Worldbuilding Speculations, Part 1: Equestria Is Strictly Matriarchal · 3:23am Nov 30th, 2012
Poor Spike.
While the ponies learn how to be good friends, Spike learns how to fall off ladders and get his face smashed into Twilight Sparkle's reading stand. He's the butt of every joke, second banana to a team of six. He slaves away all day everyday and in return Twilight doesn't even let him eat as much ice cream as he wants. He doesn't even get a room of his own.
"The pay is lousy," said Spike, "but the job has its perks."
Why do the ponies treat him this way? More importantly, why do they get away with it? The answer, I think, is simple. Spike's a dude. The mares have to remind him of his place.
Yes, you helped save an empire, Spike. Now get back in the kitchen.
I propose that Equestrian society is based around what we may call a "nested herd structure." A typical horse herd is made up largely of mares. Running at the front of the herd, drinking first at watering holes, and asserting dominance over the others is the boss mare. The boss stallion, typically the only stallion in the herd, remains at the periphery in a protective role.
Equestria is like a horse herd writ large. The population is predominantly female. Princess Celestia is the boss mare for the entire nation while communities within the nation have their own herd structures subsumed (or "nested") under her. It is significant that the pony in charge of Ponyville, for example, is called the "mayor mare." We can assume that "mare" is not actually the mayor's name, as that would be analogous to a woman being named Woman. Rather, "mare" is part of her title; she is the mayor mare because the mayor is always a mare, the boss mare of Ponyville.
While mares always hold positions of political authority, stallions always serve as protectors. All the members of the royal guard that we have seen have been stallions. The night watchpony at the Ponyville hospital is a stallion. Sheriff Silverstar, responsible for maintaining law and order in the border settlement of Appleoosa, is a stallion. Princess Celestia, as a way of displaying her prestige, travels flanked by two barded pegasus stallions.
This same matriarchal structure appears to apply to families as well. Granny Smith is the matriarch of the Apple family. When Granny isn't present, the pony in charge of the farm is Applejack; even though Big Macintosh is her senior, she holds more authority than he because she is female.
Indeed, the two most prominent stallions in the show--Big Macintosh and Prince Shining Armor--may be taken for representations of ideal stallions, one of low breeding and one of high. Big Macintosh understands and practices the proper role of a working-class earth stallion: he works hard, he serves his family, he obeys and protects his females, and most importantly, he knows that stallions are to be seen and not heard. We see this especially in the episode "Lesson Zero": When Twilight Sparkle is in trouble involving physical violence, she runs to Big Macintosh to get help, but she doesn't ask him. She orders him: "You gotta help me get that doll away from those girls." You gotta. It is his obligation and duty.
Shining Armor is the perfect highborn unicorn stallion. He is the protector par excellence, being the only unicorn capable of generating a force field large enough to encompass all of Canterlot. He fights to protect the mares in his life, especially his sister and even more especially his wife--but he also recognizes his wife's authority over him and over their empire. The crystal throne is only large enough for one; naturally, Princess Cadance holds the throne and makes the laws while Prince Shining Armor patrols the border and works to keep out enemies. This is the ideal model of equine marriage.
Of course we're co-rulers, sweetheart. Now go patrol the frozen wastes like a good colt and maybe later I'll let you sign an edict or something.
The dominance of mares over stallions appears to apply to courtship and marriage as well. Since the ponies, unlike real horses, are monogamous, stallions are in short supply and marriage is presumably impossible for most mares (more on the implications of this in a later essay). Therefore, as we might expect, mares are typically the aggressors in courtship. There are clearly exceptions to this; the Cutie Mark Crusaders, when trying to convince Big Mac and Cheerilee to become each other's special someponies, originally think Big Mac might ask Cheerilee, but they quickly change their minds, adding, "Maybe she'll ask him." After Big Mac and Cheerilee drink the ill-advised love potion, it is indeed Cheerilee who does the asking, suggesting that this is the norm.
We can tease out a few more conjectures about pony courtship and marriage even though we've seen little of it. Courtship is apparently brief: due to the increase in Canterlot's security, Shining Armor does not even have time to inform his sister of his impending nuptial. Since Canterlot probably didn't have the heightened security for very long before the wedding, and since Twilight didn't even know Cadance was Shining Armor's special somepony, courtship and proposal probably happened at what we would consider an exceptionally rapid pace. Cheerilee and Big Mac, too, are ready to marry after about half a day of courting (though they are of course under the influence of the love potion at the time).
Equestria's massive sex disparity makes the brevity of courtship unsurprising: since there are so few stallions, any mare who can get one will probably want to marry as soon as possible to ensure she keeps him. Therefore, even though it is apparently not atypical for stallions to ask mares to be their special someponies, mares probably more typically propose marriage. (Rarity's fantasy of marrying Blueblood has it the other way around, of course, but Rarity likes to be doted on.)
The marriage ceremony itself once again emphasizes female dominance. The bride has bridesmaids, but the groom, rather than having a best stallion or groomstallions, has a best mare, whose presence is no doubt meant to represent that the matriarchs of the stallion's family approve the marriage. The minister solemnizes the wedding with the words, "I now pronounce you mare and colt," which is the equivalent of, "I now pronounce you woman and boy." These words plainly emphasize who is to be head of the new household.
Psst, remember to show him who's boss, Cadance.
So let us turn again to Spike. Why must the ponies treat him so roughly? Why do they slap him around for laughs? Why do they slam his face in doors? Why does Rarity literally use him as a pincushion?
