Lorelili's definitions
A beautiful, seductive, and usually evil female character in drama and literature. She is usually shown as a cruel, man-eating seductress. (Straight) men fall victim to her beauty and are eventually brought to ruin by her. The femme fatale is often a secret agent and/or a spy.
Another word for femme fatale is vamp; due to the fact that the femme fatale is often a sexual vampire, the term "vamp" stuck when introduced by the silent movies.
The femme fatale is usually played by a strong mezzo-soprano in opera and musical theater.
Another word for femme fatale is vamp; due to the fact that the femme fatale is often a sexual vampire, the term "vamp" stuck when introduced by the silent movies.
The femme fatale is usually played by a strong mezzo-soprano in opera and musical theater.
Femme fatales show up often in film noir, James Bond stories, and murder mysteries.
They are often much stronger and more cunning characters than their foils; the often inept damsel in distress and the sweet, fawn-eyed, but naive ingenue.
They are often much stronger and more cunning characters than their foils; the often inept damsel in distress and the sweet, fawn-eyed, but naive ingenue.
by Lorelili December 30, 2005
Get the femme fatalemug. Somebody who still practices the oldest known subsistence method for humans: gathering plant foods and hunting animals. Also known as a forager. For 99.9% of human history, virtually all humans lived in small, semi-nomadic bands who foraged for food. Now only .1% of humans hunt and gather.
Hunter-gatherer societies are the most egalitarian societies known; since the group size is rarely more than one hundred to two hundred, there is no room for sexual division of labor or social strata because everyone must look out for each other. Men hunt while women and children gather roots, leaves, fruits, eggs, seeds, and trap small animals. Males and females are recognized as different but equally important; since hunting is difficult and unpredictable, the women provide about 80% of the food. While women could hunt, that they nurse babies and small children keeps them from joining stressful, difficult hunts; gathering plant foods is far easier on the women and children. While the men must use sign language and hand signals to communicate while hunting, the women are free to chat with each other as they gather all manner of plant products.
Foragers depend heavily on the reproductive capacities of their territory and the local climate/ ecosystem must change very little, if at all; a tiny shift could mean disaster.
Hunter-gatherer societies are the most egalitarian societies known; since the group size is rarely more than one hundred to two hundred, there is no room for sexual division of labor or social strata because everyone must look out for each other. Men hunt while women and children gather roots, leaves, fruits, eggs, seeds, and trap small animals. Males and females are recognized as different but equally important; since hunting is difficult and unpredictable, the women provide about 80% of the food. While women could hunt, that they nurse babies and small children keeps them from joining stressful, difficult hunts; gathering plant foods is far easier on the women and children. While the men must use sign language and hand signals to communicate while hunting, the women are free to chat with each other as they gather all manner of plant products.
Foragers depend heavily on the reproductive capacities of their territory and the local climate/ ecosystem must change very little, if at all; a tiny shift could mean disaster.
The hunter-gatherer culture is very difficult to preserve now, with such pressure to assimilate. But then, Jared Diamond has argued that agriculture is the worst mistake that humans have made.
Where foragers eat at least 200 species of plants and a similar number of animal species, industrial cultures barely eat a tenth of that; foragers are far healthier while farmers now live with very little crop diversity and are thus vulnerable to famine and have lived close to animals and exchanged pathogens with them.
Women in foraging societies have the most autonomy; women’s control of production, marriage, and reproduction is the norm in hunter-gatherer groups.
Hunter-gatherer groups include the Bushmen, Mbenga, and Hadza peoples of southern Africa; the Yupik and Gwich'in of Alaska; the Beaver Nation of Canada; and numerous indigenous tribes in Indonesia, Australia, and the Americas.
Many of America's First Nations have been forced to leave hunter-gatherer lifestyles, including the Miwok, Ohlone, Chumash, Paiute, Cheyenne, Shoshone, Penobscot, and the many Plains Nations.
Where foragers eat at least 200 species of plants and a similar number of animal species, industrial cultures barely eat a tenth of that; foragers are far healthier while farmers now live with very little crop diversity and are thus vulnerable to famine and have lived close to animals and exchanged pathogens with them.
Women in foraging societies have the most autonomy; women’s control of production, marriage, and reproduction is the norm in hunter-gatherer groups.
