Despite this growth in mainstream recognition, a sizeable negative reaction against the Brony fandom exists. A number of media outlets openly criticize Bronies as social outcasts who are attracted to a “deviant lifestyle.” Several pundits say they feel confusion and disgust at the notion of young adult men enjoying something marketed toward young girls between the ages of four and ten. As Madeline Davies points out, the fandom does not receive a lot positive reports about their events from either the media or society at large:
Much like the press, the public hasn 't exactly been kind to the brony. At best, the subculture gets written off as extremely dorky—a group of fedora-sporting nerds who live in their parents ' basements and spend all their time watching cartoons, making fan art and getting into pedantic arguments about My Little Pony on the internet. At worst, they 're accused not only of clopping, but of being pedophiles because, really, who else besides little girls would be this interested in a children 's show aimed at a young female audience?
Truncated examples of these reactions by the general public are seen during an audience reaction program called the The People’s Couch, on the television network Bravo. The program depicts various audience members reacting to segments from the documentary Bronies: The Extremely
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The closest research that attempt to understand members of the fandom are two prominent studies conducted by Patrick Edwards and Marsha Redden and an informal fan generated study called the “State of the Herd Report.” Edwards and Redden’s work primarily looks at the demographic makeup of Bronies. Their work outlines a typology discussing five differentiating types of Brony fan behavior. These types include what the Edwards and Redden call “hidden” and “secret” Bronies (these two typologies consist of 36% of their sample population) who do not wish to divulge their appreciation for the show or interact with other fans. They claim