Going through life you'll meet many people in all sorts of situations. You meet your best friend in a classroom, your parents for dinner, your husband for a cup of coffee before meeting your boss in a meeting. You meet these people at different times in your life. Not all of these meetings are determined by you, some just sort of happen. You have different words that you call these people when you see them; their name, a nickname, something that explains their personality, group them together, refer to them with generalized terms like "guys", "parents", "teammates", and so on.
There are other things people will call one another, words like "honey", "hun", "sweetie", "cutie", "babe", "princess", but all these terms meant to be endearing are only taken this way in certain situations. Being called these things by your mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, aunt, uncle, significant other, can be accepted in certain situations. Really what it comes down to is that context/situation it`s being used in. If you're going to tell someone they're beautiful, say it sincerely, don`t catcall, and don`t say it with that extra little sly look that makes it seem like there`s an "and ______." statement running through your mind. Just be genuine.
I don`t want to randomly be called "princess" by an older man with an off-putting smile whom I've never met before. It makes me uncomfortable and anxious, and all I want to do is get away or get them away as soon as possible, but sometimes you have to put up with it and pretend nothing is wrong. You just have to smile back and act like it`s fine. I don't want to be called "hun" by a friend, an acquaintance, and especially not by someone younger than I am. It`s a little bit insulting. When I'm using the word it's either to show that I am trying to console them or trying to lighten the mood and tell them they may have said something inaccurate and I am gently correcting them. "Hun" is something a mother would call her daughter or what a grandmother would call her granddaughter.
Part of the reason for this is that there's this idea people have that women can be called these things and it's okay. Not all of us are "okay" with it. I would rather not be belittled with these "cute" words. Honestly, if I never hear someone call me "babe" in order to get my attention I would be more than happy. Just use my name, a nickname, something that refers to me as me rather than call me something that makes me feel like all I am is an object for your viewing pleasure. Some people like these words and that's fine. I'm not saying that it's wrong or right, just that my personal preference is different than what someone else's may be.
I am not a princess. I don`' live in a tower and I`m not interested in sitting on the sidelines. I want to go run around and get a little dirty. Sure, I'm not into worms, bugs, creepy crawly/slithery things, but that doesn't mean I wasn't at some point. I used to be the first one out there playing in the mud with my sister, picking up worms, catching frogs, and capturing turtles to show my grandma. I understand the appeal, I still like to go watch the turtles disappear among the lily pads, but now I do other things. I go explore the woods, walk for miles along the lake shore, go for a bike ride, visit an apple orchard, kayak, take pictures, go for a midnight drive. I'm not a porcelain doll. I won't break if I get hit with a ball, and if I fall over, I get back up, brush off a little dust, and worry about the grass stains later.