The Women Yearn for Armor

One of my favorite trends I’ve seen lately is the resurgence of armor in women’s fashion. Recently, at this year’s VMAs, rising artist Chappell Roan put on a three-look medieval show. She started the knight in a sheer dress, a long sage green overcoat, with a bold wooden cross necklace, and a sword. Personally, I found her most intricate and important costume to be the full chain link and plated armor look, with her accessories being swords and crossbows reminiscent of the Catholic icon, Joan of Arc. Roan then incorporated imagery of war, fire, and violence in her performance, channeling feminine rage. So what is with the resurgence of chivalry and knighthood in women’s fashion, especially when these were the masculine-esque traits of the era?

I think, with the rise of Fantasy media like Dune, Game of Thrones, and Lord of the Rings, there’s been a general shift towards a more fantastical way of dressing. I also believe it to be a reclamation on women’s part, saying that we too can wear armor, be strong, and act noble. There’s also the element of medieval-Catholic symbolism reviving in popular culture with the rise in interest of Saint Joan of Arc. Arc, who was burned at the stake at 19 for hearsay, claimed she heard the voice of angels and led her country to victory during the Hundred Years’ War. I believe that women can understand Joan of Arc, beyond religious reasons, and see her as a girl who fought for what she believed in, despite unbelievers. Stars like Chloë Sevigny (as pictured) and Fiona Apple have gone so far as to portray her heroism in the public eye.

There's also been a rise of female fighting characters across all mediums, which I think can be incredibly inspiring for younger audiences of girls. Growing up, we saw women in the role of the nurturer, the intelligence, or the sex symbol. They were beautiful, delicate, and lady-like; they showed a woman’s place as always attending to the man, and never being attended by men, themselves. That is, until we saw characters like Kitana, Éowyn, Arya Stark, and my personal favorite, Brienne of Tarth. Brienne is meant to be ugly, described as “tall, muscular, flat-chested, and ungainly, with long, shoulder-length brittle straw-colored hair and broad, coarse features that are covered in freckles.” It is so important to Brienne’s character that she is just ugly, undesirable, and beastly, because she then becomes the strongest female fighter in the fictional land of Westeros. Her ugliness is the least interesting thing about her, as she is noble, strong, loyal, and even later becomes the first female knight in the rich history of the fantasy world. Brienne’s character challenges all preconceptions of what a woman's role is in stories. She paves the way for all the badass female characters we know and love, and those we’ll see in the future.

Strike out,

Jaden Rudd

Saint Augustine

Editors: Kaya O’Rourke and Maya Kayyal

Jaden Rudd is a Staff Writer for Strike Magazine, Saint Augustine. She loves Fantasy and wishes to one day have a pet dragon. You can find her at @jadenrud on Instagram, at jadenrudd95@gmail.com, or check out her poem “The Fae” at Midsommar Magazine.

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