RGRE Primer · 9:53pm Jan 8th, 2019
I've seen a decent amount of confusion and uncertainty about what the Reversed Gender Roles Equestria setting is, so I figured I would describe the default setting that I use for these sorts of stories.
Gender Ratio
Approximately 3 mares for every 1 stallion. The exact ratio doesn't matter as much as the idea that stallions are rare. Based on that rarity, stallions must then be sheltered and kept away from danger. Similarly, a group of mares will often form a herd with a single stallion. Herds are polyamorous groups, though the degree to which the mares are sexually comfortable with each other varies on an individual basis. Children of the herd are taken care of as a group, with stallions expected to provide a great deal of nurturing. The child of a mare will call its mother "mother" and the other herdmares "aunt". While monogamy does exist, it is seen as somewhat selfish on the part of the mare. Cadance gets a free pass on account of being royalty.
Anon
Something of an everyman from Earth, with traits that vary from story to story. Most of the time the method of dimensional travel is left unspecified, all that matters is he was home, he is in Equestria/EQG, and he can't go back. He probably won't be too broken up about it, unless the story goes out of its way to portray that. How he reacts to RGRE varies, from bucking all the expectations he can, to compromising and/or taking advantage of the options he has as the fairer gender, to becoming a dutiful and affectionate househusband.
Common Terms
Janefilly - Genderflipped version of tomboy. Shining Armor and Big Mac qualify as such.
Trixie - A chad. Yes, Trixie is a Trixie, and the term actually predates the show.
Foal-chasing legs - The corresponding term to "child-bearing hips"
Whimsy - I honestly forgot what this was supposed to correspond to, but it is essentially the license stallions have to be impulsive, while also a way for mares to dismiss the actions of stallions. Maybe this was supposed to be like hysteria? At any rate, Discord is the notorious example of a stallion with far too much whimsy.
Colty - RGRE version of girly.
Marely, maresculine - I think it's because girly and feminine have too strong a connotation in the english language, so people came up with these to describe tough and capable mares.
Alpha mare - The lead mare in a herd. She might be more dominant than the other mares, make more money, be more responsible than the other mares, or was the first mare the stallion got together with. The alpha mare has responsibility and leadership over the herd as a whole, ideally making sure no one feels left out, among other things.
How weeb stuff is parsed from a RGRE viewpoint, because I felt like adding this
Harem manga is just normal romcom, with some drama over who will be the herd's alpha.
Magical girl is super sentai and vice versa.
Asuka is a monster, Rei is way too colty, Misato is a mare's mare, and Shinji is a beautiful cinnamon roll too good for this world, too pure. Gendo is also a monster, but if he wanted to step on them, they wouldn't say no.
Why do the guys in Naruto have to suffer so much? Also, i m a g i n e being the only female on a genin team.
Reverse trap janefilly stallions are matrician taste.
Addendum: As has been pointed out by AssaultTurtle, herding is not a required part of the RGRE setting, it is merely a fairly common feature of stories set in RGRE. Just wanted to preserve that, in case the notes on this post bury his comment.
Second Addendum:
This was in response to a comment on the primer.
Gay Stuff
Just want to preface this with the disclaimer that these are not my political/personal views, merely logical extensions of the worldbuilding.
Mares find gay stallions hot, but the culture at large is mostly disapproving. Measures like sperm banks do help matters, but there is still the sense that an already limited supply of males is being selfishly diminished by homosexuality. One solution the gay community has come to is having lesbians pretend to be the herd of a gay stallion.
Mares in general are culturally and perhaps biologically inclined to be bi. Lesbians are regarded as a little strange, but they aren't competition for mares seeking stallions, so they are much more accepted within society. It's not uncommon for a lesbian to be part of a herd. One strategy of a group of mares courting a stallion can include having the lesbian join him in colty activities.
Trans mares are only slightly better off than gay stallions, but can join or form herds with only minor comparative difficulty. After the operation, trans stallions receive a certificate that portrays them as sterile stallions. This discourages a significant fraction of mares, but enough don't want foals or are willing to adopt that they can usually form a herd.
^This is BEAUTIFUL! Thank you!
After reading this post I want to read all the RGRE
I'd just like to interject for a moment. What you're refering to as RGRE, is in fact, Herding/RGRE, or as I've recently taken to calling it, Herds plus RGRE. Herding is not a standalone staple unto itself, but rather another free component of a fully functioning RGRE system made useful by the /mlp/ autists, shill utilities and vital shitpost components comprising a full setting as defined by LOONIX.
