Lay off my heroines, you gender offenders
JOAN of Arc and Elizabeth I were two of the icons in a Great
Women of History book I treasured as a girl.
I was fascinated by the Maid of Orléans – the pious peasant girl who led the French army to a stunning 15th century victory, only to be tried for witchcraft and burned at the stake aged just 19.
And by the famous Virgin Queen who roused her own troops to battle by telling them she had “the heart and stomach of a king”despite her “weak and feeble” WOMAN’S body.
But now an academic has
suggested that both Joan and Elizabeth may have been non-binary persons. Because wearing armour and living among men was obviously “gendered defiance” and must have had “a profound impact on their sense of self”.
Or maybe it was just female defiance – designed to make a profound impact on blokes and show them women leaders make sense.
I wonder which Great Woman will be next on the list in this battle to erase women from the pages of history.