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Power Grid

10 Women Who Took Titles Normally Reserved For Men

by Jamie Frevele | 12:30 pm, March 7th, 2012


Allow Us to Explain

Allow Us to Explain

Captain Janeway was referred to as “Sir,” despite clearly not being a man. Perhaps she was taking cues from Marcy from Peanuts, who called Peppermint Patty “Sir.” (Actually, it’s just military custom to refer to superiors as “sir,” no matter what gender they are.) And then Elizabeth Swann became the King of the Pirates. While women taking titles normally reserved for men shows up in fiction every once in a while, what’s more impressive is that it’s not a product of fiction — this happens in real life, more often than you’d think, and in pretty high places.

For Women’s History Month, we’ve taken a break from fictional female characters to put the spotlight on a few women who became significant rulers, even kings. Yes, kings. Not queens, not empresses, but kings. Usually reserved for men, these women thought there was no need to separate themselves as an equally effective ruler by taking a gender-specific title. These are real-life examples from history, but a handful of these women are currently running their respective shows.

So, come inside for a brief trip back in time to find out about all these women who were proud to take on their important roles — and kept their predecessors’ titles, thankyouverymuch.


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  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Magdalena-Kuzawinska/810369836 Magdalena Kuzawinska

     when i started reading i was curious if you include Jadwiga (I’m from Poland) and was pleasantly surprised. great list, pretty comprehensive.

  • Anonymous

    Attack is the best form of defence

  • http://twitter.com/beepx22 Brian Ritchie

    Actually Captain Janeway was referred to as “sir” due to naval (and Starfleet) Tradition.  She preferred to be called Captain, or Ma’am in a pinch.  

  • Francesca M

    Fascinating List. Some I knew of.. others.. well darn cool.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_R7GVNIKWG3S2UTHEQOMSZXT4M4 Anna B

    So glad you included Tomoe Gozen.  I remember first finding out about her some five years ago and I went into some kind of obsessive frenzy trying to find out more. There’s precious little about her, but what little could be found is amazing.

  • Adam Whitley

    I love these little history lessons.

  • http://www.thenerdybird.com/ Jill Pantozzi

    Unless it was edited in later, I’m pretty sure that’s in our description.

  • http://twitter.com/urbansuburbia Marie

    Thank you. I feel as though I have learned something today.

  • http://twitter.com/Channel019 David McKay

    Actually Queen Elizabeth II isn’t “undoubtedly the Queen of England” as the monarchies of England and Scotland were united 400 years ago.

  • http://twitter.com/celeec4 celeec4

    Just gonna leave this here. :D 
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wu_Zetian

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1182281664 Andrew R. Parkhill

    Eh… only thing is, it’s not a military custom to call a woman “Sir”. At least, not in the U.S. Air Force. Men are “Sir”, and women are “Ma’am.” I’m sure there are some military units or branches in the world that do, but it’s misleading to lump them all in to one category. 

  • Kath

    It’s also the “British Monarchy”, I believe.

  • http://twitter.com/geminianeyes Geminianeyes

    I was kinda surprised that Wu Zetian didn’t make it to the list, considering she was the only female to have taken the Emperor title in China.

  • Darrell Dow

    Yes, the United States Armed Forces do still use sir and ma’am as gender-specific forms of address. I have no idea how they do it in the military of other countries.

  • Catherine Prickett

    Jessica Amanda Salmonson wrote a couple of novels inspired by her:  Tomoe Gozen and The Golden Naginata.  Probably long out of print, but worth tracking down.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_R7GVNIKWG3S2UTHEQOMSZXT4M4 Anna B

    I checked. It’s still in print! Thank you!

  • http://www.facebook.com/sarah.roth1 Sarah Roth

    I really have trouble understanding this:
    “Christina may have indeed been intersexed and has since become a symbol for those who rail against gender identity.”
    I never heard of that Christina in intersex activism and I don’t know who rails against gender identity with her as an example, as that would not make sense. Even if you mean gender role and conflate the two I don’t see where her being intersex makes a difference.

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