Spike, remember, is a dragon, and as we see in "Dragon Quest," dragons gain dominance through shows of masculine aggression, as in games of King of the Hoard or in other masculine pursuits such as belching contests. Dragons, we can assume, are patriarchal. Spike's instincts run against the structure of Equestrian society, and the ponies know it: the only way to keep him in his place is to keep him in a constant state of humiliation.
Sure, Spike, we'll "include" you in our party. *Snicker.*
4.bp.blogspot.com/-XWKvymTScl8/T7XnkTUFtSI/AAAAAAAAAIY/r2us3quYXM0/s1600/210811-pony-reactions.png
I love you so much for this. I'm gonna have to work to keep this outta my headcanon; it's just too good.
555277
The bookends about Spike are meant as a joke, and some of my claims about courtship are a little strained, but otherwise I think this is in keeping with the genius of the show, so I'm using this in all my fan fiction from now on. It is My Little Pony after all, so it would be a little weird if the society wasn't matriarchal.
Intriguing analysis. Personally I think Equestria is fairly matriarchal, though I see it more as the general tendency of their society rather than a strict social rule.
555401
I agree that this is probably more likely the intent of the writers. However, I propose interpreting Equestrian society as strictly rather than informally matriarchal for the following reasons:
1. Most societies have defined gender roles. The post-modern West is pretty much the only thing approaching an exception, but the West is in flux whereas Equestria appears to be stable.
2. Horses culture has clearly demarcated social roles for mares and stallions. At least in my head canon, I try to imagine the ponies as horse-like as possible.
3. Princesses. I mean, seriously, they got these possibly immortal high-powered winged unicorns running around, and so far they all seem to be female and to hold heap-loads of political authority.
4. The wedding. I'm facetious in parts of the above essay, but I mean every word of what I say about the wedding. I know "best mare" is a pun on best man, but it still has implications.
5. It's more interesting to me personally. I think there's more room for exploration and story-telling when we imagine pony culture as distinct from our as we can make it without breaking canon.
That being said, it's obvious stallions can hold high social positions (Fancypants) or run businesses (Filthy Rich), but even a formal matriarchy need not necessarily disallow these things. I do suspect that stallions have fewer education opportunities; the students at the School for Gifted Unicorns, at least that we see, are all mares, and I note that Shining Armor went into the military rather than academics even though he apparently shares some of his sister's impressive magical talent.
555493 Very good points, and I certainly can't argue with #5. I suppose I'm just not as interested as you are, though the depth of your analysis impresses me.
Regarding Fancy Pants and Filthy Rich one could argue that.similar to how we had and in many ways still have a rise in Women's rights, the Stallions of Equestria too have asked for more cultural and social rights. Yet at the same time one could mention Starswirl the Bearded as a stallion who rose above his position, maybe in a Joan d'Arc sort of way, but I digress. The cultural gender roles of Equestria and their blurring is something for not 5AM.
Nonetheless, awfully interesting read, and I do share the matriarchal notion of the lands.
796219
I'm going to use this sooner or later, but I personally want to steer away from any depiction of a rights movement. Fantasy stories about fantastical civil rights movements have been done to death.
796219
Of course the other thing to remember is that Star Swirl the Bearded is also unremembered and obscure in Equestrian society except for scholars and ponies supposedly old enough to know of him. A matriarchal history brushing him under the rug would certainly explain that.
Also, this speculation is absolutely fascinating, please continue
802870, 796219
Because I had my tongue in my cheek while writing this post, I've somewhat obscured my point. I intend to use a matriarchal Equestria more-or-less as described here in my stories, but I don't see it as oppressive. Obviously, a stallion like Fancypants can hold a highly influential position among the leisure class, and a stallion can make it in the business world like Filthy Rich.
Although I am inclined to believe that the School for Gifted Unicorns has an exclusively female studentry, I don't envision, in this matriarchal Equestria I'm building, that stallions' roles as especially limited except perhaps in politics, or that Starswirl's existence would be any sort of scandal. Remember, I must take account, too, of the unicorn king off-hoofedly mentioned in the Hearth's Warming Eve play; stallions have led at times, even if that is not the norm. I'm envisioning the ponies holding to the idea that mares lead and stallions protect, and that is reflected across their society and in its institutions.
wow
i never thought how IN DEEP SHIT spike is in
i mean in REALLY DEEP SHIT
Interesting, though I personally think that making Equestria a matriarchy is silly, since it implies gender inequality, something I can't really see Equestria having.
1136497
Define "inequality." If you mean "not the same," then I can't envision anyplace not having it.
1136527 Inequal as in not having the same rights. If you are basing your version of Equestria on real equines(quite a stretch to be honest), then I assume that the two genders are going to be quite unequal. Mares ruling everything without question? Nah, I just don't see it, sorry.
I see Equestria as having a complete lack of any real gender roles. Gender shouldn't have an impact on what a pony can do or accomplish with their life, and I don't see one gender having more power than the other. It boils down to me finding the notion that Equestria would be biased towards one gender as totally illogical.
But really, I don't particularly want to delve into a deep discussion on this, I did one time before and it dragged on and on until I was sick of it.
1136564
It is impossible to have a complete lack of gender roles, for the simple reason that the sexes are different and easily distinguished. You appear to be conflating differences in gender roles with inequality before the law. They are not the same thing.
1136809 Meh, I disagree strongly on Equestria being a matriarchy regardless of the specifics, but it doesn't really matter, and like I said, I don't want to drag this out. I hope that doesn't sound sexist though, as that's definitely not my intentions, my intentions are to argue against one gender being dominant in Equestria or however you want to word it.
Thanks for your time anyway, even if we don't agree.
I wish there was a way to upvote blogs.
I don't care what anyone saya to the contrary: This is my new headcanon, no discussion, end of story.