In the fourteenth episode of The Pop Culture Lens podcast, Christopher and I are joined by Aaron Kashtan of Miami University in Ohio (https://ogresfeathers.wordpress.com) to discuss the gendered and transmedia nature of the long-surviving and recently rejuvenated franchise, My Little Pony.

Our discussion focuses on the distinctions between the earlier manifestations of this franchise and the most recent one, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, which has generated buzz since its launch in 2010. Much of the discourse surrounding this latest series comes because of the male fans of the series, the bronies, who were non-existent when the franchise launched in the 1980s. Thus, the conversation in the episode grapples with the existence of this male fan base for why it exists and what it means about gendered media products and gender itself.

The song at the end of the episode comes from the second feature film to focus on the human versions of the ponies: Equestria Girls: Rainbow Rocks. The first film, Equestria Girls, served as a foundation for my exploration of the fractured fandom concept. In the episode, Christopher mentioned a concept he and I are developing, networked gender; you can read about it in relationship to BMO and Adventure Time here. You can read an article published from my dissertation that looks at men engaging with My Little Pony here.

As always, you are encouraged to become a part of this conversation by visiting any of the podcast’s social media sites. You can also talk with Christopher on Twitter (@chrstphrolson) and at his academic blogseemsobvioustome.wordpress.com. And you can also follow me on Twitter (@mediaoracle).