Girlish Pigtails

So I ran across Girlish Pigtails and well isn't the trope named completely wrong?

'Pigtails' are tightly braided tails like this◊, even a braided ponytail is a pigtail. While the trope itself is very different just covering two tails known in a lot of areas as 'Twintails' , heck there is even a Mega Twintails trope and shows that use Twin Tails in their name. I mean these are in no way pigtails◊.

I was hesitant to make a repairshop thread so I thought I would make a thread here.

edited 27th Oct '14 9:37:21 AM by Memers

I have always know "pigtails" to mean two tails, one on either side of the head.

This really depends on where you live. Where I live, "pigtails" are two tails on either side of the head, usually high up. What you call a "pigtail" would just be considered braids (french braids if they're being really exact).

It's probably an example of SoCalization that in media that's always what's meant by pigtails.

edited 27th Oct '14 9:39:35 AM by ObsidianFire

Odd, googling it up in an online dictionary gives me

edited 27th Oct '14 9:54:16 AM by Memers

I'd be more concerned about the general appearance trope problem, in that any girl with any kind of twintails is included, actual pigtails or not. However, that's not a problem I see the trope name being cause for. And I haven't actually checked how large that problem is.

I am kinda in agreement, however I can see tropes in it but the misuse seems to really stem from what looks to be an attempt to split the twintails with Girlish Pigtails and Mega Twintails along the same lines as Bishōnen and Pretty Boy but the way it is written one is just gathering them all while the other one has nothing.

Mega Twintails really needs to be tuned slightly to cover pretty much the Eastern twintails which would be more broad covering the connections with quick tempered Tsundere and Zettai Ryouiki, especially the ones longer haired ones, as well as The Ojou and elegance on the other side of the fence especially the thicker Drill Hair ones. The trope seems to only cover the latter at the moment. And most of those cited in the description as 'unrelated' are very much examples of the trope, most of them helped build it. Miku for instance has both the Twin Tails and Zettai Ryouiki so fanworks in turn make her into a Tsundere.

Girlish Twintails needs to highlight how it is more about how they are smaller tails, no more than shoulder length, are more 'kiddy' than 'girly' and tends to lean toward red hair and braids in the west, which are actual pigtails, though the trope itself seems universal.

Would this proposal be good enough for the repair shop?

edited 27th Oct '14 11:17:38 AM by Memers

Going to bump this since I have an open question

I'd say the "short tails are childish" trope exists in Japan as well (first example that comes to mind is Silica), though I'd argue that's more a consequence of "short hair is childish", and that the Tsundere symbolism still comes from putting a childish feature on an older character.

Also my understanding of "pigtails" is the same as Obsidian Fire above.

Oh it exists in Japan, however the long ones are something different but they are still placed on Girlish Pigtails while they should be on Mega Twintails although that trope is written far too restrictive.

edited 31st Oct '14 2:15:32 PM by Memers

Not really. It's possible to have long pigtails without them being Mega Twintails. They're kinda like a female version of Samurai Ponytail when that happens.