Being that I was in elementary school in the middle to late 90's, everyone on the playground was a Pokemon Trainer.
edited 22nd Jan '11 4:40:17 PM by Malph
Why be a princess? Legions of servants waiting on you hand and foot, the reverence of the populace thanks to riding on the back of national pride, the smokingest young men in the country lining up at your door, all the wonderful toys you could ever want... and the clothing's pretty pimp, too.
Why be a fairy? Nature bends to your will. The very laws of physics trip over themselves to accommodate you. You have the limitless powers of creation and destruction at your fingertips, every day is playtime, and you get to sparkle prettily whilst you're busy rearranging the universe to better suit your tastes. Plus, the flying's pretty fun.
Yeah, I think I can see the appeal of both.
What's precedent ever done for us?laculus said pretty much what I was going to.
My sister and I played princesses and fairies when we were kids (we played lots of other things too, of course), and in both cases, it was all about being glamorous and sparkly and being able to make things happen. A princess says "Do this," and a dozen servants hop to do it. A fairy waves her magic wand, and whatever she desires comes to be.
Come to think of it, we played fairies more often than princesses, because being able to fly and do magic is way cooler than merely being rich with servants. But even our princess games were never about romance or tea parties or whatever Disney's Marketing Department thinks little girls should be interested in. Sometimes there was a ball, but the important thing was comparing gowns, not who you were dancing with. More often, the princesses would get kidnapped by an evil witch or somebody, and would have to escape—on their own, might I point out. We'd usually meet up with the princes halfway. And then the fairies would blast holy hell out of the evil witch's castle. Then it was time to play Thundercats.
Ah, good times.
Wow that sounds like it must have been a blast, Kara. I hated fairies at the time sadly though I did like princesses of a certain sort and would settle for being one if I got to be a badass one like Nina from Breath of Fire... My childhood games were like shitty crossover fanfiction acted out by a girl and a boy who had a love for harem anime, RP Gs, and giant robots. It was...a thing.
edited 22nd Jan '11 5:17:49 PM by Aondeug
If someone wants to accuse us of eating coconut shells, then that's their business. We know what we're doing. - Achaan ChahAS far as I "get" it, Princesses represent power, authority, and money. It's like the dream of ruling the world, without having to work for it.
And fairies, as far as I "get" them, get to fly (awesome, and a constant human dream), and mess with reality with magic (another constant human dream).
So, what little girls want is to rule the world, fly, and mess with reality.
Never be without a Hat! Hot means heat. I don't care if your usage dates to 1300, it's my word, not yours. My Pm box is open.Strangely, this one never saw princess as someone who has any sort of power when she was a child. Someone rich, pampered and pretty, sure, but also someone utterly depending on the will of royal parents, doing nothing, and eventually claimed as reward by hero.
Hmm, guess this one was a weird child.
If we disagree, that much, at least, we have in commonI subverted the princess/fairy thing with the older of my two sisters, but did not do so with the younger.
The older is very much into action-girl type things, and has viewed an enormous amount of media with me, including Army Of Darkness and the Little Shop Of Horrors. The younger has aspirations of being a doctor, teacher, or Princess Peach.
Interesting, I have just as much influence as expected.
The virtues can be very constructive, so long as they are interpreted wisely (I.E., you don't confuse avoiding a needless battle with cowardice).
"Chivalry" is an interesting little nugget, as while it can have unfortunate implications in its imbalance, it is in itself good-natured. I especially love Seto No Hanayome's portrayal of it.
The ending to that show was (I don't usually swear, so this is big), pretty damn awesome.
My sister liked it as well.
The knight in shining armor can also represent a fetish for some, I'm sure, given the way they stereotypically show up in women's fantasies in television and such.
Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand. Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! ~ GODWhich version of Little Shop Of Horrors? The shitfilm or the awesomeplay?
I'm feeling strangely happy now, contented and serene. Oh don't you see, finally I'll be, somewhere that's green...@The Mighty Anonym
Offtopic, I know, and I apologise to the mods in advance, but
This one almost wishes she was your little sister. Despite having a completely awesome big brother of her own already.
edited 22nd Jan '11 10:59:32 PM by Beholderess
If we disagree, that much, at least, we have in common"It's called a joke Neo." - Aondeug
Communicating badly and then acting smug when you're misunderstood is not cleverness, aon.

Why should we consider things like riding off to battle in shining armor particularly admirable though? Warriorhood is widely seen as admirable or desirable, but at best it tends to solve problems caused by other warriors. A lot of stereotypically male behaviors that people today like to see female characters engage in, things that show agency and initiative, are really not very constructive.
A lot of our behaviors and preferences are rooted in what our ancestors found desirable. It doesn't have to be on a level that we're aware of it, but we have qualities that are ingrained because people in the past found them attractive; every one of your ancestors is someone who managed to successfully reproduce. Being pretty and independently rich, with lots of powerful suitors competing for your hand, is comparatively a great way to have surviving offspring, so it's no wonder if we've evolved so that a lot of people tend to find that kind of scenario appealing. Keep in mind that there's no reason why the association with finding a mate has to be conscious, it works just as well either way.
As for faeries, wouldn't you want to be able to fly and zap stuff with magical powers? I think that would be pretty kickass.
edited 22nd Jan '11 4:33:43 PM by Desertopa
...eventually, we will reach a maximum entropy state where nobody has their own socks or underwear, or knows who to ask to get them back.