#comics feminism

[comicsart3]

Wonder Woman is perhaps the iconic superheroine. With her godlike powers, lasso of truth and Amazon heritage, Princess Diana of Themyscira is understandably looked on as one of the clearest manifestations of female power in the comic book universe. There is of course a backstory to WW’s dominant appearance and that lies with the attitude and views of her creators, writer William Moulton Marston and illustrator Harry G Peter. Marston in particular was heavily influenced by his feminist wife, Elizabeth who wanted her husband to create a powerful female hero, physically superior to men, and equal to them intellectually to demonstrate women’s potential to challenge the restrictive gender roles of the early 1940s. The Marstons lived an unconventional lifestyle, establishing a ménage a trois with the beautiful dark haired Olive Byrne, who Peter allegedly used as his inspiration for Diana’s appearance. William Marston’s liberal and pro-feminist views were real enough, but he also had a deep fascination with the bondage fetish and his Golden Age stories are filled with imagery of Wonder Woman being tied up, chained up and generally held captive by any number of male and female villains. It was therefore no accident that Diana’s principal weapon is not her super strength or robot plane, but her golden lasso - a lariat that compels anyone caught in it to tell the truth, but which is also a super tough rope very useful for restraining enemies who did not wish to be captured by the Amazon.

As can be seen from the page above, the bondage in Marston’s and Hay’s work was not confined to Wonder Woman herself. Her college sidekicks, the Holliday Girls led by the overweight but irrepressibly cheery Etta, were frequently bound and gagged and requiring Amazonian rescue, but were more than capable of dishing out the bondage themselves when the occasion arose. As the relative comics artistic freedoms of the wartime years were pulled back in the 1950s, and the portrayal of Wonder Woman passed to other illustrators, the fetish imagery associated with the character was considerably reduced. However, Wonder Woman has remained a favourite comic book character, female role model and feminist icon ever since. The groundbreaking Marstons would be proud.

Source: Wonder Woman: the Golden Age Omnibus Vol 1 (2023)

[gyudons]

happy international women’s day! apologise to a woman today

[pillarsalt]

reminiscing ⛰️

[balkanradfem]

[beeqisch]

just found out about the gender wage gap *eyes go red*

[lotitheism]

something something specific species of rove beetle mimic the appearance, odor and behavior of certain species of ants in order to infiltrate colonies

aka @somerandomdudelmao's most recent marble sky part is on my mind and i can't stop thinking about oscar in relation to rove beetles. he may not be trying to eat marmor young but hey. imitation beetle funny

[neuro-psyche]

jason todd is a girls girl.

let me explain (ik ik i say that a lot)

Jason Peter Todd will stand on business if it means helping someone out, especially a woman.

A creepy man following you home? woah that's crazy jason todd is very suddenly your friend and just so happens to be walking the same way.

Someone being a dick to you in public and making a scene? jason intervenes, handling the person after calling you a cab and paying for it up front.

You need someone to watch your drink? Mr. Fucking Red Hood will stand with a gun held over the drink until you get back, regardless of what he was doing.

Jason Todd is a girls girl in my mind and I will die on this fucking hill.

seriously though I feel like he and Steph would recreate that sonic meme that's like

Steph, saying something about how she, Cass and Babs are better than the rest : -and I'll prove once and for all that a female can be just as good of an hero as a male!

Jason : You know, anytime someone calls attention to the breaking of gender roles, it ultimately undermines the concept of gender equality by implying this is the exception and not the status quo.

Steph :

Jason :

Everyone and their mother :

Jason : What? Just because I'm a resurrected zombie freak and assassin, doesn't mean I'm not a feminist. I read pride and prejudice, dammit.

[greenapplespider]

Incel Love: 1 (inspired by real conversations I’ve had with sad broken people)

Short series about a radfem and a mgtow type who fall in love and become normal

Part 2

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

MDZS Height Poll: Who is (technically) the tallest character. Please remember that these polls are for fun!

[silveradiant]

«I am a woman, a mutant, a thief, an X-Men, a lover, a wife, a queen. I am all these things. I am Storm, and for me, there are no such things as limits.»

[externalmemorycomic]

A high school memory. I was a very obnoxious teenager... (If you wanna read more comics, I’ve posted over 200 of them on my patreon where you can get daily updates for just 3€ a month! I use my patreon income for bills and stuff and any contribution makes a big difference. Check out the link in my pinned post if you want to join!)

[warandpeas]

Fall

[tygerland]

Tank Girl (1995)

[pillarsalt]

[mysharona1987]

[jstor]

Here's another open access book on JSTOR y'all might find interesting:

Sugar, Spice, and the Not So Nice 

This title offers a wide-ranging and geographically diverse book-length treatment of girlhood in comics. The various contributing authors and artists provide novel insights into established themes within comic studies, children's comics, graphic medicine, and comics by and about marginalized ethnic or cultural groups. It will appeal to students and scholars of childhood studies, comics scholars and creators, and those interested in addressing gender identity through the prism of comics.