Is The Bluey Fandom Becoming Toxic? - Art Commentary

[@ThatGreenMach1ne]

I don't think the Bluey fandom would ever be toxic like the MLP fandom simply due to where the Bluey fandom started. Bluey's fandom started when parents started watching the show with their children. MLP's fandom started in 4chan, which explains a lot about the fandom lol.

[@Fionapollo]

Eeeeeeexactly, it's like two complete different worlds. Plus, from what I've seen, fans aren't quite that rabid anymore anyway

[@ThatGreenMach1ne]

​@@Fionapolloyeah bluey fans are extremely nice. Most of the bluey fans I have encountered are usually much older adults with children, or adults who take care of children, like teachers, older cousins/siblings, etc. Watching Bluey is more or less like a bonding experience between these caretakers and these children, so it makes sense that the adult fans would be very vigilant about making sure inappropriate material isn't posted online.

[@ThatGreenMach1ne]

Tbh the Bluey fandom reminds me more of the Mr. Rogers fandom, wherein the adults respect the children in the fandom

[@SamuelSEdme]

@@ThatGreenMach1ne Or Sesame Street where edgy memes do exist, but not to the sensationalized extent of MLP.

[@pelusouwu]

I don't see how the fandom of mlp is toxic

[@luulusoul]

There actually seems to be a huge pushback from the Bluey fan community that is determined to do whatever they can to make sure it doesn't go the way of uncomfortable adult content like MLP did. For the more part that's great! But I've also seen cosplayers dressing up as characters from Bluey get horribly bullied for doing so. I think Bluey wont go the way of MLP, but it may have it's own unique form of toxic fanbase.

[@ThatGreenMach1ne]

I think this is because a lot of the people who are currently into Bluey are people who were into MLP who weren't from 4chan. It's very likely they experienced a lot of traumatic and horrifying events from those days, and don't want the new generation to experience similar events. That and bluey's demographic is much much younger children than MLP.

[@luulusoul]

@@ThatGreenMach1ne It's quite possible. I was at an awkward age where I wasn't the target age audience for MLP, but I was a young adult who loved kids shows still. Now I'm an older adult with a kid that loves kids shows and can still enjoy some of the really good ones.

[@MariusWales]

Unfortunately, you can't stop a fandom from forming its own toxic side with some bigger than others. There are so many bronies who mean well and don't want to be involved with any gross content, but it's the toxic side that get's the most attention so it grows and grows. It's really sad, but it still shouldn't stop the good side of any fandom from enjoying the show they love to watch.

[@angeliquebacker8522]

I highly doubt that the Bluey fandom will ever be like MLP FIM, it's a different genre and teaches different lessons. If anything, Bluey is more similar to MLP Tales which bronies hate.

[@IMakePeopleSaltyApparently]

To be fair, MLP was more watched by nostalgic adults from previous Gens and Hasbro knew this. So it was expected adult content would happen especially considering most characters are adults and even outside of MLP horses are...hm very popular. The fact that human forms that seem to be younger were provided despite the fact that everyone knows kids prefer animals was sus from the start tbh. Cant blame the fandom for what the creator does.

[@chalk9782]

I’m not super involved with the Bluey fandom, but from what I’ve seen, it’s usually very wholesome and chill. In fact I’ve seen a lot more toxicity from people who dislike the show, who bully and make fun of older fans for pretty much no reason except “its a show for babies”

[@sevenpenceLOLZ]

Yeah it’s totally a show for babies when it talks about hard topics, but makes it in a way so kids won’t be traumatized and that they understand it.

[@danielmalinen6337]

I would think that the potentially toxic thing in this situtation might be that a grown man watches children's shows and is a fan of them, which can be disturbing to parents who have children and want protect them from adults. The same if a grown man is alone at the beach, at the mall, in the restaurant or in a park where there are many children, which creates a certain feeling of insecurity and fear according to internet forums and social media conversations. But this is just a guess to what this situtation could possibly be about.

[@Twat_Dirt]

@@danielmalinen6337Because grown men in these kind of fandoms are known for causing degeneracy and perversion. Just look at how they fucked up MLP. Obviously, not all of them are like that, but it's mainly them causing it.

[@serpentinious7745]

The MLP fandom was the same way in the beginning. Don't get too complacent, or the toxic people *will* move in and take over. Just like they do with everything else.

[@hannahmetzger6622]

@@danielmalinen6337 Wow. Condescending much?

[@CellSpex]

2 major reasons Bluey fandom wont be MLP fandom: - The Fantasy World setting encourages immersive OC fanworks. - The characters in MLP are technically adult women, so inspired the 'Best pony' or 'Waifu' debates. Something that will not happen (hopefully) with Bluey. Mlp's chaarcters are also designed in a 'appealing' way that Bluey's arent, so it's not going to have as much as much of rampant horny base of college boys. It doesn't mean Bluey's fandom can't get toxic in a different way.

[@Drawie_Cover_and.others.]

oh but they became the loud house fans now there are some sickkos who shipped an actual siblings and family member characters that are in bluey series,No does'nt mean I watched it,I just know it from another fans of the show.💀😭

[@bumblebeeproductions1673]

I think the people who say “you can’t enjoy Bluey and buy Bluey merch because it’s for kids” and saying how the fandom is becoming the Brony fandom are MORE TOXIC than the actual fans of the show

[@galaxythedragonshifter]

Exactly!

[@masuooo4452]

I just wanna say i saw bluey march when i was in Morrisons so that was cool

[@devofficialchannel]

They're probably the kind of people who participate in the "cringe culture" and assume that adults always have to enjoy the most violent or lewd garbage to be more "mature".

[@worthybutter2004]

Personally, Bluey doesn't interest me, but that's fine if others enjoy it.

[@juliabrown39]

What is a “brony”? Do I even want to know?

[@grecia3146]

For what I see some of Bluey fans were MLP kids. Let them have this. Some fans are really dramatic but which fandom doesn’t have that?

[@rootfish2671]

Bronies are a toxic fandom that invades a children's space, screw them.

[@kitdoesstuff_official]

From what I've seen, Omori Everyone just accepts that every Kel meme is cannon and that everyone has been traumatised by it (including me)

[@silkyxcore5497]

As an ex mlp kid that had the unfortunate chance of gaining unattended internet access, Bluely has been a breath of fresh air, I haven't seen any Bluey drama and I'm gonna keep it that way bc this show is healing me from whatever mlp adults did to me.

[@thememeqween]

@@silkyxcore5497 i feel really bad for you. I was lucky enough to not have seen that side of the community. Tended to keep myself only on the theory channel side of things.

[@Rosa-he6xb]

I love MLP and I still do today despite not have seen the show for a long time, but man it feels so great to experience Bluey as an 18 year old with no curse animations or games from the fandom. Not saying the MLP fandom didn’t have some good stuff in it, but Smile HD and other curse things I will not name didn’t need to exist.

[@TheMysteriousLJ]

as someone who did get exposed to NSFW/dark content from MLP as a kid, I don’t think Bluey will repeat history with MLP. I love dark content but i don’t want children to see it. And I firmly believe that this is an unfair comparison due to the fact that there were people who killed others in the MLP fandom. I’ve only seen snippets of Bluey and it looks warm and inviting. I understand not wanting to repeat history but they aren’t the same, it’s as simple as that.

[@oliverafton1444]

Oof, i also got into dark content as a kid, but from Sonic. I'm so sorry If it caused you some trauma, if it didn't... well, in this case i would ask: Do you regret it? (You can stop reading from here if you want) Do i regret it?... well nope... i mean, i don't think it really changed me that much, maybe i could have played with my friend on elemental school with stuff that was less taboo, but i certainly don't think that it ''hurt'' us too much, we just were weird back then, but we're still friends and it didn't really hurt us. I still watch the dark content, and i still quite enjoy it hehe. I don't really feel like i am addicted at all, and i don't feel at an urge to stay away from it.

