Feminism in Wonder Woman
A psychologist named William Marston created Wonder Woman. He wanted her to be a strong role model for young girls. He thought the male comic-book heroes of the day were mostly violent, so he wanted to create a different kind of hero who would teach girls to stand up for themselves. The message was that they could be just as strong, and contribute as much to society, as the men did.
Wonder Woman’s story included little bits of this feminist philosophy. For example, she would meet women who were being abused by men or tricked into doing things, and she would always teach them how to stand up for themselves. In that way, she was carrying an important message to girl readers.
…Wonder Woman’s creator, William Marston, had died by 1947. After that, a lot of the feminist, pro-female messaging that he had put into the story was dropped. More of her stories wind up focusing on her romance with her boyfriend, Steve, who was always trying to trick her into retiring or convince her that she was no longer needed so that she’d marry him. The implication was that if she married him, she’d be at home making dinner. It wasn’t like she could marry Steve and still be Wonder Woman. It was one or the other.
…In the mid-’50s, a book came out called “Seduction of the Innocent.” Its writer, a psychologist named Fredric Wertham, accused comics of contributing to juvenile delinquency. He said that the studies he did with kids showed that boys found Wonder Woman to be a terrifying figure, that she was emasculating, and that her comics had lesbian undertones that were a bad influence on young girls.
Looking for more Wonder Woman? I co-wrote a blog on Wonder Woman from 2005-2009 with comedy fan Syd Bernstein (spotted at Ladybits on Aug 11!) — visit the archives here.
