"You know that's for x, right?"

[Quiver he/him]

So, I was reading Tor, and trying to avoid Words of Radiance spoilers, when I came across this article.

 

http://www.tor.com/blogs/2014/02/fandom-rallies-around-11-year-old-boy-who-attempted-suicide-after-bullying-over-my-little-pony

 

And it got me thinking. I've heard good things about that show, but I've never watched it, for exactly the same reason mentioned there; being worried that it would label me as being not "normal". Having read the article, I've decided to give the show a try, and have been recording a few episodes. It might not be much, and it might be that I'll come out of it thinking "wow, that show is girly", or even that it's just not my thing, but even so, threading this article has kind of made me think about how people-and society- judge things. My Little Pony is for girls, but Avatar- that's a great, boy show.

 

To use another example, when I was a teenager, I was very anti-Disney. Fairy tales and prince charmings? That's for children. I mean, the Lion King is an exception, because it's dark, and deep, and based on literature, but that means it's just the thing that proves the rule. Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Cinderella? That's for children, or for girls.

In case it's not obvious, I want to slap the younger me on an island for five years and see how he fares.

 

I have a friend- a male friend. We share a lot of similar interests, except in one regard. He is a big fan of YA fiction, Twilight and Hunger Games, and hates fantasy. I give him a pass on Hunger Games (it's "deep", right?) and YA fiction (I've read some YA Fantasy novels) but I tease him a lot about Twilight. He occassionally takes shots at fantasy, though I beat him to it by deriding it myself- I'm an equal oppurtunities abuser.

 

But reading this makes me think. Yes, I make fun of Twilight because I don't think it's well written, but... I've never read it. And I've never watched the films. Because I feel like they are being marketed for girls, and I have no place in them. I don't want to read them, but that attitude is fairly damning against me.

 

Has anyone else ever had this feeling? Being ashamed of something, or consciously ignoring stuff because it's, well, not "supposed" to be for you?

 

(And yes, I suppose this is part confession, part discussion. And if anyone here is curious, I'll tell you what I thought of MLP after I've seen it.)

 

EDIT: Oh, and yes, I realise all my examples have been male-based ones. That's because... well, I'm speaking from my personal experience. Someone on the comments for the article mentioned that she was told as a kid that she couldn't wear shoes with Mario on them, presumably because it's considered a guy thing. I'm just speaking from my own, personal life experiences, so that the only person I offend is myself.

 

DOUBLE EDIT: Case in point.

http://www.tor.com/blogs/2010/12/may-the-force-be-with-katie

 

TRIPLE EDIT: A new record for me.

And I've just decided curse word it. Watching something and then hiding it isn't really any better than not doing it, so... after I watch it, I'm going to start a thread here and announce my thoughts on it. I'm putting this here, in writing, as leverage so that, when I chicken out, someone can point back to this as my promise.

Edited February 7, 2014 by Quiver

[Peng the Just he/him]

When I was in junior high and early high school, I freaked out about what everyone thought about me what if my lunchbox makes me look like a dork? or what if they make fun of me for being in science olympiad? Well this is still a little bit of a problem for me, I've come to realize that life is better if you enjoy what you enjoy and don't worry what other people think about it. (that's probably the most personal thing I've ever shared on this site.)

A co-worker of mine made me watch some MLP. It's not as childish or feminine as you would think.

TRIPLE EDIT: A new record for me.

And I've just decided curse word it. Watching something and then hiding it isn't really any better than not doing it, so... after I watch it, I'm going to start a thread here and announce my thoughts on it. I'm putting this here, in writing, as leverage so that, when I chicken out, someone can point back to this as my promise.

noted. you will not be allowed to back out.

[Edgedancer he/him]

If you want to inform yourself about Twilight but not read the books I would point you to the livejournal community das-sporking. It is a mix between a detailed recap and an analysis of everytinh that is wrong with it.

 

For my own confession, I tend to be in the group that watches a lot of weird stuff which leads me to not being very judgemental about shows/books I haven´t watched/read (or at the very least I like to think so). Admidetly I never watched MlP but that is more because I don´t watch many tv-shows and a generall lack of interest. (For example I also never watched Breaking Bad although a lot of people in my surrounding like the show.) That and I don´t even know where I could watch the show legally.

Edited February 7, 2014 by Edgedancer

[king of nowhere]

yes, our society makes lots of judgments based on expectations that are really just prejudices.

And yes, most of us, when we are young, go with it. Because having prejudices is easier than trying to consider everything with fairness.

Most of us also get over that with time. pity for those who don't.

I got over mine around age 20, when I accepted I was a nerd and, if I have more fun videogaming than partying, thhen I should try to be a happy nerd rather than be a different person bassed on what society considers entertaining.

 

I still wouldn't look at my little pony or twilight, however. not because they are girly, but because they are not my cup of tea.

 

EDIT:

"...an eleven-year-old boy who is currently in the hospital after his attempted suicide. It would seem that the attempt came after alleged bullying by his classmates over being a Brony, a fan of the show My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. While this is undoubtedly a tragedy ..."

when reading, at first I interpreted the phrase as "he was a brony, and that is undoubtedly a tragedy" rather than "he attempted suicide, and that's undoubtedly a tragedy". had to reread to get it right. anyone else fell for it?

Edited February 7, 2014 by king of nowhere

[PeterAhlstrom he/him]

I grew up with four sisters. We all watched My Little Pony and Transformers (they were on back-to-back) and played with the toys for both.

[Chaos he/him]

I had an ex (who I am still good friends with) who was very involved in MLP and I am not ashamed to say that I enjoyed it. Its animation style is undeniably gorgeous, it is smartly written, and it gives people characters who they can truly identify with. That said, I'm in college and give zero craps about petty bullying that happens in high school and earlier. Life is too short to hang out with jerks, so I avoid them. Of course, that's a lot harder to do in lower grade levels...

[Cromptj he/him]

I often watch shows or read books aimed for younger audiences (Spongebob) and watch many shoujo and josei series. I don't go out of my way to tell people about this, but if someone asks me to recommend an anime series, they will often be one of my first recommendations. I think you just have to learn that there are a lot of people who act like jerks, but there are even more who share your, or other potentially embarrassing interests and more still who really don't care what people are watching/reading.

[PeterAhlstrom he/him]

Actually, I am looking for some really good shoujo or josei to watch on a legal streaming site. My wife and I loved Chihayafuru (but she's not likely to be interested in another sports anime unless it's to that level of quality; we watched a few Saki episodes and it was too tropey and the gameplay was boring; HikaGo isn't shoujo but she was also too bored by that; anyway I'm saying something other than sports would be good...).

Edited February 10, 2014 by PeterAhlstrom

[Cromptj he/him]

I live in Britain, so I generally end up buying the DVDs or Netflix but that seems to not have anime any more in Britain. But there's Revolutionary Girl Utena, Aria (not strictly shoujo but has some shoujo themes), Rose of Versailles, Marimite, Escaflowne, Cardcaptor Sakura, Rayearth, Honey and Clover, Mawaru Peguindrum, Eden of the East, and I've heard good things about Nana. Hopefully at least one of those is available.

EDIT: and Shinsekai yori.

Edited February 10, 2014 by Cromptj