[@Lilpumpkin505]

As a child I lived for dark content. The darker the story the better

[@Rey_Palpatine]

"there were people who killed others in the MLP fandom" What. I need to know more about this. Was it just a murderer who also happened to be a fan of the cartoon? I guess it's inevitable that there will be some literal psychos in any big fanbase, but that's still unfortunate

[@TheMysteriousLJ]

@@Rey_Palpatine yea, there was a guy who shot up a fedex building he used to work at, before he said that he posted to facebook that he was gonna “meet applejack in the afterlife.”. it’s pretty messed up.

[@Rey_Palpatine]

@@TheMysteriousLJ Oh wow, that's even worse than I thought. The guy actually directly referenced the cartoon and sort of used it as "inspiration" for the crime. Damn 😬

[@cyclicalkaouthia]

Funny story: My mother thinks that Bluey's parents are "too soft" on her, and doesn't like the show because of that. I think that the fact that I literally have OSDD 1-B and C-PTSD from familial trauma can speak on the parenting style that I was exposed to. Bluey's parents are absolutely great.

[@Sparklewolfgirl67]

What’s OSDD?

[@snxwsyz]

@@Sparklewolfgirl67 Other specified dissociative disorder

[@Sparklewolfgirl67]

@@snxwsyz thanks

[@hellparkcraig]

@@Sparklewolfgirl67otherwise specified dissociative disorder basically did but without the amnesia and some other things

[@jonal5126]

I can tell your mother wouldn't like Caillou

[@ThatGreenMach1ne]

I understand why parents wouldn't want their children to watch episodes with Muffin in it, for fear of them acting like her, but personally I don't mind as I feel like she just acts like a normal 3 year old.

[@SaffronicSaffron]

Perfectly normal for 3-year olds to act like that, they are literally just coming out of baby years, and they don't know any better..😌 and honestly. it is kinda comedic, watching them go about their antics and thinking they are the boss🤣

[@jestphoenix]

@@SaffronicSaffron kids do have a tendency to mimic characters they like, which is why the main characters in kids shows are often role models. it's an understandable concern.

[@SaffronicSaffron]

@@jestphoenix yes understandable, kids need kid role models. But then there are people, who just HATE her for simply acting her age. It's ok to not be ok with some characters.... buuuut, then there are extremists. Like toxic kind of extreme.. idk.

[@jestphoenix]

@@SaffronicSaffron yeah, they're weird as hell

[@SaffronicSaffron]

@@jestphoenix yeah.

[@nexenzy5825]

I think going forward we should just assume every fandom has a toxic part if its big enough. So can we PLEASE stop labeling entire fandoms as toxic? The shocking stories that come out of the fandom about certain unsavory fandom enjoyers does not reflect the rest of the fandom! I think especially now that more shows aimed at kids are being watched by adults and creating fandoms around them since the internet has become a commodity.

[@DanknDerpyGamer]

THIS, very this. IMO people who are apathetic towards broad generalizations (/ don't bother to call out the erroneous generalizations) are a big part of the problem.

[@whitnip7868]

as someone said once, the whole fandom is given megaphones, and only the trolls and the toxic bother to use it

[@jadedesigns6171]

Seriously

[@worthybutter2004]

Ehh, I don't know. On one hand, the media can exaggerate how bad the fandom can be, but on the other hand, you can't be biased and say "My fandom has no issues" when it very clearly does. I think the best solution would be "Be nice to each other" or something like that. Sure, it may be hard to do, but it's...something.

[@DanknDerpyGamer]

@@worthybutter2004 But that's the thing, this isn't saying "the fandom has no issues." It's saying "Part of the fandom is just that; the part."

[@matt0044]

With the Brony thing, the far more bad actors were often outweighed by those who enjoyed the show for what it is. For me, I feel like a problem came from the immense backlash the whole "older guys enjoying a girl's show" with a sort of "think of the children" mentality. It was a vicious cycle if any and while it wasn't the only sort of fandom to suffer this... it has some very unique cases.

[@foxyfox9196]

Honestly I could see this within my brother's because apparently my family had just the right age demographics to get a cultural snapshot of the MLP fan base. When it came out my twin siblings were about 6-7 (one boy one girl). My middle brother was 10, and my oldest bro was 14. I was 17 and extremely used to just watching whatever the youngest kids can or like watching. Broken up only by staying up late and watching the stuff my mom liked. Mostly NCIS and boring copaganda like that. The youngest kids enjoyed it. The middle brother got super into it and wanted a backpack and asked me to knit him some scarves and stuff to go with the pastel aesthetics. My oldest brother began to bully that one and kept calling him a brony and a baby and gay and told him he deserves to get bullied etc (also oldest brother is bi, but he was the golden child and stepdad really forced hetero conformity on his kids because he blamed me being bullied on being openly queer or at least "not mindful of how it looks" when i had a relationship with my best friend that everyone easily read as romantic in nature. Sometimes in the form of jokes of being an old married couple, or how we would for sure be dating if one of us was a boy etc. Sometimes outright bullying because we would couple skate together and often envisioned our ideal future as us moving in together an maybe raising kids together likely without any men. basically it goes back to i was seen as the gay one and the one everyone hates so it was further incentive for no one else to at all "seem queer"). Tho most of my bullying came from my mom liking cops, and from me being "too familiar" with shows deemed "for babies" or outside my age demographic. And they never did anything to prevent me from having too much exposure to the younger kids shows. Or to ensure that i had plenty of spade and time to engage in interests and shows of my own that others my own age actually like. Nope. It was on me to constantly babysit all day every day (instead of physical high school even. Before the twins were old enough for school. It was all online education self paced and all that. So even less exposure to peers and their interests and less of a break from literal babies and baby content) and make sure I exclusively watched content that they like or at least is appropriate for them. But you know, they just care sooooo much about the bullying and desperately appeasing said bullies. My middle brother retained his love but ended up going more low key about it. Then my oldest brother got super into creepy pasta stuff, self harm, and sexual abuse (bad cocsa cycle between him, some cousins, and the middle brother). And in that time period he bonded with my middle brother by introducing him to edgy pony stuff. Then they both could engage with MLP without having to be anything at all like those younger kids and could etch out their own position within the fandom that clearly separates them from the youngest siblings and other "babies" from just the main show. I could take or leave the edgy content based on quality and thoughtfulness, but never really felt compelled to distance from it. Less so than the wiggles or blues clues or any of the other stuff the older brothers used to be into. Cause by that age i didn't really have any friends my own age. Just mostly 40 year old STAHMs i met in Facebook parenting groups in order to teach myself how to he the best parent possible roe my youngest siblings. And those mom friends don't really judge people for watching shows the kids they're raising are watching. And really helped break me out or that immaturity spiral from trying to fit in with other teenagers despite having too much trauma, autism, and responsibility to ever fit in with anyone my own age. So i guess i was spared from feeling compelled to edgyify it just to "fit in" with peers while also liking something aimed at a younger demographic. I could just like the aesthetics, comedy, characters, and ocassional references. Even just imagining discord as Q was enough for me to enjoy it. But i was always able to at least kinda see my brothers perspective on it too. Gotta stop kids from bullying other kids for their interests especially interests they "should have outgrown by now". Which starts by stopping parents from bullying their own kids in similar ways and dictating that they gain or lose certain interests on a pre set timeline. Just let kids authentically like stuff. They'll grow at their own pace. And Iif they really do like sesame street well into their 20s...who cares? Who gets hurt by that? Stfu and stop policing what ages or even genders can like certain things (except drugs. Kids probably shouldn't do or like drugs. Same with sex, guns/hunting, and a few other things that just aren't very healthy, safe, or good for children to be part of. Adolescence or adulthood/age 26 is a fair age restriction for those kinds of interests, depending on their specific natures). Absolutely nothing is harmed by just letting people enjoy things and minding your own damn business

[@mk-aka-morgan8386]

I was first introduced to "spicy" content because I searched up MLP comic dubs on KZbin. LittleMissRarity and the while Pinkamina Diane Pie ask blogs were an awful introduction to that kind of content, not because either of them are awful, but because it was extremely toxic stories with child/adult SA scenes, dead body "spicy" scenes, and just a bunch of stuff that I should not have been introduced to at the age of 11. Obviously, that's not the creators faults- I was too young to be looking at that content, let alone looking at content that hardcore, but I do think that these situations were very common in the MLP fandom, and I hope that it never happens in the Bluey fandom.

