# Why are sexy women referred to as vixens?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-sexy-women-referred-to-as-vixens/574582
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [March 13, 2011, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-sexy-women-referred-to-as-vixens/574582 "2011-03-13T20:48:57Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Annabelle207](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annabelle207)
#### Post date: [March 13, 2011, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-sexy-women-referred-to-as-vixens/574582/1 "2011-03-13T20:48:57Z")
Well. That’s about it, really.
---
### Author:  [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)
#### Post date: [March 13, 2011, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-sexy-women-referred-to-as-vixens/574582/2 "2011-03-13T20:53:53Z")
Cuz they’re foxy.
---
### Author:  [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)
#### Post date: [March 13, 2011, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-sexy-women-referred-to-as-vixens/574582/3 "2011-03-13T20:55:32Z")
Yup, goes back, etymologically, to “fox”: [vixen - Wiktionary, the free dictionary](http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/vixen)
---
### Author:  [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)
#### Post date: [March 13, 2011, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-sexy-women-referred-to-as-vixens/574582/4 "2011-03-13T21:04:20Z")
My googling doesn’t uncover an exact answer, but definitions for “foxy,” “fox” and “vixen” all carry meanings akin to “sly,” “cunning,” “crafty,” etc., so I’m going to hazard a guess that it has something to do with a connection between being seductive and being sly. I do think that “vixen” often does carry a connotation of wiley seductiveness rather than just attractiveness _per se_.
---
### Author:  [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)
#### Post date: [March 13, 2011, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-sexy-women-referred-to-as-vixens/574582/5 "2011-03-13T21:30:49Z")
The European red fox makes a good deal of noise calling for a mate in the early months of the year. The vixen would get perceived as ‘sex mad’ as a result (although I thinks it’s the dog fox that does the calling)
---
### Author:  [@Cheshire\_Human](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheshire_Human)
#### Post date: [March 14, 2011, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-sexy-women-referred-to-as-vixens/574582/6 "2011-03-14T05:51:13Z")
Why are sexy women “foxes”, and ugly ones “dogs”, when both animals are Canids?
---
### Author:  [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)
#### Post date: [March 14, 2011, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-sexy-women-referred-to-as-vixens/574582/7 "2011-03-14T05:53:11Z")
> [@Cheshire\_Human](#):
>
> Why are sexy women “foxes”, and ugly ones “dogs”, when both animals are Canids?
Well, we do speak of ‘catfights’…
---
### Author:  [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)
#### Post date: [March 14, 2011, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-sexy-women-referred-to-as-vixens/574582/8 "2011-03-14T08:48:25Z")
For me, a woman who was a **fox** might well be perfectly sweet natured, whereas a **vixen** might be sexy, but certainly not sweet. According to the OED, **vixen** meaning “An ill-tempered quarrelsome woman; a shrew, a termagant” goes back to 1575, whereas **fox** , as U.S. slang for an attractive woman, goes back only to 1963 (although it finds **foxy** used in the relevant sense used back in 1913, and probably originating in Nebraska). As far as I know, **fox** and **foxy** in this sense are still not common outside the USA (certainly they were not in England when I grew up there).
All this suggests to me that **fox** (attractive, sexy woman) and **vixen** (bad, strong-willed woman) have quite different origins, but perhaps recently they have become conflated a bit, and **vixen** has taken on connotations of attractiveness from **fox**. Of course, “bad” women are also often thought to be “easy,” and some men find strong-willed or feisty women sexy, so that is probably another aspect of the sexiness of vixens. Although the OED does not explicitly say so, some of its early examples of this use of **vixen** do seem to carry connotations of sexiness as well as of willfulness.
---
### Author:  [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)
#### Post date: [March 14, 2011, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-sexy-women-referred-to-as-vixens/574582/9 "2011-03-14T12:14:25Z")
Dave Barry on vixens:
> [@](#):
>
> One of the frisky phrases Cosmopolitan advises you to whisper to men is - really - "We’d better hurry home, because at midnight I turn into a vixen."This frisky phrase might actually alarm the man, especially if he knows that the dictionary defines “vixen” as "an ill-tempered, shrewish woman."Basically, you’re telling the man he could suddenly find himself in bed with Lorena Bobbitt.
