 'Eh, who cares?'"

With the occasional exception, the bronies share a common profile. Talk to any of the 117 (and counting) members in Portland's network, and you're likely to get a similar story.

They're self-described geeks, nerds or video gamers in their teens to mid-30s. They discovered My Little Pony after noticing a glut of pony-related activity while browsing Internet forums. Curious, they checked out the show and got hooked.

"I've gotten raised eyebrows from friends," says Jim West, a 20-year-old brony from Olympia.

But don't call them girly men. Yes, some bronies are sensitive types. But they also rock climb and play sports, have girlfriends and maintain active social lives.

"I play video games and hang out with my (non-brony) friends; I still like fighting zombies and all that good stuff," West says. "It's not like the ponies are the only thing, but they have become pretty big for me."

Animation fandom is nothing new among the anime and gaming set. Past and present fads include "World of Warcraft," "SpongeBob SquarePants," "Transformers" and scores of Japanese anime cartoons.

But the bronies are different -- and not just because their obsession is peculiarly feminine and juvenile.

They're outspoken. Many bronies proudly display their pony passion with T-shirts, pins, posters and large figurine collections. One of the most popular Facebook pages on the subject lists Bronyism as a religion.

Those Pacific Northwesterners do love getting freaky with horses.

Posted by oj at November 8, 2011 6:33 AM
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