Wonder Woman
The Secret History of Wonder Woman
By Jill Lepore
Wonder Woman was born out of the early 20th century women’s movement in the United States at a time when birth control was illegal and its proponents were jailed. William Marston, a Harvard PhD graduate, was a truly peculiar individual, highly unconventional both in his beliefs and his private life. A proud feminist, he was married to a well educated woman who was the primary breadwinner in the family. He also simultaneously had two other common law spouses, one of whom was the niece of Margaret Sanger, famous feminist and founder of Planned Parenthood.
Unfettered by the need to conform, he tinkered with many projects including the lie detector, film scripts, writing and professional practice as a psychologist. Since he was unsuited to an academic career due to his penchant for unusual experiments, he moved from job to job until he ultimately created the Wonder Woman character.
In this surprising account, Lepore engages in frank discussions on the sexual taboos of the age, confronting subjects such as fetishism, misogyny and homosexuality. Notably, Wonder Woman was often bound and gagged, provoking criticism from educators and health professionals, who felt this was neither healthy nor suitable. On at least one occasion, Marston's publishers received letters from readers who particularly enjoyed this aspect of the comic books. The author staunchly defended his representation of WW, saying that the ropes represented woman's enslavement in a male dominated culture.
In contrasting the unconventional lifestyle of Marston and his family to the staid and conservative nuclear family, the author challenges the reader to dispense with judgement and to sympathize with those who cannot live openly for fear of persecution.
This story is as much about Wonder Woman’s history as it is about the feminist struggle in America. The average woman in 1942 faced hurdles equal to those of the comic book heroine, but lacked her superhuman strength to fight legislators and moralists who would prevent her from controlling her body and her fate. Marston, using his own peculiar brand of feminism, attempted to right the balance in the pages of popular fiction.
I had no idea that comics were so political. Fascinating reading!