Abstract
Popular images of women during the Mexican Revolution (1911-1920) often depict them as dressed provocatively, yet wearing a bandolier and gun. Although the image is common, its origin is not well known. An examination of secondary literature and media will show the transformation in the image of the female soldier (soldadera) over the course of the Revolution from that of the submissive follower into a promiscuous fighter (Adelita). The soldaderas exhibited masculine characteristics, like strength and valor, and for these attributes, men were responsible for reshaping the soldadera’s image into the ideal (docile, yet licentious) woman of the time.
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