Talk:Cutie mark

Did you know nomination

The following is an archived discussion of the DYK nomination of the article below. Please do not modify this page. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as this nomination's talk page, the article's talk page or Wikipedia talk:Did you know), unless there is consensus to re-open the discussion at this page. No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was: promoted by RoySmith talk 14:30, 1 May 2025 (UTC)

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• ... that cutie marks in My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic have been analyzed in psychoanalytic case studies as metaphors for self-discovery and identity formation in teenagers with learning disorders?

• Source: In a 2021 psychoanalytic case study, a therapist describes a teenage patient with learning disorders who introduced the concept of cutie marks, explaining them as "designs on a pony's right hind quarter which represented what a pony's specialty was." The therapist interpreted the patient's subsequent focus on designing clothing as her metaphorical way of finding her own "cutie mark"—identifying and developing her unique talents despite earlier struggles.

• • ALT1: ... that Christian fans of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic have used the concept of cutie marks in their fan works to explore religious narratives, like portraying Christ as a pony whose cutie mark appears posthumously? Source: In his 2014 article Reconsidering religion and fandom, history professor Andrew Crome examined the use of cutie marks as theological symbols in Christian brony fan works. Crome analyzed how fan creators utilized the established concept of cutie marks to explore religious narratives and ideas. In one example, DracoDei's "Pony James Version" portrays Christ as an earth pony whose cutie mark appears posthumously, showing "his hoof covering something" that symbolizes his covering of sin. Crome noted that since cutie marks represent raisons d'être in Equestrian society, Christ's lack of mark until death served to "further establish his humility," which illustrates how fans incorporate established show elements to communicate religious concepts within the brony community.
  • ALT2: ... that LGBTQ+ individuals have adopted cutie marks from My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic as personal signifiers, with some fans getting tattoos of their favorite pony's cutie mark as a form of identity expression? Source: Scholars have analyzed cutie marks as symbols of identity expression for fandom communities. In her queer studies book Personal But Not Private, author Stefanie Duguay examined how LGBTQ+ individuals use cutie marks as personal signifiers. She documented a case study where a brony couple adopted Rainbow Dash and Soarin' cutie mark tattoos. According to Duguay, these fans were able to strategically employ fandom symbols alongside digital hashtags that bridged multiple communities to enhance their discoverability in digital spaces.
  • ALT3: ... that some commentators have interpreted the My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic episode "The Cutie Map," where ponies' cutie marks are replaced with equal signs, as a critique of enforced equality and social conformity? Source: Some commentators have interpreted the cutie mark concept as a metaphor for individuality. In his analysis of the two-part episode "The Cutie Map", Brandon Morse of The Federalist described the episode as a critique of enforced equality at the expense of personal uniqueness. The episode features a village where all cutie marks have been replaced with equal signs, which Morse interpreted as commentary on social conformity. In his analysis, Morse draws parallels between the episode's villain, Starlight Glimmer, and what he describes as "today's social-justice warriors," noting how the character uses "fabricated issues as scare tactics" to maintain control.
  • ALT4: ... that in her review of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, Emily St. James of The A.V. Club wrote that "Cutie marks are the Equestria equivalent of tramp stamps"? Source: In her review of Friendship Is Magic, Emily St. James of The A.V. Club wrote that "Cutie marks are the Equestria equivalent of tramp stamps".
  • Reviewed:

Created by GregariousMadness (talk). Number of QPQs required: 0. Nominator has fewer than 5 past nominations.

GregariousMadness (talk to me!) 23:01, 10 April 2025 (UTC).

