Describe to me a princess.

[Morithias]

Just doing a quick test here for something.

Describe to me a princess.

When someone says "princess" what do you see?

Thank you.

[Slipperychicken]

When I think of a princess:

[Spoilered so it doesn't influence other peoples' responses]

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In order of when I think of them:

• Long pink dress.
• White skin.
• Tall conical hat with a ribbon on it (no idea what they're called).
• Long blonde hair.
• Rich.
• Spoiled.
• Daughter of the king.
• Attractive.
• Naive.
• Thin build, almost no muscle (or fat) to speak of.
• Very weak and nonathletic.

[Amridell]

Spoiler'd for the same reason.

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Depends on geographical location, I'm going to assume Europe though.

-Pale
-Expensive clothing

Then two archetypes: Hero and NPC
-Hero:
--caring, compassionate, knows her people well
--Worldly, can speak at least 2-3 languages
--Knows other cultures
--Is jealous for power to fix things
--Doesn't really know how to fix things

-NPC
--Spoiled
--Naive to the rest of the world
--LET THEM EAT CAKE
--Selfish
--Wants the finer things in life
--Well mannered in public, can be a brat depending on age
--Poor with money and spends recklessly

Hope that helped.

[Spiryt]

Some chick, richly clothed, well fed, carrying herself haughty.

Generally well educated and informed compared to the most of society, rather important figure due to being daughter of sovereign rules of some state, depending on local tradition (king, prince, duke).

Everything else is largely individual I guess.

[VariSami]

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Well, it seems quite culture- and trope-dependent. Technically, a princess is the woman descendant of the current ruler. Even this might be subverted in some contexts. Also, I suppose it works as a pet name for a woman, especially of young age, who you either regard highly or want to dismiss ironically based on the less flattering aspects of princesshood.

Since being a princess is tied primarily to not having ascended the throne, most should be expected to be relatively young. However, as the case of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles shows, this is not necessarily the case. In the case of biological descent, the heir (princess) need only be younger than their ruling parent by a degree dependent on the age of reproductive maturity.

And my first impressions still remain very stereotyping. As such, what I intuitively though of was your average media-standardized Disney princess: young adult or younger, relatively pampered, physically attractive, and keen on pastel-colored clothes.

Then again, I also took into consideration the possibility of an aspiring barbarian queen. Another stereotype, sadly, but at least it is a less prevalent trope.

And then there is her.

Edit: Added spoilers for reason stated above.

[Xefas]

When someone says "princess" what do you see?

Is the answer "The person talking to me."? Did I solve it? I guess they could be standing behind me when they say it, but riddles don't tend to take that sort of thing into account, I don't think.

[Felhammer]

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When I think of Princess, I see a fair skinned damsel in distress. She has long locks, big eyes and unparalleled beauty. She always wears a dress, most often pink in color. She is demure, doting and happy. She does not allow her capture by the villain of the week to cloud her mood because she knows the gallant knight will always come to save her. She is a caring person who, unlike her fellow nobles, often takes time to give alms to the poor and hear their pleas. She can often have a bit of a spoiled brat attitude, especially around her father (and perhaps a new Knight who saves her). Enjoys luxury and demands them even from her captors.

[Oko and Qailee]

I think of Princess Peach

she is the true damsel in distress, everyone else is a poser.

[Morithias]

Huh...pretty much everyone said the same thing.

I have no idea if this is good or bad.

[BWR]

My immediate thought is Princess Leia Organa.

Second thought is a silly person who opens schools to teach people how to talk to angels.

After that something along the lines of Disney princesses.

Of course so much of what I immediately think of is dependant on the context the word is used in.

[Metahuman1]

I'm probably gonna go against the grain, damsel in distress is not what immidiatly pops into my head. Usually it's one of three other archatypes depending on my mood and the context.

The Warrior: Skilled with some form of setting appropriate weaponry/martial arts, maybe tactics and strategy. Might or Might not also be built like an amazon, or ironically be a tiny little thing that can still kill you in a fraction of the time it takes to blink.

The Skulk: She's sneaky, clever, usually has a duel identity, and while she may let people think she's a push over underestimating her can be a very fatal mistake indeed depending on context. Sometimes mixes with the other two.

The Mage: Yeah, she's a bit more girly, and this one might or might not have a good head on her shoulders, but she knows her way around a wizards lab and a spell book, and can really be a force in her own right just based on her magic.

[Madwand99]

Princess. That's who I think of, anyway.

[TheTrueMooseman]

Clearly modern pop culture has worked its wonders on me, because I think of someone traditionally very feminine, but with no particular bias towards race or appearance, who is competent at something, whether it be magic, science, diplomacy or whatever, and who has a great desire to improve things for herself and her people by using these skills. How successful she is at this is entirely dependent on the contrivances of the plot.

Most importantly, at no point did I think 'damsel in distress' or 'pink', so that's progress.

[Weirdlet]

Alternately I imagine a beautiful and kind person with a tendency towards self-sacrifice, or a strongly disciplined member of the royal house who gladly embodies the party line and makes herself into a weapon of enforcement for same, up to and including world conquest.

I may or may not have just been rewatching Avatar: the Last Airbender. A lot.

