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The portrayal of women warriors in
literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...
and
popular culture Popular culture (also called mass culture or pop culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as, popular art or mass art) and objects that are dominant or prevalent in a ...
is a subject of study in history, literary studies, film studies, folklore history, and mythology. The archetypal figure of the woman warrior is an example of a normal thing that happens in some cultures, while also being a counter stereotype, opposing the normal construction of war, violence and aggression as masculine. This convention-defying position makes the female warrior a prominent site of investigation for discourses surrounding female power and
gender roles A gender role, also known as a sex role, is a social role encompassing a range of behaviors and attitudes that are generally considered acceptable, appropriate, or desirable for a person based on that person's sex. Gender roles are usually cent ...
in society.


Folklore and mythology


Greek legends of the Amazons

The Amazons were an entire tribe of woman warriors in Greek legend. The earliest known recording of the Amazons can be found in
Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...
's epic poem the ''
Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; grc, Ἰλιάς, Iliás, ; "a poem about Ilium") is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the '' Odys ...
'', in which Homer described them as Amazon ''antianeirai'', a term with multiple translations including "the equal of men." "Amazon" has become an
eponym An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...
for woman warriors and athletes in both modern and ancient society. In British mythology, Queen Cordelia fought off several contenders for her throne by personally leading the army in its battles as well as defending her home from her own warring family members, until she eventually commits suicide due to grief. Another example in ancient British history is the historical Queen Boudica, who led a rebellion against the
Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediter ...
. In his ''On the Bravery of Women'', the Greco-Roman historian
Plutarch Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for hi ...
describes how the women of Argos fought against King Cleomenes and the
Spartans Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referr ...
under the command of Telesilla in the fifth century BCE.


Scythian women

Among
Scythian The Scythians or Scyths, and sometimes also referred to as the Classical Scythians and the Pontic Scythians, were an ancient Eastern * : "In modern scholarship the name 'Sakas' is reserved for the ancient tribes of northern and eastern Centra ...
s, warrior women were not unknown. Archaeologists have uncovered more than 40 graves of female warrior leaders. The Roman general,
Pompey Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey or Pompey the Great, was a leading Roman general and statesman. He played a significant role in the transformation of ...
defeated Scythians fighting for
Mithridates VI Mithridates or Mithradates VI Eupator ( grc-gre, Μιθραδάτης; 135–63 BC) was ruler of the Kingdom of Pontus in northern Anatolia from 120 to 63 BC, and one of the Roman Republic's most formidable and determined opponents. He was an e ...
of Pontus, and in his
triumph The Roman triumph (Latin triumphus) was a celebration for a victorious military commander in ancient Rome. For later imitations, in life or in art, see Trionfo. Numerous later uses of the term, up to the present, are derived directly or indirectl ...
displayed female warrior rulers among the leaders he defeated. Scythian lifestyle included equality among the sexes, and some women took the opportunities that a warrior lifestyle offered to both men an women. Scythian culture touched on both Greece and India, both of whom have tales of warrior women in their histories and mythologies.


