Women warriors in literature and culture

This article is about examples of woman warriors in a number of contexts. For the Maxine Hong Kingston novel, see The Woman Warrior.

See also: List of women warriors in folklore

Boudica and Her Daughters near Westminster Pier, London, commissioned by Prince Albert and executed by Thomas Thornycroft

This list of women warriors in folklore, literature, and popular culture offers figures studied in fields such as sociology, psychology, anthropology, film studies, mass communication, cultural studies, and women's studies.

Literature or general iconic images

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

• Aeneid: Camilla
• Beowulf: Grendel's mother. Grendel's mother was a female warrior, a Valkyrie, or a Norse goddess according to some scholars.
• Conan the Barbarian: Valeria
• Eleonora Sykora: from the novel Better To Beg Forgiveness... by Michael Z. Williamson
• The Faerie Queene: Belphoebe and Britomart (Britomartis) (Edmund Spenser)
• Jerusalem Delivered: Clorinda (Torquato Tasso)
• Kendra Pacelli from the novel Freehold by Michael Z. Williamson
• Orlando innamorato by Matteo Maria Boiardo and its continuation Orlando furioso by Ariosto: Bradamante
• Saint Joan:Joan of Arc (Jeanne d'Arc in French) (George Bernard Shaw)
• Shahnama ("The Book of Kings" or "The Epic of Kings"): Gordafarid, (Template:PerB) (Ferdowsi)
• The Whale Rider: Paikea Apirana ("Pai") who was portrayed by Keisha Castle-Hughes in the 2002 film (Witi Ihimaera)
• The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts: Hua Mulan appears in the second chapter ("White Tigers") as an imagined form of the narrator (Maxine Hong Kingston)
• "Lessa", "Moretta" from Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern series
• Lilith's Brood: Lilith Iyapo (Octavia Butler)
• The Chronicles of Narnia: Lucy and Susan Pevensie
• The Lord of the Rings: Éowyn
• Neuromancer: Molly Millions who also appeared in Johnny Mnemonic (William Gibson)
• "Rosie the Riveter" was a cultural icon of the United States during World War II. According to The Nation, "The ancient Amazon myths spawned Rosie the Riveter."
• Snow Crash: the Sumerian myth of Inanna (Ishtar) is central to the text.
• "Lt. Karrin Murphy" from Jim Butcher's wizard series
• The Wheel of Time: Birgitte Silverbow
• Ariane, Gabrielle, and Miri from Susan Carroll's trilogy about the three sisters in Renaissance France
• The Deed of Paksenarrion: Paksenarrion Dorthansdotter
• Orlando Furioso: Bradamant
• Maerad of Pellinor from the book quartet The Books of Pellinor by Alison Croggon.

Popular culture

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

Action

• Sydney Bristow in Alias
• Cathy Gale, Emma Peel and Tara King in The Avengers and its film remake. Purdy from The New Avengers.
• Charlie's Angels in the films of the same name
• Agent April Dancer in The Girl from U.N.C.L.E.
• Honey West in the television series of the same name
• Rosie Carver in Live and Let Die
• Modesty Blaise in various media
• Julie Barnes in the The Mod Squad
• Nikita in the television series of the same name
• Sgt. Leann "Pepper" Anderson in Police Woman
• Wai Lin in Tomorrow Never Dies

Anime and manga

• Oscar Francois de Jarjeyes, the main character of Rose of Versailles who popularized the "women as warriors" genre in anime and manga.
• Almost the entire cast of the Claymore manga, as many main and supporting characters are or were part of an all-female warrior organization.
• Rukia Kuchiki, Yoruichi Shihouin, Soifon, Rangiku Matsumoto, Momo Hinamori, Neliel Tu Oderschvank, and Cirucci Thunderwitch from BLEACH
• Sakura Haruno, Tsunade, Hinata Hyuga, Ino Yamanaka, Temari, Tenten, Chiyo, and Kurenai Yuhi from Naruto
• Revy, Balalaika, Shenhua, Eda, Roberta, Fabiola Iglesias, Yolanda, and Sawyer the Cleaner from Black Lagoon
• Major Kusanagi from Ghost in The Shell series
• Elle Ragu aka Shadow Skill from the OVA, Manga and Series Shadow Skill
• Kei from the anime and manga Akira.
• Honey Kisaragi aka Cutey Honey
• The Sailor Senshi from the manga and anime Sailor Moon
• Casca, the sole female soldier of the Band of the Hawk in Berserk
• Integra Hellsing and Seras Victoria from Hellsing(manga)
• Naomi Armitage from the Armitage series.
• Ichigo Momomiya, Zakuro Fijuwara, Minto Aizawa, Retasu Midorwikara, Kikki Benjamin, Berry Shirayuki and the girls from the "Tokyo Mew Mew" universe.

