Symbol or Cutiemark?

[Gizmo]

Symbol, I also like 'rump design' tbh.

[Taffeta]

I've heard some folk use motif as well, now I think of it, on ID sites (maybe in the past more than now?)

Or if you wanted to be posh, insignia

[Sunset]

Haha, or we could use crest mark.  As in a family crest.

[prancingstag]

Depends on the generation... G4 ponies have cutie marks, all previous gens have symbols to me.

Tbh I like the term cutie mark a bit better for G3s as well though, because it sounds like 'beauty mark'. G1-G2 have double sided symbols. G3-G4s have the one superficial mark on a single side, like a random beauty mark.

Or we could go with butt tattoos, like the non-collecting general audience calls it.

[KarentheUnicorn]

I've always been of the opinion that cutie mark sounds very childish. And while yes I know it's a child's toy and that's actually the demographic of people they're trying to attract. Still, cutie mark just sound immature.

The idea of a pony getting their cutie mark is supposed to represent the pony finding it's destiny or moving into what their life will become as an adult.

Somehow cutie mark just doesn't feel like it covers the adult ponies life's meaning or purpose. It just sounds a bit limited to me.

If I were a pony, I would choose to call it a symbol - symbol sounds way more mature.

Would you at 11 years old want to say to your friends, I just got my cutie mark OR would you rather say dear friends my symbol has appeared, I now have purpose and deeper meaning to my life and self.

Yea, I'm going with just on the presentation in how it sounds, I have a symbol, I have a cutie mark.

Yea, symbol sounds way more meaningful, cutie mark sounds like something a 3 year old would have.

And can I just say that G1 ponies must have been way more clued in on they're destiny than G4 ponies. EVEN the newborns had they're symbols...what's wrong with you G4 ponies?

[Iris Patch]

Before I got into ponies I called it a "butt tattoo" as a way of showing how ridiculous I found it all. xD When I first got into MLP it was through the Friendship is Magic cartoon, so I called 'em cutie marks. But now that I'm into collecting and other gens in addition to G4, I much prefer "symbol". It's less silly and more descriptive.

[Shimmer Mist]

The idea of a pony getting their cutie mark is supposed to represent the pony finding it's destiny or moving into what their life will become as an adult.

Somehow cutie mark just doesn't feel like it covers the adult ponies life's meaning or purpose. It just sounds a bit limited to me.

If I were a pony, I would choose to call it a symbol - symbol sounds way more mature.

Would you at 11 years old want to say to your friends, I just got my cutie mark OR would you rather say dear friends my symbol has appeared, I now have purpose and deeper meaning to my life and self.

Yea, I'm going with just on the presentation in how it sounds, I have a symbol, I have a cutie mark.

Yea, symbol sounds way more meaningful, cutie mark sounds like something a 3 year old would have.

I have to disagree that you'd probably think the same if you were a pony that was born and raised in Equestria. "Cutie Mark" seems to be a term used by any pony in general in G4, not just by the kids or the adults. To my knowledge I've not heard them called anything else.  If "Cutie Mark" is what it's referred to as in your culture you probably wouldn't think anything of using it in a conversation.

Edit: Although I have no doubts that there could be slang terms or maybe even ponies from literally other countries an cultures in the pony world may have other words for them. Zebras or Saddle Arabians may call their marks something else entirely for all I know.

[Aitsuki]

I agree with Shimmer. "Cutie Mark" is part of their language.... it would be like trying to make a new word for "freckles" because you're an adult. We don't say "Oh, that young woman has brown pindots" because it's more mature sounding, we say "oh, that young woman has freckles". To them, there's nothing immature or feminine about "cutie mark" in their world, because it's literally a phrase that refers to the onset of maturity. They even have a "Cuteceñera", their version of the Mexican "quinceañera", which is a party to celebrate a girl coming of age to be a woman. Cutie marks mean that you've realized something deeper about yourself, learned what you love and what you have skills in, and you find what your place is. I mean, what's a "symbol" anyway? It's a very vague term. It could mean an empty figure of a leader, a religious representative, guides, engravings, even letters and written record use symbols. A cutie mark is a very specific thing.

[Wardah]

I still don't think symbol (which unfortunately reminds me of the font) works when it's something all over the body tho cutie mark isn't quite right either. That's why I like to call it their "design" because a design could be a little thing or a big thing.

[Leave a Whisper]

I use both. My hubby says "butt stamp." lol

 

Post Merge: March 14, 2015, 07:53:40 AM

Rump design sounds like the shape of the actual pony's butt or something, ha ha.  "Hey Blossom, I've been working out.  What do you think of my rrrrrump design?"

I remember when lots of collectors referred to the heart on the G3's hooves as a cutie mark and to the butt mark as a symbol.

"Cutie mark" especially bothers me for G4 because they make this big deal about how these markings are huge, important indictors of your destiny.  Cutie mark just doesn't sound right for something like that.

