But I see one big, fat stallion between the evil queen and some other pony by the table, and Ms. Cake serving alongside her husband.
 
So this pic appears to be more of a class thing, not a gender thing.

@somepony_you_know  
Yes, that’s Loki.
 
The green one next to him is also probably pony Voldemort.

Loki…?

@observer  
Yes, their government, but not their society, could be considered matriarchal in technicality due to Celestia and Luna being the highest power(I’d imagine they outrank the ascended alicorns too), and also from them being either immortal or extremely longed lived. Celestia and Luna are pretty much highly benevolent, permanent leaders. However, I am pretty confident in assuming that stallions could ascend like Twilight or Cadence if they properly earned it.
 
And I do remember hearing that the lack of male characters was due to Hasbro, though that’s not really a problem I think. Characters should be made to be interesting, not just because they are male or female.

I’m kinda disappoint with all the discussion these comic panels/pages inspired there’s still no one drawing Antonio and Queen Trottingham. Also does she ever use magic?  
I think it would be swag for the queen to be just a pegasus, not an alicorn.

It is matriarchal in the sense that the highest authorities (Cellie and Woona) are both mares but otherwise it seems very gender blind due to males seen in positions of influence (trenderhoof, prince blueblood, hoity toity),
 
Also in apple bucking season Big Mac calls out his sister for not accepting her friends help which is something that he would probably not get away with in a female-dominated society.
 
I believe Lauren in her feminist-website rebuttal did say that they were not enough male characters to make a realistic society, suggesting that the lack of male characters is Hasbros doing although more are trickling in each season.
 
Still have not read this comic though so I cannot speak for it.

@d715  
Due to the target demographic, we see more female characters being featured onscreen, and thus most characters of note that we see in the cartoon end up being female. Doesn’t mean that plenty of notable male characters don’t exist, it just means we don’t see them because they aren’t as relevant to the cartoon itself.
 
In other words, I think they’re there, but they aren’t shown, though once again feel free to headcanon whatever suits you in that regard.

@Background Pony #068C  
I’m saying it because most of the roles in society are taken up by females

@d715  
Female dominated? Nah, I don’t think there’s anything to really suggest that, though it’s fair to headcanon anything when it comes to stuff like that, since there’s no way to know one way or the other.

@Background Pony #068C
 
@Background Pony #068C  
So far Equestria is pretty genderblind, able with still female dominated

@Background Pony #068C  
Though I suppose it’s only fair to admit that saying “Equestria is pretty good in the equality department” is a headcanon too. We know next to nothing about stuff like that.
 
I still think it’s more logical though, because bias. Also things like having an immortal or extremely long lived highly-benevolent leader would be pretty beneficial in making some sort of generally good-natured society.

Nonsense, I’d imagine Equestria is pretty good in the equality department. Don’t project your headcanons so hard.
 
Then again, I doubt OP is serious.
 
@Background Pony #24BB  
To be fair, one is bringing that kind of stuff into official material, and the other is just a fanmade comic, so there is a difference, I suppose. I dislike both personally.

@Lurks-no-More I’d like it if it weren’t written like a godawful Rhydin RP. So much evil chuckling monster clowns are angry for the caribou stealing their schtick!  
How can you make sexytime slavery so intolerable? HOW CAN YOU BUCK THIS UP  
One part I did find amusing was Cadence being a willing accomplice and blaming Sunbutt for all the recent disasters since the release of NMM.

@Background Pony #24BB
 
Are you talking about Fall of Equestria there? Every pony fan I know of who knows about that turd hates it.

@Background Pony #24BB  
sounds around right

An official comic shows a dystopian alternate universe featuring female dominance = Massive debate about sexism in the comments.
 
A fan-made comic shows a dystopian alternate universe featuring a different species subjugating the entire Equestrian race into sexual slavery = Upvotes galore.
 
Brony Logic!

