• "Ponyville Confidential: The History and Culture of My Little Pony" Published


    For the fandom historian out there (please prove me wrong by being plural), an in-depth look at the evolution of My Little Pony and its cultural impact finally got published! We first touched on this title last year.

    As it turns out, you can actually find me referenced by name in there! ... defending the Equestria Girls franchise...

    Well, I'd have rather gone down in the scholastic record in a different context, but let me get out of the way here -- hit the break for the Amazon blurb as well as links for where you can purchase it!

    Beloved by young girls around the world, Hasbro's My Little Pony franchise has been mired in controversy since its debut in the early 1980s. Critics dismissed the cartoons as toy advertisements, and derided their embrace of femininity. The 2010 debut of the openly feminist My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic renewed the backlash, as its broad appeal challenged entrenched notions about gendered entertainment.

    This first comprehensive study of My Little Pony explores the history and cultural significance of the franchise through Season 5 of Friendship Is Magic and the first three Equestria Girls films. The brand has continued to be on the receiving end of a sexist double standard regarding commercialism in children's entertainment, while masculine cartoons such as the Transformers have been spared similar criticism.

    Buy it on Amazon, Google Play, or at your local bookstore!