[@lxstfulgrxvestone69420]

i was too.. but when i was 9

[@serpentmaster1323]

I have no idea how common it was or not. But as an amLP fan I can tell you I never ran into that sort of stuff. I think that the problem was that mlp fan content became much much easier to find than official content simply because there was more of it and fan creators knew how to use the internet better. Another thing is that the main characters of mlp are significantly older than bluey. I am however 100% certain that no one who made those ever wished for you to find that at that age. Did it possibly cross their minds that it might happen and did they ignore that possibility/trust the official content to be found first? I 100% beleive that that happened too.

[@purrpletiger2159]

@@serpentmaster1323 well those comics had 18+ warnings I think, but I don't think the comic dub videos were age restricted

[@harperhale-gibson1102]

Oh oof. Yeah I had a similar experience having a early exposure to gore through those Pinkie Pie murder videos. Scared the shit out of me as a kid and had nightmares for ages. Now I can't get enough of gore and horror.. I wonder if it's related?

[@Its_Asteria]

Bluey likely won't have that issue due to the fact that a lot of those things are rooted from mlp community members that were from the 4chan roots where the community first started to grow exponentially

[@ToastyBrain]

Bandit acts a lot like my dad, and I'm very close to my dad. Bandit is a refreshing change of pace compared to Homer or Peter. If we get more father characters like Bandit and Bob Belcher, I would be happy. The baby race episode itself stands out to me when it comes to Bandit, he was just happy for whatever his daughter did. His laugh when Bluey does the bum shuffle was adorable.

[@STARVAs132]

"YEAH, BUM SHUFFLE!"

[@ChangedMyNameFinally69]

Well almost as if fathers kinda suck

[@Jane-oz7pp]

Check out The Great North, you'll love Beef. He's not perfect but he tries really hard to be a good dad and he really loves his kids. Plus he's Nick Offerman.

[@Jane-oz7pp]

​@@ChangedMyNameFinally69 aye look, a lot do, but there's a handful of Bandits out there, and Bluey's helping us raise more.

[@ChangedMyNameFinally69]

@Jane Well now moreso there's better father figures

[@aubrianonymous9570]

The problem was that the mlp fandom started from 4chan hate watching. A bunch of edgy gross guys who only hold hate in their hearts watching a kids show, and then falling in love with the fictional pastel horses. Bluey fans are teens/young adults and parents, and the teens/young adults are the ones traumatized by the early mlp fandom. Plus these parents would probably fight hard to keep bluey pure

[@Mortablunt]

I join the fandom in the gap between season one and season two and I really have no idea what people are talking about with fandom toxicity. I’ve been a long-term blogger and creator I’ve written fanfics I’ve made songs I’ve hosted panels and conventions I went to almost everything or brownie con and I even made some merch. I really don’t know what people are talking about saying it’s a horrible toxic fandom. The origin may have been 4chan, but that remains a very small part of the fandom and it was never a focus, it’s basically trivia, like knowing Pepsi was originally invented as a medicine. There’s nothing medicinal about Pepsi and there are no artifacts from 4Chan in Bronydom. The worst I saw was we got some maladaptive untreated autisc types, particularly during the most popular years 2012-2014, who were primarily from Tumblr. As a general rule, back in the first half of the 10’s, Tumblr was kind of a site for weirdos and the unhinged. Remember it’s not really a pony site it’s more of a open say something like a longform Twitter, and nobody today needs introduction as just how toxic Twitter can be. Just look up “Tumblrisms” - The video series dates the same time. As the Brony fandom was the biggest and gives very good insight to the sorts of people on the Tumblr scene. We’re talking about just miserable hate for people who tried to get a child to kill them self for a drawing a piece of fanart where a head cannon fat character was instead skinnier, the same people who got angry at a professional musician for making a special production just for their fans in a certain country and said it was racist. But the thing was Tumblr and Twitter were never core MLP fan outpost they were social media sites which just happen to have MLP components, which is a key distinction. I never went to 4chan and I never visited Tumblr apart from a couple of specific artist ask blogs I enjoyed. I was and still am primarily active on Fimfiction and Derpibooru - fan stories and fan art - although for a number of years, hanging out on the Discord chat scene has supplanted those heavily since the show came to an end. The my little pony fandom has been a very comforting and welcoming digital home for me over the past 12 years. I also don’t understand the allegations about all the adult content. It exists and I made a fair amount of it. I still do. I’m sure my contact is very clearly marked and rated so if it gets into the hands of someone too young and unprepared that’s their fault for disabling their content filters and then ignoring all the warning signs and still pressing on. To wit: you have to turn off google safe search to get adult images on Google looking for MLP on Google image with safe search will result in nothing but nice safe stuff. KZbin doesn’t even host 18+ content. On the fanfic site I brought up above you need to make a profile and then you need to write your age is old enough and then you need to change your specific control that’s kind of hidden in it before you can even see the adult stuff the oldest to let you see by default is rated team. And on the image site you have to deliver Lee configure your settings and click that you are acknowledging you are running the risk of looking at adult content including stuff you might not want to see if you select to disable your filters against it. I went there just now for comparison and the site has 2,625,045 images, E***I**T, the pr0n tag, has 324,335; 89% of fanart is kid friendly. I did actually used to be a bit more like 96% up until more mainstream furry and hentai artists showed up, however, starting around 2017, when the show was definitely fading in popularity and nearly at the end of its run and the fandom was beginning to transition into Its post show self. The fandom since the end of the show has shrunk but has overall remained a warm and vibrant place, if anything the production of high quality fan works has remained quite high, and most of the fringe contingencies went on to find other things to get angry at as those became The Issue it was cool to be upset about. And stemming into real life, the MLP fandom has how to make some real lasting friends, including the woman I ended up marrying. During the years I lived abroad, the my little pony fandom helped me find shelter and work. When I moved house I was originally taken in by a fellow brownie for a few months while I found a place of my own. He also set me up with my first job out there. He didn’t even charge me for rent up until I was actually pulling an income. The pony fandom was never toxic they were just certain fringe elements which got conflated with the core thing. Be honest if anything I’ve seen more toxicity from people claiming horrible things about brownies which are either taking the holy without context blown out of proportion or just invented whole cloth. Open around and very active since essentially the beginning believe me I would’ve seen it if it were true.

[@KiyoshiArts]

growing up I never watched “kid shows”, so it’s always a foreign thing to me. I would think that some people who were the same as me would want to check out or explore these kind of things out of curiosity.

[@shilolzz2009]

Wait what did you watch then?

[@KiyoshiArts]

@@shilolzz2009 I personally didn’t, but I have a friend who did

[@imp-tweekakarainbow_washov8991]

@@KiyoshiArts he meant what other shows did you watch instead of kids content

[@fourearwolf3315]

If you never watched kid shows, what did you watch then?

[@JuliusD]

@@fourearwolf3315 maybe nothing at all. not everyone has a tv in their household. i know a lot of classmates as a kid that didn't

[@darkmystery5731]

Came here just to give the mandatory statement that the MLP fandom was and is not just pure toxicity. The toxic age that you talked about took place near the beginning, and as the fans went from kinda hate-watching to genuinely enjoying the content, it honestly grew to be a lot more wholesome. And while sure, some of the toxicity remained, it became the minority part, and the majority of the fandom were equally disgusted.

[@stackscorner6436]

Gotta second this. The positivity of MLP did a LOT for my mental well-being. The dark side? Really wasn't anything different than I had seen in any fandom I was in before, or have been in since. My gaming conventions were dealing with issues for a LONG time, and let's not get started on anime...

[@bird6439]

I see this show as a comfort show, and I do hope the fandom stays as wholesome as possible. It makes me feel safe, like I was a little kid again. Happy memories

[@m00d_99]

As a former child who was obsessed with mlp and got traumatised by bronys and has little siblings who watch Bluey I pray Bluey stays a wholesome kids show

[@Lilpumpkin505]

Seeing how bluey was created it wont

[@qsd5413]

Don’t tell me you’re one of those anti-fanart folks

[@jonal5126]

@@qsd5413 what?