Indian folklore

Accounts of martial women were included in the
Ramayana The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...
(ca. 500 BCE) and
Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the s ...
(ca. 400 BCE) In Hindu mythology, Chitrāngadā, wife of Arjuna, was the commander of her father's armies.
Satyabhama Satyabhama, also known as Satrajiti, is a Hindu goddess and the third queen-consort of the Hindu god Krishna. Satyabhama is described as the incarnation of Bhudevi, the goddess and the personification of the earth. She aided Krishna in defeat ...
was a warrior wife of the god Krishna who led an army against
Narakasura Naraka, also known as Narakasura (), is an asura king in Hindu mythology. In Assamese tradition, he is regarded as the legendary progenitor of all three dynasties of Pragjyotisha-Kamarupa, and the founding ruler of the legendary Bhauma dyna ...
; she was an archer and expert in wartime tactics.
Shikhandini Shikhandi ( sa, शिखण्डी, translit=Śikhaṇḍī) is a character in the Hindu epic Mahabharata. Born as the daughter of Drupada, the King of Panchala, Shikhandi becomes a biological male after agreeing to a sex exchange with a ya ...
was a princess who learned "archery, martial arts, war-techniques" and fought to avenge herself for past wrongs in another life; she eventually became a man (through supernatural intervention).
Kaikeyi Kaikeyi (Sanskrit: कैकेयी, IAST: Kaikeyī) is the second consort of King Dasharatha, and a queen of Ayodhya in the Hindu epic Ramayana. Out of Dasharatha's three wives, Kaikeyi exerts the most influence. Formerly the princess of Kek ...
was the wife of a king who drove his chariot in battle and saved his life. Other examples of warrior women in India may be seen in sculpture. File:Hampi si1296.jpg, India, Bala Krishna Temple at
Hampi Hampi or Hampe, also referred to as the Group of Monuments at Hampi, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in Hampi town, Vijayanagara district, east-central Karnataka, India. Hampi was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire in the 14th&n ...
. Woman with bow, an attendant removing a thorn from her foot. Early 16th century C.E. File:Sesha Mandapa, Vijayanagar period, 16th century, Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple, dedicated to Vishnu, in Srirangam, near Tiruchirappali (215) (37480768992).jpg, Srirangam, India. Sculpture of warrior woman from the Vijayanagar period, 16th century, Sesha Mandapa hall of the Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple. File:Sesha Mandapa, Vijayanagar period, 16th century, Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple, dedicated to Vishnu, in Srirangam, near Tiruchirappali (228) (37511787801).jpg, Sculpture of warrior woman from the Vijayanagar period, 16th century, Sesha Mandapa hall of the Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple. File:Women warrior 01.JPG, India. A warrior woman sacrifices herself, cutting her own throat.


Religion

Several women are described in the
Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' Deborah According to the Book of Judges, Deborah ( he, דְּבוֹרָה, ''Dəḇōrā'', "bee") was a prophetess of the God of the Israelites, the fourth Judge of pre-monarchic Israel and the only female judge mentioned in the Bible. Many scholars ...
,
Rahab Rahab (; Arabic: راحاب, a vast space of a land) was, according to the Book of Joshua, a woman who lived in Jericho in the Promised Land and assisted the Israelites in capturing the city by hiding two men who had been sent to scout the city ...
, and the unnamed " woman of Thebez". Hind bint ‘Utbah was an Arab woman in the late 6th and early 7th centuries who converted to Islam. She took part in the
Battle of Yarmouk The Battle of the Yarmuk (also spelled Yarmouk) was a major battle between the army of the Byzantine Empire and the Muslim forces of the Rashidun Caliphate. The battle consisted of a series of engagements that lasted for six days in August 636, ...
in 636, fighting the Romans and encouraging the male soldiers to join her.
Khawlah bint al-Azwar Khawla bint al-Azwar ( ar, خولة بنت الازور; died 639), was an Arab Muslim warrior in the service of the Rashidun Caliphate. She played a major role in the Muslim conquest of the Levant, and fought alongside her brother Dhiraar. Sh ...
was a prominent woman Muslim warrior in the 7th century, leading battles in what are today Syria, Jordan and Palestine. Ghazala the Kharijite was also a commander in battle, making famous generals like al-Hajjaj flee. Her courage was extolled in poems.
Joan of Arc Joan of Arc (french: link=yes, Jeanne d'Arc, translit= �an daʁk} ; 1412 – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the coronat ...
was a warrior in the 15th century and considered a heroine in France for her role in the Hundred Years' War. Joan of Arc alleged that she had a connection to the saints of her church and that they communicated with her to tell her to join the war effort of the French in 1429. Her effort in the battle of
Orléans Orléans (;"Orleans"
(US) and
Roman Catholic saint. In modern popular culture, Joan of Arc has been depicted many times, including in '' The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928 film)'', a silent historical film from Danish director Carl TH. Dreyer. The film depicts the real trial of Joan of Arc leading up to her execution.
Mai Bhago Mai Bhago also known as Mata Bhag Kaur, was a Sikh woman who led Sikh soldiers against the Mughals in 1705. She was an exceptionally skilled warrior on the battlefield and is revered as a warrior saint in Sikhism. She was known for rallying t ...
was a Sikh warrior of 18th century. She encouraged and rallied the soldiers who abandoned Guru Gobind Singh during the siege of Anandpur Sahib to refight. She, alongside 40 soldiers confronted the Mughal Army and fought the
Battle of Muktsar The Battle of Sri Muktsar Sahib (Muktsar) or Battle of Khidrāne Dee Dhāb took place on 29 December 1705, (29 Poh) following the siege of Anandpur Sahib. In 1704, Anandpur Sahib was under an extended siege by the allied forces of the Mugha ...
. She wore a masculine attire during her lifetime and by doing so, challenged patriarchy and started the debate around 'Role of Women' among Scholars and Philosophers. She was honored the title of being the bodyguard of Guru Gobind Singh during his exhile in Nanded, Maharashtra. Many ballads and folksongs glorify her bravery and she is revered as a Feminist Icon.


