Date of Award

6-2026

Document Type

Master's Project

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

College/School

College of Humanities and Social Sciences

Department/Program

Sociology

Thesis Sponsor/Dissertation Chair/Project Chair

Daniel Douglas

Abstract

Bronies, adult, typically male, fans of the cartoon My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, have long been regarded for seemingly breaking expectations around gender norms. This study finds that Bronies break expectations around what is expected of spiritualism. Through interviews and ethnographic observation of social media spaces Bronies frequent, it is found that spirituality based on the cartoon within the fandom is broad, diverse, and at times, normative. A proportionally-small group of fully sincere spiritualists with plural experiences and strong convictions inspire a much larger community of post-ironic aspirants. Aspirations towards spiritual experiences and the development of profound terminologies create a fandom with sections that treat certain spiritual expressions as normative. Shared beliefs in the cartoon’s setting as a desirable afterlife emphasize a type of spirituality that is broadly steeped in simultaneous disbelief and wistfulness for a reality where the beliefs expressed are true. This contrast between small groups of, and individual devotees with genuine spiritual convictions and a broader group that aspires to these convictions creates an asymmetrical relationship in the fandom, wherein products of plurality and other altered perceptions become a hyperreal basis for spiritual aspiration in and of themselves.

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