[@qsd5413]

@@jonal5126 people who are against fanart that’s in a style any different than the show’s

[@Korvinian4601]

@@Lilpumpkin505 " Seeing how bluey was created it wont" It was created by a guy who wants to tell his family's story

[@Sinister_Shortee]

It's always such funny timing with these videos! I happen to work at a child care in a gym and almost a majority of those young kids (2-12) love Bluey. I was a bit shocked even the older kids enjoyed it until I decided to watch a bit of it. No wonder these kids love this show, a few coworkers liked it too! It has such relatable moments and a positive atmosphere it's very friendly and cute. I don't think it will turn as toxic as the MLP fandom just because there is a different with a "slice of life" show then a serious, plot-driven fantasy.

[@humanintelegence]

i love your interpretations of the human versions. the designs reflect their character really well. i really love it when artists give Bluey short hair and tomboy-ish clothes, because (other than the hair) it reminds me of myself when I was a kid

[@sockatoo_]

watching bluey with my baby cousin was honestly the best thing i've ever done with a tv. i'm so glad there are kids that are gonna grow up with this show so many of us needed, like my baby cousin, for example. i feel like a show like bluey could never have a fandom that stoops as low as mlp did. too many people know what mlp's fandom became, and as they say, "if you do not know your history, you are bound to repeat it."

[@factoringpractice]

i mean mlp started on 4chan, while bluey seems to have started on tiktok so the fandom would def be different

[@lolstopforget6752]

"It's just a stupid show for babies" is such a close minded statement.

[@stupideronjupiter]

As a person who loved Bluey before this sudden surge in popularity, I really hope that this fandom doesn't take a turn into the strangeness of fandoms before it. I've heard there's pushback against it which makes me very happy and I really want children to be able to look up something they enjoy like this show and not accidentally be exposed to materials that aren't suitable for a child to look at and therefore harm them.

[@JasonOfArgo]

I think Bluey as a whole is just crafted in such a different way to MLP that it's almost impossible to create a fandom like bronies for it without the more questionable and problematic aspects of it coming through and being rejected. Bluey is designed from the ground-up to encourage positive interaction with other people which many bronies had a problem with lmao

[@AleksoLaĈevalo999]

As if mlp were not designed from the ground-up to encourage positive interaction with other people.

[@Jane-oz7pp]

the art is important, too. MLP had somewhat exaggerate feminine features, including very, very rounded hips. The art style lent itself to sexualisation in a way that Bluey's blobbish character design simply doesn't.

[@AleksoLaĈevalo999]

@@Jane-oz7pp Many gays like round guys. To me it's kinda a matter of taste, Bandit seems to be "popular" among furs.

[@32Koifish]

R34 ruined MLP for many kids and teens, really should have stayed in private 18/21+ forums

[@DeerMilky]

My favorite episode of Bluey was "The big sleep" because the visuals are so stunning, but overall i love the show for what it is, just a cute slice of life that is easy to watch and it just makes me happy to see the cute dog families do their thing and just exist

[@forkalamari6093]

Tbh Bluey is absolutely great. It accurately portrays a family dynamic in ways other shows such as Peppa Pig don’t, and I think one of the reasons why is that it’s told from both the kids’ and the parents’ perspectives. It just feels more real to me. Also Sans is canon in Bluey-

[@SLAYBOT_9000]

you cant just say something like that and not give the context behind it

[@forkalamari6093]

@@SLAYBOT_9000 yes I can and yes I will /j

[@forkalamari6093]

@@SLAYBOT_9000 ok but seriously a sans-looking plush is in a scene where Bingo and Bluey(?) are playing tea party or something

[@juliabrown39]

fr 💀💀 the main joke in Peppa Pig was “haha dad fat”

[@LindaStansAriandNicki]

@@juliabrown39 Peppa improved in the later seasons and she never calls her dad fat anymore, check out “Peppa Pig tales” on youtube, she never fatshames her dad in that, that’s old news and those are old episodes

[@salenseadancer]

I was a very small child when MLP FIM came out. I'd loved MLP my whole life so obviously I was gonna watch the new one. I always had a fair amount of online freedom as a kid and I was also not very cautious around strangers. Obviously as a lil lonely kid I wanted to find other friends with my interests. So I sought out other MLP fans online. I am, very very scarred for life.

[@G00dTaste]

I'm so sorry for u omg

[@OfficialRaveBlitz]

As a Brony myself, I tend to try and stay away from the more toxic side of the fandom. I try to remain on the positive side, because honestly Bronies are far more creative, innovative, and talented, and we're also nicer than people give us credit for. People need to stop listening to KZbinrs like Lily Orchard. That being said, yes, we have wierdos in our fandom, but we usually try to get them out, with little success unfortunately.

[@andocoolxd5158]

The thing is, this fandom is incredibly divisive Most parts are very wholesome and chill, but the selected toxic ones are ultimately noxious It's not the whole community, just a small cluster of determined individuals

[@DanknDerpyGamer]

Which is why IMO, REGARDLESS of what show we are referring to, we need to reject, and call out, broad generalizations - and others using them as an excuse to be toxic douchebags./

[@andocoolxd5158]

@@DanknDerpyGamer THIS ^^^

[@Barfigarfi]

I swear to god if people start making any sort of inappropriate art of any of these characters I’ll go mental. It’s just disgusting it’s very clearly a kids show

[@basilbat273]

It's already happened is happening and will continue thankfully most people doing it are just doing it for shock The only thing we can do is ignore it at this point because that like makes people draw shit out of spite

[@Barfigarfi]

@Pokemon Rejuv Fan yeah ik but this one just feels so pure compared to them even (I love SpongeBob don’t get me wrong), like the characters are 5/6 year olds

[@Korvinian4601]

@@Barfigarfi I mean r34 of kids shows are meant to shock you

[@ArteiceTB]

I love Bandit because he reminds me so much of my dad and how he’d play around with me and my siblings lol

[@DeerMilky]

I also want to add that my absolute favorite thing about the show is Bandit and Chilli's relationship. it's just loving and chill and so good, they have issues but work it out together and that's honestly marriage goals!

[@bridgetteryan5876]

Having been a fan of MLP as well as a parent... I was a part of a group of people that would monthly search images of the main characters that kids might look for, and reporting any NSFW material. I always had to make sure that I was the one that was searching for the colouring pages for my daughter.

[@Korvinian4601]

Thank god, there are still parents who try to be parents

[@pohakushiba]

i adore your take of this controversy. the show bluey is a show that brings me huge comfort, and i was afraid of the people in the fandom ruining the enjoyment. all cartoons that go mainstream will encounter bad people who will twist the show to their perspective, but anyone who enjoys the show for the same reasons as the target audience does, should be allowed to enjoy the show. it's reassuring to see that others who've watched the series is able to keep a level head as the time passes by, and bluey continues to trend on all media. ❤

[@elainejsta]

As someone who was a fan of MLP in high-school, and not very active in the fandom at that time, I think we should remind ourselves we can enjoy shows and cartoons independent from a fan base, toxic or not. There is nothing wrong with being a fan of a show and actively distancing yourself from the fandom community and I don't think enough people talk about that.

[@kyubeyz_7062]

As an mlp fan myself, I’m pretty sure the bluey fandom isn’t going to even get as big as mlp in the first place. And from what I know about the history of mlp fandom, most of the reason it came to be what it was is because the fandom originated from 4chan so yeah that’s a problem. But it’s pretty important to remember that the majority of people in the fandom just liked the show because of the characters, well made story and what it teaches. I like to compare the fandom of mlp to the fandom of Steven universe. Both ended up being toxic and some bad stuff happened in both of them. One is just more infamous than the other.

[@Existant_one]

I was actually one of the kids who watched mlp all the time and that fandom just so happened to be my earliest experience on the internet. I remember seeing amazing things being created like the lullaby for a princess animation (seriously it was my favourite thing on the internet for a while) and finding some creators who were actually passionate about the show. I think the reason I wasn’t as knowledgeable about the toxic side was probably because of me entering the fandom near the end of the show’s run (like I came in halfway through season 7). But I’m sure the bluey fandom won’t go anywhere near as toxic as what happened with the bronies considering the amount of time that’s passed since then and how bluey’s fandom seems to be a lot more focused on staying away from that kind of stuff

[@elenatheartistandgamer2001]

All fandoms can be toxic and being on the internet for so long I've grown pessimistic that adults won't somehow make it toxic whether from hating the show or loving it too much. But most of the people who watch the show are parents with their children so I press x to doubt that parents would go that way...but I can always be wrong.

