BREAKING BADASS

SOMEWHERE around the middle of this decade, the word ‘badass’ got a makeover.

Once a term used to describe delinquent men (a tough, uncompromising or intimidating person, according to dictionary definitions), in recent years it has become shorthand for a new sort of woman. This woman is a no-holds-barred, take-no-prisoners, no-fucks-given warrior woman. She can drink the men under the table, report from warzones, demand a pay rise, chase the men she wants and never flinches. In short, she can outdo the blokes when it comes to traditional blokey behaviour. She might be Jennifer Lawrence protesting the gender pay gap in Hollywood or a dystopian badass like Charlize Theron in . She might