Russian streaming site deems “My Little Pony” adult content after Supreme Court bans LGBTQ+ activism

Kinopoisk, one of Russia’s largest streaming services, has given an 18+ adult rating to the children’s cartoon series My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, presumably to avoid violating the country’s prohibition on LGBTQ+ “propaganda.” Though Kinopoisk did not explain its rating, the show’s final season does contain a female same-sex couple, and Russia’s Supreme Court recently designated all supporters of LGBTQ+ rights as “extremists.”

The nine-season cartoon series — which is intended for viewers ages four to seven — follows a group of ponies, pegasi, and unicorns (with names like Applejack, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie) as they explore the kingdom of Equestria for magical artifacts. The show features a tomboyish character named Rainbow Dash, who has been widely seen as queer despite having no verified sexual orientation, and introduced a same-sex couple — Aunt Holiday and Auntie Lofty — in its final season.

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The same-sex couple alone could explain the show’s revised rating. Last Thursday, Russia’s Supreme Court, Ministry of Justice, declared the international gay rights movement as an “extremist organization.” Hours after the court’s declaration, Russian police began raiding gay bars and clubs in the capital city of Moscow. The St. Petersburg gay club Central Station and the Russian LGBTQ+ legal advocacy group DELO both announced their closure in response to the court’s ruling.

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In December 2012, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law expanding the country’s prohibition on LGBTQ+ “propaganda.” The expanded and broadly written law effectively bans “any action or the spreading of any information that is considered an attempt to promote homosexuality in public, online, or in films, books or advertising.”

The law has mostly been used to silence LGBTQ+ activist organizations, events, websites, and media, as well as to break up families, harass teachers, and punish men for consensual sexual encounters. It has also been roundly condemned by the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, the human rights groups Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, as well as civil rights activists around the world.

Interestingly, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic also regularly subverts gender stereotypes. It depicts a variety of female characters as powerful leaders and, even though the show was designed to appeal mostly to young girls, it has inspired an adult male fan base known as “Bronies.”

While some Bronies like the “cultural irony” of men enjoying a “girls’ cartoon” and some nostalgically appreciate the reboot of a 1980s cartoon, other Bronies just appreciate the show’s animation and its emphasis on authenticity, kindness, and communication in personal relationships.

“First we can’t believe this show is so good, then we can’t believe we’ve become fans for life, then we can’t believe we’re walking down the pink aisle at Toys R Us or asking for the girl’s toy in our Happy Meal,” Allen, a self-described Bronie told Wired.

The series creator, Lauren Faust, said of Bronies, “The fact that they did [like the show] and that they were open-minded and cool enough and secure in their masculinity enough to embrace it and love it and go online and talk about how much they love it – I’m kind of proud.”