[@rootfish2671]

Man if they use Bluey to become another form of bronie I'm going to riot

[@ryannthegawd]

if i see a single bluey body pillow i’m calling the cops.

[@thememeqween]

Or possibly destroy the human that made it.

[@Twat_Dirt]

That side of every fandom exists whether we want it to or not. So over time it will, unfortunately.

[@o-o2272]

It won’t don’t worry bronies started on 4chan that’s why they are the way they are unlike bluey but there will always be nsfw of the bluey cast sadly that’s just part of the internet:((

[@Cherubinflight]

@@o-o2272 This is why people like that suck. How do you look at a wholesome show, and think that?? And even if it's inevitable, IT BETTER NOT BE THEM DAMN KIDS

[@natekellydeadpoet3628]

Also being a brony my self ,not all bronys or adult fans of mlp were like that most of us just enjoyed the show the same way we enjoy bluey . It's a great show to help with mental health and it's just a great show that has a decent story or slice of life aspect. But again loved your video and your opinion on it because they went with alot of mine.

[@kyubeyz_7062]

Yeah the same reason people like bluey is the reason we like mlp. It’s just a good show with great characters and story.

[@jestphoenix]

the brony fandom was always so much more than 4chan edgelords. the music and animation community in particular is still impressive, even today. i haven't seen a fandom quite as dedicated to their art since bronies.

[@kyubeyz_7062]

@@jestphoenix vylet pony 😩

[@ksnndnfr6101]

@@jestphoenix I agree . I was about to comment the fnaf fandom, due to the amount of full-suit cosplays and animations but then I realised they don't have an equivalent to horse-fame.

[@ireallyfuckinghatemylife]

@@kyubeyz_7062 yessss

[@strikerwott1222]

AMAZING VIDEO!!! I love your humanizations of Bluey and her family so so much!!! Also, as someone who was really into MLP FIM when I was little and was really scarred by the stuff I came across on the internet, I won’t lie I’m really nervous about history repeating itself. I love this show a whole lot, it’s one of my favorite cartoons ever and is also a big comfort show of mine and is a huge art inspiration to me. I think you made really great points though. I know there are things in life that are beyond our control, but I think the best thing we can do is to discourage the type of behavior that was common in the Brony fandom and encourage a better and safer environment for kids and everyone else. As for my favorite Bluey episodes, it’s super hard to choose! I have a lot! But from what I’ve seen so far, one of my personal favs is Bike! A simple and incredibly encouraging episode that genuinely makes me super happy!!! It’s honestly one of the episodes that made me cry a lot, but honestly a lot of the episodes in this show do that, I’m a very emotional gal LOL! Some other favs of mine are Daddy Dropoff, Fruit Bat, Duck Cake, Handstand, Baby Race, and many others!!! As for my fav MLP episodes, I LOVED Return of Harmony as a kid!!! I loved everything about that episode omg. I also remember some other ones I remember loving were Crusaders of the Lost Mark, Luna Eclipsed, MMMystery on the Friendship Express, A Canterlot Wedding, and this one’s a guilty pleasure pick, but Magical Mystery Cure!

[@CaramelPlaygroundALT]

From what i've seen and why people are claiming that "Bluey" will be the next MLP, Its just a bunch of upset teenagers on tiktok who dont like when someone ha and interest and bully someone fo liking something because theyre probably boring IRL. i heat stuff like "people need to grow up and stop watching a kids show" and i'd like to point out that most of the brony fandom originates from 4chan so thats why it had so much adult orintated content. Bluey fans are just people who like a kids show with funny talking dogs. while yes, the bluey fandom wil contain those few bad eggs, it does NOT mean the whole fandom is like that. wish people understood that.

[@MistyWhiskerz]

I think a big problem is people doing “bait” content. Aka acting like a fan and saying horrible/gross things to try and trick people into believe that all fans are like that. There’s a LOT of bait accounts on tiktok

[@DanknDerpyGamer]

> * to try and trick people into believe that all fans are like that.* Doesn't help that the internet normalizes the idea of being apathetic/bnot questioning (and even being hostile towards people who call out) gross/inaccurate/unfair generalizations.

[@xfacade_productions]

No you are so right about there being someone commenting about a parent giving their kid love and being like "Oh you're spoiling them", "Stop doing that they're just a brat they dont deserve it" (And other comments that try to bring the parent down and just say that the parent needs to do the bare minimum) and some stuff that they say REALLY makes them the kind of person that believes children aren't people, it is really sad and annoying.

[@Shard18]

People always go after the brownies but never bring up the toxic anti fans who would go after and abuse heather fans. Doing things like trying to claim fans of being pedophiles for ships or fan art of the adult characters just for the presentation it's a "kids show" or trying to shame male fans for liking a "little girl" show. It's all well and fine to act like the fandom was mostly toxic witch wasent true. But no body brings up the toxic attackers of the MLP fandom. And those people stand a bigger threat to Bluey than the fans getting weird.

[@o-o2272]

Yeah people need to remember that more often:(

[@atseptic]

the brownies??

[@abidabschonaire1170]

i feel bad for the mlp fandom because when i was most active in it i found some of the kindest and sweetest people that sadly shared a really , i'd say special because to be honest there hasn't really been much fandoms out there exept bluey that have had the impact that g4 did, fandom with a lot of creeps that ruined a very wholesome thing for everyone outside and inside of it giving it that bad name that it didn't entirely deserve.

[@britneybij3997]

I don't think Bluey will end up like MLP due to the main cast being almost opposite to Bluey. With Bluey the main cast characters are literal children and their parents Meanwhile with MLP the mane 6 are implied to be adults. They aren't in primary school, they live alone or are the adults of the home, they have jobs, and can travel independently. Something obviously a child isn't allowed to do. Also the many mystical and almost action pack scenes, lore building, and numerous villains that also happen to be adults is probably why is ended up resonating with an older audience. It also wasn't therapy-like focused or spoke of matters of inner-child and parenting so I doubt they would end up alike.

[@heroicgangster9981]

Yeah it helps that Bluey isn't really a big stakes or high concept in character design and lore show. There's not much for any potential edgy or lewd MLP fan-like to latch onto than basically being a creep for literal kid voiced characters. The most I can see being juvenile to adult internet fandomed out of Bluey is crushing on the older characters and expanding on the more mature lore if they wanted to. Or making Bluey oc characters if they gravitate to the art style of the show. Not really much for shippy or fan content fandoms from actual juveniles to make vibes from. Bluey is more likely gonna reach the people who want wholesome vibes from Bluey. Meanwhile, the MLP fandom are still waiting for MLPG5 to bring on some more serious concepts or stakes (for what a MLP show can bring) at least the older brony side. While there is the other half of the MLP fanbase that is more so tweens to kids show liking adults nowadays, at least form the content I see in twitter.

[@dollasorus]

Thanks for putting my comment in the video! I haven't finished the video yet but I'm loving it so far and I finished my bluey doll too and I'm even making her a little Polly puppy

[@Fionapollo]

Omg that's so cute 😭😭

[@ThatGreenMach1ne]

AWWW that's adorableee

[@TheEternalSamurai]

I’m just about to finish MLP FIM, and I think it’s a phenomenal show. True, the fandom has its reputation, and has made many things that kids shouldn’t see, but the show itself is like none other. I’ve only seen 2 episodes of Bluey, and it looks like a really cute and wholesome show. I was somewhat surprised to see that adults are into it too, and with the internet the way it is, it does give me concern that adults have made some dark fan content for Bluey. I don’t think that the Bluey fandom could have the same reputation as the MLP fandom, but I’m not saying that it won’t happen. Nice vid btw

[@purgxzur1]

The fact that the age regression community has taken such a hold on the bluey show and the fandom as a whole, I doubt it will get to a super toxic or NSFW place as the mlp community did. The age regression community (at least the sfw one) focuses on the things that you mentioned, repairing past childhood traumas and indulging in a fantasy that feels better than real life. There's nothing wrong with that (as well age regression is often a symptom of certain disorders like trauma disorders)

[@itsgonnabeanaurfromme]

Regression is literally an immature and harmful defense mechanism though. So holding onto something which enables this is not a good thing.