Many story writers run a modified version of the RGRE system every day, without realizing it. Through a peculiar turn of events, the version of herding which is widely used today is often called RGRE, and many of its users are not aware that it is basically the harem system, adopted the RGRE general.
There really is an RGRE, and these people are using it, but it is just a part of the system they use. RGRE is the kernel: the setting in the story that enables the writer's autism for the other fetishes that he runs. The herding is an essential part of an story, but useless by itself; it can only function in the context of a complete setting. RGRE is normally used in combination with the herding fetish system: the whole system is basically RGRE with harems added, or herding/RGRE. All the so-called RGRE distributions are really distributions of harem/RGRE!
I will now ruin this pristine shitpost with my hot opinion - herding shouldn't be invariably associated with RGRE. Of course, as per your own words, this is how (You) write your RGRE stories and I have no business discussing that. However, I feel the need to underline that there are some autists out there (like me) who never made the switch when the RGRE general jumped the herding wagon. Initially, according to my memories at least, RGRE was just that, the premise of gender roles being flipped for whatever reason. Only later did the common consensus on why (skewed gender ratio, present in the show itself) coalesced, and even later did some people push the idea of herds really hard.
RGRE frequently contains herds, but is not bound to the premise by any means other than ubiquity.
I just thought of something! You know how most horror movie victims end up being male, I M A G I N E a horror movie enthusiast was sent to Equestria, WITH his collection and a compatible system to play them.
It's times like this, that I wish I could add a blog post to my favorites. I've been passively puzzling over what “RGRE” even stood for, for quite a while. The problem with acronyms…
Sounds about right, though I'd've left off the weeb stuff myself. That's just me though, some folks like the moonspeak ninja sailors.
Very good breakdown of RGRE, and one that is mostly in line with my own interpretations. My only gripe is your terminology on "Marely, Maresculine". While "Marely" I can accept because it can be conveniently and logically derrived from "manly" in the context of RGRE (Man ≡ Mare ∴ Manly ≡ Marely), but this works because they share equivalent root words. "Maresculine" comes off as corny because it tries to replace a latin root word, mas(male), with the common word mare.
I believe that if masculinity and femininity are flipped, then so should the definitions of the words "masculine" and "feminine" themselves. Granted, it might be a little jarring to describe a stallion as masculine, then portray him as weak and prissy, because of a lifetime of assoiciating that word with the opposite, but I think with good desciption and some well-placed juxtaposition, the point can be conveyed and strengthen the theme at the same time
E.g.: Despite his toned build and commanding voice, Shining still considered himself a masculine colt, enjoying a visit to the spa and a good romance novel every once in a while.
4993758
Oh, I agree that maresculine sounds dumb, I just think overcoming the associations feminine has would needlessly complicate things. But yeah, 9/10 times, I'm using marely.
4993777
Of course. I just think that what you see as needless complication, I see as an opportunity to further play on the reader's expectiations (the entire idea behind RGRE).
Great stories, by the way!
I've enjoyed your work from the Pastebin archives, and hopefully they can get more exposure here. I'd love for our favourite little niche trope to get some mainstream attention.
Thanks for doing this. I honestly didn't know what RGRE was. Now I do though, so I can utilize the RGRE formula. I'll just have to remember.
I think it's also worth noting that the degree of genderflipping is up to the author. Recently I've seen many more stories where the stallions are extremely feminine; liking mixed sugary drinks/hating beer, being house stallions, etc. When RGRE stories came they were mostly 'mares ask out stallions' and other societal implications. This has become the less popular version from what I've seen. At least that's my 2 cents.
Lmao
This entire post contradicts almost everything you say on the MrNumbers blog, and to boot you still have this delusional idea that your terrible porn story based on a slew of harmful stereotypes is societally relevant
On top of the fact that no sane person who isn’t irrationally angry they just can’t seem to get laid (spoiler: it’s your personality) would even read RGRE to begin with, it is exceedingly obvious that you and the other people who write in this abysmal genre are completely unaware of the fact that you’re fetishizing a fake reality that does not exist for women and giving it men, while implying that men get the short side of the stick in traditional gender roles (ie not reversed ones) with the misguided idea that you’re somehow creating meaningful and poignant art with your my little pony porn.
How do you even manage to distance yourself this far from reality
I’m actually kind of impressed
4993979
I have elsewhere admitted that that particular story was not meant to be an example of RGRE's potential for encouraging male sympathy to the female condition. That it came out at such a time is merely an accident of the approval queue timing.
