With the ever increasing wave of feminism arising this century, it is important to travel back in time and explore the life of one of the most distinguished American feminists: Annie Oakley. With her sharp shooting skills and her ideology that women are as independent as men, she believed women should be taught how to shoot and to be able to carry a gun with them for emergency protection. Oakley opened the door to future feminist movements in addition to her own. Through her social status and her ability to take on any male opponent, she proved that being a woman does not limit a person’s ability to hold any position in society or perform any activity.
Given name Phoebe Ann Moses, Annie Oakley was born in 1860 and suffered through a dramatic upbringing in which she experienced the loss of her biological father as well as her step-father, along with being sent away to a farm; she lived with a different family where she was forced to perform arduous labor both inside and outside of the household. 1 After years of being treated as a slave and being repeatedly abused on the farm, she returned home where she was then forced to pay her mother’s $200 monthly mortgage at the age of fifteen. She took to shooting game, which she had learned from her father at a young age, to sell to nearby hotels and marketplaces in order to meet the mortgage payment. After boasting for years about her shooting skills, she found herself invited to a challenge against one of the best shooters at the time, Frank E. Butler. When she shot against him, he was amazed at her skills and became fond of her after she won the challenge, and the two married shortly thereafter. The two traveled throughout the country and were invited to star in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. After performing with her husband and allowing him the main spotlight throughout their relationship, Annie eventually reached a turning point in which she had become the star of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show, known as the “Champion Markswoman,” and Butler, feeling inferior beside her, retired and became her manager. 2
After sixteen years of extensive travelling to many countries, and given the incredible opportunity to meet many famous individuals along with kings and queens, Annie and her husband decided to quit the show and retire to a relaxing life in Cambridge, Maryland. Although she retired at an early age, she wrote to the current president at the time, William McKinley, asking to be sent to the front line in the Spanish-American War, to which she received no response. Then, when World War I erupted, Annie offered to hold shooting lessons in order to help teach young men how to shoot properly without injuring themselves or their fellow soldiers; however, her offer was declined. Years later, she decided to make her comeback and begin to perform in shows, but after a car accident, and then a train accident in which she was injured along with her husband, she was too frail to do much, and the Butlers relocated to Annie’s hometown where she worked on her memoirs, which would be published and distributed throughout the country.
Although there is still much debate today on whether Annie Oakley was truly an advocate for women’s equality in the United States or if she continued the “ladylike” expectations that were apparent in the country, it is clear that she was able to obtain a sense of belonging in what was a man’s world. She spent a large majority of her time helping to teach women how to shoot a gun safely, and it is estimated that she helped approximately fifteen thousand women to do so. Oakley is viewed as a complex woman today because she was seen as petite and fragile; however, she earned her place in society by her talent and ability to prove that she was just as capable, if not more, than any man at her time. In addition, her fame made her a public figure, which gave her power to stand up for other women at the time and produce a new image of women that had not been widely seen previously—that of independence. Contradictory to many beliefs, she did not politically take sides with other feminists of her time, but instead showed those around her that she possessed skills that were previously never demonstrated by a woman. 3 Oakley was very aware of her role in society, both in the United States and internationally, and made a point to be as feminine as she could be in order to show that even the most ladylike females are capable of doing tasks and performing “manly” activities. Along with being a sharp shooter, Annie took up riding a bicycle, which was also considered a “man’s sport” at the time, and made a point of showing that it should be acceptable for a woman to participate in sports and that these sports should not be confined to a specific gender. Oakley succeeded in making a name for women all across the world and proved to many countries that she traveled to that one’s gender makes no difference. She demonstrated that both genders are capable of participating in sports that had been male dominated in the centuries preceding her. 4
- Ron Soodalter, “Annie Oakley vs. Hearst’s Worst,” Wild West 27, no. 5 (February 2015): 30. ↵
- Mary E. Virginia, “Annie Oakley,” Salem Press Biographical Encyclopedia, 2016, http://blume.stmarytx.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ers&AN=88806878&site=eds-live&scope=site. ↵
- Lisa Bernd, “Annie Oakley and the disruption of Victorian expectations,” Theatre Symposium 20 (2012): 42. ↵
- Sarah Russell Cansler, “Annie Oakley, Gender, and Guns: The ‘Champion Rifle Shot’ and Gender Performance, 1860-1926,” Pursuit: The Journal of Undergraduate Research at the University of Tennessee 5, no. 1 (March 2014): 164. ↵
124 comments
Tala Owens
Annie Oakley was very feminine and dainty like but she made sure people knew that despite that she was like she was capable of doing things men do, and sometimes she could do them better. Even though she didn’t act like what a feminist would be or openly agree with them she still had her own way of showing that women could be complex. I was very surprised to find out that she had offered to be at the front lines of a war and had offered to teach boys how to shoot safely. She seems remarkable.
