What struck me most upon my initial reading of Wonder Woman was the lengthy intro block of text beginning each chapter. While readers can find similar introductions at the beginning of many Superman chapters, I found that the passages concerning Wonder Woman's beauty to be particularly interesting. Until this point, none of the comics we've read have mentioned the attractiveness of the protagonists, and so I found the depictions of Wonder Woman's beauty to carry interesting implications.
While declaring Wonder Woman to have the beauty of the fairest Greek goddess, Aphrodite, certainly facilitates the image of her as beyond human, Moulton's emphasis on beauty, despite it's lack of functionality in hero work, raises interesting questions about what characterizes a hero. Whereas Superman is primarily defined by his amazing feats of superhuman strength, Moulton places just as much, if not more, emphasis on Wonder Woman's beauty than he does on her powers. In this way, he appears to favor her femininity over her ability, and seems to further her image as a woman over her image as a hero. However, this is not to say Wonder Woman cannot be seen as both powerful and beautiful, only that issues with her identity as a hero arise when her beauty is the focus more than her strength.
I would also like to add how Wonder Woman being compared to Aphrodite for her beauty is always listed first in her attributes. Putting beauty before her wisdom, strength, and speed emphasizes how a woman's worth is dependent on how attractive she is. Like you said, when we read descriptions of Superman they praise him for his remarkable feats of strength, while there is almost no mention of how attractive he is. This difference emphasizes the values that our society places on women versus men.
ReplyDeleteI think both Sam and Callie have hit the metaphorical nail on the head. This blog post also reminds me of our class discussion on how Wonder Woman is clearly written from a man's perspective and how the character doesn't even seem to be the protagonist of her own comic. Such a focus on Wonder Woman's physical appearance clearly objectifies her in ways that other superheroes have traditionally never been subjected to.
ReplyDeleteI would like to add that Wonder Woman's beauty is always the first, and often the only thing, that Steve Trevor mentions when he talks about her. Trevor's reactions to Wonder Woman's heroic feats are important tool of characterization. Whereas Lois Lane marvels at the physical feats that Superman accomplishes, Trevor only ever notes the beauty of his superheroic savior. I have to wonder if this is the sort of thing that changed when female writers began a more palpable influence on the character.
ReplyDeleteI would like to add that Wonder Woman's beauty is always the first, and often the only thing, that Steve Trevor mentions when he talks about her. Trevor's reactions to Wonder Woman's heroic feats are important tool of characterization. Whereas Lois Lane marvels at the physical feats that Superman accomplishes, Trevor only ever notes the beauty of his superheroic savior. I have to wonder if this is the sort of thing that changed when female writers began a more palpable influence on the character.
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