Fandom

Philosopher John Stewart posits, “we tend to accept whatever is usual as natural”. In our society, women and men have very strict, different gender roles that define what it means to be masculine and feminine. When people stray from the typical gender guidelines, they are considered ‘weird’ because they are rejecting the norm. The Bronies are a great example of a fandom group of men that love the show My Little Pony, which is considered by society’s standards, a little girls show. Bronies directly “challenge our heteronormative ideas of what it means to be a man”. Now, I know from my personal ideas and experience, men should be big, tall, unafraid, adventurous and outgoing. Many people have this same ideal and make fun of Bronies because they seem ‘less manly’ yet ironically; by my own definition of ‘manly’ I consider it to be very manly to stray from the “norm” and become fearless enough to try something new and different.

Additionally, as more men are burring these gender stereotypes, women I believe are becoming more typecast. The entertainment industry depicts women as pretty, skinny, over sexualized ladies. Shows, movies and advertisements tell them how to act and look, with usually an unrealistic image of a pretty model or something along those lines. It seems to me to be more abnormal and more publicized for men to watch these ‘girly’ shows than it is for women to watch an action movie. My favorite movie is Transformers and no one makes fun of me or questions my actions based on this fact. Yet, if I was a boy and said my favorite movie was The Notebook, people would be baffled.

Bronies are one of the most well known fandoms. Fandoms are filled with more active participators rather than people that “go to see a movie, watch it and then just leave”. While reading and watching all the articles and videos on Fandom, I question if Fandom was really healthy for our society or could it be a destructive force. Fandom allows anyone to share their stories and nurtures creativity. Yet, when does this ‘like’ of a certain show or movie transform into an ‘obsession’? Take Beyonce for instance. She has millions of followers that would do anything for her and live their life around her and her actions. I cannot even fathom being that devoted to one thing and basing my life off of theirs. Technology like Twitter and Tumblr are propelling this fandom to a whole new level and making it possible to become even more engulfed in their life.