Battle-axe (woman)

A battle-axe is a derogatory traditional stereotype describing a woman characterized as aggressive, overbearing and forceful. The term originated as a gender-independent descriptor in the early 20th century, but became primarily applied to women around the middle of the century.[1]

This article is about the stereotype of women. For other uses, see Battleaxe (disambiguation).
Carrie Nation, brandishing a hatchet

The prime example was the militant temperance activist Carrie Nation, who actually wielded a hatchet and made it her symbol, living in Hatchet Hall and publishing a magazine called The Hatchet. She became involved in the suffragette campaign for votes for women and this campaign further established the archetype.[2][1][3]

The battleaxe is one of several stereotypes found in nursing – a tyrannical, fierce matron exemplified by Nurse Ratched or Hattie Jacques in popular medical dramas and comedies.[4] Judith Furse played a "battle-axe woman" in the film Carry On Cabby.[5]

See also

References
Look up battle axe in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
  1. "A Browbeating Cultural History of the 'Old Battle-Axe'", MEL Magazine, 2019-11-26
  2. Fran Grace (2001), Carry A. Nation, p. 243, ISBN 978-0-253-33846-4
  3. Helen Rappaport (2001), "Nation, Carry (1846-1911)", Encyclopedia of Women Social Reformers, vol. 1, pp. 478–479, ISBN 978-1-57607-101-4
  4. Philip Darbyshire and Suzanne Gordon (2005), "The Battleaxe or Monstrous Figure", Professional Nursing, ISBN 978-0-8261-2554-5
  5. Brian McFarlane, ed. (2016), "Judith Furse", The Encyclopedia of British Film, Oxford University Press, p. 275, ISBN 9781526111975

Further reading
  • Josephine Kamm (1966), Rapiers and Battleaxes: the women's movement and its aftermath, Allen & Unwin, ISBN 9780435122102
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.