Wonder Woman and William Moulton Marston
Wikimedia CommonsWilliam Moulton Marston and Wonder Woman’s first cover, Sensation Comics #1.
Wonder Woman is literally the superhero of women’s rights. First appearing in 1941, she was uniquely female among the other superheroes. In almost every comic, she is bound by chains or ropes and breaks free, a commonly used symbol for women’s rights at the time.
By popular vote from comic book fans (boys and girls alike), she was added to the Justice League, despite the fact that she was a woman.
Showing that not all feminist icons have to be female, the creator of Wonder Woman was actually a man named William Moulton Marston, a Harvard trained psychologist and inventor.
Marston was inspired by feminists of his time and hardworking women in his own life, including his wife, Elizabeth Holloway, as well as Olive Byrne and Marjorie Wilkes Huntley, the two women who also lived with the Marstons in a polyamorous relationship.
Although his progressive ideas were sometimes tinted by his seemingly dishonorable home life, Marston created a character destined to be a champion and hero for all women. Wonder Woman continuously outsmarts and overpowers men, always escaping from capture and defeating the bad guys.
All throughout the comics, Marston wrote in references to women’s suffrage. There was even a series included in the comic books called “Wonder Women of History.” The idea was created by Alice Marble, the associate editor for Marston’s Wonder Woman, and featured real female heroes of the past, such as Florence Nightingale, Joan of Arc, Sojourner Truth, and Susan B. Anthony.
Enjoy this article on feminist icons? Next, read more about Edith Garrud and the Jujutsu-suffragettes. Then read about one of the first feminist icons, Mata Hari.
