Strange Brew · 2:48pm Feb 25th, 2019
I've been looking at some of the stories again, killing a bit of time while I procrastinate about my current story, and I've noticed once again something I find disturbing. That is, the tendency of so many stories to generalize behaviors over entire groups. I had thought that things like this were limited to certain clop-fics, but I've found it showing up in other places as well, even to a certain degree in the MLP movie. And for me at least, it raises the question of just how the ponies of Equestria, and the characters in these stories in general, should be thought of.
When we see our characters, we think of them (or at least most of us think of them) as individuals, driven by their own personalities and interests. But I've noticed that many times, the whole matter of them being instinctual animals gets highlighted. (...ponies are 'gentle creatures') or their gender becomes an issue, used to limit what a character might do. Or we see another tendency, that of having an unusual trait have to be validated by making it common. (well...see! Everybody does it!). This is not to say that there are not common traits that groups have in common. But what I see here is a reluctance, or unwillingness, to allow for exceptions. Our ponies may have some instinctual behaviors, but they are not the creatures that on would find in some pasture out on some gravel road somewhere. They are intelligent, each experiencing life in their own way. And certainly people are the same way. You could show 30 people the same piece of evidence, and get at least a few who will argue about what they've seen. People filter life through their experiences and education, and no one, not even the closest of siblings, agrees on everything. I guess what I'm saying here is that rules have to allow for exceptions at times, and that, especially in writing, exceptions don't have to be the rule in order to have value.
Da da da-da-da-da (That's me dancing on my soapbox)