Furry/Brony Critique.

[Soldier Blitz]

"Now, I know Furries and Bronies mostly dislike each other. However, when you really think about it, we're the same.

I think it's a bit ridiculous how we're battling each other when we could focus our hatred less on hating each other, and just using our common interests in a roleplay fashion.

I'm a Brony, yet I don't dislike Furries. As a matter of fact, I AM one. As you can tell by me being here.

Who else votes we end our ridiculous conflict?

Now, if you'll excuse me.... I need to go pass out in some random field covered in sheep blood."

[White Wolf Guardian]

I think the issue comes more to both groups trying to say they are the same, which isn't true. One group is exclusively about a single tv show and the other is about liking anthropomorphic characters. Focusing only on one type of anthro character would hardly classify as furry. Most of the brony culture revolves around copying the art style of MLP and making recolored characters, which is much more like the Sonic fans who also focus only on one series. You never hear about Sonic fans being furry however, so the real difference is that the gigantic number of MLP fans perhaps can also like other anthropomorphic characters, but if you are a "brony" that means you are more of 'just' an MLP fan.

[anoni]

I have to disagree with the exclusivity there, like, as far as I'm aware a brony isn't really necessarily art-based, the fandom is define by someone liking MLP that isn't part of the target demographic. There is art in the brony fandom, but it all stems from the like of the show, it's just like the furry fandom is "a like of anthropormophic art", but as well has fursuits and conventions derived from it. So my idea is that the fandoms are entirely different because they're about different things, furries is about, specifically, anthropormophic art, while bronies is about specifically the show.

  So basically I agree with White up until he says that bronies are "just" about the show, a brony is simply a fan of the show, you can like all the anthro art available and still be a brony if you like the show. But I would agree that if you're a brony, like the art of MLP, but don't like other anthro art, then you're not a fan of anthro art you're just a fan of the show and therefore you're a brony but not a furry.

[Nicolas Cage]

So my idea is that the fandoms are entirely different because they're about different things, furries is about, specifically, anthropormophic art, while bronies is about specifically the show.

.


Pretty much. There may be similarities between the two fandoms, but there are also those distinctions keeping them mutually exclusive. Bronies enjoy MLP, which not every furry does. Furries enjoy a wider variety of anthro-related content, which not every brony does.


As for where the conflict comes from, that's just the Internet taking its course with several different groups of people being accused of preferences which aren't theirs. For example, the biggest conflict I see is all bronies being called furries because of the extraordinarily large amounts of adult art for each fandom (which ironically, in MLP's case, is mostly because of furry artists in the first place). This tends to work because it involves casual watchers of MLP, the ones who actually do enjoy said adult content, bronies who are also furries, furries, and any catchall groups. And thus the conflict comes from there being differing aspects of these groups, some claiming traits that others don't want to be identified with.

[anoni]

I think the whole thing occurs as well because of the social similarities of the two fandoms in the wider internet community. Both are seen as very strange to the wider audience, both are generally bullied as a whole in the internet community, both promote an atmosphere of very "open" and positive vibes, both have a darker sexual side that is "less prevalent than people think, but more prevalent than the fandom thinks" and both just are generally EXTREMELY similar. But neither necessarily wants to associate as being the other because, while mistaken as the same because of these similarities by the wider community, the fandoms themselves note the clear differences.

  It's very similar to the Star wars fandom vs the Star Trek fandom, while they both share a lot of similarities to the outside audience, they are fundamentally different because they like different things. This causes conflict between the two fandoms to try and point out to the public the differences.

[Teiko]

This is literally the first time I've ever heard of this feud

[Nicolas Cage]

This is literally the first time I've ever heard of this feud

Then you have avoided large amounts of eDrama.


Good work!