Feminism In Wonder Woman

The book starts by introducing its thesis and supporting points, as well as the themes of feminism and birth control with evidence to support it, Wonder Woman’s secret history, “feminism made Wonder Woman” (Lepore xiii) and she remade it, therefore, her “debt is to the fictional feminist utopia and to the struggle for women’s rights” (Lepore xiii). Additionally, “her origins lies in William Moulton Marston’s past, and in the lives of the women he loved; they created Wonder Woman, too. Wonder Woman is no ordinary comic-book superhero because Marston was no ordinary man, and his family was no ordinary family. Marston was a polymath. He was an expert in deception: he invented the lie detector test. He led a secret life: had 4 children by two women; they lived together under one roof. They were masters of the art of concealment. Their favorite hiding place was the comics they produced” (Lepore xiii). And not to mention, “Wonder Woman has been fighting for women’s rights for a very long time,”(Lepore xiv) in which supported the women’s suffrage, feminist and birth control movements.

When one closes their eyes and hears the word feminist, one can imagine seeing a mob full of women marching down the street burning their brassieres while chanting anti-male chants, while holding signs that sheds light on the unfair treatment women were exposed to for several decades. On the other hand, if one closes their eyes, and hears the word feminine, one can imagine seeing either a dainty female looking sweet and innocent, something like a princess, or a lady with “tasteful” sex appeal. These images along with other images associated with femininity and feminist comes from how the media, new papers, and stories portray them. Looking on the surface, they seem quite the opposite in nature. In Claire Miye Stanford’s essay “You’ve Got the Wrong Song: Nashville and Country Music Feminism” Stanford poses a question, “Can a show that is so ostensibly interested in the ‘feminine’…also be feminist?” (Stanford 277). At first glance, one would disagree, but more TV shows are portraying their leading women as a feminine feminist. Shows like Nashville, Insecure, and Orange is the New Black are breaking the boundaries and changing the views on what the new feminine feminist looks like.

To begin, Steinem manipulates the rhetoric situation to help her argument. “Wonder Woman” first made her debut in comics in the 1940’s, which was when women’s rights was first becoming a thing. Steinem realized that just like in the 40’s, women and young girls

Roxane Gay, author of the article entitled “Bad Feminist”, is a very accomplished American feminist writer. Her publication of “Bad Feminist” in 2012 gained national public attention (1). Feminism, as defined in the dictionary, is “the advocacy of women's rights on the basis of the equality of the sexes” (2), but Gay explains throughout her article that being a feminist is not just as simple as agreeing with this need for gender equality. The feminist label is too narrow and because of this the feminist movement is breaking apart. In this piece, Gay addresses how our society currently defines feminism and explains why this definition does not encompass everybody that it should.

The women’s liberation movement (or feminism as it is now known) of the 1960s and 1970s touched every home, business, and school (WA, 705). The movement even touched the sports and entertainment industries, in fact, “There are few areas of contemporary life untouched by feminism” (WA, 717). The word feminism in the early 1960’s wasn’t often used and when it was it was used with condescension or hatred. However, in the late sixties that changed thanks to a new group of women. This new diverse group of women included the: young, old, heterosexual, lesbians, working class, and even the privileged. This diverse group came together and collectively created the second wave of feminism.

For over seventy-five years there has been a character that has never left the spotlight and still makes a huge impact on everyday woman, girl, and man, and that is Wonder Woman. The woman who changed the way a reader viewed women and broke all the norms of how a woman should be seen and act. Gloria Steinem and Julie D. O’Reilly both discuss the history and the impact this character has made over the years. Gloria Steinem is a feminist journalist that has been making a huge impact since 1963.She is a woman who was more concerned with breaking the feminine norms than sticking with them. Gloria Steinem wrote an essay called Wonder Woman, published in 1995. Her essay is about the Wonder Woman’s history and the impact that the character made

Douglas’ humorous and well informed way of writing really inspired me. From examples of magazines, media, television shows, films, retail, and even in music she described and compared to us what is going on among these examples and how real women today are really living their lives. Douglas presents an analysis of how women are presented to the public and how we continue to be treated as inferior to men despite the strides of feminism. After reading this book, I even find myself reading or watching something and pretty much look to see if it is women friendly or not. This is something I really never done before until now. This book definitely got me to think about feminism and the role it plays in my life.

