Iron Lady

Iron Lady is a nickname that has frequently been used to describe female heads of government around the world. The term describes a "strong willed" woman. This iron metaphor was most famously applied to Margaret Thatcher, nicknamed so in 1976 by the Soviet media for her staunch opposition to communism. [ [http://www.margaretthatcher.org/speeches/displaydocument.asp?docid=102939 Speech at Kensington Town Hall ("Britain Awake") (The Iron Lady)] , Margaret Thatcher Foundation archives]

Leaders who have earned the unofficial title (some of them postfactum) include:

* Golda Meir, the Prime Minister of Israel from 1969 to 1974
* Barbara Castle, a British left-wing politician (1910-2002). [ [http://www.hinduonnet.com/2002/05/05/stories/2002050500511400.htm U.K. loses its first Iron Lady] By Hasan Suroor ("The Hindu") May 5, 2002]
* Indira Gandhi, the Prime Minister of India from 1966 to 1977 & 1980 to 1984
* Margaret Thatcher, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990
* Eugenia Charles, the Prime Minister of Dominica from 1980 to 1995 known as the "Iron Lady of the Caribbean"
* Angela Merkel, the Chancellor of Germany since 2005
* Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, the President of Liberia since 2005 [cite news
title = Liberia's 'Iron Lady' claims win
publisher = BBC
date = 2005-11-11
url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4421866.stm
accessdate = 2006-07-23 ]

Some female politicians have been given similar nicknames:
* The Iron Butterfly is a nickname of former Philippine first lady Imelda Marcos. [cite news
last = Rowan
first = Roy
title = Orchid or Iron Butterfly, Imelda Marcos Is a Prime Mover in Manila
publisher = People Magazine
date = 1976-03-29
url = http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20066297,00.html
accessdate = 2006-07-23 ]
* Iron Rita is a nickname of former Dutch minister Rita Verdonk [cite news
last = van Egmond
first = Joost
title = Iron Rita Loses Her Mettle
publisher = Time
date = 2006-07-02
url = http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1209921,00.html
accessdate = 2006-07-23 ] [cite news
last = van de Pol
first = Jurjen
title = 'Iron Rita' Starts New Dutch Political Party After Wilders Film
publisher = Bloomberg.com
date = 2008-04-03
url = http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601085&sid=albrC.Yjrq04&refer=europe
accessdate = 2006-07-23 ]
* "Jern-Erna" (meaning; "Iron-Erna") is a nickname of the leader of the Norwegian Conservative Party, Erna Solberg.fact|date=May 2008
* Former United States Secretary of State Madeleine Albright was given the nickname "Titanium Lady", playing on some of her similarities with Thatcher. [ [http://www.fas.org/MHonArc/NATO-L_archive/msg00026.html Federation of American Scientists. NATO-List: USIA - Albright Foreign Media Reaction] : "Titanium Lady Shows Her Mettle In Moscow" The conservative "Daily Telegraph" pointed out (February 21, 1997)]

"Iron Lady of the Seas", a 1984 video, and "Iron Lady at Sea", a 1988 book, are about "Star of India", the oldest iron-hulled merchant ship afloat launched in 1863. [ [http://www.kpbs.org/Other/DynPage.php?id=255 Star of India: Iron Lady of the Seas] (PBS video)]

"Iron Lady" is also the title of a song by Phil Ochs. In this song, the Iron Lady is a metaphor for the electric chair. This song was also performed by Diamanda Galás on her live album Malediction & Prayer in dedication to Aileen Wuornos.

"Iron Lady" is a Warcraft III LAN gaming competition held by SteelSeries and directed at female Chinese players. The event was created in 2007 and has completed 2 seasons already. Some well known players include Zhang 'Cang' Xiangliang and Xu "Sara" Yinghua, both of whom played in the IronLady.2 Final.

ee also

*Iron Queen

External Links

* [http://www.imow.org/wpp/stories/viewStory?storyId=930 Feature on Iron Ladies by the International Museum of Women]

References