Blaxploitation

• Sydney in Black Belt Jones
• Tamara Dobson in Cleopatra Jones and Cleopatra Jones and the Casino of Gold
• Pam Grier in Coffy and Foxy Brown
• Teresa Graves in Get Christie Love!

Children's culture

• Kim Possible and Shego from the Disney Channel animated show Kim Possible
• The Powerpuff Girls
• Ronia the Robber's Daughter, lead character from the book of the same title by Astrid Lindgren
• Trini Kwan and Kimberly Hart of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and other sequel characters

Computer and video games

• Ada Wong, Claire Redfield, and Jill Valentine from the Resident Evil series.
• Admiral Belleza, Aika, and Fina in Skies of Arcadia
• Agrias Oaks, a Knight bodyguard from Final Fantasy Tactics
• Alicia, Elwen, and Ridley of Radiata Stories
• Alyx Vance in the Half-Life 2 series
• Amazon and Assassin classes from Diablo II
• Amy in Zanzarah: The Hidden Portal
• Anna Williams, Asuka Kazama, Lili Rochefort, Ling Xiaoyu, Nina Williams, and others from Tekken Series
• Annah of Planescape: Torment
• Boss, The in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
• Cammy, Chun Li, and Elena and others from the Street Fighter series
• Cate Archer of No One Lives Forever
• Celes and Terra of Final Fantasy VI
• Felicia, Hsien-Ko, Morrigan, and others from the Dark Stalkers series
• General Beatrix and Freya Crescent in Final Fantasy IX
• Jade in Beyond Good & Evil (video game)
• Jaheira of the Baldur's Gate series
• Joanna Dark of Perfect Dark
• Kai and Nariko in Heavenly Sword
• Kitana, Mileena, Sonya, and others from the Mortal Kombat series.
• KOS-MOS in the Xenosaga series
• Lady from the Devil May Cry series.
• Lara Croft in the Tomb Raider series.
• Lenneth and Silmeria from the Valkyrie Profile series.
• Lise from the game Seiken Densetsu 3.
• Lulu, Rikku and Yuna in Final Fantasy X
• Meru and Rose of Legend of Dragoon
• Meryl Silverburgh and Sniper Wolf in Metal Gear Solid
• Paine in Final Fantasy X-2
• Rinoa Heartilly, Quistis Trepe, and Selphie Tilmitt in Final Fantasy VIII
• Rayne of the BloodRayne video game and movie series
• Robina the Hood and Keelia in DragonFable
• Samus Aran of the Metroid series
• Sarah Kerrigan in Starcraft
• Shandris Feathermoon, Sylvanas Windrunner and Tyrande Whisperwind in Warcraft III
• Tifa Lockhart and Yuffie Kisaragi in Final Fantasy VII
• Vikki Grimm of 3DO's Portal Runner
• Zelda, Princess aka Sheik from the The Legend of Zelda series.

Folklore and historical fiction

• Red Sonja, a character of Conan the barbarian's world of Hyboria
• Guinevere as interpreted in the 2004 film King Arthur
• Sophie Marceau as a musketeer in La Fille de d'Artagnan
• Fa Mulan in the Disney film Mulan, an adaptation of the myth of Hua Mulan
• Evelyn Carnahan O'Connell / Princess Nefertiri in "The Mummy" film series
• Xena, Gabrielle and Callisto in the television series Xena: Warrior Princess and Hercules: The Legendary Journeys

Hong Kong action cinema

• Yu Shu-lien and Yù Jiāolóng in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
• Moon and Flying Snow in Ying Xiong a.k.a. Hero
• Ching/San/Invisible Girl in The Heroic Trio
• Charlene Ching and Katherine, among others, in Chek law dak gung, a.k.a. Naked Weapon
• Inspector Jessica Yang in Supercop [1]
• Yim Wing-chun in Wing Chun
• Lulu Wong in Silver Hawk

Horror

• Buffy Summers, Willow Rosenberg, Faith Lehane (or simply Faith), Cordelia Chase and Illyria in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel
• Kirsty Cotton in the Hellraiser film series
• The Halliwell sisters (Prue, Piper, Phoebe, and Paige).also Billie Jenkins(8th season) from Charmed
• Nancy Thompson, Kristen Parker, and Alice Johnson in the Nightmare on Elm Street film Series
• Cherry Darling in Planet Terror
• Alice, Jill Valentine, and Claire Redfield in the Resident Evil film series
• Sidney Prescott in the Scream trilogy
• Anna Valerious in Van Helsing
• Selene in the Underworld film series
• Laurie Strode in the Halloween film series
• Caroline Frye and Jack, two survivors of a crash and the main female protagonists in Pitch Black

Misc.

