Foreword :
Hello everyone, my name is aNIGHTLYpony and i'm here to discuss the clopping phenomenon and why i personally think it's a bad thing, that's right: Personally. before i start i want you all to understand that my views and opinions are not the same of all people in this group nor the brony community. you are free to disagree if you can express yourself in a mature,civil way and i encourage you to also look up what other people have to say on the matter, not taking my word as the absolute truth. i'm NOT writing this to make people hate cloppers or because i'm "butthurt", i also respect people that clop even though i'm not OK with the phenomenon. The reason i'm writing this is because i believe the clopping phenomenon should be dealt with in a different way since i think it negatively influences our community and how other people view Bronies or any fan of the show. thank you for understanding, enjoy. I: "i watch it for the plot" Since the beginning of the fandom, the artsy,deviant bronies have been creating fan-art,fan-fics,music and much more, that's what fans do! right here on deviantart i view a lot of stunning,beautiful art and i very much admire the creativity of fellow fans. as in every other fandom, this includes Pornographic content. like rule 34 says:"if it exists, there IS porn of it", ponies are no exception. but how does this affect the fandom? how people view us, and how fellow fans view us? should we care? yes, what a lot of people don't realize is that action gives reaction and that the things we do individually can affect fellow bronies. When you tell some one you're a brony, people are quickly assuming you "clop". I, and many other people ARE disturbed by this while others are not, because we feel like we're being judged for something we are not. that is te reason i'm writing this, there are a few points regarding clopping i'll be pointing out why clopping is NOT ok, that it's NOT something to be proud of and that it's NOT socially acceptable and that people need to keep it to themselves. i'm not asking people to stop, because i know the answer will be a big NO, but we CAN change the way we think of clopping for the sake of other people. but aren't bronies not socially accepted in the first place for liking a show for little girls? yes. then why should we care about the clopping? because i think we should NOT be ignorant and that we should be attracted to REAL people for the sake of dignity and our self respect.
II. "Fandoms are magic: why people clop" Every brony is an individual and the brony community is surprisingly very diverse, however, the stereotype brony is a fat,no-life, neckbearded,fedora-wearing,clopping geek. are most bronies like that? no, but there are people in the fandom i do NOT want to hang out with. a lot of people Join a fandom not only because of interest, but as a form of escapism from society, people think they CAN do in a fandom what they can't do with other people around. i have news for you: Fandoms ALSO have standards on what is socially acceptable, and they should. the reason why people clop is because they are either phisically attracted to the characters or to their personalities.
when people are anonymous and/or with people of the same interest, people show and share their darkest fantasies because they feel like they won't be judged for it: clopping is an example of this. some people however do NOT clop, so i believe one must not openly brag about clopping on threads or forums, but in private: for example on skype. that is respectful and a good thing to do, think twice and care about how your actions affect the fandom.
III. "Rule 34: the licence-to-clop?" "ïf it exists,there is porn of it", we all know the line, but too many of us don't know what it means. rule 34 is NOT a rule of the internet that justifies clopping. the fact there is porn of something and because people are into it doesn't make it ok for YOU to do the same. so i'd like to clarify:
The fact it exists, doesn't mean there SHOULD be porn of it. the fact it exists does not mean it's ok nor does it mean it's normal.
IV. "Self respect" the average age of a brony is 21 years old and the fandom is predominently male and single. Imagine if a family member or friend catches you on clopping? most people that are caught are ashamed, but not while sharing clop-fics for example with other cloppers. this is something that still amazes me. deep down inside we know and we SHOULD know it is shameful to masturbate to pictures of ponies intended for little girls, it makes me think: where is your self respect? we are mostly grown men and we should ACT that way, we should feel attracted to real people and people in the first place. you don't like being called "autist manchild?" then start NOT acting that way.
do not be anxious about the world, go out there! you could meet someone really nice to have REAL sex with. go out to a bar,club or what not and start living in the REAL world. unlucky with the boys or girls? be assertive and don't be ashamed of yourself. Who would want a relationship with someone that has a pony dakimakura and clop pics? nearly no-one, so don't shoot yourself in the foot. when you search "my little pony"on google, even with the safe-search option there are explicit pony images to be seen for little kids to see, that is already a result of the clopping phenomenon and it is NOT okay. we can't justify that by saying "don't like? don't click and we know it damn well.
V. "What would Lauren say?" i quote from
fav.me/d4kf3yc an interview with Lauren Faust herself, the woman that designed the ponies with love and care :
"Q: What do you think of Rule 34 applied to ponies?
It's not my thing, but I know that it comes with the territory of having your work on TV, so I'm used to it. I admit I avoid looking at it, and would rather not have it pointed out to me----- so please don't!"
imagine Lauren watching you clop or finding porn pictures of "Fausticorn", what would she say? is this why she worked on the show? no! i think it is a spit in her face and that it is disrespectful to her. imagine you've illustrated characters with love and care and people masturbate to your works, if that would happen to me i'd be disturbed.
VI. "love and tollerance,anyone? " A motto that merely 10% of all bronies live by according to bronystudy and the greatest form of hyppocracy in the fandom. love and tollerance is NOT the same as acceptance, it is NOT a something you say to shut people up and justify your acts. please know that even people WITHIN the fandom don't like clopping. don't be ignorant and don't do to others what you wouldn't want people to do to you.
VII. "What happens in the bedroom stays in the bedroom" nuff said, just keep it to yourself and for the sake of the fandom don't think clopping is normal, because it is not and shouldn't be. it should be something you'd whisper. In the interview with Howard Stern bronies openly talked about 18+ pony stuff, people already hate us because they don't understand us, what will people think? are you really okay with the fact people know we clop? of course they'll find out eventually, but does it mean we should openly debate this? no. the least we can do is give the message we're NOT proud of it.
VIII. "For a better fandom image, a better self image!" There should be a healthy balance between folowing society's standards and your own, should we care about the way people think of bronies? yes! can we change people's views, yes, at least some of them. do you want all of us to be known as people that fap to horses? hell no. yes,people clop, but we must let people know not all of us are like that, that is why i'm also happy a group like this exist, not to disrespect cloppers (which is NOT its purpose) but to help shatter the negative stereotype, because even though we're bronies we are a part of society. don't be a brony to escape from society and hide behind a shield, that's weak. alienating is NOT the answer to the rejection because of your deviancy.
i believe you CAN be a brony and be accepted in society, i've met people that DO like me even tho they know im a brony. when you want to change how people view bronies, start with yourself. of course there will always be people that hate us, but that doesn't have to mean we should be ignorant. shoving the clopping under the rug is a good first step so you can say you're a brony WITHOUT getting dirty looks.
Thank you for reading.