---
### Author:  [@Annabelle207](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annabelle207)
#### Post date: [March 14, 2011, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-sexy-women-referred-to-as-vixens/574582/10 "2011-03-14T12:38:12Z")
That’s what I figured, but didn’t want to assume too much. Y’all are angels. Thanks.
---
### Author:  [@Kevbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevbo)
#### Post date: [March 14, 2011, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-sexy-women-referred-to-as-vixens/574582/11 "2011-03-14T16:38:15Z")
“Vixen” doesn’t usually refer to any wholesome sort of sexy. (The best kind IMO) It usually implies intentional or exaggerated sex appeal and a willingness to exploit it. Ginger might be a Vixen, but not Mary Ann.
---
### Author:  [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)
#### Post date: [March 14, 2011, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-sexy-women-referred-to-as-vixens/574582/12 "2011-03-14T16:56:17Z")
Pig-headed, crazy like a fox, playing chicken, it’s a turkey, weasel-words, quack medicine, lion-hearted, man or mouse, she’s a shrew, bats in the belfry…
We ascribe characteristics to many animals with little or no good reason.
---
### Author:  [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)
#### Post date: [March 14, 2011, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-sexy-women-referred-to-as-vixens/574582/13 "2011-03-14T17:12:53Z")
Duck!
---
### Author:  [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)
#### Post date: [March 16, 2011, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-sexy-women-referred-to-as-vixens/574582/14 "2011-03-16T01:47:57Z")
And then there’s minx, the feminine of mink, which have a reputation for a remarkable amount of enthusiasm when mating.
---
### Author:  [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)
#### Post date: [March 16, 2011, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-sexy-women-referred-to-as-vixens/574582/15 "2011-03-16T02:31:57Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#):
>
> Duck!
What?! Why?!
---
### Author:  [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)
#### Post date: [March 16, 2011, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-sexy-women-referred-to-as-vixens/574582/16 "2011-03-16T02:35:18Z")
> [@Mr.Excellent](#):
>
> What?! Why?!
You never heard about the duck that made a goose under the porch?
---
### Author:  [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)
#### Post date: [March 16, 2011, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-sexy-women-referred-to-as-vixens/574582/17 "2011-03-16T02:36:29Z")
I always picture ‘vixen’ as slender and sharp and sexy and sly and a bit wicked. I love the idea of being a vixen, but alas, I don’t think a big mama really fits the description.
---
### Author:  [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)
#### Post date: [March 16, 2011, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-sexy-women-referred-to-as-vixens/574582/18 "2011-03-16T04:00:58Z")
I always loved the word “termagant.” When my wife is being bitchy, I call her termagenty (which of course only adds to or sparks a fight).
---
### Author:  [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)
#### Post date: [March 16, 2011, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-sexy-women-referred-to-as-vixens/574582/19 "2011-03-16T04:02:53Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#):
>
> My googling doesn’t uncover an exact answer, but definitions for “foxy,” “fox” and “vixen” all carry meanings akin to “sly,” “cunning,” “crafty,” etc., so I’m going to hazard a guess that it has something to do with a connection between being seductive and being sly. I do think that “vixen” often does carry a connotation of wiley seductiveness rather than just attractiveness _per se_.
Yeah, sexy, seductive, sly and manipulative. Think Jessica Rabbit. ([I’m not bad, I’m just drawn that way."](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-KiXiKfDV8))
---
### Author:  [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)
#### Post date: [March 16, 2011, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-sexy-women-referred-to-as-vixens/574582/20 "2011-03-16T04:22:47Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#):
>
> Duck!
> [@Mr.Excellent](#):
>
> What?! Why?!
I recall this scene from the Justice League cartoons:
Hero:\* \\* “Duck!”
Villain: “Ha! You won’t fool me that-”
_\_
Hero: “Told you.”
[Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-sexy-women-referred-to-as-vixens/574582.md?page=2)