Mindy Budgor
Mindy Budgor is an American businesswoman and the author of Warrior Princess: My Quest to Become the First Female Maasai Warrior.
Biography
Budgor is a 2012 graduate of the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. She started her first company while an undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin. At age 27, before starting her Chicago course, she spent three months on charity work at the Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya.[1][2] While there, she claims to have become the first female Maasai warrior, which women had traditionally not been allowed to do.[3] Budgor published a memoir titled Warrior Princess: My Quest to Become the First Female Maasai Warrior (2013).[4]
Controversy
Budgor has received criticism[5] for her claim to have become the first female Maasai warrior. The critics write that her book simplifies the Maasai culture and trivializes the process of becoming a Maasai warrior.[6][1] Becoming a Maasai warrior is a process that takes an average of 15 years, but Budgor writes that she completed the process in three months.[7]
References
- Sitinga Kachipande (2013). "Mindy's Masai Mara adventure is an insult to us all". The Guardian. Archived from the original on September 20, 2013. Retrieved September 23, 2013.
- "Mindy Budgor, California woman, trains to become Masai warrior". Now.msn.com. September 17, 2013. Archived from the original on September 20, 2013. Retrieved September 21, 2013.
- Genevieve Roth (2013). "Meet Mindy Budgor, the World's First Female Maasai Warrior: Inspired". glamour.com. Archived from the original on September 23, 2013. Retrieved September 21, 2013.
- Genevieve Roth (2013). "Meet Mindy Budgor, the World's First Female Maasai Warrior". glamour.com. Archived from the original on September 20, 2013. Retrieved September 21, 2013.
- "The #Bullshit Files: Mindy Budgor, 'the first female Maasai warrior'". africasacountry.com. 2013. Archived from the original on September 20, 2013. Retrieved September 23, 2013.
- Heather Switzer (2013). "Maasai Speak Out, But Mindy Budgor Doesn't Seem to be Listening". huffingtonpost.com. Archived from the original on October 15, 2013. Retrieved September 23, 2013.
- Esianoi Pashile (September 25, 2013). "Will the Real Female Maasai Warriors Please Stand Up?". huffingtonpost.com. Archived from the original on September 25, 2013. Retrieved September 23, 2013.