• Aelita and Yumi from Code Lyoko
• Lt. Jordan O'Neil (Demi Moore) in G.I. Jane
• Samantha Caine, AKA Charlie Baltimore (Geena Davis) in "The Long Kiss Goodnight"
• Veronica Mars from Veronica Mars (character)

Parody and homage

• Agent 99 in Get Smart (parody)
• Beatrix Kiddo, O-Ren Ishii, Vernita Green,Elle Driver,and Gogo Yubari in Quentin Tarantino's homage to Hong Kong cinema, the Western, and comic book superheroes, Kill Bill (2003-2004)
• Foxxy Cleopatra in Austin Powers in Goldmember (parody)
• The title character in Jackie Brown (homage)
• Mrs. Kensington in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (parody)
• Princess Fiona in Shrek (with a satirical homage to The Matrix (parody) )
• Queen Lillian and parodies of Snow White, Rapunzel, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty in Shrek the Third (with a satirical homage to Kill Bill)

Science fiction and cyberpunk

• Aeryn Sun, a Sebacean warrior, a member of the Peacekeepers in the series Farscape, played by the actress Claudia Black
• Alice, Jill Valentine, and Claire Redfield in the film Resident Evil, Resident Evil: Apocalypse, and Resident Evil: Extinction
• Katinka Ingabogovinanana portrayed by Milla Jovovich in Zoolander
• Æon Flux in the animated series of the same name
• The Bene Gesserit of the Dune universe can fight with nearly superhuman capability using the Weirding Way, a fighting technique which makes use of a trained Bene Gesseret's absolute control of her body. Other all-female warrior societies which develop in the Dune series include the Fish Speakers and the Honored Matres.
• Dana Scully in The X-Files
• Ellen Ripley and Private First Class Jenette Vasquez in the Alien film series
• Kyra and Eve, a convict and a mercenary (respectively) from The Chronicles of Riddick
• Motoko Kusanagi from the original manga and anime adaptations of Ghost in the Shell
• Nell, the protagonist of Neal Stephenson's postcyberpunk novel The Diamond Age
• Pris, a replicant in Blade Runner
• Trinity, Niobe, and minor characters in the Matrix film trilogy
• Padmé Amidala portrayed by Natalie Portman in Star Wars prequel trilogy (1999 - 2005)
• Leia Organa portrayed by Carrie Fisher in Star Wars original trilogy (1977 - 1983)
• Carman Ibanez and Dizzy Flores in Starship Troopers
• Honor Harrington The main character in the David Weber Honorverse Series
• Maya and Mother Blessing in The fourth realm tilogy The Traveler (novel), a 2005 novel by John Twelve Hawks.
• Violet Song jat Shariff portrayed by Milla Jovovich in Ultraviolet
• Selene portrayed by Kate Beckinsale in Underworld and Underworld: Evolution
• Anya Major as the nameless woman warrior in Ridley Scott's 1984 Apple commercial which introduced the Apple Macintosh computer
• Delenn, Susan Ivanova, and Elizabeth Lochley in Babylon 5
• Captain Kara 'Starbuck' Thrace, Number Eight and Number Six in Battlestar Galactica
• Jaime Sommers in The Bionic Woman and its 2007 remake
• Cleopatra, Sarge and Hel From Cleopatra 2525
• Max Guevara, a genetically enhanced transgenic super-soldier in Dark Angel
• Nell, the protagonist of Neal Stephenson's postcyberpunk novel The Diamond Age
• Samantha Carter in Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis, and Teyla Emmagan in Stargate Atlantis
• Sarah Connor and Cameron Phillips in the television seriesThe Sarah Connor Chronicles
• seaQuest DSV (1993-1996) with L.t. J.G. Lonnie Henderson and L.t. J.J. Fredericks
• Star Trek Voyager (1995 - 2001) with Captain Kathryn Janeway, Lt.B'Elanna Torres, and Seven of Nine
• Star Trek Deep Space Nine (1993 - 9) with Kira Nerys and Jadzia Dax
• Star Trek The Next Generation (1987 - 1994) with Tasha Yar
• Star Trek: Enterprise (2001 - 5) with T'Pol
• Turanga Leela and the Amazonian race from Futurama
• Kate Austen from Lost (TV series)
• Leela and Sara Kingdom, two 'companion' characters from the original TV series Doctor Who
• Zoe Washburne from Firefly and Serenity