I like symbol, but there are lots of possiblities.  Destiny mark?  Destiny design?  Hallmark?  Card companies aside, a hallmark is "a distinguishing feature or characteristic" and "any mark or special indication of genuineness and good quality."

Oh Young Pony, you must look to your Derriere for your Destiny.   

[Lady Starflower]

Symbol....I'm in the group that feels dumb saying cutie mark. Having ponies since I was 5 I just have always said symbol.

[KarentheUnicorn]

The idea of a pony getting their cutie mark is supposed to represent the pony finding it's destiny or moving into what their life will become as an adult.

Somehow cutie mark just doesn't feel like it covers the adult ponies life's meaning or purpose. It just sounds a bit limited to me.

If I were a pony, I would choose to call it a symbol - symbol sounds way more mature.

Would you at 11 years old want to say to your friends, I just got my cutie mark OR would you rather say dear friends my symbol has appeared, I now have purpose and deeper meaning to my life and self.

Yea, I'm going with just on the presentation in how it sounds, I have a symbol, I have a cutie mark.

Yea, symbol sounds way more meaningful, cutie mark sounds like something a 3 year old would have.

I have to disagree that you'd probably think the same if you were a pony that was born and raised in Equestria. "Cutie Mark" seems to be a term used by any pony in general in G4, not just by the kids or the adults. To my knowledge I've not heard them called anything else.  If "Cutie Mark" is what it's referred to as in your culture you probably wouldn't think anything of using it in a conversation.

Edit: Although I have no doubts that there could be slang terms or maybe even ponies from literally other countries an cultures in the pony world may have other words for them. Zebras or Saddle Arabians may call their marks something else entirely for all I know.

 I'm a adult human who thinks cutie mark is meant to be cute and is for children and has a child like aspect to it. You don't have to agree with me. And you don't have to suggest if I was a pony I'd do X. I watch the show and know the adult ponies and every pony on the cartoon uses the term in the stories/episodes.

But I'm talking about myself here and the real world, not cartoon world. As an adult collector I much prefer symbol and I was explaining why my opinion is what it is.

Nobody has to like it but others have pointed out as a collector the term symbol has been in use much longer than 'cutie mark'.

I don't think it would be very fair for some to insist we HAVE to use cutie mark. Especially considering that Rum design was used by hasbro before cutie mark. So hasbro itself has used a couple of different labels to describe what is on a pony. So if they can use multiple descriptive words for it then so can everyone else.

Thus I give my opinion on why I think cutie mark isn't one I like and why I prefer symbol.

And if I really wanted to get all technical about it I'd just call it a logo.

But anyway, I really don't care what the cartoon calls it. I'm speaking my opinion from a point of view that I'm an adult and cutie mark just sounds childish to me. Frankly if they'd been using this term in the 80's when I was a kid/teen I wouldn't have wanted to use it either and still would have preferred something over cutie mark.

[LadyMoondancer]

I'm just saying, in a world where getting your butt mark is a big, huge deal, "cutie mark" sounds  out of place.  It sounds like a term that shouldn't have come about in such a world, so it's jarring. 

Like if a college diploma was called a "goody-good-jobarooni paper" or something.  Or instead of getting marriage license, you got a "Lovey Dovey Document".

[MJNSEIFER]

The toys, yes. The moment "cutie marks" got used Hasbro gave us one sided symbols.

  I see, sorry if I sounded rude before.  I tend to think of the cartoon first when it comes to G4, where it's both sides.  I do try to remember that MLP is a toyline first though, and am better at that fact with other gens.

In response to the whole thread, I'm really happy to see that "cutie mark" has more fans on here, than I realized.  Symbol is still winning, and that's fine, but it's nice to see that cutie mark, a phrase I have a sentimental attachment to isn't as hated here as I thought, even though I respect everyone's opinion - I will always love the term cutie mark more, and will never see anything embarrassing or undignifyed about it, ever.

But I respect those who do.

Side Note: I hope no one minds if I use "cutie mark" for fan related projects, including when I deal with the G1s.

[KarentheUnicorn]

I don't think it's a matter of hate, though I admit I have no interest in using the term cutie mark to describe a pony to other collectors. Even saying it out loud feels like a shallow term to describe what is supposed to somehow be a beings destiny.

There is obviously a difference with those who are 99.9% dedicated to the cartoon and those who are 50/50. Those who've been into MLP since the 80's didn't have the option of labeling it a cutie mark. We went for what seemed appropriate and that stuck for 25+ years. When I first started meeting collectors in person in the early 90's, it was almost automatic that people were calling them symbols/emblems. Hasbro didn't decide it, we as kids has already without knowing each other given it a name.

Now in the last 4-5 years some are expecting us to go with the new term from what we've been using for longer than some of the people into G4 have been alive?

Sorry I'm old an stubborn, I'm still going with symbol.