conspicuouslad:

askasanebrony:

Retake the Label

You know what I like? I like browsing the #brony tag and seeing happy bronies and MLP fans enjoying the fandom. I like seeing them posting cool art, and models, and cosplays, and music, and all that good stuff.

That’s what we came here for. I want to talk about what we do as a healthy community. I’d like to see people celebrating the best of our fandom, and telling everyone about it in a tag that should be filled with positive encouragement for those who are looking for it.

This is a celebration of positivity. It’s a celebration of equality. It’s a celebration of making bonds, building bridges, and shaking hands. It’s a celebration of what we are, what we want to see ourselves as, and what we want our label to really represent.

A label means different things to different people. But at the end of the day, all we want is to be happy, and make other people happy.

Let’s make our label about what is really important – everybody.

See, I keep seeing people saying they want to distance themselves with the term “brony” because what other people think when they hear it. Some want to start a new term, like “Equestrian,” and some would rather not be called anything. That’s fine, but it ultimately doesn’t matter.

The problem with starting a new term is that the very same people that you’re trying to avoid will use the new label, because they consider themselves the sane ones. The cycle will repeat.

But what people forget is that words and labels change meaning over time. Remember when “nerd” and “geek” was an insult? People wear those terms with pride now. And get into fights about the meanings. And a word is only as vile as the person using it.

So whatever you decide to call yourself, go ahead and own it. It doesn’t matter what other people think of the word, that is yours to do with as you will. And don’t get upset at what other people choose to call themselves. It won’t make anything better.

(Source: asknethesem, via adurot)