intern/blogger Kyle and asked, “What’s wrong with this picture?” he responded, “There aren’t any black ponies. I watched the video clip and, indeed, the rainbow pony stands out as having a perpetually maniacal expression while the others are cute and cuddly.Īccording to the “ meet the ponies” page, which invites viewers to click on a pony to learn about each of their distinct personalities, “Rainbow Dash” is “capable and athletic,” “lives for adventure,” “brave and bold” and proves “time and time again that she is a true hero!” This positive portrayal made me wonder if perhaps the company was not providing a caricature but allowing for a positive account of gender-bending, and so I asked for a second opinion. Since there’s a false stereotype that all feminists are angry, tomboyish lesbians, it was disconcerting to think that a kid’s TV show would uphold this. I was immediately concerned that the only pony that looked slightly angry or tomboyish was the rainbow pony. Blog post regarding the sexed-up makeover of various children’s toys–in this case, the hallowed My Little Pony franchise from Hasbro–which led me to their website and an introduction to the latest My Little Pony TV show. (Diary excerpt: “I love wearing heels, it makes me feel like a pony!”) Looking back on TV shows like My Little Pony and Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders–shows in which the powerful female figure was demonized as evil and the main character was always blond and blue-eyed–made me think, “Wow, the old days were so sexist and racist and heteronormative–thank goodness kids shows aren’t like that anymore!” Having been thoroughly indoctrinated as a child to love ponies–and My Little Pony in particular–much of my understandings of femininity and heteronormativity come directly from my childhood interactions with cartoon ponies. In case you missed out, it’s My Little Pony week on the Ms.
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