I have a news flash. Viking women took care of themselves.

I know, it’s hard to believe, but it’s true. When the men went a’Viking, raiding or trading, other peoples and tribes were doing it, too. When others attacked, who do you think defended the villages and farms?

Women and slaves did.

There is a persistent myth about “Shield Maidens” in Norse culture. While I have no doubt that there were a minority of women that raided like the men, Shield Maiden was actually a term used to describe the Valkyries. They would gather the spirits of the Noble Dead from the battlefields and take them to Folkvangr (Freya’s hall) or Valhalla.

Women did fight though, and fight for their lives. When the raiders came, they used any think that could be used as a weapon to defend their homes, children and dependents. They didn’t just lie down and let themselves be taken.

I find it interesting, then, that so many women are afraid of fighting back. It’s not just a physical fighting back, either. We seem to be more afraid of someone calling us Bitches than we are of anything else.

If “Bitch” means that I won’t let someone take away what’s mine, including my dignity and choice, then bitch I am. If bitch means speaking out the truth of my life, then I own the title willingly.

I’m not against applying a knee to the nuts of any man who tries to screw with me these days, either. At the age of 49, I found my fierce. Life is better now.

Eleanor Roosevelt said that no one can make you feel inferior without your permission. So if you feel as if others are better than you, you need to stop. You aren’t.