Wonder Woman, feminist Icon? Queer icon? No, love icon

Abstract

ABSTRACT Born at the height of World War II, Wonder Woman fought against the axis powers and misogyny! She was (and continues to be) a beacon of female empowerment and queer identities. As her creator William Moulton Marston proclaimed, Wonder Woman is inspiration “for the new type of woman who, I believe, should rule the world.” Yet while Wonder Woman has been both a feminist as well as queer icon, inspiring many, she was later--as fate would have it--marketed primarily to young boys in the comics world. A look at Wonder Woman through the ages captures the evolution of her message about gender, war, identity and the many audiences she has in one life inspired, and in another endured. In this essay, I consider the many lives of Wonder Woman both within comics and without. We will herald the new incarnation of Wonder Woman who not only reflects female power, but inspires it in female as well as male readers.