[Image: A drawing of the cast of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic as humans.]
I really like these versions of the ponies as humans, especially Pinkie Pie and Rarity. I need more fat Pinkie Pies in my life.
[Image: A drawing of the cast of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic as humans.]
I really like these versions of the ponies as humans, especially Pinkie Pie and Rarity. I need more fat Pinkie Pies in my life.
[Image: An illustration of Photo Finish striking a dramatic pose under dramatic lighting.]
[Image: A digital painting of Fluttershy floating in midair against a green background.]
I arted!
[tw: ableism, rape culture] Common arguments on the “derpy hooves” thing, blah blah blah
- âItâs ableist to say that people with different faces are disabledâ â Um, no, no one ever said this was about ALL people with disabilities, or that people with different faces are somehow automatically disabled. Whatâs ableist is not acknowledging that some people with âderp facesâ do exist.
- âWe should all just stop back off and stop fighting, give peace a chance, blah blahâ â The majority of what Iâve seen has been people spouting off ableist shit. Iâve seen people who criticized Derpy threatened with rape and death, harassed multiple times, etc, but I have yet to see a person who thinks âderpâ is okay call out their fellow Bronies on said behavior. Iâve gotten some shit myself but I havenât posted it. So no. When someone is being a racist dick, and they refuse to acknowledge it, you donât say, âhey letâs be friends!â This is not about moral relativism. Itâs either ableist or itâs not.
- âItâs just a cartoon! Youâre taking this too seriously!â â Cartoon characters can send political and social messages to people as much as real people. Maybe you havenât noticed, but MLP has a lesson about friendship in every episode. If it can do this, why couldnât it also be ableist? And also, this is really funny given how some people have responded with threats, harassment, etc. I guess itâs only serious if the word is some pretty little meme that matters to you, right?
- âThe creators of the show didnât mean for it to be ableist!â â Intent is not magic. The end. If a little kid says X expletive about People of Color, they are still being racist even if they didnât mean to. It is very possible to say or do offensive things without meaning to.
- âPeople will always find something to be offended by, blah blahâ or âitâs just the internet, it wonât change!â â No. Actually, people get offended when they encounter something that demeans their existence or their identity. It is incredibly possible to be funny without hurting people through ableism, sexism, homophobia, etc. Go look up Mitch Hedberg, heâs a standup comedian who is incredibly funny without being offensive. This kind of response reeks of self-interested, self-convenient fatalism. Maybe if you actually took on some responsibility and acknowledged whatâs going on, you could change something.
- âDerp just means âawkwardâ or âsillyââ â Okay, then donât use faces and images that make fun of people with disabilities. And there are plenty of other words that mean âawkwardâ or âsillyâ, without being ableistâŠsuch asâŠâawkwardâ or âsillyâ. Or potatoes. Or jujubes. Itâs not hard.
- âSomeone who is disabled told me it doesnât bother themâ â Okay, and it bothers other people with disabilities. Your point? No one elected some grand representative of all of the disabled people to speak on our behalf. Itâs not some popularity contest. Itâs about actually figuring out if this is a problem or not.
- âItâs not ableist, youâre wrong, youâre being too sensitiveâ â Cool story. I guess the people with disabilities who are telling you itâs a problem donât matter as much, right? Oh wait, thatâs ableist.
if anyone can refute these, Iâd love to see it. I havenât yet.
Read, y’all.
But most of my followers donât watch the show and donât wanna hear about it while the rest of you will probably fucking crucify me because thatâs what happens to people with legitimate fucking grievances in this fandom apparently because these cartoon ponies can do no wrong. So Iâm slapping it under Read More and preparing for angry asks and unfollows like a bitch.
Probably not enough people care for those things to happen.
Also, for the people who care, trigger warning! Ableist shit.
This^infinity
For those unaware, in the latest episode she was shown clumsily destroying the town, talking with slurred speech, and was officially referred to as âDerpy.â Â Sheâs officially the mentally handicapped joke character, just like fandom has always wanted her to be.Iâve received countless asks about this, so I figure youâre all wanting a reaction. Â But really, if youâve read any of my posts regarding the âDerpy Hoovesâ character, you know exactly how I feel about it.
Absolutely disgusted.
This is a low I had not expected. Â I really donât even know what to say. Â I have lost so much respect for the creators after this.
