Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Ball Busters Hall of Fame: Boudicca - Eva - Joan - Regina - and...

Hillary Clinton?

There have been women in history who have been considered so fierce and forceful, that they have been admitted into the arguable but still interesting Ball Busters Hall of Fame. Since she has kept so long in the Democratic Nomination race for President, it might seem that Hillary Rodham has a good chance of joining those incredible women of history.

Buts let's look at some of them to see if she fits any of the criteria of being a true "ball buster".

Boudicca - Queen of the Iceni

One of the original women who scared the pants off of men was Boudicca, Queen of the Iceni. While no one knows what she looked like, there being no 4 photos for $1 booths in Roman
occupied Britain of the first century, we do know that she was fierce, especially after she was flogged and her daughters raped.

Her husband, Prasutagus, an Icenian king who had ruled as a nominally independent ally of Rome, left his kingdom jointly to his daughters and the Roman Emperor in his will, but when he died his will was ignored, possibly because the Romans, unlike the Britons, did not recognise daughters as heirs. The kingdom was annexed as if conquered, Boudica was flogged and her daughters raped, and Roman financiers called in their loans.


This all left Boudicca a bit pissed and she attacked Roman forts and garrisons to the point that Nero thought of calling off all occupation in Britain. She was eventually defeated, but she was remembered enough to have a statue of herself leading a charge against London's Trafalgar Square.


Eva Peron

Admittedly, Peron might be considered an opportunist, but what an opportunist! Ball Buster might not seem the proper description for someone swathed in Christian
Dior, but while Juan Peron wasn't afraid of her, the rest of the military and political clime of Argentina were. To this day, there are people in Argentina who consider her a saint - and people who consider that she was demon spawn. Whatever, the woman definitely ruled men her way.

Regina Giddons

Women in fable and literature deserve to be in the BBHF, simply because they inspire other women. Maybe the woman to be admired is not at all ethical, like Regina Giddons of The Little Foxes, but does that matter to a true Ball Buster? Giddons was almost without peer for ruthlessness, but she summed up her character in the lines said to her consumptive husband: "I hope you die. I hope you die soon. I'll be waiting for you to die."

When Bette Davis played the role for the silver screen, makeup
artist Perce Westmore made her look like some beautiful but cold piece of porcelain, more like a doll's head. The face had no wrinkles - none. It showed true lack of conscience. Regina treated every man, including her own brothers and nephew as enemies.

And she always won. Always.


Zena, Warrior Princess certainly exuded ferocity and courage in warfare, but she did have a heart. Fortunately though, that heart was always encased in a steel body into whom no man could enter. Was this ferocious amazon a lesbian? Who cares? Her kind of ball-busting was very, very entertaining. The character was so full of fury that she literally blazed across our TV screens.

This was one warrior princess who rarely took any prisoners.

Hillary and Joan of Arc:


The image at the right is not quintessential Ball Buster. dYes, the real Joan of Arc led armies to save France. She led a charge after she was stricken with an arrow through her shoulder. And too, she may have been a bit creepy to deal with since she said that "voices" told her to lead the military. Just how do you accept a commander who is :a. a woman and b. someone with authority that seems other-worldly.

For a moment, an image of Hillary Clinton flashed through your mind. She has always said that her mentor was Eleanor Roosevelt. But now that Hillary sees victory within her grasp (as the Democratic Presidential Nominee) she thinks of herself as a soldier- saint. Yes, in the previous post I stated that she fell into the trap of the American Machismo, but now Hillary will have to make the most of her swagger and stance: "I'm here (like Joan of Arc) to save this country from our enemies, be they Muslims or Republicans."