The fascination girls and women have with princesses and queens

This is admittedly off-topic, but would you mind putting a space after your periods so that your posts would be more legible?

True dat. Look at the page image for Yanks With Tanks. Do you see that shit? That's what I want to do when I get out of high school.

Anyhow, I think "post-feminist" is supposed to mean "the feminist movement happened, so now females and males are... roughly... equal, and the concept is no longer considered strange." I hope, anyhow. Benefit of the doubt being given.

Somewhat off-topic: Join the Army.

That being said, if my daughter ever tells me she wants to be a princess, I'll give her a book on Boudica.

edited 3rd Aug '11 7:39:58 AM by Kino

Plenty of the world doesn't recognize women as being equal to men regardless of the feminist movement happening in the West.

When I make a blanket statement, it's usually safe to assume "the world," or implications thereof, means "the First World."

Eh, I'd rather fly. Sorry, Kino. I'm a flyboy, through and through.

edited 3rd Aug '11 7:40:55 AM by USAF713

Can you guys get back on topice,pretty please?

Come on if you want you can look up real life royalty and older version of fairy tales for some girls who can kickbutt.

I dunno. I guess the real issue I take with it isn't "why are girls all obsessed with princesses and whatnot" (which is stereotyping) and more "why is there a problem with this?" Boys are stereotypically obsessed with action figures and fighting TV shows and whatnot, and nobody takes issue with it.

I'm calling Real Women Never Wear Dresses on society as a whole with regards to the problem.

edited 3rd Aug '11 7:43:22 AM by USAF713

It's all about the dresses. Who here is a girl and remembers wanting to wear lots of pretty dresses and tiaras and twirl around? Mom got me a dress-up kit just so my friends and I could play "WHO CAN BE THE PRETTIEST PRINCESS??"

Now that I have grown into a bloodthirsty woman it's less about princesses, pretty dresses, and tiaras and more about queens, pretty-but-less-poofy dresses, and ripping out still-beating hearts.

Why? For the same reason I sometimes pretend to be a space shuttle and I make my little poodle do a space walk and repair the tennis-ball-Hubble-Telescope. Because it's fun.

We could indeed keep repeating that affluence is a desirable state to be in, but it would otherwise appear that we've exhausted the topic of discussion.

I think I liked you better with the heart-gouging.

I, for one, have always liked the idea of being an absolute monarch and having people's heads chopped off if they annoy me. The PimpedOutDresses may be pretty to look at, but they'd probably be an epic pain in the arse to actually wear, so count me out on that one.

If your dress is pimped out enough you could hide a gatling gun under there. I'm sure that could come in really handy.

Hide? A truly pimped-out dress will have it plain sight.

...I like the way you think.

If I were a girl, I'd have modeled myself after Katherine of Russia.

Not lame celebrity status. You can be famous and not be a celebrity.

I don't think people follow Sal Giunta around trying to get naked photos of him.

I dunno dude...

The only really bad thing about a fascination with princesses and queens that I see is if it's in a context where it's attractive because you are rich, rely on your beauty (ie, the Prince marries you because of your beauty and that's the source of your happiness), and don't have to do anything.

If it's attractive because you're the kind of queen or princess who's powerful in and of yourself, well... that's something altogether different.

And an Outfit of War made out of human skin!!

...I would make a terrible queen.

Leave to be batshit insane counts as power... right?

I think there's a good point someone made on the last page about why princesses get all the marketing, while queens don't.

It's interesting, that. I mean, as mentioned, queens are far more powerful, independent, grown-up: why don't they get more good press? Instead it's mostly evil stepmothers, and dead and/or vanished queens.

I am sure a lot of it comes down with the morality/fable nature of classic fairytales, when girls were innocent and good, and adult women were... less so, but it's something that has carried on into the modern era.

Story-wise, I think princesses are very easy to work with because they're more free to do the whole coming-of-age journey thing. A queen is more likely to be powerful and intelligent, but a good queen is tied down by her responsibilities and it takes more effort to get a great (adventurous) story out of that unless you throw her off her throne or send her to war.

edited 3rd Aug '11 9:02:48 AM by Bur

Princesses speak to an almost universal desire for power, wealth, fame and respect. Girls fantasize about being princesses because that was a role possessing all those characteristics. Of course, girls today also dream about being doctors, politicians, teachers and so on.

For guys, the classic fantasy is also being in a position of power, but able to do things with your own hands, rather than ordering people around. Boys pretend to be warriors, space pilots, wizards and the like.

Maybe it has something to do with the way boys and girls are taught to perceive power? Boys are taught that power is what you can do yourself. Girls are taught that power is what you can get others to do for you.

^

Very interesting take on the subject. Especially that last line.

Princess stories are part of what causes that phenomenon, though.

Certainly not on their own, but we form our identities and beliefs from the culture and society we are exposed to, and if a big part of the culture tells us that the ways in which girls use power is through influence (and boys do so through so individual strength), that shapes how they come to view what is the appropriate view of power they should hold.

I simply adore princesses myself, although this may or may not be due to the influence of a certain troper and a certain cartoon.

Speaking of which, where is Central Avenue in this thread?

Little girls have access to a wider range of stories than in any other culture in history. They choose the princesses.