"I don't know if it's fair to blame Disney or general weirdness over the perceived perfection of childhood, but a lot of women are taken care of by their families (or fathers) far past when they should be able to take care of themselves, then they bide their time in careers they may or may not care too much about until a wealthy man can come and sweep them off their feet."

 

Stanton, author of an article entitled The Ten Fictional Guys Who've Ruined All Men for Me on Guttersnipe News, cites the character Bella from the massive Twilight multi-media empire as an example.

 

"She's pretty much useless as a main character, and is in constant need of being rescued. She may not be the insufferable bitch that I think most princesses tend to be, but still, she's hardly a role model. [And] any of the women on those Real Housewives shows? Princesses. That affected little girl voice Paris Hilton uses? Totally a princess move." 

 

This inevitably takes its toll on relationships. At its worst, the princess's behavior spirals out-of-control to the point where she's making completely off-the-wall demands, and perhaps backing them up with guilt or fear of the "Well-if-you-won't-someone-else-will" variety.

 

For us milquetoast guys torn between our own conflicted ideas (i.e. feminism vs. tradition) about how we're supposed to behave, this can be alarming. It's bad for the princess too, as she is doomed to grow unrealistically dependent on someone else, at least until her charm fades.

 

We can't just blame women for buying into the stereotype, though. Guys are equally guilty for perpetuating princess behavior by enabling it. For every dude who'll walk away from outlandish demands, there're 10 more lining up to be taken advantage of.

 

Which actually makes princess psychology pretty easy to figure out. If the guy (or girl, as the case may be -- men can be prissy princesses too) doesn't put up with her attention-seeking shenanigans, she's a lot more likely to be interested: "What? He's not doing everything I say? Hmmm..." Then again, she might just go off to find her Prince Obsequious.

 

Still, the best thing we can do to combat princess behavior is not take it seriously. Even some princesses can laugh about it. Asked if she has a princess complex, 29-year-old Nicole W. answers, "I don't think I do. I just like to get foot massages. And stay in nice hotels. And to be carried."