Patrick Edwards is a retired clinician who has been working in the field and teaching for well over 30 years. He is the founder of the brony study project and has published both within the field and recently finishing a series of fantasy fiction novels based on fan experience and psychology inspired by his work with the brony community. He lives in Spartanburg, South Carolina.

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