“Of particular significance in these notices are the apparent frequency of such battles and the casual acceptance of women combatants. Neither the report of the bout nor the advertisement for it makes any distinction between male and female duellists, nor does either treat the presence of the women as particularly noteworthy. Applying no special rules to the women, the proprietors extend the rewards without qualifications to “the male or female who gave most cuts.” Like the ballad heroine, these women were not expected to duel any differently from men, and their participation in “masculine” sport seems not to have been considered a violation of their “natural” female inclinations.”
– Dianne Dugaw, Warrior Women and Popular Balladry, 1650-1850 (via Jess Nevins)
Born Of An Atom Bomb
Image and thought dump for the various projects of Jared Axelrod
