Roxy Reindeer and Her Winter Crown: A Story of Feminine Power

Every December, we see them everywhere—on wrapping paper, in store windows, glowing on rooftops: Santa’s reindeer, antlers lifted as they pull the sleigh through a winter sky.

Most of us grow up assuming they’re a team of “his guys.” But there’s a wonderful little secret in the science:

If Santa’s reindeer are still wearing their antlers on Christmas Eve… they’re almost certainly female.

The Winter Crown That Stays

Reindeer are unique in the deer family because both males and females grow antlers. But they don’t keep them at the same time of year.

• Males grow antlers for the autumn mating season and shed them in late fall—often by early December.
• Females keep theirs through the winter and usually don’t lose them until spring, after their calves are born.

In the harsh Arctic winter, most female reindeer are pregnant. Food is buried under snow and ice, and antlers give them a real advantage: they help scrape through snow to reach lichen and other plants, and they establish a bit of authority at feeding spots. A pregnant female with antlers can better protect her access to food—for herself and for the life she’s carrying.

So when we picture a strong, antlered reindeer standing proudly in the snow in December, what we’re really seeing is a powerful, determined mother-to-be—a leader holding her ground in the hardest season.

Which brings me to Roxy.

Meet Roxy Reindeer: Queen of the Untamed Underworld

My painting Roxy Reindeer began as a winter character, but she quickly claimed a much bigger role.

Roxy is part of my Untamed Underworld series—a world of anthropomorphic, gangster-noir animals dressed to the nines, living in that shadowy space where power, loyalty, and temptation meet. She’s not just any reindeer. She’s dressed in a sharp pinstriped suit and a fedora, elegant and self-possessed, with her antlers rising behind her like an ornate crown.

She’s feminine, but not delicate.
Refined, but absolutely not to be underestimated.

In this world, Roxy isn’t someone’s sidekick or background character. She’s a boss. A decision-maker. A presence.

And knowing what I now know about real-life reindeer—that the antlered ones in winter are female—made her feel even more right to me. Of course she’s the one still standing in the snow with her crown held high.

Her Antlers, Her Winter Crown

I like to think of Roxy’s antlers as her winter crown—but not the kind of crown that’s handed down or placed on her head.

It’s a crown she grew.

In nature, antlers don’t appear overnight. They grow slowly over months, layer by layer. They go through velvet, shedding, reshaping. They are living bone before they harden. Every inch is earned.

That’s exactly how I experience women’s power—especially later in life. We don’t just wake up one day suddenly “empowered.” We grow into it:

• We live through loss, change, and reinvention.
• We nourish families, projects, and dreams that don’t always fit neatly into one box.
• We learn when to be soft and when to be solid.
• We discover, sometimes very late, that our voice matters more than our compliance.

By the time winter comes—literally or metaphorically—we’ve grown something strong and unmistakable inside ourselves. A kind of inner antler.

Roxy carries that story for me. Her pinstripes say she knows how the world works. Her fedora nods to that classic underworld style. But her antlers? They are her history, her resilience, and her right to hold her space.

The Female Reindeer, Roxy… and Me

There’s another layer to this that feels important to say:

When I paint Roxy, I’m not just painting her. I’m quietly painting myself too.

I’m a woman who came more fully into her power later in life—after other careers, family seasons, and chapters that were about everyone else first. I’ve reinvented myself as a painter, building a world of whimsical, magical realism populated by strong women and bold animals. Roxy, in many ways, is one of my alter egos.

She’s the part of me that:

• Walks into a room—even a smoky underworld club—and doesn’t shrink.
• Knows her value and doesn’t apologize for it.
• Stands tall in her story, even when it doesn’t match the “usual” timeline.

When I learned that the antlered reindeer pulling Santa’s sleigh on Christmas Eve would most likely be female, I smiled and thought: Of course they are. A team of powerful girls leading the way through the darkest night? That sounds exactly right.

So when I look at Roxy, dressed in her pinstriped suit and fedora, crown of antlers gleaming in the winter air, I see a reflection of my own journey as a woman and an artist—finding my voice, owning my power, and daring to inhabit a role I once thought belonged to someone else.

A Different Kind of Holiday Hero

The holiday season often asks a lot of women: the emotional labor, the planning, the hosting, the holding space for everyone’s feelings. There’s so much heart in that—and a lot of invisible weight.

That’s why Roxy feels like such a potent symbol for December.

Just like the real female reindeer who keep their antlers through winter, so many women quietly carry:

• Families, friendships, and community
• Work, creativity, and responsibility
• Their own longings and dreams, which refuse to disappear

We keep pulling the sleigh, even when the night feels long.

Roxy reminds me—and I hope she reminds you—that this is not a small thing. It’s a kind of heroism. Not loud and flashy, but steady and deeply rooted.

Roxy’s Message for December

When I sit with Roxy Reindeer, I hear a message for all of us:

• Stand tall in your own power, even if the world is used to seeing someone else in front.
• Honor the crown you’ve grown over years of living, learning, and loving.
• You’re allowed to be gentle and strong, glamorous and grounded, kind and uncompromising.

Her pinstripes, her fedora, her antlers—they all come together as a reminder that feminine power isn’t one thing. It can be elegant, gritty, playful, mysterious, nurturing, and fiercely protective all at once.

And as I continue to grow as a female artist, learning to trust my own instincts and strength, Roxy is one of the characters who walks beside me. She’s part of my Untamed Underworld, yes—but she’s also one of my guides in the everyday world.

Closing Thoughts

This December, as you see reindeer decor and holiday lights, I invite you to remember the quiet truth behind those antlers:

They belong to her.

To the female reindeer standing firm in the snow.
To the women who carry so much and keep going.
To artists and dreamers finding their voice at any age.
And yes—to me, too, as I keep discovering my own power in this season of my life.

Roxy Reindeer is my love letter to all of us.

May you feel your own winter crown this year—visible or invisible, growing stronger every day.