Woman warrior

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Woman warriors in legend and mythology refer to mythological, historical, and legendary figures in the oral tradition, literature, and popular culture.

According to the Random House Dictionary, the term warrior has two meanings. The first literal use refers to "a person engaged or experienced in warfare." The second figurative use refers to "a person who shows or has shown great vigor, courage, or aggressiveness, as in politics or athletics." Scholars explore both literal examples (such as in the text Joan of Arc: The Image of Female Heroism) as well as figurative ones. 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 Buffy Summers from the television series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer (who inspired the academic field, Buffy Studies). In the introduction to their text, Early and Kennedy discuss what they describe as a link between this "new" image of women warriors and girl power.

The category "female warrior" coincided with the rise of feminist theory and figures in fields such as gender studies, cultural studies, film studies, mass communication, sociology, psychology, and anthropology.

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