WA battle-axe is a formidable woman – aggressive, domineering and forceful.
WBlonde stereotypes are stereotypes of blonde-haired people. Sub-types of this stereotype include the "blonde bombshell" and the "dumb blonde". Blondes are stereotyped as more desirable, but less intelligent than brunettes. There are many blonde jokes made on these premises. Although chiefly aimed at women, jokes of this style have also been aimed at similar stereotypes associated with men, such as the "dumb jock" and the "surfer dude".
WA cat lady is a cultural archetype or stock character, most often depicted as a woman, a middle-aged or elderly spinster, who has many cats. The term may be pejorative, or it may be affectionately embraced.
WColumbina is a stock character in the commedia dell'arte. She is Harlequin's mistress, a comic servant playing the tricky slave type, and wife of Pierrot. Rudlin and Crick use the Italian spelling Colombina in Commedia dell'arte: A Handbook for Troupes.
WThe damsel in distress is a recurring narrative device in which one or more men are required to rescue a woman who has either been kidnapped or placed in general peril. Kinship, love, or lust gives the male protagonist the motivation or compulsion needed to initiate the narrative. The female character herself may be competent, but still finds herself in this type of situation. The helplessness of these fictional females, according to some critics, is linked to views outside of fiction that women as a group need to be taken care of by men. The evolution of the trope throughout history has been described as such: "What changes through the decades isn’t the damsel – it’s the attacker. The faces of the attacker in popular media are legion: monsters, mad scientists, Nazis, hippies, bikers, aliens... whichever group best meets the collective fears of a culture gets the role". The trope does not necessarily involve the male protagonist "getting" the female as a reward, but may be combined with other tropes where the female character becomes the male character's reward at the end of the story.
WDan is the general name for female roles in Chinese opera, often referring to leading roles. They may be played by male or female actors. In the early years of Peking opera, all dan roles were played by men, but this practice is no longer common in any Chinese opera genre.
WThe farmer's daughter or farm girl is a term for a stock character and stereotype in fiction for the daughter of a farmer, who is often portrayed as a desirable and naïve young woman. She is described as being an "open-air type" and "public-spirited", who will tend to marry a hero and settle down.
WA femme fatale, sometimes called a maneater or vamp, is a stock character of a mysterious, beautiful, and seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers, often leading them into compromising, deadly traps. She is an archetype of literature and art. Her ability to enchant, entice and hypnotize her victim with a spell was in the earliest stories seen as verging on supernatural; hence, the femme fatale today is still often described as having a power akin to an enchantress, seductress, witch, having power over men. Femmes fatales are typically villainous, or at least morally ambiguous, and always associated with a sense of mystification, and unease.
WThe girl next door is a young female stock character who is often used in romantic stories. She is so named because she often lives next door to the protagonist or is a childhood friend. They start out with a mutual friendship that later often develops into romantic attraction.
WA handmaiden, handmaid or maidservant is a personal maid or female servant. Depending on culture or historical period, a handmaiden may be of slave status or may be simply an employee. However, the term handmaiden generally implies lowly status.
WThe hooker with a heart of gold is a stock character involving a courtesan or prostitute with a hidden integrity and kindness. The character, traditionally female, is usually an example of irony: an allegedly immoral woman who demonstrates virtues absent in a woman morally correct for the role.
WThe ingénue is a stock character in literature, film and a role type in the theater, generally a girl or a young woman who is endearingly innocent. Ingénue may also refer to a new young actress or one typecast in such roles. The term comes from the feminine form of the French adjective ingénu meaning "ingenuous" or innocent, virtuous and candid. The term may also imply a lack of sophistication and cunning.
WStereotypes of Jews are generalized representations of Jews, often caricatured and of a prejudiced and antisemitic nature. Those stereotypes include: Jews always acting with unforgiving hostility towards Christians, Jews' religious rituals which have specifically undermined the Christian Church and state, and Jews' habitual assassinations of Christians as their most extreme deeds.
WA jungle girl is an archetype or stock character, often used in popular fiction, of a female adventurer, superhero or even a damsel in distress living in a jungle or rainforest setting. An alternate depiction is a cave girl.
WThe loathly lady, is a tale type commonly used in medieval literature, most famously in Geoffrey Chaucer's The Wife of Bath's Tale. The motif is that of a woman who appears unattractive but undergoes a transformation upon being approached by a man in spite of her unattractiveness, becoming extremely desirable. It is then revealed that her ugliness was the result of a curse which was broken by the hero's action.
WA mammy, also spelled mammie, is a U.S. historical stereotype, originating from the South, depicting black women who work in a white family and nurse the family's children. The fictionalized mammy character is often visualized as a larger-sized, dark-skinned woman with a motherly personality. The origin of the mammy figure stereotype is rooted in the history of slavery in the United States. Black slave women were tasked with domestic and childcare work in white American slaveholding households. The mammy stereotype was inspired by these enslaved domestic workers but is not an accurate representation of the American slave experience.
WA pantomime dame is a traditional role in British pantomime. It is part of the theatrical tradition of travesti portrayal of female characters by male actors in drag. Dame characters are often played either in an extremely camp style, or else by men acting butch in women's clothing. They usually wear heavy make up and big hair, have exaggerated physical features, and perform in an over-the-top style.
WThe shrew – an unpleasant, ill-tempered woman characterised by scolding, nagging, and aggression – is a comedic, stock character in literature and folklore, both Western and Eastern. The theme is illustrated in Shakespeare's play The Taming of the Shrew.
WSouthern belle is a colloquialism for a debutante in the white upper class of the Antebellum South.
WA tomboy is a girl who exhibits characteristics or behaviors considered typical of a boy. Common characteristics include wearing masculine clothing and engaging in games and activities that are physical in nature and are considered in some cultures to be unfeminine, or the domain of boys.
WA vixen is usually a stereotype of women as mysterious, racy, salacious, and seductive. It is used as an archetype and stock character in literature and art. Vixens are commonly identified with dark hair and makeup, their sex appeal, and seductress personas.