# Deconstructing Wonder Woman **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 6, 2001, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deconstructing-wonder-woman/61043 "2001-04-06T07:59:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Marvel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/779978/32.png) [@Marvel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvel)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2001, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deconstructing-wonder-woman/61043/1 "2001-04-06T07:59:00Z")
Greetings! I had to write a brief response to “Where the Girls Are: Growing Up Female with the Mass Media” for a History class I’m taking and I chose to focus on the image of superheroes. Hope you like it! Patty \> \> Patty: This was an interesting take on the book. I like that you zeroed in on one topic and did your own cultural studies reading. \> \> At 12:56 AM 4/3/01 -0700, you wrote: \> \>Here’s my response paper, which can easily be \> titled “Confessions of a Grrrl Geek.” \> \> \> \>Patty Marvel \> \>HSTY 354 \> \>Response to “Where the Girls Are” \> \>April 3, 2001 \> \> Imagine if you will two little girls – one blonde and the other her younger, brunette sister – sitting in front of the television after school but before Dad came home from work, circa 1970s. Imagine them staring eagerly at the screen for that ONE image in the opening credits that will make the unfolding episode of “Batman” all the more enjoyable. Imagine them cheering as the image – that of Batgirl zooming across the screen on her motorcycle – because they now know the lone female crime fighter in this universe will be making one of her all too rare appearances. This was the scene in my living room as my big sister Kim and I huddled in front of the tube, psyched about the morsel of estrogen power we – and presumably, other little girls – were starving for from television. In her introduction to “Where the Girls Are: Growing Up Female with the Mass Media,” Susan J. Douglas points out that pop culture focusing on boys is cherished, while pop culture focusing on girls receives less notice (Batgirl didn’t show up in the “Batman” movie franchise until the forth film). This seems to be changing, at least in the realm of television shows, as indicated by the big screen versions of “Charlie’s Angels” and the soon-to-be-released “Josie and the Pussycats.” What I’m interested in – and what I hope Douglas covers in greater depth if there’s an updated edition of her book – are the images of female superheroes, the people we aspire to dress up as for Halloween. The one female hero who gets any notice in Douglas’ book is Wonder Woman (I don’t count the Bionic Woman as a “superhero,” because her powers aren’t a part of her nature but are supplied by man-made gadgets), even though I can recall watching other female heroes on TV, including Mighty Isis (her live-action show came on right after Captain Marvel late Saturday mornings), Electra Woman and Dyna Girl (brought to you by the same folks who created “H. R. Puffinstuff” and “Captain Cool and the Congs”) and the aforementioned Batgirl. I enjoyed watching Wonder Woman and will even watch it today since the Sci-Fi Channel keeps rerunning the twenty-plus-year-old episodes. Admittedly, I now cringe along with Douglas when the opening credits for the first season episodes run, because the opening theme for that year – and that year only, thank God – included irritating lyrics such as the following: “In your satin tights, fighting for your rights… ” Oh, there was more where that came from, such as“we’re all so proud of yoooooouu” and other silliness I’ve never heard directed at Superman or any other male hero I can think of (can you imagine a similar lyric treatment for The Man of Steel? “Capturing the creeps, in your red silk briefs!”). As the Sci-Fi Channel continues rerunning “Wonder Woman,” I’m reminded that by season two, the opening theme was mostly an instrumental with the occasional “Wonder Womaaaaan” thrown in – bye-bye cheese ball lyrics! However, I beg to differ with Douglas’ complaints about the female superhero, largely because they apply to her male counterparts as well. For example, the author seems to think it silly that the mild-mannered Diana Prince, Wonder Woman’s alter ego, only had to put on glasses and business attire so no one knew who she really was . May I point out this same cover worked for Clark Kent? And at least Wonder Woman/ Diana Prince had the added “disguise” of different hairdos. And contrary to what Douglas writes, Wonder Woman’s personal issues could also be applied to Superman and Batman – they too, had to keep their identities secret from their sweeties (Lois Lane and Vicki Vale, respectively), and I don’t recall either of them talking about their goals and ambitions, except for getting the baddies in jail. I would slightly amend Douglas’ complaint that “[the media] would show us women with power, but only in comic book settings that could never be mistaken for reality .” Yes, we girls are trailing behind the boys in real-life power-babes, but judging by her complaints, the author doesn’t seem to understand that our female superheroes are no better or worse than the male ones, we grrl geeks just could use MORE of them. * * * Question for discussion – Think of some contemporary female superheroes, like Xena and The Powerpuff Girls. How do they compare to contemporary boy-oriented heroes? Are their powers any more or less impressive than those of their male counterparts? Do any of the female heroes have attributes that would seem silly on a male hero? And what would a female superhero of your own making be like and why? [One of my fellow students said she thinks Rogue’s power is silly. - Patty] ---
**Author:** ![Wolverine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ba9def/32.png) [@Wolverine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolverine)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2001, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deconstructing-wonder-woman/61043/2 "2001-04-06T15:15:41Z")
There’s a slew of female superheroes on TV right now: Buffy, Dark Angel, Charmed, Xena, Powerpuff Girls, Sailor Moon. The guys have only two superheroes (Angel and Beastmaster) and soon three (Tick). Females clearly outnumber the guys on TV. (As long as you don’t count the male superhero cartoons) The problem is that superhero shows tend to be in the minorty compared to action/sci-fi shows and most of those shows are dominated by male leads. The women might be well written (and some are) but they don’t headline. There are many more action/sci-fi shows than superhero shows. Farscape, Earth: Final Conflict, First Wave, Nash Bridges, Adv. of Jules Verne, Invisible Man, etc. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2001, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deconstructing-wonder-woman/61043/3 "2001-04-06T22:33:05Z")
Mr. Peters??? Seriously, you sound like my absolutely favourite teacher of all time, Mr. Peters. He helped me run the school’s gay & lesbian group, gave me 90s on all my essays, and deconstructed Wonder Woman, not to mention The Little Mermaid and Madonna videos.