Sports

• Chak De Girls in Chak De India (2007)
• Gracie Bowen in Gracie (2007)
• Beth Phoenix "The Glamazon" - WWE Diva
• Jesminder 'Jess' Kaur Bhamra and Juliette 'Jules' Paxton in Bend It Like Beckham (2002)
• Maggie Fitzgerald in Million Dollar Baby (2004)

Superheroines

Main article: List of superheroines

• Wonder Woman, a comic book character based on the Amazon legend
• Barbara Gordon (Batgirl/Oracle), Batman's protege and confidant
• Supergirl, Superman's cousin - Kara Zor-El
• Black Canary, martial arts expert and founding member of Birds of Prey who possesses a sonic cry.
• Huntress, another member of Birds of Prey
• Rogue (comics) (Marvel Comics), an energy-absorbing mutant of the peace-keeping mutant team, the X-Men.
• Catwoman, a villain in Batman comic books
• Elektra, a fictional assassin in both the Daredevil and Elektra
• The Invisible Woman or Sue (Storm) Richards, a member of the Fantastic Four
• Kabuki (comics) and *Nara Kilday in Josh Howard's Dead@17 comics
• Miho, the Guardian of Old Town in The Sin City comic books by Frank Miller
• Sheena, Queen of the Jungle
• Liz Sherman from Hellboy and BPRD
• Jenny Sparks in The Authority
• Storm, a prominent leader of the X-Men and the reigning queen of the fictional nation of Wakanda
• Psylocke (Marvel Comics), a ninja warrior with psionic abilities
• Witchblade (Sara Pezzini)
• Zealot, an immortal alien warrior who recreates the all-female Coda, an order of assassins.

Westerns

• Ellen aka "The Lady" (Sharon Stone) in The Quick and the Dead

See also

• Female action heroes
• Feminist film theory
• History of women in the military
• History of women in sports
• Title IX

Further reading

• Alvarez, Maria. "Feminist icon in a catsuit (female lead character Emma Peel in defunct 1960s UK TV series The Avengers)", New Statesman, 14 August 1998.
• Au, Wagner James. "Supercop as Woman Warrior." Salon.com.
• Barr, Marleen S. Future Females, the Next Generation : New Voices and Velocities in Feminist Science Fiction Criticism. Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield, 2000.
• 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.
• 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.
• ———. Tough Girls : Women Warriors and Wonder Women in Popular Culture. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1999.
• Karlyn, Kathleen Rowe. "Scream, Popular Culture, and Feminism's Third Wave: 'I'm Not My Mother'. Genders: Presenting Innovative Work in the Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences No. 38 (2003).
• Karras, Irene. "The Third Wave's Final Girl: Buffy the Vampire Slayer." thirdspace 1:2 (March 2002).
• Kennedy, Helen W. "Lara Croft: Feminist Icon or Cyberbimbo?: On the Limits of Textual Analysis". Game Studies: The International Journal of Computer Game Research. 2:2 (December, 2002).
• Kim, L. S. "Making women warriors: a transnational reading of Asian female action heroes in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon." Jump Cut: A Review of Contemporary Media. No. 48, Winter, 2006.
• Kingston, Maxine Hong. The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts. New York: Vintage, 1975.
• Magoulick, Mary. "Frustrating Female Heroism: Mixed Messages in Xena, Nikita, and Buffy." The Journal of Popular Culture, Volume 39 Issue 5 (October 2006).
• Mainon, Dominique. The Modern Amazons: Warrior Women on Screen. Pompton Plains, N.J. : Limelight Editions, 2006.
• Osgerby, Bill, Anna Gough-Yates, and Marianne Wells. Action TV : Tough-Guys, Smooth Operators and Foxy Chicks. London: Routledge, 2001.
• Rowland, Robin. "Warrior queens and blind critics." Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 31 July 2004.
• Spicuzza, Mary. "Butt-Kicking Babes." AlterNet. 27 March 2001.
• Tasker, Yvonne. Action and Adventure Cinema. New York: Routledge, 2004.
• ———.Working Girls: Gender and Sexuality in Popular Culture. London: Routledge 1998
• ———.Spectacular Bodies : Gender, Genre, and the Action Cinema. London and New York: Routledge, 1993.
• Trickey, Helyn. "Girls with Gauntlets." Turner Network Television.
• Ventura, Michael. "Warrior Women." Psychology Today. Nov/Dec 1998. 31 (6).

External links

• Warrior Women On Screen