[@purgxzur1]

@@itsgonnabeanaurfromme there's nothing wrong with it being "immature" and why is it harmful? When done in moderation (it's not voluntary anyway) it can be very beneficial to one's mental health to just let it all out. Strict societal boundaries of how adults and people deemed "mature" can act even in the face of extreme trauma are stupid

[@purgxzur1]

@@itsgonnabeanaurfromme if you're talking about ageplay which is a whole nother thing entirely then no I don't support that

[@eggthetalonflame1453]

Ladies and Gents this is why shows meant for toddlers should stay in that age range.

[@purgxzur1]

@@eggthetalonflame1453 why exactly? Responding to my comment with that doesn't exactly explain why you think the way you do about a symptom of trauma. I apologize for existing on this earth as a survivor of trauma if that's what you're offended by

[@luanicus]

My neighbour from the apartment in front of where I live has a blue heeler! When I was a kid I always complained about the fact that the dog always barked a lot when I headed home from school... That's just sad... I live on the last floor... in a building without an elevator.

[@lumity6269]

i love bluey cause it reminds me of how my parents played w me when i was younger. me and my brother would be playing shop and my dad would literally put on my dress up wigs and be one of our costumers. it also shows me that things happen and sometimes u gotta look at it in the eyes of a little kid “it is out of our hands”(episode copycat).

[@thememeqween]

honestly I think I like this show more than my own siblings. It’s one of those shows that you don’t understand how good it is till you watch it.

[@lumity6269]

@@thememeqween me and my baby sister watch it together LMAO

[@johnross5098]

19:02 that's why alternative family friendly browsers exist that are extremely strict.

[@Sparkle8205]

I was SUUUUPER into MLP: FiM when I was younger, I was of course, the target demographic, but the brony community SCARRED me as a child. It's still a special interest for me (FiM, I mean.), but I basically only hang around JYCROW's stuff nowadays because I got so scarred by seeing... not safe for work stuff on youtube as a child when I just wanted to watch mlp stuff. I don't think Bluey's fandom will go the direction of FiM's fandom did, but it's scary that it could be a huge issue again. I also went into my "Edgy" phase early due to the MLP fandom, and I'm kinda glad I did, but it was y e ah. No 8 year old wants to accidentally click on a video and hear someone reading a fanfic of... icky stuff, to say the least, and the trauma from finding stuff like that by accident more than partially caused me to become fully asexual. MLP: FiM did a lot of good, but gooooods the fandom was a hellhole. sorry for the ramblings asjnfajs

[@area52ron]

With how toxic you described the mlp fandom to be reminds me of an incident in the Steven universe fandom before the pink diamond reveal Where an artist was harassed and bullied when people thought they drew Rose Quartz skinny (I looked at the art and I have no idea how they thought that) and it was just the artists art style Or in the Shira fandom where this person harassed this artist because they thought the artist white washed the characters when in actuality the artist drew the show characters old designs from the original show

[@shirecreations7080]

even tho i’m a teen i love bluey!! it’s such a adorable show and some episodes made think of my childhood and i love how to tackles harsh topics i don’t really know much about the bluey fandom. sad thing is i have see inappropriate art of bluey characters…

[@darkPegasista]

It's incredibly sad to hear people call the brony Fandom toxic, then comparing it to Bluey Fans to make everybody see how bad and horrible the bronies are. That's simply not true and frankly unfair. Please be respectful to both parties. What bluey taught parents, my little pony taught me. Many people's Lifestyles changed for the better through my little pony, so it does deserve more positive attention than the awful things that are being said right now.

[@Dr_Ney]

I live in Ukraine and obviously I am mostly familiar with the CIS and European side of the Brony community, so I was initially surprised when someone talks about toxicity in relation to them, because our part of the fandom is very kind, actually. This happened probably due to the fact that our part of the fandom was not born on 4chan. It's sad to hear this, because I have a positive opinion about Bronies.

[@ReidEyebrow_Daddy]

I'm literally screaming, the fact that there is a hOMESTUCK REFERENCE IN BLUEY-

[@Korvinian4601]

There isnt

[@Colorado-Coyote]

How do you enjoy something without people associating you with the worst people who also enjoy said thing. I recently just got into my little pony and it's f****** hilarious also im possibly autistic

[@plutolunaplays]

i was a young girl at the time of MLP fandom, and innately the show's target audience, but still managed to blend in and find my place, find where i belong, with the MLP fandom. that was the first fandom i had ever come into contact with, and i immediately fell in love with it and the "fandom lifestyle". now, that was long ago, and i was a child. naive, innocent, and well-meaning. but the fandom never left me, and no matter how hard i try, no matter the fact that the golden days of Generation 4 are over, i can never escape the fandom. i still love MLP, and although i may have outgrown it, those ponies will always live deep inside of my heart. I love Bluey too, although not as much, and i enjoy this healthier and calmer approach to children's media. I also used to watch Peppa Pig as a child, so make with that what you will.

[@MsSumoon]

Before the MLP fandom we had the PPG fandom that had a LOT of disgusting things and one of my very first exposures to NSFW art was sadly looking for Power Puff Girls stuff when I was 10 years old, very disgusting things. MLP was a good show, don't get me wrong, but Bronies were and still are one of the most toxic aspects connected to the fandom, and sometimes it's kind of hard to say that you enjoyed the show and people saying-so you are a brony? And you have to awkwardly replay- no, I like the show, but I'm not a brony. I truly hope Bluey doesn't get corrupted, I'm 100% sure that we already have rule 34 stuff on it, like everything on the internet, sadly. But parents and legal guardians PLEASE check what your kids are watching and researching, sometimes it starts innocent, but it can go to a rabbit whole of awfulness in a matter of seconds.

[@Tipsy_Turby]

When I saw, "Is Bluey the next MLP???" I got some flashbacks to the MLP community.

[@FrootDeMoN]

I remember that I really liked mlp when it came out. I was in the intended age demographic ((a little girl)) and fortunately I couldn't speak or read English ((because English wasn't my main language)) so I was mostly safe from all the inappropriate stuff from bronies because I couldn't search in English. Except for one video: the smile fanmade music video. IT WAS SO TRAUMATISING! GOD Just thinking about I makes me feel awful

[@MasterHappychipmunk]

The worst I can say that I’ve seen from the fandom is the NSFW art (some of which unfortunately includes the child characters), but that’s a given for any fandom with an adult audience. So far I haven’t heard or seen any examples of adult Bluey fans making asses of themselves like I’ve seen with other fandoms.

[@Emil_LLscpfan]

If the bluey become somewhat popular on 4chan i'll fucking make up lies so less childen will become fans and go on the internet and get groomed

[@Emil_LLscpfan]

I probably dont even need to make up lies and spead the truth and less childen would see whatever they make

[@bashfulwolfo6499]

I’ve learned from a young age with MLP to avoid fanbases for shows, especially ones aimed for kids. I will gladly watch content about said stuff but mostly avoid interacting with the fanbase. Sadly I’ve already been scarred with certain “art” for Bluey, badly triggered my PTSD so I almost have 0 interaction with the Bluey fanbase now lmao

[@27Nitma]

😢

[@Puppet____]

When I was like 7 years old I loved mlp. Since Pinkie Pie was my favorite I was watching videos of her signing the smile song. I clicked one that seem normal, but then Pinkie started kicking and killing all the other ponies and there was blood everywhere. I got traumatized :D

[@LeBongFairy]

Of course it is. Every fandom has their demons, and they'll always be loud minorities, some louder than others.

[@Korvinian4601]

But some of the fanbases have much more larger minorities, and way more louder than you think

[@pinkiepeachypie]

I haven't really gotten into bluey but am really into MLP, never used 4chan so MLP is the comfort happy show for me like how bluey is for people now days.

[@Doodlands]

I'm in 7th grade and one of my friends whom is in the same grade is in love with this show even though she's thirteen and I think that speaks volumes to how good the show is.

