April 9, 2012

"Bronies" Are Grown Men Obsessed With MY LITTLE PONY

Over the weekend, I read a curious article in the Washington Post STYLE section about "bronies", young men age 18-40 who are somewhat obsessed with My Little Pony.  I thought this was a joke but it is true. The self-proclamied "bronies" gather in groups and watch episodes of a newish TV show based on the popular Hasbro toy which was first introduced back in the 1980s.

The new show MY LITTLE PONY: FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC sounds like the Teletubbies of it's day, with bright colors and goofy characters with names like Twilight Sparkle. Yes, it's perfect stoner television.  There was no mention of this in the POST article, that's my secret suspicion of what is driving this whole thing. Also, no word on whether any of these dudes are gay, though with interest in characters with Sparkles and Rainbow in their names you gotta wonder, right? Anyway, this new trend is yet another incident of the continuing infantilization of our culture, where adults never quite grow up to become...well, adults.