History, Internalized Misogyny, and Female Comic Book Characters

First, I'd like to apologize for kicking everyone in the well-loved childhood lunchbox...again. However, this is one of those things that I've been struggling with since I noticed comic books existed and that I wasn't the intended audience. (Around age 11.) It's important to understand you don't like something. It's even more important to understand why. Thus, I've been picking at this issue for what seems like forever.

I don't like Wonder Woman. More than that. She bugs the hell out of me. Always did. Now, I know that the severity is largely due to my personal history around abuse. However, there's more to it, and I suspect a lot of women are missing the bigger picture. I want to be clear that it's okay to like problematic things. Quite a few things I personally enjoy have some major issues.[1] So, please understand there's no judgement there. I've no problem with Wonder Woman's existence. I've a problem with her being the only legacy character for women. The reasons why are exactly the reasons why I've issues with Barbie and her legacy.[2] It's specifically her history, and the fact that you can't simply erase sexist history (as demonstrated by the Killing Joke Batman) by ignoring it. As seen with the latest Ghostbusters reboot[3], the undercurrent will remain the harder you try to pretend it isn't there. In Wonder Woman's case, her iconography remains the issue. And the truth is, the sexualized depictions of women in comics began with Wonder Woman, who was the first, and never really left there. WW was her creator's sexual fantasy--right down to the bondage.[4] To this day, she's still wearing a strapless swimsuit made of nationalism. (I had no idea that nationalism could give such flawless breast support.) And the part that disturbs me most is that when they finally give her a shield in the latest incarnation--something genuinely useful as opposed to the bracers of slavery (Do I really need to point out the problem with that?[4])--I see complaints about how she's no longer Wonder Woman. Because, you know, Captain America is the only person to have used a shield in battle in the history of ever. [rolls eyes] The problem is her iconography and always will be. It's her influence on the depiction of women in comics. Like Barbie, she started off in an adult, sexual world, and was carried into the children's area with little to no change. She was used to influence boys.

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[1] Starting with many of my favorite 80s films: Big Trouble in Little China, Joe versus the Volcano, and Escape from New York.
[2] And yes, I do have a small Barbie collection. They're all horror and classic fantasy tv related. I will also be buying a Uhura doll. See? Still, the important thing to note is that Lili, Barbie's predecessor, was "...a saucy little dame, okay. She was blonde, very busty, rarely wore much more than a bra and some newspaper across her lap, and she was basically a gold digger. She was out for money. She always dated these fat cats who didn’t treat her well, but as long as they bought her clothes and diamond necklaces, she was happy." Now, tell me that undercurrent doesn't still stick to Barbie today. I dare you. To this day, Barbie's porn star build--something that no one thought to change in all her long history until recently--has had a well-documented negative effect on girls and women.
[3] Why isn't Patty a scientist? Because the writers that gender-flipped the script didn't think twice about the racism in the original movie.
[4] I'll spell it out. She uses her *shackles* to protect herself. That's what those bracers are. Shackles that Hercules used to enslave the Amazons. And what happens if they're removed? She goes mad and becomes ultra violent.
[5] I don't have a problem with bondage, necessarily. Nor do I have a problem with women's sexuality as long as the intended audience is adult. That was not the case with Wonder Woman. In addition, the reading I've done about William Marston indicates he was abusive. I get the impression that his marriage and his long running affair were both turbulent. His fascination with sorority girls was more than a bit creepy.