Hunter-gatherer groups include the Bushmen, Mbenga, and Hadza peoples of southern Africa; the Yupik and Gwich'in of Alaska; the Beaver Nation of Canada; and numerous indigenous tribes in Indonesia, Australia, and the Americas.
Many of America's First Nations have been forced to leave hunter-gatherer lifestyles, including the Miwok, Ohlone, Chumash, Paiute, Cheyenne, Shoshone, Penobscot, and the many Plains Nations.
by Lorelili November 6, 2012
Get the hunter-gatherermug. A femme fatale character in movies or books. The character is a woman who, while not necessarily attractive, has a certain allure (usually this striking, exotic, overtly sexy glamour), and is usually a heartless, man-eating seductress.
The term is short for vampire, another term for a femme fatale.
The term is short for vampire, another term for a femme fatale.
In drama, the vamp is the sexual counterpoint for the naive, wholesome ingenue character.
The sultry lower voice of the mezzo-soprano is usually reserved for the vamp character in musicals or opera.
The sultry lower voice of the mezzo-soprano is usually reserved for the vamp character in musicals or opera.
by Lorelili December 28, 2005
Get the vampmug. (1491-1547) A King of England who began as a handsome, sweet-natured prince and became a fat, bloated, lecherous, ruthless, narcissistic tyrant whose split from the Catholic faith to divorce his first wife and marry his second can be felt today.
He married six times, first to Katherine of Aragon (divorced), then to Anne Boleyn (beheaded), then to Jane Seymour (died), then to Anne of Cleves (divorced), then to Katherine Howard (beheaded), and finally to Katherine Parr (survived).
To his credit, he legitimized the crown after decades of the War of the Roses (warring between the two branches of the royal family), but he is remembered today for his lechery and for abusing his wives and his two daughters in a futile effort for a healthy son; only his daughter Elizabeth I would be his saving grace.
He married six times, first to Katherine of Aragon (divorced), then to Anne Boleyn (beheaded), then to Jane Seymour (died), then to Anne of Cleves (divorced), then to Katherine Howard (beheaded), and finally to Katherine Parr (survived).
To his credit, he legitimized the crown after decades of the War of the Roses (warring between the two branches of the royal family), but he is remembered today for his lechery and for abusing his wives and his two daughters in a futile effort for a healthy son; only his daughter Elizabeth I would be his saving grace.
After the death of Jane Seymour from childbirth, a new wife was sought for Henry VIII, reaching across Europe, but his reputation preceded him; he chose 16-year-old Christina of Milan first, but the widowed duchess (a great-niece of Katherine of Aragon) refused, saying that she would be happy to marry him if she had two heads. Henry next chose Marie de Guise, another young widow, since "as a big man he needed a big wife"; she rejected his offer and quipped that she may have been a big woman but she had a very little neck (in reference to Anne Boleyn) and she wasted little time in marrying Henry's nephew, James V of Scotland. Anne of Cleves became the first pick as other candidates made excuses or married.
Henry VIII seemed to have a liking for redheads named Katherine, since he married three such women.
Messenger: (to a group of young noblewomen) "His Royal Majesty Henry VIII seeketh another wife."
Young noblewomen: (screaming in horror and stampeding)
Henry VIII seemed to have a liking for redheads named Katherine, since he married three such women.
Messenger: (to a group of young noblewomen) "His Royal Majesty Henry VIII seeketh another wife."
Young noblewomen: (screaming in horror and stampeding)
by Lorelili September 21, 2011
Get the Henry VIIImug. A man or woman who fights for women's issues, but usually used for women.
An obnoxious word that is built off of the word "hero", which is not native to English and etymologically unrelated to "he" and "she". "Hero", strictly speaking, is gender neutral now and "shero" specifies gender, contrary to feminist efforts to make language gender-neutral; way to shoot yourselves in the foot, feminists.
An obnoxious word that is built off of the word "hero", which is not native to English and etymologically unrelated to "he" and "she". "Hero", strictly speaking, is gender neutral now and "shero" specifies gender, contrary to feminist efforts to make language gender-neutral; way to shoot yourselves in the foot, feminists.