Women are often confined to a set of ideals and expectations because of one simple fact: they are women. Many of the women who contributed to this book have faced gender stereotyping and discrimination. Instead of allowing traditional social norms to confine them to an unwanted lifestyle, they challenged these conventional ideals, risking failure and facing condemnation from strangers as well as people close to them. People often associate feminism with negativity and pessimism. In “Feminism is a Dirty Word,” Cindy Simon Rosenthal talks about how people refuse to define themselves as a “feminist.” However, the movement does not advocate for women’s special privileges. Feminism celebrates social equality and supports the utilization of all talents.

I had never really thought about what it meant to be a feminist, it was just a role I had unquestionably assumed as I consider myself to be an advocate of women empowerment. After last week’s readings, I began to question what exactly does being a feminist entails, and why the label carries very different meanings and connotations to different people. There is a common misconception that feminists are radicals, seeking to be superior to men. This is rooted in the fact that women today do not face the same struggles as its predecessors; namely, the inability to vote, work, study, and own property, to name a few. It is true that I have more rights and privileges than women such as Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Sojourner Truth,

From a feminist perspective, the way women are presented in this story is offensive. Feminism is the advocacy of women's rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men. In the story Women are not socially equal to men. The image portrayed of women in this story is is nothing like the women of today.

In his article, “Why Men Have a Problem with the Word ‘Feminism’”, author Martin Daubney explains how he doesn’t clearly like the word feminism. Though he believes in what the word stands for, equality and freedom of choice, irrespective of gender, sexuality or race, he is repulsed by the word feminists. This is because of how the word is perceived; the word feminism now tends to symbolize an aura of negativity. The reasons behind the negativity are the acts of the radical feminists. “All men are rapists”, that statement was supposedly said once but as is can’t be taken back it is all that the men tends to remember. What was supposed to be a positive message for the benefit of mankind became a word that gives people a personal bad attitude.

Susan Douglas’ Enlightened Sexism: The Seductive Message that Feminism’s Work is Done tries to diminish the divide between the image the media and other outlets try to put out there and the reality

Who doesn’t love a good superhero? The perfect figure, the spandex suit, the flowing cape, flawless looks, and the powers we can only dream of having. Superheroes have been around for ages now, leaving an everlasting imprint on our hearts. It is no secret that males dominate the superhero industry; both the heroes themselves and those who create them. Superman, Batman, Ironman, and Spiderman have become the top heroes of all time; there is nothing wrong with them holding the spotlight, but female heroes are underrepresented. There are notable female heroes, but they tend to be drawn with a busty figure that few women are naturally blessed with, and show little emotional rational in fights. Take Black Widow (Marvel) for example, anyone would love for her figure and kick-ass moves. Wonder Woman is our hero of the hour, she has made her way onto the big screen; casting her into the spotlight more than ever. She screams fights for love, promotes peace, is a beacon of hope, and screams feminism. What’s not to love? The new movie released on June 2, 2017, has called more attention to the American-spirited, Amazonian woman than ever before. The movie is the first fully female directed movie, Patty Jenkins brings a great female to the big screen. Although the movie is great and supports feminism, is the movie the depiction of Wonder Woman that should be idealized?

People of my gender (female), are expected to be subservient. Even though if you asked most men if woman are equal to men, they’d say “yes,” I still believe subservience is expected of a women. We learned that smiling is a way to communicate subservience. I am not a woman who’s resting face is a smile. I am told to smile more by my father, brothers, boss, and even some older women (over 60). Another way I believe women are expected to be subservient is in their relationships. I’m very fortunate to have a boyfriend who is aware of what modern gender roles look like, but on occasion we can’t help it. And it’s not a bad thing, it just proves how hard stepping outside of your gender role can be. In ways I am subservient to my boyfriend because he does make more decisions.

In Afghanistan, it is widely known that certain sub-cultures allow a man to violate his wife physically and sexually to gain dominance over her. This notion is typically created by the unequal treatment of women in their society. The low social statuses of women in society and the power imbalances between men and women created by this, result in discriminatory practices and physical and sexual abuse against the female population of all ages in Afghanistan. (Povey 268). Despite violence against women being part of their general society, during times of war or political conflict, similar to Afghanistan in the novel, this violence toward women increases. This idea is presented throughout A Thousand Splendid Suns in Rasheed’s relationships with