opinion on bronies/ask your questions to a brony

[Bronies are cool]

hey furries. I'm a brony. I would like to almost consider myself almost a diplomat. I am not a furry, however I do not mind furries at all (which is how most people should be)
I would just like to ask what are people's opinions about bronies?
Some of you may have good or bad ideas about bronies, and I would kind of like to know what people think about bronies from the furry perspective. I am also open to answering questions about bronies.
(also I am aware that there are bronies who also identify as furries and participate on this forum already. I just thought it might be an ok idea to make a thread about bronies because I didnt see one that already exists really.)

[anoni]

To me, communities like these, bronies, furries, trekkies and whatever, they aren't different societies, you don't really need a [diplomat]. There are many furries here who are also bronies and vice versa. We're all just people who like a certain thing, I mean correct me if I'm wrong but a brony is just someone who likes My Little Pony, I mean, we wouldn't separate Trekkies or Whoovians, they're just the same thing xD

[MrRazot]

It could be said that bronies are actually furries, however what makes you a brony in particular is the inclusion of the mlp TV show.

[Midnight Madness]

I agree that there is no need for a diplomat. We're all just different categories under one, big umbrella. All these different subsections of the furry community all share the same, all encompassing interest in anthropomorphism. The application of human traits to animals and vice versa all pertain to that same manner of personification, be it intellectual applications, physical applications, societal applications, or any combination of the three.

That being said, I have absolutely no qualms with the Brony community. Some of my best friends are bronies/pegasisters, including a guy I consider close enough to be a brother. Y'all are generally nice people with a specific interest in MLP and its character style, rather than basic animals. I mean, I know all the main characters by heart, but I am by no means interested in the show. I'm so far from a brony, it's not even funny. But you know what? That's my opinion; that is something that nobody has to share with me, and something I can respect disagreement with. Quite honestly, people who think less of bronies and the like, but happen to be a part of the Furry Umbrella are just ignorant and choose to forget the distinct commonalities between their group and the others. (Discrimination ain't cool, yo. So don't think I'm saying that non-furry haters are acceptable either. )

Long story short, while having absolutely zero interest in MLP for a myriad of reasons, I have an equal myriad of reasons as to why I have absolutely zero reason to dislike bronies. Likewise, we're all under one big umbrella, so we might as well get comfy with one another.

[aperson1]

I'm somewhat a brony- I'm kind of hovering between being one and just any other casual person. Possibly influenced by the fact that my mom doesn't appear to approve of the idea in general, not necessarily hating them, but rather thinking of bronies as 'creeps'- not my own opinion though.

[Bronies are cool]

I probably should not have used the word "diplomat" in regards to bronies. I was really tired when I posted the OP.
But yea.
I'm not sure really how many furries are bronies. The number may be larger than I originally anticipated. Which is fine. Maybe this thread is pointless.
But maybe not. Who knows.

I'm now kind of wanting to debate if bronies can really be considered furries.
I would say yes and no, depending on the brony.

Not all bronies have an OC nor really actually appreciate anthropomorphic beings. Some may just make the exception of their disinterest in anthropomorphic beings to watch the show. 
Some bronies may actually have an OC and appreciate the anthropomorphic qualities. These bronies may be called "furry".
But they won't probably admit that they are a furry.
But furry just seems kind of broad.
Like, if I like lion king and draw myself as a lion, does that make me a furry? I don't personally think so. But what do I know?

[Snow Kittie]

Not all bronies have an OC nor really actually appreciate anthropomorphic beings. Some may just make the exception of their disinterest in anthropomorphic beings to watch the show. 
Some bronies may actually have an OC and appreciate the anthropomorphic qualities. These bronies may be called "furry".
But they won't probably admit that they are a furry.
But furry just seems kind of broad.
Like, if I like lion king and draw myself as a lion, does that make me a furry? I don't personally think so. But what do I know?

You do not need an OC to be a furry. The only, the one and only, requirement to be a furry is to have an appreciation or liking towards anthropomorphic animals or characters. My little pony characters are definitely under this category with both their ability to speak and their social interactions. You do not need to draw yourself as an animal either, not all furries are artists - nor do all furries have a desire to be an animal.

[Bronies are cool]

Not all bronies have an OC nor really actually appreciate anthropomorphic beings. Some may just make the exception of their disinterest in anthropomorphic beings to watch the show. 
Some bronies may actually have an OC and appreciate the anthropomorphic qualities. These bronies may be called "furry".
But they won't probably admit that they are a furry.
But furry just seems kind of broad.
Like, if I like lion king and draw myself as a lion, does that make me a furry? I don't personally think so. But what do I know?

You do not need an OC to be a furry. The only, the one and only, requirement to be a furry is to have an appreciation or liking towards anthropomorphic animals or characters. My little pony characters are definitely under this category with both their ability to speak and their social interactions. You do not need to draw yourself as an animal either, not all furries are artists - nor do all furries have a desire to be an animal.

I feel like the definition of "furry" is really broad.
Like, if I watch Lion King and appreciate it, does that make me a furry?

[Snow Kittie]

I feel that that would be pushing the limits of the definition.

Liking a movie does not constitute you being a furry.

If you find the characters to be particularly interesting and go out of your way to find other movies with anthro characters, THEN I would say you could he a furry.

