 Though the initial growth of the fandom may have come from 4chan participants enjoying the ironic nature of grown men enjoying a show for girls , the fandom continues to grow based on sincere appreciation of the work . Robert Thompson , a professor of media studies at Syracuse University , stated that " It 's one thing for guys to like motorcycles and muscle cars and soccer . For a guy to like My Little Pony , it 's so out there that it becomes almost avant garde . It has a hip quality to it . " According to Angela Watchcutter of Wired , the fandom is an example of internet neo @-@ sincerity , where these older viewers watch the show " un @-@ ironically " and " without guilt " breaking gender stereotypes , furthermore creating new material around it . Prof. Roberta Pearson of the University of Nottingham in film and television studies stated that " This is a level of fan devotion I 've not seen before , " while Prof. Charles Soukup of the University of Northern Colorado in communication studies suggested that this effort is an indication of the " ultra @-@ cult era " that bronies exhibit , where " media consumers discover extremely unexpected and obscure media texts to cultivate uniqueness and distinctiveness for their mediated identities " . 
