No, she wasn't. She was created by some old guy to fulfill his effed-up bondage fantasies and present his own stereotype of an "ideal" woman. In fact, the whole idea to make her a woman in the first place wasn't even his. (It was his wife) As much as she is a feminist character now, Wonder Woman has a pretty sexist and fetishized creative origin.
That is... a bizarre collection of half-truths and misinformation.
Marston's lifestyle kink was pretty upfront and his feminism was bizarre (he genuinely believed women were superior to men, which is not precisely the usual point of the movement), but it was sincere, and his motives in crafting an inspirational female hero were the deliberate opposition of sexism.
Which still doesn't change the fact that, no matter how much you spin in, Wonder Woman was NOT created to "inspire to young girls". That's not true, that was never Marston's intent. Wonder Woman was based on his idea of feminism, which I interpret as a specific dominatrix-bondage fetish gone to far. Marston genuinely believed that women were superior to men, yes, but it was still a fetish and was still sexualized, and last time I viewing women solely as a source of sexual gratification is pretty damn sexist. "Wonder Woman was created so that there would be a Superman-like figure for young girls." This is sentence that I have a problem with, because while I may have "misinformation", this sentence is outright false.
"Not even girls want to be girls so long as our feminine archetype lacks force, strength, and power. Not wanting to be girls, they don't want to be tender, submissive, peace-loving as good women are. Women's strong qualities have become despised because of their weakness. The obvious remedy is to create a feminine character with all the strength of Superman plus all the allure of a good and beautiful woman."
I guess Marston was just fucking with us then. And his wife, who was an important part of her creation (which you seem to think is a bad thing for some reason)
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scans_daily2011-02-09 05:19 pm
no subject
She was created by some old guy to fulfill his effed-up bondage fantasies and present his own stereotype of an "ideal" woman.
In fact, the whole idea to make her a woman in the first place wasn't even his. (It was his wife)
As much as she is a feminist character now, Wonder Woman has a pretty sexist and fetishized creative origin.
no subject
Marston's lifestyle kink was pretty upfront and his feminism was bizarre (he genuinely believed women were superior to men, which is not precisely the usual point of the movement), but it was sincere, and his motives in crafting an inspirational female hero were the deliberate opposition of sexism.
no subject
Wonder Woman was based on his idea of feminism, which I interpret as a specific dominatrix-bondage fetish gone to far. Marston genuinely believed that women were superior to men, yes, but it was still a fetish and was still sexualized, and last time I viewing women solely as a source of sexual gratification is pretty damn sexist.
"Wonder Woman was created so that there would be a Superman-like figure for young girls." This is sentence that I have a problem with, because while I may have "misinformation", this sentence is outright false.
no subject
no subject
You're wrong in ways that can only be measured by the Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram.
no subject
I guess Marston was just fucking with us then. And his wife, who was an important part of her creation (which you seem to think is a bad thing for some reason)
no subject
Wow.
Just.
Wow.