What society might learn from My Little Brony (!?)

I highly recommend watching "Bronies: the extremely unexpected adult fans of My Little Pony". It makes one uncomfortable. And yet it is also refreshing to see thousands of (mostly) straight men--a significant contingent of whom are in the MILITARY--singing songs together about kindness, smiling, and friendship as magic. It is hard to explain. One must witness the brony fandom to understand. I am still trying to process this documentary about a community of men that could NEVER have thrived like this in a pre-internet world: They enjoy stories about pastel colored ponies with cute little graphics  like rainbows and sparkles stamped on their butts.  Initially I was slightly concerned by what could be read as self infantilization—actually let me back up and admit that I was horrified the first time I watched the trailer. But then I was forced to really question my own response. Plenty of men have been horrified by the thought of female soldiers, or cops, or hockey players (not all but some). So then I thought Hmm… Is this a double standard? Am I unfairly vilifying men who simply want to celebrate the idea of a kinder, gentler (cuter) reality because they don't fit my idea of what it means to be masculine? I began to appreciate, and am even moved by the courage these guys have to reject society's punishing standards of masculinity.  On the other hand these female characters aren't exactly challenging normative expectations for girls to achieve eye-candy-cuteness all the time, which can be punishing in its own way. And I did feel a little like I was watching an extended commercial for Brony-con because the documentary was so uncritically gung-ho. Anyway it's fascinating no matter how you slice it. I think you should watch it. It's really compelling.