Yeah, this pretty much sums it up. I got onto Facebook today and a friend of mine had posted the status: âDerpy is canon and is voiced.â
So I got on YouTube to find the episode⊠and yeah. That just happened.
âSheâs officially the mentally handicapped joke character, just like fandom has always wanted her to be.â
I hope you guys are happy living in your disgusting, privileged worlds.
Yeah, I figured this would be Yaminoâs reaction.
Personally, *as* a high-functioning autistic (Aspergers) I donât see any problem with it. She means well, sheâs just clumsy. We got less than a minute of her, and youâre calling that the extent of her personality? Sheâs just a âMentally handicapped joke characterâ? Come on, youâre both writers and artists. Would *you* accept anybody saying your characters are *just* something? Would you not insist thereâs other facets that just havenât been seen yet?
Thereâs other interpretations of her too, you know. Sheâs deaf and/or has an inner ear thing (Explaining her way of speaking and her clumsiness), sheâs just kinda dim and *really* unlucky, whatever. But nope, instantly to the most reactionaryâŠ.reaction.
Stop being offended by things that have no relation to you, and stop being offended *for* people. You do not know better than others who these things actually relate to, and the constant âThis offends me!â reactions I see bug the ever-lovinâ crap out of me.Â
You know what? Not even most of the fanbase thinks Derpy is *just* a joke character! They consider her a loving, devoted parent, a hard worker, and a caring friend, who just HAPPENS to have something wrong in her head! And here you guys are, going âOh, sheâs just a retarded joke character now, this is so offensiveâ, based on LESS THAN A MINUTE AND A HALF between her name being spoken and the last frame she appeared on screen!
If you ask me? THAT is more offensive.
Come on, youâre both writers and artists. Would *you* accept anybody saying your characters are *just* something? Would you not insist thereâs other facets that just havenât been seen yet?
If someone is saying “Oh they’re just [whatever]” about some of my works, that means I haven’t done my job as a storyteller. If Derpy comes back in a future episode and somehow they don’t fuck up and actually portray her as a person, not a stereotype, then sure, I’ll eat my hat and take it back.
But when the character was created by the fandom, and the show is just pandering to them and making a mockery of mannerisms and behavior attributed to the mentally disabled, that’s disgusting, and I don’t think that there’s any way the creators of this show are going to be able to satisfactoril fix this one, short of cutting that cold open out completely.
Derpy’s appearance didn’t contain any hints whatsoever that the writers have any other plans for her character, other than a shoutout to the bronies. There was nothing subtle about it. And the only thing kids are going to take from it (and this show is WATCHED BY A LOT OF KIDS, let’s remember) is that it’s perfectly acceptable to laugh at, dismiss, and get frustrated with people (real, live, fleshy people) who resemble Derpy, since that’s what their hero Rainbow Dash did.
And one more thing?
Stop being offended by things that have no relation to you, and stop being offended *for* people. You do not know better than others who these things actually relate to, and the constant âThis offends me!â reactions I see bug the ever-lovinâ crap out of me.
I do not have any obligation to divulge the details of my mental health to strangers on the internet, but to assume I should not be compassionate or show basic empathy, even if I were completely able-bodied and able-minded, is deeply deeply problematic.
[Image description: A photograph of two people cosplaying as human versions of Discord and Trixie, from My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic against a white/gray photo backdrop.]
For those unaware, in the latest episode she was shown clumsily destroying the town, talking with slurred speech, and was officially referred to as âDerpy.â Â Sheâs officially the mentally handicapped joke character, just like fandom has always wanted her to be.Iâve received countless asks about this, so I figure youâre all wanting a reaction. Â But really, if youâve read any of my posts regarding the âDerpy Hoovesâ character, you know exactly how I feel about it.
Absolutely disgusted.
This is a low I had not expected. Â I really donât even know what to say. Â I have lost so much respect for the creators after this.
Yeah, this pretty much sums it up. I got onto Facebook today and a friend of mine had posted the status: “Derpy is canon and is voiced.”
So I got on YouTube to find the episode… and yeah. That just happened.
“Sheâs officially the mentally handicapped joke character, just like fandom has always wanted her to be.”
I hope you guys are happy living in your disgusting, privileged worlds.
[Image description: An illustration of Twilight Sparkle from My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic wearing a long scarf against a soft background of cool colors with snow and stars at the edges.]
Snow by ~Kaliptro2
I try not to flood people’s dashes with ponies too often, but this fanart is just lovely.