Table of Contents Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................. 1 Thesis Abstract.................................................................................................................... 2 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 3 Chapter One: Liberation ................................................................................................... 14 Historical Background .......................................................................................... 15 Second Wave Definitions ..................................................................................... 17 Women’s History Background ............................................................................. 18 Wonder Woman’s and Supergirl’s Origins........................................................... 22 Superpowers .......................................................................................................... 23 Independent Lifestyles .......................................................................................... 33 Higher Education .................................................................................................. 36 White-Collar Careers ............................................................................................ 40 Financial Independence ........................................................................................ 46 Without Powers ..................................................................................................... 52 Provocative Poses ................................................................................................. 60 Bondage Scenes .................................................................................................... 66 Target Practice with Wonder Woman ................................................................... 69 Phallic Missiles ..................................................................................................... 71 Sexier Costumes.................................................................................................... 73 Emotional and Mental Stereotyping ..................................................................... 80 Summary ............................................................................................................... 85 Chapter Two...................................................................................................................... 87 Silly Feminist, Superheroine Comic Books are for Men!..................................... 87 Telling Advertisements ......................................................................................... 88 Letter Content ....................................................................................................... 99 Liberation Requests ............................................................................................ 100 Superheroines with Masculine Behaviors ........................................................... 112 Wonder Woman’s Male Intolerance ................................................................... 118 Sexual Objectification ......................................................................................... 123 Romance and Autonomy..................................................................................... 135 Female Friendships and Team-ups ..................................................................... 140 Summary ............................................................................................................. 144 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 151 Bibliography ................................................................................................................... 155 Acknowledgements None of this would have been possible without the loving support of my husband Jim and my family. I am especially thankful for my mom’s support and her advice in my childhood to question the status quo. I would also like to thank my committee chair Professor Katherine Hijar who kept me motivated. Professors Watts and Xiao were also invaluable in offering advice on my thesis. 1 Thesis Abstract This study argues that comic book publishers, editors, writers, artists, and fans imposed multiple limitations on Wonder Woman’s and Supergirl’s powers and independence. Although Wonder Woman and Supergirl embodied significant liberated characteristics: superpowers, independent lifestyles, higher education, white-collar careers, and financial independence, they were most limited by advertisements aimed at males and were also portrayed as unintelligent women, disempowered, and objectified. This study compares 242 of Wonder Woman’s and Supergirl’s comics from 1959 to 1984. The plots, images, and letter pages were analyzed in the context of Second Wave Feminism and the Cold War era. This study indicates a change over time from the superheroines’ portrayals of liberation to sexual objectification and the editor’s, writer’s, artist’s construction and fans’ reception of the women’s movement in comic book culture. The present study enhances existing scholarship in the fields of Women’s Studies, Media and Popular Culture Studies, and Sociology challenging popular cultural images of empowered superheroines. Although this study may seem of concern to only a small group of scholars and comic book fans, it should in fact concern anyone who cares about why gender inequity continues to exist. My original contribution shows how the influences of fans’ letters in Wonder Woman and Supergirl and the editors’ responses to the fans’ requests limited the superheroines’ liberated powers and behaviors by encouraging a sexualized style of superheroine art. Keywords: comics, comic books, women’s movement, feminism, Wonder Woman, Supergirl, fan culture 2 Introduction “You take feminine beauty and pervert it! You make your girls objects!”1 In 1972, Wonder Woman shouted this at a villain who used beautiful women as secret weapons. At first glance, the academic and feminist argument that women are objectified appears as neither new nor original. But on closer inspection, I argue that, on the one hand, Wonder Woman and Supergirl from 1959 to 1984, exemplified the following liberated characteristics and behaviors: superpowers, independent lifestyles, higher education, white-collar careers, and financial independence. This was important as Wonder Woman and Supergirl embodied feminist ideals during the Women’s Movement era. On the other hand, I also argue that the editors, writers, artists, and fans imposed multiple limitations on Wonder Woman’s and Supergirl’s liberated characteristics and behaviors. These findings have important implications for the broader domain of showing how power is distributed and limited based on gender. The first limitation that publishers imposed appeared in the romance supplements, bodybuilding, and BB gun advertisements in Wonder Woman’s and Supergirl’s comics. These images and messages shed light on whether the status quo that appeared in the supplements and advertisements directly challenged women’s changing roles in America or were products of sales and marketing. Second, I argue that the editors, writers, and artists imposed further limitations on the superheroines by making the superheroines adhere to behaviors that were expected of actual women during the Cold War era. The superheroines reflected these behaviors of real women who acted unintelligent to attract men and appeared overly emotional and mentally unstable in the superheroines’ plotlines. This discovery will have significant applications in interpreting how male influence on popular cultural icons 1 Wonder Woman 199/1972. 3 perpetuates women’s inequality.2 Third, I argue that the editors and writers imposed limitations on the superheroines’ superpowers by making them endure lengthy periods of disempowerment. This move was unprecedented in comic books. If I am right about the reasons for the superheroines disempowerment, then major consequences follow for actual women’s efforts towards empowerment and equality. Fourth, the editors, writers, and artists imposed limitations by using multiple forms of sexual objectification which included: provocative poses, bondage scenes, sexy costumes, bulls-eye targets, and images of Wonder Woman riding bombs and rockets. Although such poses may seem insignificant as they appeared to a finite audience in comic books, these findings should appeal to scholars and the general public alike who are concerned with the reasons that powerful female characters are sexually objectified. Finally, I argue that the extent of fans’ contributions in Wonder Woman and Supergirl and the editors’ responses to the fans’ requests shaped the superheroines’ liberated behaviors that resulted in a sexualized style of superheroine art. Ultimately, what is at stake here is the cyclical role of DC’s marketing strategies to male audiences that perpetuate women’s sexual objectification. My study of the period from 1959 to 1984 of fans’ letters and editors’ reactions in Wonder Woman and Supergirl, shows how the fans’ direct influences from writing letters and sharing opinions changed the portrayal of the superheroines from liberated to sexualized. This should interest those who have previously given little thought