Unpopular opinion time

When I was a kid, I preferred things with male characters in them. I still do as an adult. (I am female if you don’t know)
 
Of course I am not the norm.

@LightningBolt  
@Commune
 
For me, it’s the principle. Being a good person isn’t a feminine thing, guys need friendship too. Having all the Elements of Harmony be female implicitly perpetuates harmful stereotypes for both genders, and is something I’d like to see changed in G5. It’s a show about horses being friends, there is literally nothing “feminine” about that.

@GenericArchangel
 
Of course, the Pillars and the Students tried to address that.

I honestly wouldn’t be too surprised if “the main characters have to be female” was a mandate from Hasbro given to Lauren before she started working on the show.

@GenericArchangel  
They were specifically created to be role models to young girls showing them that there is no right way to become a woman. A book loving science nerd, a tomboy sports fanatic, a nature loving hippy, a partier wanting to laugh through life, an artist that embraces femininity, or a family gal working hard for her family. All these and more were valid, and that girls should embrace what type of girl they are.

@GenericArchangel  
Practically, becuse Hasbro wants to sell the toys to girls. However, that didn’t stop them using male regulars in Tales, so it’s not impossible G5’s cast will include one or more.

@RaineV1  

@Mildgyth  
Is there a reason for just quoting a post right above yours without comment? Is it a form of wordless seconding?

@Latecomer
 
Yes.

@RaineV1  
Good idea for Lauren to not make them into stereotypes and make them relatable for their target audience. I admire for her for that.

@ILoveMyoozik  
Well you could say that each of them are stereotypes - braniac, jock, cowgirl,fashionista, wallflower, party animal - but just fleshed-out ones.

@RaineV1  
Fair enough. My point is still valid.

@GenericArchangel  
If you were allowed to flip one Mane before starting the show, who? What about two?

@Latecomer  
Considering that stereotype has a pretty negative connotation, I don’t feel right in calling them that. I just simply call them characters and leave it at that because while they do typically have one or a few traits, they have a lot more to them than just their basic character types.

@ILoveMyoozik  
How about archetypes, then? Whatever you call them, many FIM characters are at least based on them.

@Latecomer  
Does it matter? Why not at random? If your character can only exist as one gender, there’d better be a damn good reason for it. Hypothetically, all of the Mane 6 could be guys and it wouldn’t change anything- them being girls has had exactly zero bearing on any of the stories that have been told. So, why not just RNG it and make some of them guys in G5?

@Latecomer  
I was about to say archetypes actually, but I didn’t know if that would be the right term for it cause it’s more used in literature and psychology rather than describing characters.
 
Also you finally got an avatar, good on you.

@GenericArchangel  
Because it does change things, since males and females with the same traits are seen differently. AJ and RD would become boys almost too comfortably, Rarity and Fluttershy would be seen as camp and emasculated respectively, and while Twilight works fine as a guy in herself having a male lead would be inappropriate.
 
Given how things are, I do think you could probably flip most of them, but that’s partly because they’ve already been girls in G4 - it wouldn’t have worked in 2010.

@ILoveMyoozik  
Well, people I knew well on Fimfic still didn’t recognise me even though I use the same name all over ponydom…
 
Will my old posts change too?

@ILoveMyoozik  
Archetype is definitely the word for it.
 
And there is nothing wrong with archetypes. Every story has already been told, it’s about how you tell it and the way you combine different elements.

@GenericArchangel  
Oh I’m not saying that there’s something wrong with it, I just didn’t think it would fit what I was saying judging by its definition.
 
But in that case, then yes I see them as archetypes rather than stereotypes.

@GenericArchangel  
I would say the problem is you’re taking one of the very few cartoons that’s mostly a female cast and removing one of them for the sake of equality. How many other popular, successful cartoons in the west have a primarily female cast? It’s actually pretty damn rare. You’re taking a part of what makes MLP different away from it.
 
You also run into the problem of that character just becoming a token, which usually ends badly.

@RaineV1  
No I get it, I really do. And my point isn’t “muh equality,” saying guys can do “feminine” things and that’s okay is important.

@GenericArchangel  
Yeah - which is why probably Rarity or Fluttershy would be the best flips and RD/AJ the worst. But not both - or then you risk saying that girls can’t be feminine.

@Latecomer  
Rarity’s archetype on a guy is something I’m sad has never happened. Like, I’m a dude and I fucking love dressing up all nice and shit. If I had more money I’d own like a trillion suits, it’s real fun. But no, we don’t ever see that because of gender norms.