Battle of the Sexes: Archery

From time to time, Becky and I revive our time honored tradition of donut-shop discussions where we sat around in Puck's Donuts and debated the trivialities of the universe during dead week of college. The topic for this particular donut-shop discussion is whether or not bow and arrows are a predominantly female or male weapon. As we've written two book series together that feature a female protagonist archer (Cami in Plucking Cupid's Bow and Anaxilea in Anaxilea: Amazon Princess) we've agreed we will not use our own creative processes as part of the debate. I, Alex, will choose green to mark my half of the discussion because I got to pick first and I know how much Becky likes green. Becky will get to go first and she  chose pink because it compliments green.

Amazons.

You can't have a one word opening argument.

Okay, fine, Amazons and Athena.

Apollo was just as known for archery as Athena, and ancient Greek mythology is hardly the gold standard anymore. J.R.R. Tolkien said the bow was a male weapon and nobody made it sing like Legolas, but even if you're going to stick to the oldest of old schools, there's also Paris who killed Achilles with a bow.

Is there anyone else Orlando Bloom played that you'd like to list?

Maybe, but I can't think of any other movies he was in. Behold the incredible badassery that is Legolas killing an Oliphant!

He had a bunch of friends watching his back and crazy elf skills. Plus, I think Legolas was a thousand years old or something. His awesomness is qualified by extreme amounts of time to become amazing and the fact that he was played by such a mediocre actor. Katniss Everdeen was only 15 when she had to pick up the bow to save her sister, feed her family, and fight to the death all alone.

She wasn't alone. She had that baker guy throwing himself on every other landmine she walked past. Even you aren't Team Peeta.

Gale was hotter.

And Gale hunted using...?

He wasn't as good as Katniss with a bow. The questions isn't whether or not archery or baking made a guy hotter. It is whether or not the bow and arrow is a male or female weapon, and Katniss was better.

You know what, even though Katniss killed maybe four people with her bow, I'll give you that she was better than Gale, because I"m about to win this thing.

Artemis was Apollo's sister and she used a bow too.

Deep background mythology won't save you now, Murphy. We've got Hawkeye, even you liked The Avengers, and Rambo.

Okay, Hawkeye was the least Avengery guy in that entire movie. Most people probably thought it was actually the character from the Hurt Locker. And didn't Rambo help the Taliban in one of his movies? I think he did and I think you even linked the poster to that movie as your example.

I think one of the guys in the movie was actually named Osama.

I've got two for you though. Princess Merida and Lady Sylvanas.

Invoking Pixar and World of Warcraft? Fine, have bows, but we're keeping crossbows.

What about Buffy? She used a crossbow all the time.

Yeah, but she missed half the time. I've got two words for you: Daryl Dixon.

Just wait until we talk about swords.

To continue the battle of the sexes or add to it, there's a comment section.