Christopher Hohman
Nice article. Annie Oakley was quite a trailblazer for women. Even though she was not what you would call a traditional feminist, she had many skills that women of her time did not have. She was an expert markswoman which was something that most women did not do. I thought that it was cool that she offered her markswoman services to President McKinley during the Spanish American War, and that she also offered to train men who were in the army during WWI.
Oscar Ortega
Annie Oakly was a very famous figure of the “old West” and whether she was more famous for her skill or what her skill represented is debatable, but there is no arguing that she was and is famous for choosing to prove that gender is one of many things that makes up a person, and not a definition, in a time when it was very much considered so in America. Knowing that she endured a painful and difficult childhood, which is likely less known than her later exploits, does a fine job of indicating how and why she was such a strong woman, and knowing she likely approached her entire life with that strength is one of the most important things to learn about her.
Kristy Feather
I love Annie Oakley, but I never knew that she was abused and used as essentially a slave. Then going to live with her mom and having to essentially be the parent of the house. It all makes her extreme skills as a sharp-shooter seem so much more meaningful. Like here is this woman who not only capable but also extremely caring.
Raymond Nash Munoz III
Majority of my understanding of feminism comes from all of the feminist poems I have recently read in British Literature. The reoccurring theme of the feminist poems was the idea of women improving their own life by empowering themselves and other women around them. So, when the article says that it is highly debated whether or not Annie Oakley was an advocate of woman’s equality, I believe I stand on the side that says Annie Oakley was an advocate of woman’s equality. I stand with the idea that Annie Oakley was an advocate of woman’s equality, whether she meant too or not, because like all the ideas discussed in the earlier feminist poems I have read, Annie Oakley took matters into her own hands, and helped give strength to the women around her. This article did an amazing job of describing Annie Oakley’s significance to history and helping see the correlation of this text to others.
Daniela Martinez
I had no background information prior to reading this article. It is clear that Oakley was an inspirational figure to many. She was able to create a legacy in which she was able to influence and educate many. She was able to change how women should be viewed and how they should act. She was able to get women to realize that they too had other paths that they could take instead of conforming to society. Overall this article was very informative and was a good read that was detailed and flowed well.
Richard Morales
I enjoyed this article as I found it to be very informative. I was interested in learning of Annie Oakley’s unfortunate upbringing and how she overcame adversity to become a world renounced markswoman. Prior to reading this article I had little knowledge on this amazing female figure but i was intrigued to learn how she wrote to President McKinley asking to fight in the Spanish-American War or how she taught over 15,000 women to shoot a gun.
Hector Garcia
I feel like Annie Oakley would have definitely been a symbol of feminism during the nineteenth century. The fact that she was able to prove everybody that women could also do what men do was outstanding. Her life serves as a source of inspiration for women and she demonstrated that she was able to do ladylike tasks and also perform “manly” activities. Overall, I thought this article was unique and it was a really good read.
Kimberly Simmons
Annie Oakley was not only an inspiration back in her day, but her legacy continues to live on today. Her strong beliefs in feminist ideals and women having the same capabilities as men is what drove her to be such an astounding woman. She was far beyond the ordinary – she knew who she was and what she deserved, and for that, I applaud her.
Maria Esquivel
I had never heard of Annie Oakley prior to reading your article, but I found her story very captivating. It’s always fun to read about incredible women who are capable of doing the same work, or even better work than men. She seemed like an incredible woman who never let her gender stop her from doing the things she wanted. I really enjoyed reading about the strong, Annie Oakley, and her incredible talent. Great Job, Rachel!