Folk and fairy tales

In one Chinese legend recorded by
Gan Bao Gan Bao (or Kan Pao) (, pronounced ân.pàu (fl. 315, died March or April 336), courtesy name Lingsheng (令升), was a Chinese historian and writer at the court of Emperor Yuan of Jin. Life He was a native of Xincai County, in southern Henan ...
, a girl named Li Ji slays a serpent who devoured many maidens in her village (''
Li Ji Slays the Giant Serpent ''Li Ji slays the Giant Serpent'' (李寄斩蛇) is a Chinese tale. It was first published in the 4th century compilation named ''Soushen Ji'', a collection of legends, short stories, and hearsay concerning Chinese gods, Chinese ghosts, and other s ...
'' or ''Li Chi Slays the Serpent''). The narrative of the woman warrior sometimes involves the motif of crossdressing or disguising herself as a man or a male soldier. These stories belong to the cycle of ''La Doncella Guerrera'', or The Warrior Maiden. One popular instance of this is the legendary heroine
Hua Mulan Hua Mulan () is a legendary folk heroine from the Northern and Southern dynasties era (4th to 6th century CE) of Chinese history. According to legend, Mulan took her aged father's place in the conscription for the army by disguising herself as ...
of Chinese history. Mulan's earliest records date back to the time of China's Northern and
Southern Dynasties The Northern and Southern dynasties () was a period of political division in the history of China that lasted from 420 to 589, following the tumultuous era of the Sixteen Kingdoms and the Eastern Jin dynasty. It is sometimes considered as ...
era (4th to 6th century AD). In the ballad, Mulan disguises herself as a man and takes her father's place in war to protect him. Since it was first written, the original story has been retold many times by different authors. Hua Mulan was further popularized, especially in the United States, through Disney's 1998 feature film '' Mulan.''In many cases, the disguised maiden enters the service of a king and discovers the queen's infidelity. The queen is punished and the king marries the warrior maiden. One example is ''A afilhada de São Pedro'' (" St. Peter's Goddaughter"), a Portuguese folktale collected by Consiglieri Pedroso. These stories are classified in the
Aarne–Thompson–Uther Index The Aarne–Thompson–Uther Index (ATU Index) is a catalogue of folktale types used in folklore studies. The ATU Index is the product of a series of revisions and expansions by an international group of scholars: originally composed in German by ...
index as ATU 513, "The Extraordinary Companions" and subtypes, and ATU 514, "The Shift of Sex". Other fairy tales include: * Belle-Belle ou Le Chevalier Fortuné (French literary fairy tale by MMe. d'Aulnoy) * Princess Belle-Etoile (French literary fairy tale by MMe. d'Aulnoy) * Costanza / Costanzo (Italian literary fairy tale by Giovanni Francesco Straparola) * The Three Crowns (Italian literary fairy tale by
Giambattista Basile Giambattista Basile (February 1566 – February 1632) was an Italian poet, courtier, and fairy tale collector. His collections include the oldest recorded forms of many well-known (and more obscure) European fairy tales. He is chiefly remembere ...
) * Ileana Simziana (Romanian fairy tale) * Fanta-ghirò, The Beautiful (Italian folktale heroine) and her
film series A film series or movie series (also referred to as a film franchise or movie franchise) is a collection of related films in succession that share the same fictional universe, or are marketed as a series. This article explains what film series are ...
* Marya Morevna, the warrior princess of the tale of ''
Koschei the Deathless Koschei ( rus, Коще́й, r=Koshchey, p=kɐˈɕːej), often given the epithet "the Immortal", or "the Deathless" (russian: Коще́й Бессме́ртный), is an archetypal male antagonist in Russian folklore. The most common feature of ...
'' (Russian fairy tale) * The Princess in variants of Aarne–Thompson–Uther ATU 551, "The Water of Life", where the hero quests for an object of the fairy/warrior princess (mirror, flower, fountain, etc.) and she goes after the prince with her army. * The female character of the tales classified as ATU 519, "The Strong Woman as Bride (Brunhilde)" * The female hero of ATU tale type 300, "The Dragon-Slayer", in variants from Latin America


