The ‘F’ Word: Wonder Woman’s Feminism Shouldn’t Be Covered Up

[el_bryanto]

An article at Comics Alliance about the incoming team on Wonder Woman and their discomfort at describing her as a feminist. The article makes some good points; that said I do have some sympathy with the writer/artist as well. They are trying to sell comics and their version of Wonder Woman, so it's natural for them to avoid using language that they think might turn off some of their potential readers.

That said, the author, Janelle Asselin, makes a really good point about how female comic characters are described.

. . . then he says “beautiful, but strong” (twice even). These things are not mutually exclusive, and no one gets a cookie for stating that Wonder Woman is strong and beautiful. Look at the character! Of course she’s strong and beautiful. And a strong woman wants to be equal to the men around her.

. . . Is Batman ever described as, “handsome, but tough”? Is Superman ever described as, “sexy, but unyielding”? No? Then why is the adjective that comes so often to David Finch’s mind for Wonder Woman, “beautiful”?

Anyway, well worth reading.

Bryant