@Zennistrad Ah, intriguing. Never watched them old shows except for Archie Bunker and The Jeffersons so I didn’t know anything bout that.
 
also I don’t see how either of those are a ‘higher standard,’ one bespeaks of archaic non-true chivalry and the other bespeaks of shameless mooching. idk I just don’t ‘get’ anything of post-20s society I guess, but both of those would be classic staples of a ‘rube’ or ‘easy mark’ in my book.
 
@Background Pony #53E4 T’would be a mistake to discount them, elsewise you end up savaged like a certain 15 year old animator or 14 year old artist.

@Zennistrad  
A more fitting ideal is a man with an abusive girlfriend/wife
 
ie he’s suppose to take it because men are stronger than women, or he’ll be mocked for being weak ect

@Zennistrad  
I agree with you however being held to a higher standard does create a problem if you are punished because you cannot live up to the standard, which is why the manchild slur is so common but there is no such thing as a womanchild.
 
The vast majority of perceived misandry is just the fact that the standards for achieving masculinity have risen so greatly in recent times that more men are starting to fall behind. (eg. higher house prices, unstable employment that requires a university degree ect.) Then again, a lot of it is just that being male and conforming to masculinity does not let you get away with as much as it used to, which they perceive as a oppression.
 
The only real form of misandry that exists in the real world is the belief that men are inherently violent, a belief that is usually spread by men, internalised and harms both men and women. (I don’t count tumblr feminists because they do not hold any real power so their rants are no different then a dog barking at you.)

It is more like Earth Pony racism: Antonio is only there because of his good looks, while both Cakes are catering.
 
Since Loki is here as a Unicorn and Voldemort as a Changeling are both males, it is safe to assume this is rather a “species-ism”
 
A more accurate title will be: Equestria, where Mud Ponies know their place.

@Niggoslav_Krawczyk
 
I’ve seen it in quite a few gender discussions about how it’s unfair for men to be held to a higher standard, such as having to hold the door open or pay for a check at dinner. I say that’s bullshit because I think that being held to a higher standard is a good thing.
 
Growing up with a learning disability, I was often held to a lower standard than everyone else. I didn’t like that though, I wanted to prove that I was just as capable as others, and that I didn’t have to be coddled. Being held to a higher standard isn’t oppression, that’s being told that you’re capable of meeting it by default. Being held to a lower standard, by contrast, is telling you that you literally cannot reach the bar that everyone else is expected to reach.
 
As for the other complaints you mentioned, that’s really more of the result of a backlash to earlier tropes. The typical “bumbling dad” was originally a subversion of television shows like “Father Knows Best”, where the father was always wise and in charge, while the mother mainly just stayed in the kitchen and did stereotypical housewife things. The bumbling dad archetype was something fresh and original, but it proved to be so popular that it ended up becoming the norm.

@Zennistrad I’ve not really noticed that anywhere, are you imagining this? Granted I don’t watch comic book movies where that is most likely to take place, either. Most of the complaints I see are like “Why must the wife always be smarter?” or “Why can we only be bumbling oafs in comedy especially if we’re fathers?”

@Lurks-no-More
 
What often bothers me about “misandry” is that many complaints of it actually stem from positive stereotypes of men.
 
If men aren’t expected to cry or be overly emotional, that’s basically saying that men are strong enough to not be ruled by their emotions, and that they’re tough enough to continue despite their hardships. That’s not being marginalized, that’s being idealized.
 
Is it unfair? Yes, definitely. But I wouldn’t call it “misandry” since it’s placing higher expectations of men, not lower ones.

This shit was lame as hell, they could at least have let a few of them get away.  
It would have made everything much more interesting if they’d had some crazy pony argue in favour of letting them see how they took to their new lives, after all they have a librarian who has probably memorised all the books enough to rewrite them anyway.  
But alas, expecting quality writing from a comic based on a show that used to have with quality writing? No, we’ll just go with the most blatant paint-by-numbers-get-a-free-paycheck solution to every little problem now won’t we. Ho hum, status quo perseveres.

@StarrySkies  
Female being a dick to a male = misandry
 
Male being a dick to a female = misogyny
 
Only if the reason for being a dick to someone is their gender, and/or it’s expressed in a manner denigrating their gender. Context is always important.