"Heroine" can be used in a positive way; drop the "shero" and use "heroine" to describe a strong, intelligent woman and the connotations will change. Or just use "hero" if you don't want to differentiate.
by Lorelili December 29, 2007
Get the sheromug. The medium female singing voice in opera and non-classical music (although in the choir, the mezzo-soprano and the contralto are lumped together as altos). The mezzo-soprano has a range of two octaves from A3 (below middle C) to A5 (just two notes short of high C). This is the most common female voice.
Situated between the soprano and contralto, the mezzo-soprano typically plays supporting roles (mothers, maidservants, friends of the heroine) as well as villainous women like the femme fatale (the saying among mezzo-sopranos and contraltos is that they play "witches, britches, and bitches").
Many pop singers are mezzo-sopranos, although the vocal subcategories used in opera are not applied to them. Examples include Madonna, Beyonce, Patti Lupone, Ethel Merman, Tori Amos, Mary J. Blige, Aretha Franklin, Jennifer Hudson, Whitney Houston (since the mid-1990s), Enya, Janet Jackson, Barbra Streisand, Alanis Morissette, and Sarah McLachlan.
Situated between the soprano and contralto, the mezzo-soprano typically plays supporting roles (mothers, maidservants, friends of the heroine) as well as villainous women like the femme fatale (the saying among mezzo-sopranos and contraltos is that they play "witches, britches, and bitches").
Many pop singers are mezzo-sopranos, although the vocal subcategories used in opera are not applied to them. Examples include Madonna, Beyonce, Patti Lupone, Ethel Merman, Tori Amos, Mary J. Blige, Aretha Franklin, Jennifer Hudson, Whitney Houston (since the mid-1990s), Enya, Janet Jackson, Barbra Streisand, Alanis Morissette, and Sarah McLachlan.
Based on vocal weight/voice type, mezzo-sopranos re divided into three subtypes:
Coloratura mezzo-soprano: Light, flexible, pure, very agile and sings very ornate passages (very rare voice). Examples include Cecilia Bartoli, Marilyn Horne, and Jennifer Larmore, and Vivica Genaux.
Lyric mezzo-soprano: Light, mellow, strong and often plays trouser roles (a woman who plays boys and adolescent males) as well as perfectly feminine characters. Examples include Frederica von Stade, Anne Sophie von Otter, Tatiana Troyanos, and Katherine Jenkins.
Dramatic mezzo-soprano: Powerful, rich, warm and with a stronger (and seductive) lower range than a soprano, she is reserved for the roles of villains (temptresses, femmes fatales, witches) as well as mothers and friends of the soprano. Examples include Grace Bumbry, Dolora Zajick, Denyce Graves, Olga Borodina, and Viorica Cortez.
Mezzo-sopranos can't sing high notes as easily as sopranos (they sound appropriately wild and crazed when they do), but they get their revenge by playing some of the spiciest roles ever.
Coloratura mezzo-soprano: Light, flexible, pure, very agile and sings very ornate passages (very rare voice). Examples include Cecilia Bartoli, Marilyn Horne, and Jennifer Larmore, and Vivica Genaux.
Lyric mezzo-soprano: Light, mellow, strong and often plays trouser roles (a woman who plays boys and adolescent males) as well as perfectly feminine characters. Examples include Frederica von Stade, Anne Sophie von Otter, Tatiana Troyanos, and Katherine Jenkins.
Dramatic mezzo-soprano: Powerful, rich, warm and with a stronger (and seductive) lower range than a soprano, she is reserved for the roles of villains (temptresses, femmes fatales, witches) as well as mothers and friends of the soprano. Examples include Grace Bumbry, Dolora Zajick, Denyce Graves, Olga Borodina, and Viorica Cortez.
Mezzo-sopranos can't sing high notes as easily as sopranos (they sound appropriately wild and crazed when they do), but they get their revenge by playing some of the spiciest roles ever.
by Lorelili July 7, 2011
Get the mezzo-sopranomug. The wealthy industrialist rolled his eyes in callous disdain as he brushed past a crying child begging for help.
The school bully callously humiliated a helpless newcomer.
The school bully callously humiliated a helpless newcomer.
by Lorelili November 19, 2012
Get the callousmug.