Literature, film, and television

Literary women warriors include " Gordafarid" (Persian: گردآفريد) in the ancient Persian epic poem The Shāhnāmeh, Delhemma in Arabic epic literature, Mulan, Camilla in the ''
Aeneid The ''Aeneid'' ( ; la, Aenē̆is or ) is a Latin epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who fled the fall of Troy and travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of th ...
'', Belphoebe and Britomart in Edmund Spenser's ''
The Faerie Queene ''The Faerie Queene'' is an English epic poem by Edmund Spenser. Books IIII were first published in 1590, then republished in 1596 together with books IVVI. ''The Faerie Queene'' is notable for its form: at over 36,000 lines and over 4,000 sta ...
'',
Bradamante Bradamante (occasionally spelled Bradamant) is a fictional knight heroine in two epic poems of the Renaissance: ''Orlando Innamorato'' by Matteo Maria Boiardo and ''Orlando Furioso'' by Ludovico Ariosto. Since the poems exerted a wide influence ...
and
Marfisa Marfisa (also translated as "Marphisa") is a character in the Italian romantic epics ''Orlando innamorato'' by Matteo Maria Boiardo and ''Orlando Furioso'' by Ludovico Ariosto. She is the sister of Ruggiero but was separated from him in early chi ...
in '' Orlando Furioso'', Clorinda and (reluctantly) Erminia in ''
La Gerusalemme liberata ''Jerusalem Delivered'', also known as ''The Liberation of Jerusalem'' ( it, La Gerusalemme liberata ; ), is an epic poem by the Italian poet Torquato Tasso, first published in 1581, that tells a largely mythified version of the First Crusade i ...
'', and
Grendel's mother Grendel's mother ( ang, Grendles mōdor) is one of three antagonists in the anonymous Old English poem '' Beowulf'' (c. 700-1000 AD), the other two being Grendel and the dragon. Each antagonist reflects different negative aspects of both the h ...
. The woman warrior is part of a long tradition in many different cultures including Chinese and Japanese martial arts films, but their reach and appeal to Western audiences is possibly much more recent, coinciding with the greatly increased number of female heroes in American media since 1990. Films have brought women warriors to the silver screen, such as in ''King Arthur'' (2004 film), in which
Keira Knightley Keira Christina Righton (; née Knightley, born 26 March 1985) is an English actress. Known for her work in both independent films and blockbusters, particularly period dramas, she has received several accolades, including nominations for ...
plays heroine Guinevere, originally the love interest of King Arthur. In this iteration, Guinevere is portrayed as a warrior of equal strength as her male counterparts. Women warriors have also grown in recent years in part due to the popularity of comics and franchises inspired by them, most notably films by Marvel Studios and films within the
DC Extended Universe The DC Extended Universe (DCEU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films and television series produced by DC Studios and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It is based on characters that ...
. Characters such as Captain Marvel, Wasp, Black Widow, and, more recently, Jane Foster, a female iteration of the hero Thor, originally were superheroines in popular Marvel comic series, as well as others. These heroines have since been portrayed in films helmed by Marvel Studios and are a part of the
Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appear in American comic books published by ...
.


