Why Wonder Woman Matters
Wonder Woman has sparked a fire with feminists for decades and was recently in flames when she was appointed UN Ambassador for gender equality.** I am not about to write on the subject of UN controversy, I'm not pretending to be so politically inclined. This is simply about why Wonder Woman matters, and in my opinion why she is so much more bad-ass than the average person thinks.
The creation of WW was in 1940 by William Moulten Marston. Of course she was created by a man! Yes. She was. Before the judgment comes in, let's look at who Will was and why he was inspired. William was a psychologist and inventor whom became widely known when he invented a blood pressure test that was the foundation for the polygraph. He lived with his wife Elizabeth and their lover, Olive. The three lived happily in a polyamorous relationship. They were all avid comic book readers and William believed as a psychologist they left great room for teaching lessons to the readers through the stories. He had come to realize that all the super heroes conquered villains through violence or super powers, but there was never any love to overcome a threat. Thinking out loud to his wife about this evident lack of love, what if there was a super hero who conquered with love? Elizabeth replied, "Well then make her a woman."
Diana Prince was then created; a demi-goddess written into Greek Mythology. Her background has been altered by various writers over the years, but her original story written by William cannot be any more empowering as a female. One thing to understand about Greek mythology is that the gods and goddesses have stories that are far-fetched yet undeniably captivating. In Diana's story, her mother, Queen Hyppolita, was the queen of the Amazons. The Amazons inhabited Themyscira, which was an amazonian island with no men. Yes, the women lived as an army all together where they trained themselves as menacing fighters and had relationships with one another. Hyppolita sculpted her daughter out of clay, then asked Athena to bring her to life. Athena is the goddess of tactical battle in war and wisdom and is labelled as the Ultimate Balanced Woman. The name Diana was the second known name for the Olympian Greek Goddess, Artemis. Artemis the Hero whose given duty was to protect all women after she protected her mother's life while her brother, Apollo was born. So Wonder Woman was sculpted by an Amazon Queen, brought to life by the ultimate woman and named after a goddess whom was the protector of all women.
What has always seemed to rub feminists the wrong way is Diana's appearance. Being drawn as busty with a small waist and donning an outfit that leaves little to the imagination. But isn't her body type one that coincides with being a physically fit woman? Key word, woman. When a woman is in top physical shape, she looks as such. Yes her costume is revealing, but critics would have the same reaction if she was in a skin tight onesie. Would it make everybody happy if Diana was dressed in baggy clothes? Please. Girl needs it tight to get in the high kicks to the head, am I right? And if we flip the narrative, Superman and Batman are equally as exaggerated with their massive shoulders and tiny waists. Plus William has said that Wonder Woman's physical appearance was drawn based on his lover, Olive and to combine the strength of Hercules and the beauty of Aphrodite. Even her bracelets that deflect bullets were inspired by the jewelry Olive would always wear.
A personal addition to this brief history... In my line of work I was lucky enough to nail down a role as an Amazon in the new Wonder Woman movie that stars Gal Gadot and directed by Patty Jenkins. I went into my contract knowing it would be a fun job, I would make friends and have my name in the credits for a super hero movie. What manifested unexpectedly was how the amazons involved in the project would leave filming with a bit of Diana ingrained in us. In our own ways, we became less scared of our dreams, more confident in our physical selves, and both our inner and outer strength grew. We were a tribe of twenty women who worked, trained and lived together for eight months. Supporting one another and providing strength when someone was in need of it. Every day we conditioned our bodies and minds, learning how to fight and conquering thoughts of giving up while enduring intense physical ache. Donning our costumes on set and fighting with a six foot long spear, honestly, I had never felt sexier. My idea of what makes me feel like a woman has changed since completing this project. I know I feel close to invincible when I am working in the field of what I love, keeping my body strong, being healthy, and not allowing any mortal to devalue my self worth.
"Wonder Woman is psychological propaganda for the new type of woman who should, I think, rule the world."
Hopefully some women will pull up their thigh high red boots a little bit after reading this. Because being a strong, fearless woman at this time in the world really does matter.
**this article was written in July of 2017
