Princesos

A phenomenon that seems to grow from the Latin American world and is slowly spilling over to the Anglosphere, Princesos are strawman-like males (real or fictional), who... embrace feminine values, but not quite in the way of the Metro Sexual; the emphasis is placed on a certain prudishness that comes with an overly idealistic view of love, inverting the role of predator and prey from the traditional standard.

Some common traits:

• "Men want to open their hearts and women want them to open their legs". A woman may only go as far as a Princeso permits her to.
• Princesos should be attractive, to the point that they may believe themselves too good for women (but still straight).
• "Handsome, not delicious". Don't call a Princeso a Hunk. They're people, not barbecue sausage.
• Princesos don't go on the prowl for sex, and look down on womanizers as "dogs".

Some choice quotes:

Poe's Law applies here in full force. This is definitely sociologically interesting...

It would appear that it is a sort of sarcastic retort to women-as-princesses (the abusive Alpha Bitch who expects you to spoil her and excels at Wounded Gazelle Gambit, guilt tripping, and other forms of entitled coercion); the most amusing part, I think, is the punitive flaunting of one's attractiveness ("let them drool, the lechers").

There's also, paradoxically juxtaposed to the sarcasm, an earnest wish to emulate the Prince Charming; an ideal of elegant and refined manliness, rather than the rugged and brawly sort.

Opposition to the trope is also quite interesting; Princesos get called "bitches" and "faggots" (despite their explicit lack of interest in same-sex relationships). Their relative asexuality is seen as a Very Bad Thing, and so is their aspiration to apollinean Beauty as opposed to roguish handsomeness (the ideal that men should be "ugly, strong, and polite").

There's also apparently a reclaiming of the sort of fun that "girl friends" have with each other, a Boy's Night Out, so to speak.

Following the popularization of the term, the self-proclaimed Princesos banded together to complain about the mistreatment they suffered... which I find ironic, given that calling yourself a Princeso in public is like paining a huge target on your own chest, and acting like one is a surefire way to be on the wrong end of a abusive relationships.

There might be a bit of a trope in there. I'm especially thinking of the casts of The Big Bang Theory and How I Met Your Mother, and the conflicts therein driven by subversions and parodies and aversions of traditional gender roles...

edited 27th Apr '13 5:39:04 AM by TheHandle

Oh my, that is interesting.

This isn't really a new thing. At least I know in Brazil as well as some other parts of South America, Androgyny and other things like this are a common thing. This seems more like what you'd see on TV about androgyny or gay people.

And I know this is more about being "feminine" and all but I'm just saying, overly cartoonish displayals of such things aren't really at all unheard of here.

edited 27th Apr '13 5:27:27 AM by ThatOneGuyNamedX

You have my curiosity. I was under the impression that androgyny was like super-mega-taboo in the New World's Nether Regions (and in most of the Entire World actually).

Yes and no.

Yes in that if you're feminine, you'll probably get beaten up in some places (also depends a lot on the region). No in that such figures in the media are so common that people don't mind it in TV and such.

I can't even begin to count the larger-than-life metrosexual Stereotype Gay celebrities that have been on TV in my country alone

Also, I might be wrong but I think transsexuality and crossdressing isn't really frowned upon as much as it is in other places.

I'm not so sure though. I could be very wrong.

Aaaaand if I had a cock, this would be where I'd lose my boner.

I'm starting to get kind of tired of hearing about "new types of people." Can't people just like something or adopt a personal philosophy without having to make themselves into living memes, having it go viral, declaring themselves a new subculture, and giving themselves a Fandom Nickname?

Can't you just say you reject the idea of machismo and be a romantic without having to start some hot new lifestyle trend that people will soon be debating the very existence of ad nauseam?

No. This is the internet.

Edit: Actually, come to think of it, that tendency is Older Than Dirt. So I guess this is just a thing we'll be hearing about for a while.

edited 28th Apr '13 5:00:14 AM by Wheezy