In feminism

Women warriors have been taken up as a symbol for feminist empowerment, emphasizing women's agency and capacity for power instead of the common pattern of female victim-hood. Professor Sherrie Inness in ''Tough Girls: Women Warriors and Wonder Women in Popular Culture'' and Frances Early and Kathleen Kennedy in ''Athena's Daughters: Television's New Women Warriors'', for example, focus on figures such as
Xena Xena is a fictional character from Robert Tapert's '' Xena: Warrior Princess'' franchise. Co-created by Tapert and John Schulian, she first appeared in the 1995–1999 television series ''Hercules: The Legendary Journeys'', before going on to ...
, from the television series '' Xena: Warrior Princess'' or
Buffy Summers Buffy Anne Summers is the title character of the ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' franchise. She first appeared in the 1992 film ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' before going on to appear in The WB/UPN 1997–2003 television series and subsequent 1998� ...
from '' Buffy the Vampire Slayer''. In the introduction to their text, Early and Kennedy discuss what they describe as a link between the image of women warriors and
girl power Girl power is a slogan that encourages and celebrates women's empowerment, independence, confidence and strength. The slogan's invention is credited to the US punk band Bikini Kill, who published a zine called ''Bikini Kill #2: Girl Power'' i ...
.Book review
/ref>


Violence

Although there is a distinction between positive aggression and violence, fictional representations of female violence like ''
Kill Bill ''Kill Bill: Volume 1'' is a 2003 American martial arts film Martial arts films are a subgenre of action films that feature numerous martial arts combat between characters. These combats are usually the films' primary appeal and entertainment ...
'' still have the power to function positively, equipping women for real-life situations that require outward aggression. Beyond the individual level, fictional depictions of violence by women can be a political tool to draw attention to real-world issues of violence, such as the ongoing violence against Indigenous women. Others say that a violent heroine undermines the feminist ethics against male violence, even when she is posited as a defender of women, for example in films such as ''
Hard Candy A hard candy (American English), or boiled sweet (British English), is a sugar candy prepared from one or more sugar-based syrups that is heated to a temperature of 160 °C (320 °F) to make candy. Among the many hard candy varieti ...
''. The 2020 film ''
Promising Young Woman ''Promising Young Woman'' is a 2020 thriller film written, co-produced, and directed by Emerald Fennell in her feature directorial debut. It stars Carey Mulligan as a troubled young woman haunted by a traumatic past as she navigates balancing fo ...
'' also explores the idea of a warrior woman railing against deadly sexual inequity, using either passive or active violence in order to restore some sense of justice to a world skewed towards sympathy for sexually violent men. Often the violence is only implicit, or threatened, and exists in juxtaposition to the film's pastel colour palette and stereotypically feminine aesthetic.


See also

;Lists * List of women warriors in folklore * Women in ancient warfare * Women in post-classical warfare * Women in warfare (1500–1699) *
Women in warfare and the military in the 19th century Women have played a leading role in warfare. The following is a list of women in war and their exploits from about 1800 up to about 1899. For women in warfare in the United States at this time, please see Timeline of women in war in the United ...
;Related articles *
Media and gender Gender plays a role in mass media and is represented within media platforms. These platforms include but are not limited to film, radio, television, advertisement, social media, and video games. Initiatives and resources exist to promote gender e ...
* Amazons *
Birka female Viking warrior The Birka female Viking warrior was a woman buried with the accoutrements of an elite professional Viking warrior in a 10th century chamber-grave in Birka, Sweden. Although the remains were thought to be of a male warrior since the grave's excav ...
*
Counterstereotype A counterstereotype is an idea or object that goes against a standardized mental picture that is held in common by members of a group and that represents an oversimplified opinion, prejudiced attitude, or uncritical judgment. Although counters ...
* Fighter *
Girls with guns Girls with guns is a subgenre of action films and animation that portray a female protagonist engaged in shootouts. The genre typically involves gun-play, stunts and martial arts action. Cinema The 1985 Hong Kong film ''Yes, Madam'', directed ...
*
Kunoichi is a Japanese cant term for . In popular culture, it is often used for female shinobi or practitioner of ninjutsu (''ninpo''). The term was largely popularized by novelist Yamada Futaro in his novel ''Ninpō Hakkenden'' (忍法八犬伝) in 1964 ...
* Magical girl * Martial arts *
Onna-musha ''Onna-musha'' (女武者) is a term referring to female warriors in pre-modern Japan. These women fought in battle alongside samurai men. They were members of the ''bushi'' (warrior) class in feudal Japan and were trained in the use of weapons ...
*
Shieldmaiden A shield-maiden ( non, skjaldmær ) was a female warrior from Scandinavian folklore and mythology. Shield-maidens are often mentioned in sagas such as ''Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks'' and in ''Gesta Danorum''. They also appear in stories of other ...
*
Valkyrie In Norse mythology, a valkyrie ("chooser of the slain") is one of a host of female figures who guide souls of the dead to the god Odin's hall Valhalla. There, the deceased warriors become (Old Norse "single (or once) fighters"Orchard (1997: ...
* Virago