• GregariousMadness are you nominating this under the Good Article criteria of Wikipedia:Did you know/Guidelines? If so can you point to when it was approved in the seven days before your nomination? Thanks :) John Cummings (talk) 09:46, 11 April 2025 (UTC)
  • @John Cummings: The article was expanded from a redirect on April 9, 2025 and thus eligible for DYK. @GregariousMadness: ALT3 is not reliably sourced, as The Federalist has posted misinfo on its site in the past, see this RSP entry. 🌙Eclipse (she/they/all neos • talk • edits) 15:00, 11 April 2025 (UTC)
    • @LunaEclipse: I knew that The Federalist was listed there, but I believed it was fine to use it with attribution since that would be sufficient to prove verifiability. For example, I thought the sentence ... the My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic episode "The Cutie Map," where ponies' cutie marks are replaced with equal signs, is a critique of enforced equality and social conformity would be inappropriate, but the sentence some commentators have interpreted the My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic episode "The Cutie Map," where ponies' cutie marks are replaced with equal signs, as a critique of enforced equality and social conformity? would be more appropriate, since I'm not reiterating any claims that the unreliable source made, rather just claiming that there exist commentators who espouse this stance. GregariousMadness (talk to me!) 21:39, 11 April 2025 (UTC)
      • Hi LunaEclipse thanks very much for the explanation, I'm glad you spotted it, don't know why I missed it. GregariousMadness I'm happy to review this, but Alt 3 is definately not passing, bad source and also seems to propigate what appears to be a homophobic consiracy theory, you could always rewrite it if you have a better source, the federalist is on the list of unreliable sources Wikipedia:Reliable_sources/Perennial_sources. Please fix the ref for Alt 1 and could you switch the ref on Alt 2 for the academic book it talks about, I'm not familiar with that site so don't know if its considered reliable but the book should be, its a really nice hook. Please ping me when this is done and I'll have a look :) John Cummings (talk) 21:56, 11 April 2025 (UTC)
        • The Fandomentals is pretty much a fan-run website. Not reliable. 🌙Eclipse (she/they/all neos • talk • edits) 22:11, 11 April 2025 (UTC)
          • @LunaEclipse: @John Cummings: Huh, I must have accidentally included that sentence when I copied over the source, my apologies. That source is irrelevant to the hook, so I removed it. I've fixed the source as requested as well. Thank you! GregariousMadness (talk to me!) 22:21, 11 April 2025 (UTC)

General eligibility:

• New enough:
• Long enough:
• Other problems:

Policy: Article is sourced, neutral, and free of copyright problems
Adequate sourcing: Neutral: Free of copyright violations, plagiarism, and close paraphrasing:

Hook: Hook has been verified by provided inline citation
Cited: Interesting:

QPQ: Done.

Overall: Lets use Alt 2, I think interesting and the most clear description for a general audience, also an academic reference (please add in the page numbers if you can). Earwig doesn't find anything for copyright violation and everything is referenced to academic references. QPQ not needed. John Cummings (talk) 09:31, 14 April 2025 (UTC)

References

Public domain cutie mark?

I'm not sure I believe that the image used on this page is public domain. Sunset Shimmer is a copyrighted character, and the supposed image source points to a fan work (?) that combines Sunset's with Twilight Sparkle's (?) cutie mark. No works tagged by the artist (Pagan Muffin) match up with the image used here. Maybe find a fan-made mark that has an appropriate license. -- Reconrabbit 18:46, 6 May 2025 (UTC)

Cutie mark being a pun on "beauty mark"

@Gial Ackbar: I figured a statement like that didn't require a citation per WP:FACTS because I thought it was obvious that "cutie mark" was a pun on "beauty mark". To give an example, I thought it was like trying to cite the claim that "rocktorate" is a pun on "doctorate"—even though that's obvious, I don't think a source would actually exist for that. What do you think? GregariousMadness (talk to me!) 17:01, 6 June 2025 (UTC)

The "rocktorate" was awarded to Maud Pie after studying at an university, so there is an obvious connection to a doctorate. Beauty marks and cutie marks, however, seem to be something entirely different. Beauty marks are usually in the face, are there from birth and have no special meaning. A cutie mark, on the other hand, is on the flank of a pony, is archived later in life and represents the special talent. I therefore fail to see how they are connected apart from the fact that they are similar words. Gial Ackbar (talk) 17:41, 6 June 2025 (UTC)

I respectfully disagree. While the functional differences are real, the linguistic connection seems too obvious. "Cutie mark" and "beauty mark" are phonetically nearly identical, and the only difference is the first consonant (similar to the rocktorate/doctorate distinction). Both terms refer to distinctive marks that appear on the body and serve as identifying features. I feel like the phonetic similarity here isn't mere coincidence, especially in a franchise known for puns and wordplay (and I feel like no one would object to cute-ceañera being a pun of quinceañera). Maybe we could get a third opinion? GregariousMadness (talk to me!) 17:49, 6 June 2025 (UTC)

I do not doubt that they sound similar. But does this make it a pun? According to that article, "A pun [...] is a form of word play that exploits multiple meanings of a term, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect." The first part, that they are "similar-sounding words" is obvious and not in question. But the "intended humorous or rhetorical effect" is the part that I do not see as obvious. Gial Ackbar (talk) 18:33, 6 June 2025 (UTC)

P.S.: With the quinceañera and cute-ceañera, we also have a similarity that goes beyond similar sounding words: Both are coming of age ceremonies. But I do not see any such connection between cutie marks and beauty marks. Gial Ackbar (talk) 18:38, 6 June 2025 (UTC)

I see what you're saying. Maybe instead of "pun" it could be rephrased it as: "Cutie mark" is a play on words on the term "beauty mark".? GregariousMadness (talk to me!) 19:01, 6 June 2025 (UTC)

Yes. That seem more like it and I would not object that phrasing. Gial Ackbar (talk) 19:08, 6 June 2025 (UTC)

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