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I Am Wonder Woman Hear Me Roar: A Feminist Analysis of Women from the Inception of Wonder Woman to the 21st Century Item Info

Chapter 1: Wonder Woman emerged onto the comic book scene in 1941. During her debut, patriarchy not only oppressed women in American society, it often silenced them in literature as well, and even with the advances made during the Suffrage Movement and the first wave of feminism, women in the 20th-Century were still expected to remain at home performing domestic duties. World War II gave women a unique opportunity to enter the workforce while men fought in the war; however, after the war was over, patriarchy began to force women back into domestic roles, trying once again to revoke their agency. Since then, Wonder Woman has remained an iconic feminist revolutionary, challenging gender roles and surpassing male prowess; yet, many contemporary feminist scholars question whether she is ever feminist enough, even in her debut. By exploring Wonder Woman’s role in comics through each wave of feminism, and by utilizing concepts found in Butler’s Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity (1990) and Halberstam’s Female Masculinity (1998), I seek to show the myriad of ways in which themes of feminism, female masculinity, and gender performativity uncover how Wonder Woman has guided both pro- and anti-feminist readings over time. In so doing, it becomes evident that Wonder Woman must fulfill her role of empowering and guiding the gender perceptions of both young women and men to permanently extinguish the misogynistic standards of a patriarchal society which continues to silence women in the 21st century.

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Title:
I Am Wonder Woman Hear Me Roar: A Feminist Analysis of Women from the Inception of Wonder Woman to the 21st Century
Creator:
Millard, Rebecca
Date Created:
2017-05
Description:
Chapter 1: Wonder Woman emerged onto the comic book scene in 1941. During her debut, patriarchy not only oppressed women in American society, it often silenced them in literature as well, and even with the advances made during the Suffrage Movement and the first wave of feminism, women in the 20th-Century were still expected to remain at home performing domestic duties. World War II gave women a unique opportunity to enter the workforce while men fought in the war; however, after the war was over, patriarchy began to force women back into domestic roles, trying once again to revoke their agency. Since then, Wonder Woman has remained an iconic feminist revolutionary, challenging gender roles and surpassing male prowess; yet, many contemporary feminist scholars question whether she is ever feminist enough, even in her debut. By exploring Wonder Woman’s role in comics through each wave of feminism, and by utilizing concepts found in Butler’s Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity (1990) and Halberstam’s Female Masculinity (1998), I seek to show the myriad of ways in which themes of feminism, female masculinity, and gender performativity uncover how Wonder Woman has guided both pro- and anti-feminist readings over time. In so doing, it becomes evident that Wonder Woman must fulfill her role of empowering and guiding the gender perceptions of both young women and men to permanently extinguish the misogynistic standards of a patriarchal society which continues to silence women in the 21st century.
Subjects:
Wonder Woman feminism comics gender Judith Butler Halberstam
Methods:
textual analysis
Language:
English
Source
Preferred Citation:
"I Am Wonder Woman Hear Me Roar: A Feminist Analysis of Women from the Inception of Wonder Woman to the 21st Century", English Honors Thesis Repository, Nevada State University
Reference Link:
https://nevada-state-english.github.io/nsu-english-thesis/items/ht041.html
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