Notes


Further reading

* (female lead character
Emma Peel Emma Peel is a fictional spy played by Diana Rigg in the British 1960s adventure television series '' The Avengers'', and by Uma Thurman in the 1998 film version. She was born Emma Knight, the daughter of an industrialist, Sir John Knight. She ...
in defunct 1960s UK TV series ''The Avengers'') *Au, Wagner James.
Supercop as Woman Warrior
" ''
Salon.com ''Salon'' is an American politically progressive/ liberal news and opinion website created in 1995. It publishes articles on U.S. politics, culture, and current events. Content and coverage ''Salon'' covers a variety of topics, including re ...
''. *Barr, Marleen S. ''Future Females, the Next Generation: New Voices and Velocities in Feminist Science Fiction Criticism.'' Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield, 2000. * * Davis-Kimball, Jeannine. ''Warrior Women: An Archaeologist's Search for History's Hidden Heroines''. New York: Warner Books, 2001. * * * Deuber-Mankowsky, Astrid and Dominic J. Bonfiglio (Translator). ''Lara Croft: Cyber Heroine''. Minneapolis: University Of Minnesota Press, 2005. * *Early, Frances and Kathleen Kennedy, ''Athena's Daughters: Television's New Women Warriors'', Syracuse University Press, 2003. * Edwards, Louise. “Women Warriors and Amazons of the Mid Qing Texts Jinghua Yuan and Honglou Meng”. In: ''Modern Asian Studies'' 29, no. 2 (1995): 225–55. http://www.jstor.org/stable/312812. *Garner, Jack.
Strong women can be heroes, too
" '' Democrat and Chronicle''. 15 June 2001. * *Heinecken, Dawn. ''Warrior Women of Television: A Feminist Cultural Analysis of the New Female Body in Popular Media'', New York: P. Lang, 2003. *Hopkins, Susan, '' Girl Heroes: the New Force in Popular Culture'', Pluto Press Australia, 2002. * *Inness, Sherrie A. (ed.) ''Action Chicks: New Images of Tough Women in Popular Culture'', Palgrave Macmillan, 2004. *Inness, Sherrie A. ''Tough Girls: Women Warriors and Wonder Women in Popular Culture''. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1999. * *Karras, Irene.
The Third Wave's Final Girl: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
" ''thirdspace'' 1:2 (March 2002). * * * Kingston, Maxine Hong. '' The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts''. New York: Vintage, 1975. * * Mainon, Dominique. ''The Modern Amazons: Warrior Women on Screen''. Pompton Plains, N.J. : Limelight Editions, 2006. * McDougall, Sophia (August 15, 2013
"I hate Strong Female Characters ."
''The New Statesman.'' (Retrieved 8-24-13.) *Osgerby, Bill, Anna Gough-Yates, and Marianne Wells. ''Action TV: Tough-Guys, Smooth Operators and Foxy Chicks.'' London: Routledge, 2001. * * * * * *Tasker, Yvonne. ''Action and Adventure Cinema.'' New York: Routledge, 2004. *Tasker, Yvonne.''Working Girls: Gender and Sexuality in Popular Culture''. London: Routledge 1998 *Tasker, Yvonne.''Spectacular Bodies: Gender, Genre, and the Action Cinema''. London and New York: Routledge, 1993. *Trickey, Helyn.
Girls with Gauntlets
" ''
Turner Network Television TNT (originally an abbreviation for Turner Network Television) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks unit of Warner Bros. Discovery that launched on October 3, 1988. TNT's original purpose ...
''. *


External links

* * * {{cite web , title=Females in Fantasy , url=http://www.starsuncounted.com/p/females-in-fantasy.html , website=Stars Uncounted Combat occupations Cultural depictions of women Cultural studies Female stock characters in anime and manga Feminist theory * Folklore Mythological archetypes Topics in popular culture War goddesses Women in mythology Women's sports