About

Princeso is a Spanish-language slang term that is used to describe men who are feminine, vain, egotistical, temperamental or obnoxious^[1][2], similar to the use of the English slang term "diva"^[22] or “queen.”^[16] It is a popular discussion topic among Spanish-speaking users on Facebook and used as a hashtag on Twitter and Instagram.

Origin

Though its exact origin is unknown, the term has been used since as early as July 2012, when the Facebook fan page Mundo De Princeso^[14] launched with inspirational photo quote-style image macros about love and romance from the perspective of a young man in love.

Spread

This sentimental use of princeso was echoed in a comic shared on Desmotivaciones.es^[15] later that month, depicting a female on bended knee, with a caption noting they had switched roles. In August 2012, Twitter user Falsidades used the term in a tweet^[17] about how girls will treat their boys like princesses without reciprocal feelings. As of April 2013, it has been retweeted nearly 400 times.

In early February 2013, male Twitter users began to co-opt the term into its current meaning. On February 12th, @MikeAvilaC^[18] used caps lock to emphasize his playful anger about not receiving a "buenos noches Princeso." Then on Valentine’s Day, the Twitter account @UGGLYTRUTH^[20] tweeted a parody of the quote “No llores princesa, levanta la cabeza que se te cae la corona,” (“Do not cry princess, lift your head that you don’t drop the crown”) as if it were to apply to a male. This message was retweeted more than 440 times.

On February 18th, the first Princesos Facebook fan page^[6] launched, gaining more than 72,000 likes as of April 2013. Five days later, a second Facebook fan page^[7] was created. In April 2013, the term became associated with the hashtag #NoAlMaltratoDeLosPrincesos^[21], meaning "Do Not Abuse the Princesos." On April 12th, two separate Facebook fan pages utilizing this phrase were launched^[9][10], gaining more than 43,000 likes in aggregate within 10 days. On April 16th, a member of Yahoo! Answers Mexico^[11] asked about the meaning of the term princeso, noting that he or she had seen it frequently on Facebook. The same day, Mexican news site Sexenio Nuevo León^[1] reported on the prominence of the term throughout social media, followed by SDPnoticias^[2] and El Tiradero.^[12] Additional posts using the princeso hashtag can be found on Instagram^[4] and Tumblr.^[5]

Twitter Feed

Search Interest

Search interest in "princeso" has been climbing rapidly, starting in April 2013.

External References