The Last Amazon

September 15, 2014 8:08 PM

Wonder Woman’s Secret Past: Feminism, free love, and a superhero’s real powers. [Via]
posted by homunculus (14 comments total)

"I wasn't going to say anything earlier, but this lasso has squeezed the truth right out of me!"
posted by Sys Rq at 8:28 PM on September 15, 2014

I haven't read the whole article yet, but is there any discussion of Maurston's obsession with bondage?
posted by Nevin at 8:47 PM on September 15, 2014

If I was directing it, Wonder Woman would wear full power armor and just kick ass. You wouldn't have her boobs even emphasized on the armor. God they would scream! Inauthentic! All the "true" fans of Wonder Woman would be furious!
posted by Ironmouth at 9:12 PM on September 15, 2014 [3 favorites]

Kink. Lots & lots of kink. Kink as far as the eye can see. Kink.
posted by chainlinkspiral at 9:32 PM on September 15, 2014 [2 favorites]

That was lovely, a long and successful marriage of three. It's kinda neat to know that Wonder Woman was born out of love and respect.
posted by viggorlijah at 11:07 PM on September 15, 2014 [4 favorites]

that was a fantastic read.

I haven't read the whole article yet, but is there any discussion of Maurston's obsession with bondage?

yes, and its way cooler than you think it is.
posted by young_son at 11:21 PM on September 15, 2014 [4 favorites]

I really liked the links to contraception becoming more accepted and the description of their unusual relationship.
posted by quercus23 at 12:16 AM on September 16, 2014

The inertia of such careful, deliberate attention to detail, to rapidly close with its parallel and simple hypothetical, for me, summons the lucid expression of Agnes' passing in Cries and Whipsers.

Maybe that's kinda strange? But I was racking my brain for metaphors and analogues to avoid "what a punch" or a "bullet to the brain of sexism". I grew up watching the 70s series. My sister had the toy gear. I had always interpreted Wonder Woman's crime-fighting technique as alternatives to aggression, but the terms lacked a singular character. The plane was invisible. She blocked bullets and never fired them. The golden lasso educed truth.

But, the shared conventions are: Smarter than everybody else and physically perfect. Wish fulfillment is a twisted beast.
posted by lazycomputerkids at 2:11 AM on September 16, 2014 [1 favorite]

to the consternation of Wonder Woman fans, there has never been a Wonder Woman film.

On MeFi's earlier recommendation, if you haven't seen Haywire, now is the perfect time.
posted by mikelieman at 2:13 AM on September 16, 2014 [1 favorite]

Wonder Woman is the only superhero I like. Precisely because her powers aren't adolescent male power fantasies. It makes me happy that she's that way because the history and philosophy behind her creation intended that.
posted by ob1quixote at 3:29 AM on September 16, 2014 [1 favorite]

I had never heard of any of this. Thanks so much for posting.. the Filter has done its work!
(Of course WW, yes)
posted by bird internet at 3:51 AM on September 16, 2014

This was a great article. I'm a comics geek, but most of it was new to me. I had just watched a documentary on netflix which purports to be "the untold story of American superheroines" that didn't even scratch the surface in comparison. Reading about how women were treated when the men came back from the war always makes me really mad.
posted by sevenyearlurk at 4:36 AM on September 16, 2014

Jill Lepore is a pretty wondrous woman herself.
posted by yoink at 5:43 AM on September 16, 2014

Jill Lepore, author of THE SECRET HISTORY OF WONDER WOMAN at BEA Librarian Breakfast 2014

And here's another article by Lepore about WW (I haven't read this one yet so I don't know exactly how much they overlap): The Surprising Origin Story of Wonder Woman
posted by homunculus at 3:40 PM on September 16, 2014 [2 favorites]