News: ‘The Disturbing Evolution Of My Little Pony, In Photos’

That’s the headline from a Huffington Post article about Equestria Girls, the newest members of the My Little Pony family. The Hasbro toys are supposed to represent what the ponies would look like as “teenage girls in high school.”

The media is more outraged about how these toys perpetuate the sexualization of young girls, but I’m more upset about what the hell happened to the My Little Pony toys of my youth.

From The Huffington Post:

Perhaps the most shocking transformation is that of My Little Pony, a toy that was introduced in 1983 and has been revamped several times. Most recently, Hasbro introduced “Equestria Girls,” dolls that are pony-girl hybrids (think “goth” Barbies with blue or green skin and a colorful ponytail) along with a special DVD to be released in August. Per a press release, the humanized figures are supposed to represent My Little Pony characters as teenage girls in high school.

The release goes on to describe these characters with words like “glamour,” “stylish,” “ultra-chic,” and it is noted that each doll features her own signature “cutie splash,” an individual design that is similar to the “cutie mark” on her pony alter ego.

But, did the beloved Little Pony really need to become all of these things? John A. Frascotti, Hasbro’s chief marketing officer, says yes. “We are responding to the desire by our fans to experience the brand in more ways,” he told the New York Times.

Look at this transformation:

A My Little Pony toy in 1983

A My Little Pony toy in 2013

So I guess the point is that if you give a toy company 30 years, it will succeed in completely destroying everything that was good and right about the toy. Is anyone else weirded out by this? Or am I up on my soapbox all alone?

Go riding.