[@Itz_Mothii]

I started watching it a week or two ago and got hooked. I thought it made me childish, but now that I’ve seen people talk about it, I have learned to not give a flying crap about what I what I enjoy watching. 😭

[@suriiixi]

So from what I have seen, I am from Queensland (the place where Bluey was originated) and watched it before it became trending. Yet there is another thing people need to understand. Some people do not know it is Australian and question the slang,sometimes in a bad way. Yet it is a great show, please be mindful and not “take over” the show and eyeroll at the kids for watching it because you, (an older person) and the other adults are watching it too. I’ve seen a Bluey vid and someone saying “Christmas in California be like”. It just somehow makes me annoyed because Queensland and Australia is not a popular place and forgotten all the time. I just sometimes want to gatekeep it because others are relocating the original, unpopular show to a well known country and it annoying. It is fine for adults to watch it at times but I think it’s mostly targeted at kids so don’t get carried away.

[@tessfabled4115]

Same, same! Fellow Queenslander here, it's so neat to see places/architecture that I've grown up with represented in media at a wide scale for the first time :)

[@Korvinian4601]

Im from NSW, and yeah some people just misunderstand the countries of origin

[@Jdn.A]

Honestly, I consider myself as a Brony, but I really hope Bluey doesn't turn up like MLP. Kids shouldn't be traumatised when searching Bluey too.

[@teaartist6455]

Every fandom will have a few, let's just say questionable people. Let's say they make out about 1% of the fandom. In a small to medium sized fandom it's easy to put names and faces to them because even if your fandom has ten thousand people in it the problematic 1% will be about 100 people. Some of them may be practically invisible and even the few that aren't will likely cluster together so as to be fairly easy to learn about and avoid. In very small ones it may come down to less than 10 people that are easily blocked and avoided. It's "Pie'oh'pafangirlXXX and their clique are toxic" not "The Imajica fandom is toxic". When the fandom becomes huge, like say, a million that one percent is ten thousand people, the size of many decently sized fandoms. You can't really avoid ten thousand people and whatever they may create even if you are well-versed in fandoms and ten thousand people with more or less fucky takes are basically impossible to "quarantine" or isolate from the fandom at large because, well, that's basically a big community all on it's own. And because there's a large amount of fucky shit happening in that fandom (because of the sheer number of fucky fans even when they only represent a tiny sliver of the actual fandom) and because there are so many that you can't easily recognize a pattern in who is making and saying these kinds of things it's extremely easy to take one look at the fandom and decide that the whole thing is toxic. The fandom has, at that point, essentially reached critical mass.

[@Korvinian4601]

With Bluey becoming more popular, Im very concerened with more of these people popping up

[@koraknight6995]

I didn’t even know there was a fan base. Just saw it as another kids show my baby cousins/nephew would watch. I hope it doesn’t go down the MLP fan route

[@puppetpawss]

Short answer from somebody who used to be in the MLP fandom at it’s prime of absolute hell, no. The most Bluey’s fandom has as of now is just some cool fan artists and people who like collecting toys. MLP had literal nazis, pedos, you name anything awful, they had it.

[@malachitep4276]

I always worry that by trying to make things safe for all ages in fandom one risks stifling creativity and actively chasing out older members. I'm 30 bloody years old, have survived the mlp fandom in my 20s and have only recently gotten into Bluey. I see plenty people bemoaning the existence of darker and outright adult content and I feel that to outright demand it not exist is the wrong way to go about things. The responsible thing in my eye is to simply make sure things are tagged appropriately or otherwise kept out of the view of younger fans. Don't put this kind of content in the main fandom tags and just try and be responsible, but you shouldn't feel shame over exploring more mature themes using characters you love, creativity is a good thing, no matter the form it takes. (Unless it's outright illegal in nature ofc, there's a certain hard limit tbf) Hell, I think many folks would be shocked by the sheer comedic raunch storyboard artist Chris Voight creates as a hobbyist. Just shows the duality of man or summat lol

[@Pessoa322]

18:44 yes, I was one of the victims and I still hate that. Things happend to soon with me after I watched Rainbow Dash and Apple Jack kissing because youtube recomend it, my curiosity was happening with me having 9 years old or even less, and after this I felt only shame, but still entered more and more into the dark world of the internet and did more shitty stuff because no one was looking out for me and was not looking for any help. I don't blame my parents, because they didn't know much about the internet and what could happen, but still feel shame to be a weird child like this. :( Thats why i would preffer to make my kids watch Bluey instead of having a phone to soon or play online games to soon. Children are getting more and more faster into the real world.

[@toxiccrybaby]

I was genuinely shocked my commemt made it in! That being said, I love this video, I agree a lot with the things you said. As someone who grew up in a very adult Fandom myself, I understand the worries of Fandom getting to dark. As for the Google thing, unfortunately it still happens. Just the other day I was helping my little sister get a picture of sans so she could draw him on her tablet, and the third image was an inappropriate gif of Sans tweaking his bare ass at the screen. Genuinely haunting shit right there. Thankfully my sister didn't see it, but I'm scarred.

[@Fionapollo]

Oh yikes 😬 google is way too unpredictable at times and it's a shame there's still that risk. I remember looking up sonic characters on google 20 years ago....not a good idea.

[@MariusWales]

Let's be real, the safe search on Google is a load of horseshit.

[@thememeqween]

@@MariusWales yep

[@jinxrux]

I watched Bluey for quite some time now, like year and a half, maybe a bit more? I'm 22 years old, I'm autistic and I have childhood trauma, I treat this show as a comfort show and I usually age regress while watching it. I don't plan to be a parent, ever, but I find comfort in watching Bluey and Bingo, especially Bingo as I can relate to her and both being emotional, imaginative and a younger sibling. I love this show so much, but I must admit that the boom in popularity makes me kind of anxious.

[@Gone._.]

I have literally watched one of your videos but it feels like I’ve been a long time fan

[@4wingedowl]

TW: Brief mention of grooming. As someone who grew up watching MLP, I will say while some nsfw and graphic content would sometimes come through the floodgates, for the most part some of the more infamous and graphic fanfics like Cupcakes or Smile HD where well known enough that plenty of older fans would warn younger fans not to watch them. (I have somehow never heard of Stockholm though what the hell?) I will also say that when well known figures in the fandom ARE exposed as groomers or predators (will not give specific names to avoid triggering victims), The other big names in fandom made sure to address said topics with the proper trigger warnings. I doubt the Bluey fandom will be a repeat in history as now of days people are much more aware of potentially sensitive/triggering media. Will said media exist? Of course, Do i think it will reach MLP levels? I highly doubt it.

[@ghoulthedamned]

One thing you have to remember is that MLP's fanbase originally came from 4chan, and while not the only factor it's one of the big ones as to why that fandom is the way it is...

[@lalas181]

Oh hey, didn't expect my comment to be in this. Glad to hear things in the Bluey fandom are likely not going to get as grim as I dreaded they could! Or... not in the _way_ I dreaded they could, at least. I saw another comment about Bluey cosplayers getting shamed and that's pretty disappointing. Still probably not going to watch the show for a long time, but if I ever do hopefully I _won't_ feel a need to make a 10,000+ word Bluey/Shadow Over Innsmouth crossover fic. Ten-year-old me would've entirely adored a fic like that, but 21-year-old me knows that it'd probably be a bit _much_ lol My favorite MLP:FiM episode is probably actually the movie, but "Testing, Testing, 123" is a close second. I learn best through songs and pretend games and find it harder to learn just by using "traditional methods", so I totally relate with Rainbow's struggle to figure out how to actually retain the information she needs to. How her friends handled it reminds me of when my parents would help me slough through math homework by framing it as a mission I needed to complete to help out my favorite Star Wars characters. I don't have a favorite Bluey episode because I just don't watch the show. From what I've heard, I'd bet that the one episode where Bluey makes friends with a kid who only speaks French while on vacation would probably be my favorite. No idea what actually happens in that specific episode other than that, but it sounds cute!

