Full Description
In 2010, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic premiered on television. A large, avid fandom soon emerged--not the pre-teen female demographic earlier versions of the franchise had been created for, but a roughly 80 percent male audience, most of them age 14-24. With this came questions about the nature of the audience who would come to call themselves "bronies." Brony Studies was born.
Approaching the fandom from a perspective of clinical, social and experimental psychology, this study presents eight years of research, written for academics and fans alike. An understanding of the brony fan culture has broader application for other fan communities as well.
Contents
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Preface
1. Meet the Bronies!
What Makes a Fan a Fan?
A Crash Course in the History of MLP
Okay, So What Is a Brony?
What's the Plan?
2. Science Is Magic: The History of Brony Study
What Is Brony Study?
The History
Who Are the Brony Researchers?
So What Kinds of Studies Have We Done?
Wave One: 2012-2016
Wave Two: 2015-2018
What Does the Future Hold?
3. Sampling, Statistics, Research Design and Other Nerd Stuff
A Crash Course in the Scientific Method
Operationalization: Putting Numbers to Experience
The Science (and Art) of Study Design
Sampling: Who Are We Talking About
Data Analysis: Making Sense of the Numbers
Limitations and the Fallacy of the Perfect Study
4. Just How Extremely Unexpected Are the Adult Fans of My Little Pony?
The Prototypical Brony: It Isn't the "Mane" Thing About Them
Basic Demographics
Age and Sex
Fandom Membership
Sexual Orientation
Dating Life
The Brony Typology
Conclusion
5. From Ponyville to Manehattan: The Background and Family Life of Bronies
Where the Herd Roams
Suited for Success
Education
Employment
Being a Pear in a Family of Apples: Brony Parents and Acceptance
Praise the Sun and Rock the Vote: Bronies, Spirituality and Politics
Conclusion
6. Equestria Girls and Pony Boys: A Few Final Demographic Comparisons
Sex Differences in the Brony Fandom
Demographic and Personality Differences
Motivations and Exposure
Feminism
Comparing Bronies to Non-Bronies
Conclusion
7. Welcome to Equestria: The Making of a Brony
How People Think Bronies Come to Be
Common Paths to MLP Discovery
The Role of Social Media and the Internet
"I just don't know what went wrong": Accidental Fans
Friends, Family and the Power of Word of Mouth
Why Did It Have to Be Ponies?
8. Come for the Show, Stay for the Swag
Watching MLP
How Bronies Watch: Immersion
Watching Fan-Made Content
Convention Attendance
Brony Swag
9. "Yes, but why?" Brony Motivation
Early Studies of Fans: What Motivates Sport Fans?
Explaining Fan Motivations in Non-Sport Fans
The Multi-Dimensional Motivation of Bronies
Fandom Functions: What Does Being a Brony Do for You?
Conclusion
10. The Pony I Want to Be
The Allure of Interesting Characters
No, Really, Who is "Best Pony"?
What Your Favorite Pony Says About You
Identifying with Characters
11. Rule 34: Ponies, Pornography and Perceptions of the Fandom
That Which Shall Not Be Named: The History of "Rule 34"
Rule 34
Pornography, Art and History
Pornography and Fandom
Pornography and the Brony Fandom
Support
Exposure
General Consumption
Who Consumes?
Production and Sharing of Explicit Content
What Should the Fandom Do?
Conclusion
12. The World Outside MLP
Subgroups Within the Brony Fandom
Interest in Other Fandoms
Bronies and Internet Culture
13. "One of us": Bronies as a Fandom
Understanding Group Psychology: The Social Identity Perspective
Understanding Group Psychology: Self-Categorization Theory
Applying Group Psychology Theories to Fan Groups 159 Fanship
Fanship, Fandom and Engagement with MLP and the Brony Community
Fanship, Fandom and Sense of Brony Community
Fanship, Fandom and Brony Meet-Ups and Conventions
Conclusion
14. "Where I belong": Other Motivations for Fandom Participation
"I'll be there for you": Where Bronies Seek Social Support
Optimal Distinctiveness Theory
Me or Somepony Like Me
"Who am I and why am I here?" Purpose in Life
Conclusion
15. Inter-and Intra-Fandom Dynamics
"My fandom's better than yours!"
"Real" vs. "Fake" Bronies: Gatekeeping, Status and Entitlement
"Join the herd!" New Brony Recruitment
16. Personality Profiles of People Who Prefer Ponies
The Big Five Dimensions of Personality
Personality and Fans
Bronies versus Non-Bronies
Correlations of the Big Five Dimensions in Bronies
A Word of Caution: A Social Identity Perspective of the Big Five Personality Dimensions
17. "Eww, bronies!" Stigma Toward the Brony Fandom
Fandom Stigma
Bullying and Hiding One's Brony Identity
Coping with Stigma: Denial of Personal Discrimination
Coping with Stigma: Rejection Identification
Coping with Stigma: Change in Discrimination ("Things are getting better!")
Reducing Stigma Toward Bronies: Non-Bronies' Exposure to MLP
Conclusion
18. Bronies: A Surprisingly Happy, Well-Adjusted Group of Fans
Fandoms, Friendships and Well-Being: Wann's Model of Identification and Well-Being
Fan Conventions, Well-Being Highs and Post-Con Depression
Prevalence of Psychological Conditions in Brony Fandom
Identifying as a Brony and Well-Being
Perceived Change in Well-Being
Conclusion
19. Making the World Better, One Kind Act at a Time
From Charity to Protest: Why People Help
Media Effects
Fandom and Helping
Moral Message
Moral Foundations and Perception
Reason for Liking the Show
Fandom Comparison
Change in Helping
Giving and Receiving Help Within the Brony Fandom
Prosocial Fandom Norms
Conclusion
20. All Good Things: The Future of Friendship and the Fandom
Expectations of Future Involvement
Predicting Future Involvement
Why Do People Leave the Fandom?
What the Future Holds
Nostalgia's One Hell of a Drug
Sharing Spaces
Protecting the Fandom
The Show and the Fandom
Conclusion: All Good Things
21. Dear Princess Celestia: Parting Words from Bronies and the Research Team
Dear Brony Study
Dear Princess Celestia
Chapter Notes
References
Index
