i don't know where this anecdote fits in the discursive constellation you're describing, it's just one of those things that happened in real life and has haunted me ever since.

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i have a very distinct memory of my sister in law, a perfectly normal not-online 40 year old progressive mom, complaining about FIM in 2011 or so because the redesigns "pervert the wholesomeness of the originals and are clearly meant to have sex appeal for teen boys and young men."

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and they all took the show's clear signals to an older demographic like adventure & action & light character drama and said this must secretly be for men in their twenties, because little girls r all just toddlers until they are 18

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probably says something abt how we conceptualize media for little girls that ppl were entirely incapable of distinguishing the age demographics of mlp:fim and strawberry shortcake

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and i bought it. like woaag i like this show for ~little girls~ even tho i am eleven years old, this show made for older kids and tweens appeals to me, an eleven year old.

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