However, nothing makes you a furry. It always has been and hopefully always will be a choice. It is a choice to use the term.

Some people are ignorant and will never accept it (:

[Bronies are cool]

So based on how you put it,
If I watch mlp but I don't seek to watch other anthropomorphic animal type shows (like little pet shop or whatever), then I'm not a furry? Which is what I thought originally.

[Snow Kittie]

I would agree with that. You can definitely still call yourself a furry because you do meet the requirement of having an interest in some form of anthro. However, as you are only interested in one particular show and not the type of characters in it, you are not to be assumed as a furry.

[Midnight Madness]

I would agree with that. You can definitely still call yourself a furry because you do meet the requirement of having an interest in some form of anthro. However, as you are only interested in one particular show and not the type of characters in it, you are not to be assumed as a furry.

I do agree with this statement. Just because you technically meet the requirements to be a Furry, just as those who might obsess over The Lion King or Disney's Robin Hood to an equivalent extent, does not mean you have to be a furry or what have you.

Either way, I would say that a term like the Anthropomorphic Fandom would serve as a better umbrella, rather than having a subdivision sharing the name of the umbrella. While the Furry part of that umbrella is indeed very broad, there would be specific divisions that follow similar criteria, even going down to specific iterations of entertainment/artistic mediums, like the aforementioned films.

But once again. This is all one's choice to identify as a member of this. Nobody is going to hunt anyone down and force them to say they are (at least I hope not).

[Bronies are cool]

What are all the subdivisions to the umbrella of the anthropomorphic fandom?

[Ulfur]

Would it be ok to call a brony a "cousin" to a furry?

[Kozy]

The following is based on comprehensive, archived research regarding the interactions between furries and bronies:
According to Fred Patten and other fandom historians, furries once known as fuzzies were fans of "serious funny animals". While funny animals were often highly anthropomorphic at the time, anthropomorphism was not often presumed until AnthroCon etc implied it. The idea of serious funny animals was referenced first apparently in Kimba the White Lion which was as about anthropomorphic as MLP albeit proto-fandom and the idea behind Kimba expressed the characters as unique and human-like intelligent among the rest of the animal kingdom. Believe it or not, the first "anime" largely contained funny animals, serious funny animals in Japan is now known as "kemono". The origin of "fuzzy" is thought to date to the mid 70s and is not a reference to H Beam Piper's works but rather as an esoteric funny animal APA term though animal-like aliens was one of sci-fi fandom's greatest attractor to the furry fandom which facilitated grounds for "serious funny animals" in sci-fi situations (i.e. Albedo Anthropomorphics and Thundercats). Funny animal fans would have been regarded as "funnies", the postfix trend possibly originating from "Trekkies", etc.

Though the term "furry" would commit moreso to those who socialise with other furries and aren't just a part of the furry fandom but its derivate community.

The sci-fi fandom in the late 70s would also describe furries/fuzzies during the early fandom as "intelligent animal characters", as in animals with a human-like intellect, there's no mention of the word "anthropomorphism" though the facial features were most often with a very human-like expression in the toons. Steve Gallacci and Stan Sakai lead the succession of the use "anthropomorphic animal" in the early 80s.

Though I'm sure MLP would come under furrydom in the classic sense. I think the modern furry identity has been collapsing moreso into two definitions "anthro animals" and "fans of cute animal characters", neither is wrong, there's no police or fandom core, only people and landmark conventions, etc. It's the fact that furries are so loosely knit that leaves them open to scrutiny when a smaller portion of it gives a bad name to a greater part. Brony, itself, originated on the (relatively furry-dominated) /co/ forum of a very controversial website known as 4chan.  Certainly, however, furry fan groups discussed MLP before MLP:FiM and also thought well about the pre-release of FiM, many furries became bronies and formed perhaps the greatest amount of its base originally. The larger parts of furrydom is concerned with art and belonging, away from reality around it, digital artists and fursuiters form it mostly. Though, there is certainly a borderline plutocratic-like (largely subconscious) element to the furry fandom known as the "popufur culture" which demands a great identity, art skills and a furry lifestyle. In hunger for fandom actualisation, many furs have tried to gain popularity in the fandom by means considered illicit and ridiculous by the general public, which lead to a certain episode of CSI. Sadly, the popufur obsession has given much drama and bad name to the community that furries tried to make other sites free of it (since dA and FA condoned it), such as Weasyl which was created in reaction to FA's apparently narcissistic merge with Furocity and the destruction of Artspots.

Because of all this drama, reasonably, many bronies rejected furries purely due to the stereotypes and issues, in reaction to bronies, FA etc even attempted to ban MLP artwork but this lead to concern that the Sonic artists should have to be banned but there was too many against this ridiculous control attempt that FA has been rendered infamous for. For popufur culture, dA even relaxed its maturity levels in a deliberate attempt to get money from those temporarily leaving FA, much to dA community's shock as it forced innocent artists to compete with the selling point of the more mature ones.

Doubley so, bronies made their first con and migration to tumblr at the time in protest to dA and the furry community.

Moral of this post: The Internet never forgets what you put on it, less so even its users. Fandom history was made, but many bronies and furries fought each other once out of propaganda and misunderstanding.

Big hug?