[Craft (Cheese)]

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- Spoiled brat
- Worthless waste of space
- Moron
- Incompetent
- Mary sue

[endoperez]

Round face, a bit of extra weight on her body from having good food and not having any heavy chores, light brown hair, pale skin with some freckles. A pretty face, but nothing out of the extraordinary. She'd be proud, better educated (at least in politics) than some men, but she'd also know she's not as important as her brothers. She'd be clever, not the most intelligent person around but well aware of her place in the court and her future prospects, and she'd be trying to affect her lot in the world in all sorts of ways that are acceptable for her.

Her status would be shown by her attire and the people she's with. Her dress would be hand-embroidered, with beautiful scarves and shoes and lace in the cuffs. Her hair would be meticulously done by a servant, probably braided, with various semi-precious pretty little things in there - pearls or beads of some sort, ribbons and so on. There'd be very little make-up but some sort of perfume, probably from natural flowers.

She'd always have at least one servant nearby, a young or middle-aged maid in most situations.


I've read about too many doe-eyed, pampered princesses with great hearts and big chests, lately. :D

[Lorsa]

Just doing a quick test here for something.

Describe to me a princess.

When someone says "princess" what do you see?

Thank you.

A spoiled brat who uses the taxpayers money to go to the best clubs, travel around the world, buy expensive cars and otherwise do nothing important with herself.

Jokes aside; if someone says "princess" I don't really see anything. It's just a description of heritary, it implies the person is the daughter of a king/queen and other than that I can't really describe her unless given more info.

[A_Man]

Thinking more of a young pampered girl then one of being rich and haughty, to be honest.

[ShadowFireLance]

Dinner or Spawn bearer.
Or Ransom. That works.

[Eldariel]

Spoilered for the same reason as in the first post:

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"Princess" in and of itself tells me very little. It tells me this person is royalty, acts like one or is treated like one. I can only surmise as much; I know stories of warrior princesses, aristocrat princesses, woodland princesses (often with nature-y tint), various modern celebrities who could be called 'princess' based on their behavior/title on their field, 'little princess' as a diminuitive-style expression for a girl child by their parents showing their affection, etc.

As such, when someone says 'princess' I have very little in terms of preconceptions since I know of so darn many different kinds of princesses. I'd need context to give a useful answer.


This may, in part, be my studies shining through since I'm a linguist and therefore analysis of semantics and pragmatics is a basic field of what I study.

[Coidzor]

Spoiler: Thar she blows

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A tall, four-legged equine with a long horn, longer than even a unicorn's horn, a great, technicolor mane that defies gravity and can seem to billow in the wind even when there's no way that could be happening due to there being no airflow. Upon the princess's back, is a pair of wings, which violates the laws of physics by folding up to be smaller than they should be able to fold up when enfolded, but when fully outstretched seem impossibly large, possibly due to some kind of magical illusion/glamer/headology. Granted, I was recently in the Pony thread where there was some discussion of the God-Princesses. And apparently I was the only one. XD

That or some snooty broad in an opulently expensive dress with a tiara that's been tutored and spoilt something rotten.

[Craft (Cheese)]

Spawn bearer

Where's the "vomit profusely" smiley?

[Loth17]

She who i marry after i decapitate the local dragon.

[TheCountAlucard]

Magnificent. With Lips of Coral, and Robes of Black Feathers.

[Coidzor]

Magnificent. With Lips of Coral, and Robes of Black Feathers.

Black feathers? That's a new one.

[Drascin]

I mostly think of a feminine girl in a rather girly dress, with a strong personality and a strong drive towards something. Longhaired, and classically pretty for the most part.

[TheCountAlucard]

Black feathers? That's a new one.

On the contrary, she is ancient, the spirit of a slain god-king, now a servant of the Neverborn. Her umbrella is made from the skins and bones of five of her fellows. When the gods of Great Forks cast her out of her deathly home, all the Deathlords became vulnerable.

[Mastikator]

I think of Princess Diane actually.

[Vitruviansquid]

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I imagine a female ruler of some kind, either the hereditary monarch of a kingdom/empire or the daughter of one... which would be the term's literal definition. Other associations I have with the term include:

- She probably has great symbolic, if not also legal power in the kingdom. Princesses are kind of like everyone's daughter in the kingdom, in the sense that common people will pick fights with you in bars or on the street if you disparage their princess.

- I usually think of Princesses, whether they are actual rulers or daughters of rulers, to be morally good (though possibly flawed, naive, or misguided) while "queens" are morally evil or neutral.

- Like all royalty and members of the ruling family, I imagine a Princess has the best education that money can buy. It might not exactly be a scientific, religious, or magical education (I imagine the study of magic will require so much time and energy that it would be difficult for a mage to also learn to become a leader). Certainly, the princess would have the best education in government, liberal arts, and likely military strategy.

- If put in contrast with a Prince, the Princess will tend toward the more dovish in ruling while the Prince would be the more hawkish.

- The Princess will be either extremely haughty and arrogant (with or without good cause) or extremely humble. It's one or the either, no in-between.

[The Oni]

I...don't actually have too many preconceptions, since there have been enough subversions of the tropes. Typically I expect them to be neck-poppingly beautiful, rich and somewhat well spoken, but they can range anywhere from badass to complete Non-Action Girl.