Global InformationWerewoman information
In mythology and literature, a werewoman or were-woman is a woman who has taken the form of an animal through a process of lycanthropy. The use of the word "were" refers to the ability to shape-shift but is, taken literally, a contradiction in terms since in Old English the word "wer" means man.[1] This would mean it literally translates to "man-woman".
Werewomen are reported in antiquity and in more recent African folklore, where the phenomenon is sometimes associated with witchcraft, though sources often do not state the animal into which the woman has transformed and it is not necessarily a wolf. In areas where wolves do not exist, other fierce animals may take their place, for instance leopards or hyenas in Africa.[1] Werewomen are distinctive as most legends of lycanthropy involve men, though the process is not restricted solely to men,[2] and if they involve women it is usually in the role of a victim.[citation needed]
The theme of the female werewolf has been used in fiction since Victorian times, while recently the term werewoman has become associated with transgender culture and specifically the fantasy of a forced, but temporary, transformation of a man into a woman.
- ^ a b "Werewolf" in Green, Thomas A. (Ed.) (1997) Folklore: An encyclopedia of beliefs, customs, tales, music, and art. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, pp. 840-842. ISBN 0-87436-986-X
- ^ "Lycanthropy in Africa" by W. Robert Foran in African Affairs, Vol. 55, No. 219 (Apr., 1956), pp. 124-134.