If you honestly believe that a person can only hold a position in a state of sustained irrational hatred, then you have been tragically betrayed by what I assume is a liberal/progressive culture. Accusations of insanity and hatred are an excuse to dismiss and condemn a point of view you do not agree with. Furthermore, ad hominem attacks are a dishonest debate tactic that once again avoids actually engaging in an honest exchange of ideas.
Now, for your legitimate points: Yes, the sexism is exaggerated, and at least partially fantastical. Some of that is for the sake of contrast, some is for the sake of comedy, and some of that is out of ignorance of the myriad subtle and unsubtle forms of sexism.
As for not being a 1:1 genderflipped experience, that is a potential RGRE setting, but I just prefer to write a skewed gender ratio, because the show somewhat supports it, and because herds are blatant wish fulfillment. That does not invalidate the potential for narratives that include oppression and exploitation.
We are not unaware that we are fetishizing being othered by society, it's just that as men, we are socially conditioned to be more accepting sexual and romantic aggression directed at us. What would be traumatic or at least unpleasant for women to experience, is something that would generally only happen to a man in pornography. That said, I have seen a depiction of cuddlerape actually spark feelings of outrage and violation in the thread where it was posted. Let that sink in. A mare non-consentually cuddling with the viewpoint character made readers feel some shade of actually being a victim.
Obviously, not all material written in RGRE will touch a nerve like that, but it's a possibility.
4993979
Despite their needlessly accusitory and resentful rambling, Redigar brings up a good point: the gender steriotypes that are commonly portrayed in RGRE are generally either very exaggerated, or depict the gender roles of older times, such as the medeival or early industrial age, since Equestria is shown to be set in a mix of the two. It makes the story more interesting if the protagonist (generally a male Anon) is in a world of not only reversed gender roles, but also a much stricter version of them.
BTW, @Redigar , more than half of my friends and coworkers are women, and they are all smart, strong, funny, and I'm glad to have them in my life. And all of them enjoy "girly" things to some degree, and would not want to be treated like men. Stop accusing us of woman-hating. It's just a fun little story trope to make pony culture more divergent from our own.
4993979
Good grief, talk about glass houses mr "every story I write is dark like the depths of my CRAWWWWWWWWWLLING IN MY SKIIIIIIIIIN"
"Based on that rarity,"
LOL
4994005
Why did you even respond to the obvious troll?
Let someone else piss in his cornflakes.
The Monk
"I-I'm sorry, did you just say 'blowjob'?" Jesse had to think seriously hard about this.” -An Intricate Disguise
4994347
Considering the thread they came from, it's entirely possible they are serious. Not to mention I wanted to address some points for the benefit of posterity.
4994356
oh fudge, this is going to be an interesting story to re-make
What is a "Chad"?
4995972
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chad_(slang)
It's like an expansion of the world set up in Xenophilia
Cool
4996041
Ah, thanks
Can I just say that I find the name RGRE to be unnecessarily confusing? To someone who comes across the concept without previous knowledge, RGRE sounds like "Equestria, but with its canon gender roles reversed". Since RGRE is actually "Equestria, but with (very stereotypical and somewhat exaggerated) HUMAN gender roles applied in reverse", I'd say that RGRE is more like an exaggeration of canon Equestrian gender roles, not a reverse of them.
4997652
Except things like Rarity being majorly into fashion, or Fluttershy being shy and nurturing that have entirely different contexts in RGRE than if normal Equestrian roles were being exaggerated. Similarly, in RGRE Rainbow Dash is a mare's mare, while exaggerated equestrian gender roles Dash is a tomboy. Even if canonical Equestria has some form of matriarchal society, there is enough overlap with human gender roles that if reversed, would yield RGRE. Spike fantasizing about being Rarity's knight in shining armor, royal guards being predominantly male, Equestria being called a kingdom, and so on.
4993979
Why am I not surprised you're still a shit, Reg?
Honestly? I'm not going to touch the whole "fetishizing" thing with a ten foot pole.
I will say ever since I read... I can't think of their titles off the top of my head but regardless I've been wanting to write one myself for shits and giggles though had no idea how to write it without it devolving into just porn, though in all honesty that might still happen, so I just want to say thanks for this RGRE Primer!
Literally just discovered the RGRE stories. It was... interesting, but I find myself curious what started it all off.
What was the linchin story for all the rest of this trope?
4993979
Dude, chill. We're all creative minds here. It's, like, our job to fabricate new realities from fragments and strains of our own.
That is, after all, what fiction is.
