Ponysona
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A ponysona (a portmanteau of pony and persona) is a personalized pony character created by fans of the animated television series My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic as an alter ego of its creator. Similar to fursonas in the furry fandom, ponysonas typically incorporate elements of the creator's personality, physical characteristics, or interests translated into pony form. The practice became popular following the show's premiere in 2010 and the subsequent growth of the brony fandom. Ponysonas are commonly used as profile pictures, in fan art, fanfiction, and role-playing communities across various social media platforms and forums dedicated to the franchise.[1][2][3]
Creation and characteristics
[edit]Ponysonas are typically designed following the visual style of the show, often incorporating distinctive coat colors, mane styles, cutie marks, and occasionally wings or horns to represent unicorn or pegasus types. These personalized pony characters frequently reflect aspects of their creator's personality, appearance, or interests, with cutie marks specifically designed to symbolize the creator's talents, passions, or defining traits.
Analysis
[edit]According to researchers studying the brony fandom in 2016, 39% of bronies have a ponysona. Forty-six percent of bronies reported having an original character, and their ponysona was among the first original characters they created.[2][4] Within the community, original character designs that simply recolor existing characters from the show are often criticized for lacking creativity, despite their prevalence.[4] Unlike fursonas, which often involve elaborate fursuits for physical embodiment at furry conventions, ponysonas tend to be expressed primarily through digital art, roleplay, and online interaction, with cosplay being a less common but still present form of expression. Some bronies describe their ponysonas as idealized versions of themselves, serving as personal avatars within the community that represent how they wish to be perceived.[2]
According to a 2018 study on the brony fandom, 49.3% of respondents reported that they either have, or would like to have, a drawing of themselves as a My Little Pony pony character.[5]
See also
[edit]- Furry fandom
- Fursona
- My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic fandom
- My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic fan fiction
- Art of the My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic fandom
- Original character
References
[edit]- ^ Leppänen, Sirpa; Tapionkaski, Sanna (2021). "Doing Gender and Sexuality Intersectionally in Multimodal Social Media Practices". In Angouri, Jo; Baxter, Judith (eds.). The Routledge Handbook of Language, Gender, and Sexuality. Routledge.
- ^ a b c Kosnáč, Pavol (2016). Fiction, Invention and Hyper-reality: From Popular Culture to Religion. Taylor & Francis. pp. 79–97. ISBN 9781317135494.
- ^ Koslows, Tim (2016-01-15). Parasoziale Beziehungen zu Medienfiguren und ihr Einfluss auf die Identitätsbildung von erwachsenen Rezipienten der Fernsehserie My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic (Bachelor's thesis) (in German). Fachhochschule Kiel, Fachbereich Medien.
- ^ a b Toniolo, Francesco (2020). "La costruzione della fursona come antimimesi dell'umano e timore della copia". Elephant & Castle. 24 (Mimetofobia): 1–24.
- ^ Edwards, Patrick; Chadborn, Daniel P.; Plante, Courtney N.; Reysen, Stephen; Redden, Marsha Howze (September 11, 2019). Meet the Bronies: The Psychology of the Adult My Little Pony Fandom. United States: McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers. p. 51. ISBN 9781476663715.
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