Ponysona

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A ponysona of a Wikipedia editor, dubbed "Wiki Hooves"

A ponysona (/ˌpoʊniˈsoʊnə/ POH-nee-SOH-nə; a portmanteau of pony and persona) is a personalized pony character created by bronies—fans of the animated television series My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic—as an alter ego. Similar to fursonas in the furry fandom, ponysonas typically incorporate elements of the creator's personality, physical characteristics, or interests translated into My Little 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, fan fiction, and role-playing communities across various social media platforms and forums dedicated to the franchise.[1][2]: 92–93 [3]

Creation and characteristics

Ponysonas are typically designed following the visual elements 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

15's ponysona, a pony original character

In 2016, 46% of bronies reported that they had created at least one original character, and 39% reported identifying with a ponysona, which typically was among the first original characters they had created during their participation of the fandom.[2]: 92 [4] By 2019, the percentage of bronies identifying with a ponysona had increased up to 49.3%.[5] (In contrast, according to a 2020 survey, 95% of furries identify themselves with a fursona.[6]: 180 )

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]: 92–93 

See also

References

  1. Leppänen, Sirpa; Tapionkaski, Sanna (25 April 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. doi:10.4324/9781315514857. ISBN 9781315514857. OCLC 1242880334. OL 36242575M.
  2. Kosnáč, Pavol; Cusack, Carole M., eds. (18 November 2016). "The development of spirituality in the Brony community". Fiction, Invention and Hyper-reality: From Popular Culture to Religion. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9781317135494. OCLC 963935785. OL 46561296M.
  3. Koslows, Tim (15 January 2016). Parasoziale Beziehungen zu Medienfiguren und ihr Einfluss auf die Identitätsbildung von erwachsenen Rezipienten der Fernsehserie My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic [Parasocial relationships with media characters and their influence on the identity formation of adult viewers of the television series My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic] (Bachelor's thesis) (in German). Fachhochschule Kiel, Fachbereich Medien. doi:10.13140/RG.2.1.3363.2884. OCLC 986240029.
  4. Toniolo, Francesco (2020). "La costruzione della fursona come antimimesi dell'umano e timore della copia" [The construction of the fursona as an anti-mimesis of the human and a fear of imitation.]. Elephant & Castle (in Italian). 24 (Mimetofobia): 1–24. hdl:10807/178561. ISSN 1826-6118. OCLC 1256810586.
  5. Edwards, Patrick; Chadborn, Daniel P.; Plante, Courtney N.; Reysen, Stephen; Redden, Marsha Howze (11 September 2019). Meet the Bronies: The Psychology of the Adult My Little Pony Fandom. United States: McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers. p. 51. ISBN 9781476663715. LCCN 2019028627. OCLC 1119741062. OL 35841746M.
  6. Campbell, W. Keith; Crist, Carolyn (29 September 2020). The New Science of Narcissism: Understanding One of the Greatest Psychological Challenges of Our Time—and What You Can Do About It. Sounds True. ISBN 978-1-68364-403-3. OCLC 1133662002. OL 52178634M.