5002018
I think Xenophilia was, if not the first, then the one that sort of brought the concepts to the public consciousness. I could be wrong, the RGRE general on 4chan was pretty well established by the time I hopped on this bandwagon 3 years ago.
5002026
So you're saying RGRE isn't an abbreviation for a story?
Ah, that's explanation enough, thank you.
It's just that so many people abbreviate things, even when not everybody knows what the abbreviation stands for or where it came from.
Like...CTS. I can't tell if it's the Clocktower Society, or if there's another story out there with a C T and S in it. Ya get me?
5002030
I hear you. No, RGRE stands for Reverse Gender Roles Equestria, not a story by that name.
I'm waiting for a story where RGRE Anon ends up sparking the Equestrian equivalent of Social Justice Warriors/Modern Feminism. (Meninism? Stallism?)
5002133
"Masculinism" would probably be closest as an opposite term.
I've seen the idea batted about, but it doesn't gain much traction where I usually post. The unfortunate reputation of feminism tends to make such things mockeries of the movement, or come off as scornful because a lot of Anons are going into RGRE to be treated as the fairer sex, so a story that fights the setting on a political level isn't relevant to their interests.
5002137
Oh, you misunderstand me. I don't want some super-serious story, that tackles gender roles and issues. I want a story like this because it would be a mockery. I want a story that makes fun of some of the over-the-top memeworthy moments we've gotten from modern "feminists", and an Anon that starts this not because he believes what he's spouting, but because he's a fucking troll and wants to spread mayhem and stupidity for fun.
RGRE is another term for LBGT? I get, and not I'm walking away from it!
5006853
What? No. Not as far as I can tell. It's weird but not LGBT unless you want to throw that in.
5015648
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT
5006853
https://youtu.be/mzXsmTBYWmI
5006853
No, it's not. It's exactly what it says on the tin - reversed gender roles, turned up to 11. The society is matriarchal, stallions are timid and coveted, and mares either fight over them, or come together to form herds around them (to protect and use, essentially).
The stallions actually sound kinda gay, from what I've read so far. But yeah, it's expected that stallions are fragile flowers, and you shouldn't leave one out in the open. ;-]
Which is, of course, why all shit breaks loose when a "man" (turned stallion) from our world - you know, the good-old "patriarchal, a man is a man is a man" society - shows up and upsets every societal rule hoist upon him. ;] You know, not that different from when a woman here is self-assertive and generally manly, right? The resultant reactions vary about as much as they do here - some are afraid of him, and some are extremely turned on by him. Or that's what I've seen, anyway.
You sold me with the Eva comparison.
I'll fight for that cinnamon roll too
lol what a fascinating concept and explanation
So, how would the gay community fit into this? If stallions are seen as fragile and mares form herds around them to protect them, what happens if a stallion says "No thanks, I'm not into mares"?
5053633
Just want to preface this with the disclaimer that these are not my political/personal views, merely logical extensions of the worldbuilding.
Mares find gay stallions hot, but the culture at large is mostly disapproving. Measures like sperm banks do help matters, but there is still the sense that an already limited supply of males is being selfishly diminished by homosexuality. One solution the gay community has come to is having lesbians pretend to be the herd of a gay stallion.
Mares in general are culturally and perhaps biologically inclined to be bi. Lesbians are regarded as a little strange, but they aren't competition for mares seeking stallions, so they are much more accepted within society. It's not uncommon for a lesbian to be part of a herd. One strategy of a group of mares courting a stallion can include having the lesbian join him in colty activities.
Trans mares are only slightly better off than gay stallions, but can join or form herds with only minor comparative difficulty. After the operation, trans stallions receive a certificate that portrays them as sterile stallions. This discourages a significant fraction of mares, but enough don't want foals or are willing to adopt that they can usually form a herd.
5053657
Can you edit that into the blog just in case these comments get buried too, or...?
5053673
Sure.
5053683
I just realized: Can't trans ponies have a magic spell done that changes their sex but dœsn't leave them sterile? And how would the society view asexuals (i.e., ponies who aren't attracted to either sex)?
5053797
Considering the episode Magic Duel has Twilight seemingly perform a gender change spell to show off how powerful her (fake) amulet is, the most optimistic outlook on the viability of such a spell is that it is beyond Twilight's ability, and requires an extremely advanced and powerful unicorn. That's not to say you can't have such a spell in your setting, but merely that it would require Starlight Glimmer being even more overpowered than usual.
An ace mare would probably be seen as odd, and probably wouldn't join a herd unless a lot of her friends are in it and want her to join. An ace stallion is generally assumed to be playing hard to get.