Scootareader Looks Into: Clopping · 8:02am Feb 17th, 2018

Now, things get interesting.

We all have fetishes. Skeletons in our closet. Things we feel, but are sometimes ashamed to admit, other times proud to declare. Some people like feet. Others like nurses. There are even some who find an attraction to the animated characters that we come to love, appreciate, and find solace in.

To those who aren't familiar with the term, “clop” is derived from the word “fap,” which is a sound reminiscent of when a male is masturbating (i.e. fap fap fap). Seeing as ponies have hooves instead of hands, the sound would be somewhat different, so, where ponies are concerned, the word “fap” is replaced by “clop” in discussions of them.

Clopping is pervasive in most media produced by bronies in some way or another. Fanfiction that contains ponies with ponies or humans with ponies in erotic situations is referred to as “clopfic.” Pictures that contain ponies with body parts drawn that the animators didn't intend for fall under rule 34 of the Internet. There are even a token few songs out there that contain clop-friendly sound effects or lyrics, though you usually have to hunt for them, whereas text clopfic and r34 pictures are easier to find.

The fandom in general is pretty divided about where cloppers fall. There is support, and there is opposition. Maintaining the generalistic view of the fandom, it is odd to see this rift among bronies. For a show that preaches love and tolerance, there are still certain points where a person can go too far, and other points where that same individual is well within the bounds of proper moral approval from the community. Bronies who preach love and tolerance claim that they are open to most, if not all ideas, but clopfic seems to be the glaring exception to this rule.

What seems to be missed in most discussions of clop is the form in which support or disapproval takes. Putting this into perspective, bronies typically don't make a big deal about gore in pictures, or fanfic, or some games. It's simple: If you don't want to see, hear, or read about mutilated ponies, you don't navigate to those areas of the fansites. Why does support or disapproval of clopping have to be such a big deal? It's discussed fairly regularly on many fansites, and entire discussions are brought to a jarring halt because someone let slip their opinion on how clopping should affect their life and the lives of everyone else.

Speaking strictly on terms of morality, each brony themselves can fall on either side of this line. Depending on parental influence, living situation, learning environment, etc., the moral compass of each person points a little bit differently. This is how each person chooses right and wrong in their lives. A person living on the wrong side of the line created by someone else is considered by the beholder to be guilty of wrongdoing. It's fine to know where your moral compass points, but refusal to accept opposing viewpoints is a huge limitation on growth and understanding.

Take, for example, a supporter of cloppers. He is in a thread on a discussion site where another poster reveals that they don't appreciate a link to an explicit picture posted on the thread, and the thread had nothing to do with r34 or clopping or anything explicit at all. The supporter may chastise the other poster for not being open enough, derailing the conversation and ruining what could have ended up being an informative discussion. This refusal to accept that another doesn't find the same appreciation as oneself in certain topics is an age-old problem, one which has plagued society for eons... and which bronies have done an exceptional job at abolishing on most topics.

The other side of the coin, much more common, is disapproval of a supporter that ruins conversation. Typically, clop-supporters are shouted down by clop-ostracism that severely limits what could potentially be gained from an otherwise decent conversation. The rift between bronies due to clopping is an issue, and one that can't just be resolved overnight.

If something is an issue, it should be taken seriously and discussed. Something that is not an issue is clopping. What people do behind closed doors is their business, and whether you support it or not shouldn't limit what you can learn from others. Love and tolerance can go a long way in situations like these, and most bronies seem to lose sight of this creed when the topic is clopping.

As far as the act of clopping itself, that's your fetish. Whatever it is that you decide to do when no one else is looking is your secret, and whether you discuss it with others or not is your choice. Just don't make a big deal out of it if you decide to bring it up in a discussion.

In closing, the best way to address someone who clops is to not worry or care about their personal life. If they clop, then let them; if they don't, then it shouldn't matter anyway. It doesn't harm the planet, it doesn't inconvenience anyone, and whether it's morally correct to the observer shouldn't affect their opinion of the person. Idealistic, yes, but everyone has dreams of world peace and eternal happiness. Cloppers are here to stay, and we may as well get used to knowing they're around.

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