Boudica is the central character in “F*ck Old Age”. Who was she and what do we know about her?  Boudica was queen of the Icini tribe in eastern Britain around 62 a.d..  There is not much known about her other then what Roman historians have to say.

The Romans were invading Britain and taxing people beyond their means and taking people as slaves if they couldn’t pay their taxes. When Boudica’s husband died

, to try to keep the peace with Rome, he left half of their kingdom to Rome and half to their two daughters. The Romans thought they could take it all by flogging Boudica within an inch of her life and raping her two daughters. Little did they know what a pissed off woman could do and Boudica was pissed off. Instead of slinking away the way the Romans thought she would, she gathered the tribes, rallied the troops and formed an army to take on the Roman army and won many battles against them.

Rome, being a male dominated society didn’t know what to think of a woman warrior so they had to make her sound like a real bad ass.

“She was large in frame, terrifying of aspect, and with a harsh voice. A great mass of bright red hair fell to her knees. She wore a great twisted golden necklace and a tunic of many colors, over which was a thick mantle fastened by a brooch. Now she grasped a spear, to strike fear into all who watched her. In build she was very tall, in her demeanor most terrifying, in the glint of her eye most fierce.” Cassius Dio

Boudica is an example of a woman taking charge, becoming a warrior and making a difference.