[@myztaok]

I just don’t wanna be in any fandoms at all, including Bluey’s. Not because this fandom is overall bad but mostly because like its easy to get exposed to features like the ships and fanfics (more obscurely, r34). Totally fine if you like doing those as long as they don’t sexualize any of the kids. I just wanna enjoy the show for what it is and thats it. None of the extras on the fandom that could possibly taint my view on it (especially the r34 and the NSFW fanfics)

[@doom9564]

Bluey was confirmed to be a rainbow baby

[@katiarepublic7057]

Bluey is the kinda show that can make me happy cry without fail (certain episodes just snatch up my emotions, man)

[@Disc-CubeClown]

As someone who lives in Australia and enjoys the show, I think you did such a great job on the commentary about Bluey. Also the art is just so wholesome and makes me feel like a kid again! Keep up the great content! 😊

[@serpentinious7745]

Toxic people will be attracted to any fandom, movement, or ideology that grows large enough. They come seeking social power. Whether or not the fandom itself becomes toxic depends on how much power the toxic people are able to acquire within it.

[@G00dTaste]

The problem isn't toxic members, it's the toxicity spreading

[@gh0stgarbage]

Gonna write this before the video and add an edit after finishing if my stance is changed. Before watching, my main experience with the Bluey fanbase I can solidly say NO, Bluey isn’t the new MLP. MLP got so bad because everything started on 4chan, leaving the loudest part of the fanbase “edgy” and leaning into shock or offensive humor with complete disregard for safety, whereas Bluey at worst has folks who have never interacted in a fandom space- more often than not spaces intended for adults- claiming average and healthy fandom behavior such as headcanoning (particularly gender or sexuality headcanoning) is “sexualization” as opposed to projection and comfort. And that take ALONE seems to convey people don’t understand the queer community and are intentionally or not spreading queerphobic rhetoric. Yes, there’s a problem with the Bluey fanbase, but it’s not the traumatizing fetish content, readily available gore and other horrific content spread like wildfire the way MLP had at its roots and at its peak. Tl;dr I personally believe the Bluey fanbase’s worst fans are folks who have never stepped foot in fandom calling everything that’s always been rather acceptable “problematic” because they don’t understand it and some of them just don’t want to where MLP was a bunch of adult white men terrorizing people for being “woke” on purpose.

[@MarimbaBurd]

I was actually afraid of Bluey becoming another Undertale or Steven Universe lol, but I'm glad that it remains the wholesome and loved show it is 😊

[@Korvinian4601]

It won’t lmao

[@KBcantComprehend]

My family actually likes to watch bluey together, and I didn't even know there was a fandom

[@franciumactinium5516]

Given I am posting this with a pony avatar its obvious that I was part of the MLP Fandom, and I still read fanfiction to this day, but I am also stunned that I never knew how the MLP fandom started. I was introduced to the show by my brother in mid-2012 while I was at Uni and my interactions with other Fans was limited to FimFiction and IRL friends, as a result a lot of the darker/adult material I didn't encounter for quite a while. I had also never been part of a 'Fandom' before, and shows I did like such as Mythbusters and Scrapheap Challenge couldn't really be treated in that way (though I bet people tried). Friends tried to get me to watch The Walking Dead, which came out in 2010, but I just hated how vicious, bloody and aggressive it was, while MLP was bright, wholesome, easygoing and welcoming. A decade on and it's disappointing to see just how out of control a large proportion of the Fandom got. I can't pretend I didn't dive down the rabbithole myself, and it took me a long time to find my way out. Early on I was confused when I heard people talk negatively about the Fandom given I had only ever been treated kindly and welcomed, but watching this now is really reminding me just how bad things got (and still are because the internet never forgets). This said, every fandom has its dark sides. Football is still infamous for the way some fans behave, but 95% of them will just be there to enjoy the game and the company it brings. Formula 1 has also got very aggressive fans behind Hamilton and Verstappen, but again 95% of fans just want to see a good race.

[@BiblicallyAccurateHoodie]

I really like the show! It’s so comforting to me and I watch it when ever I have panic attacks or am just sad. Also your drawing is so cute

[@Jay-is6jt]

I think I have a unique perspective on this as a kid who was into a *lot* of different kid-and-adult fandoms when I was young, specifically a lot of cartoons that ended up getting adult demographics. (Also sorry for the novel I kinda got carried away lol) I was very young when the whole MLP boom was going on, and it definitely effected me as the entire fandom was made unsafe for kids as the older fans essentially "Claimed it" as their own. You couldn't search MLP literally anywhere on the internet without finding some porn or dark content of it, which was especially difficult as a kid who loved the show and wanted to have my own fandom/creative experience with it. In a way, I felt like I had to act just as shitty or indulge in the adult subsections to be "accepted" in the fandom and not looked down on as some dumb kid, even though, yk, the show was *for kids.* It was very fucked up. During late seasons, some older fans started saying things like "yeah, the kids watch it, but the show is actually *made* for us", encouraged by the fact the writers started taking things from fanon and putting them into the show. Some people have been saying that Bluey is actually "a show for parents", which I think makes people who remember the MLP situation nervous. People understandably don't want hoards of shitty adult fans making the space inaccessible to kids. The thing is, MLP was a very very unique case from my experience. Good cartoons usually always get some sort of adult following, whether it be because of the story, or animation fans wanting to indulge in all forms of the medium. I can think of when I was into gravity falls, steven universe, transformers... These shows got so much attention from adults who just happened to check them out that I'd say most of the actual online "fandom" are comprised of adults. SU got it's own form of toxicity attached to it, but for the most part these shows stand mostly unchanged by the fandom space surrounding them, because the adults who watched didn't try to claim them as somehow "adult only". They knew they were intended for kids and still liked and followed them anyway. Also, there are definitely freaks in ANY childrens show fandom. Steven universe got weird adult fanart of the gems AND the kids, gravity falls got its weird fanart and shipping as well as it's own infamous gross fanfic that went around as a shock-value thing, transformers definitely has a lot more adult-centric fanbase now, with its own unsafe-for-kids content. But that's the thing, these people are usually seen in the wider fandom as "Those People", a few bad apples that you can mostly ignore. I was still effected by the stuff improperly tagged as a kid, but it didn't effect me anywhere near as much as the MLP fandom stuff did. If I had to guess, I think that's probably how bluey will end up. There will be a few people who get into nasty fanart or theories or content, some specifically drawn in because of it's "wholesome" and "sweet" image, but they won't be the majority. If bluey does get some kind of unique toxicity I feel like it will be tiktok sort of "over-protecting" the show and not letting adult fans feel *any* sort of way about it, good or bad.

[@raccoonkingkid]

One of the things that i don't like about the fandom is that they say that they wanna off Judo or muffin or they make a video about offing those two or something like that it's really disturbing.

[@TuesdaysArt]

A lot of the hype around MLP was about what it COULD be, to the point a lot of the fan content had nothing to do with the show. There was a lot of lore and stuff that weren't touched upon much until Hasbro started tailoring the show to adult fans regardless of whether it'd be appealing to the children the show was originally targeted at. People like Bluey for what it IS. It's a lowkey show already appealing to both children and adults. The simplicity and wholesomeness doesn't lend itself to angst and serious fantasy AUs like MLP.

[@Korvinian4601]

You hit the nail on that, I definetely agree, plus most of the Bluey adult fanbase are parents

[@higueraft571]

>doesnt lend itself to angst and serious fantasy AUs Have you heard of a little game called Sburb? A game the WHOLE family could play (though, likely would just be Bluey and Bingo, in this instance?) :V

[@Cosmic_Lemon]

As a Bluey fan since June 2021, the fandom is definitely toxic. There’s stupid ships like “Bandit x Pat” who both have wives. Lots of people misgendering characters and fighting about it. Then there’s comparing it with Peppa Pig. And there are lots of furries in the community, which I personally don’t have anything against them, but SOME of them can be toxic. And the Bluey haters are finding every reason to hate it.

[@Korvinian4601]

Most of the Bluey haters are just kids which says something I guess

[@morrigan909]

I only know about Bluey cuz my nephew. He's 2 years old, my sister and her husband always have this playing. He likes the show. I love it when I watch it, and I feel WEIRD watching this alone without him. But if watching this show will make me a better auntie for him, guess I should tune in.

[@Korvinian4601]

Why do you feel weird