"My Little Pony is a show for girls." An imaginary/compilation conversation.

"Man, those Bronies are weird."

Why's that?

"Grown men who like My Little Pony? That's weird. It's a show for little girls."

Well, grown-ups who choose to watch it might be classified as "a little weird", I suppose. But some young boys like My Little Pony too.

"But it's a show for little girls."

Why not boys?

"No boys like My Little Pony."

I know several.

"That's those crazy 'Bronies'. Perverted teenagers watching it 'ironically'."

My daughter's 6-year-old friend (a boy) just said "Oh, I love that episode!" when they were trying to decide which episode to watch.

"But it's a show for girls!"

Why?

"The main characters are all girls."

So any cartoon with only girl main characters is a cartoon for girls only?

"Right."

Was 'Fat Albert' only for boys?

"What?"

Was 'Fat Albert' only for boys? All the main characters were boys. In fact, many – or maybe even most – cartoons have only male lead characters. Tom and Jerry. Sylvester and Tweety. SpongeBob SquarePants. Bugs Bunny. Ren and Stimpy. Beavis and Butthead. Any female characters are all secondary. Are those shows for boys only?

"Well… that's different… somehow…"

How?

"Uh… This is a show about cute talking ponies!"

So? Boys can't like ponies?

"There's princesses and magic and stuff! It's clearly a show for little girls!"

I know several boys who range in age from 5 to 10 who watch it. They seem to like it. And I also know some little girls who don't like it.

"You shouldn't let boys watch that: it's a show for girls."

Why it is a show for girls? I just said I know some boys who like it.

"But they're aberrations: it's mostly girls who like that kind of stuff."

Maybe. I don't know the statistics, but it could be that a majority of those who watch it are girls. But, some boys do like it, and some girls don't. So why is it "for" girls?

"Uh… traditionally girls like ponies and princesses and magic and … uh… pink things?

Some did, and some still do, yes. I don't see what that has to do with anything now. There are lots of boys who do like it now.

"They're just weirdos, or probably gay."

Hmmm. Probably not, they seem like 'regular' boys to me, and I'm not sure watching (or not watching) "My Little Pony" means you're gay. But even so, gay boys are still boys, right? And gay girls are still girls, right?

"Um… Maybe?"

So, if some boys like it, and some girls don't like it, why does anyone say it's a show "for girls"?