Gender, Myth, and Warfare: A Cross-Cultural Analysis of Women Warriors

A combination of cross-cultural and symbolic methodologies suggests that
women warriors occur in societies where there is both an emphasis on the sacred
feminine that allows women greater access to positions of power and authority (as per
Peggy Sanday) and where marital residency rules permit female fighters (following
David B. Adams´s theory on women warriors). While neither theory can stand alone in
explaining the existence of women warriors, when combined both theories give a solid
picture of societies that allow for female combatants. In this paper I propose that by
combining Sanday’s work on female power and Adams’s work on women warriors we
can come to a better understanding about just what makes the cultures that allow for
women’s participation in warfare unique, and perhaps what characteristics must be in
place in order for a culture to have women warriors.