This chunk of text was added to the main article. I'm relocating it to the Forum, since it's all someones speculations and personal opinions. This text does not necessarily represent my own opinions, and I don't know who wrote it, but it didn't belong in the main text, it's an editorial:
"''The question that is asked all the time: is Wonder Woman a lesbian? After Seduction of the Innocents by Dr. Fredric Wertham during the 50s, Wonder Woman was suspected to be a lesbian, much like Batman and Robin.
So was Wonder Woman a lesbian, or was she a role model for girls? William Moulton Marston was Wonder Woman's creator, and he was a psychologist, inventing the lie detector, so it was obvious that he knew whatever he was doing; he was doing it on purpose. It's probably true that Marston had put clues in, and the first one is Wonder Woman's friends, being all women, who were called the Holiday Girls, "holiday girls" being a slang word for "lesbian". Another clue was probably the society in which the Amazons lived in, which consisted of only women. It is stated in the main continuity that there are Amazons who were lesbians, and Amazons that were straight as well. It's possible that the Amazons who were lesbians felt that such an attraction was forced upon them, much like the Spartans in same-sex barracks. The soldiers-in-training would practice same-sex practises, only to relieve the basic need for sex. Surrounded by all these "girlfriends", and with that term used, it is possible that they were her lesbian supporting cast. She had an array of them, one being a character named Paula. Various things she says - intentional or not - give the vibe that she herself may be a lesbian as well, and perhaps was attracted to Wonder Woman. Through various adventures, she shows her devotion to her, valuing her life over her own and goes by the logic that her loved one is greater than her own life.
In the 70s, a man named Jim Harmon would support Wertham’s theories in his book All in Colour for a Dime and had stated that Wonder Woman kiss women in her books during the Golden Ages, however, kissing was a rare scene, especially in the Golden Ages. Hugging was seen, but kissing was probably not. Wonder Woman didn't even kiss Steve Trevor during her adventures.
Jules Feiffer who wrote his book The Great Comic Heroes disagrees as he writes that Wonder Woman was not much of a dyke due to her fighting style as it was clean, basing his interpretation of Wonder Woman on the stereotypical dyke, noting that he uses the word “dykey” in his book. Taken from WordNet, which was developed by the Cognitive Science Laboratory at Princeton University, it defines "dyke" as “offensive terms for a lesbian who is noticeably masculine”. It was also during the time of 1965, in which Feiffer’s book was published, and perhaps sexism and stereotypes had been a deciding factor on what his final interpretations were. But it must be noted that Wertham had connected comics and juvenile behaviour, noting most certainly how homosexuality had affected the youth and that Feiffer’s conclusions may have had some connection.
However, people might question why Wonder Woman had a romantic relationship with Steve Trevor but why he was created is the question. It's possible that he was merely a fill-in character, as someone had to play the damsel-in-distress, to create for interesting and death-defying stories. Wonder Woman would always be rejecting his marriage proposals, saving the world first before marriage. It may have clued in how homosexuality was frowned upon, and perhaps even illegal during the Golden Ages.
Wonder Woman was also created because William Moulton Marston saw the DC Universe being dominated by male heroes. He probably wanted to target the comics to little girls and Gloria Steinem was a big supporter of Wonder Woman. She was an editor for Ms. Magazine (which was a feminist magazine) and said "... [Marston] had invented Wonder Woman as a heroine for little girls, and also as a conscious alternative to the violence of comic books for boys." And it Steinem’s quote probably is correct, as Marston wrote in The American Scholar
"It seemed to me, from a psychological angle, that the comics worst offense was their blood-curdling masculinity...it's smart to be strong. It's big to be generous, but it's sissified, according to exclusively male rules to be tender, loving, affectionate...'Ah that's girls stuff!' snorts our comic reader, 'Who wants to be a girl?" And that's the point; not even girls want to be girls as long as their feminine stereotype lacks force...strength."
Basically, he means that the women’s best qualities are their weaknesses and in turn the girls don’t want to be girls themselves because of the male dominating heroes in the DC Universe, let alone any other comics universe. There is also more proof that Marston created Wonder Woman specifically for young girls, as boys and men can be intimidating towards girls. As girls grow, they soon discover the word “sexuality” and as boys grow, they become physically stronger and girls look at that as if good looks were necessary. Not saying that sex doesn’t sell, but intelligence and a strong mind can prevail as Marie Wilson had to say in The Reader's Companion to U.S. Women's History:
"Sexual comments, jokes, and threats become more intimidating as girls develop an understanding of sexuality and as boys, on average, become physically bigger and stronger than girls....they begin to realize that good looks are necessary for certain kinds of success, and that good looks lead to being looked at, which for young adolescent girls can seem threatening."
Girls during the 1940s were taught to be quiet and let the boys handle everything. It is evident in Hitler’s youth camps, where girls were taught that the only reason why they existed was to give birth, nurture children and do many things an average housewife would do as quotes from Hitler would prove:
"Intelligence in a woman is not an essential thing. My mother for example would have cut a poor figure in the society of our cultivated women. She lived strictly for her husband and children. They were her entire universe. But she gave a son to Germany."
... the world of a woman is a smaller world [than a man’s]. For her world is her husband, her family, her children and her house."
Women and girls were oppressed and they needed something to escape to and find a way to express their opinions, and maybe this is another reason why he created Wonder Woman.
Another big sign pointing towards Wonder Woman’s lesbianism is the fact that she could have had two mothers! Just like Virgin Mary, Hippolyta created her child with clay from a seabed because she felt a strange feeling for a child. So Athena, who is a goddess told her to mould clay from a seabed and thus Princess Diana was born! Looking at it from a distance, Diana seems as if she had two mothers: Hippolyta and Athena.
It is hard to tell if Marston had originally intended to put lesbian clues, or if Wertham had made some connections about Wonder Woman and lesbianism but either way, Marston had provided a place away from the “Man’s World”, exclusively allowing girls to focus on themselves if needed, and teaching girls in the 1940s that girls did not need to be oppressed by men, adding that it was okay to express opinions. Of course, this "lesbian" fiasco is not to be out done by the fact that Wonder Woman's only weakness is that if her bracelets are bonded together by a "Man" she will lose her powers. This could be another pointer that Wonder Woman is a lesbian or the creator was trying to put hidden tones in the storylines.
It may be that Wonder Woman may also be bisexual, as she and another Amazon, Io, had reciprocal feelings for each other.
It can also be said that Wonder Woman does not feel she needs to be labelled sexually, and that she is just herself. Coming from a society that was only populated by women, "lesbian" in our eyes may have "straight" for them. The Amazons probably believed that love shouldn't be categorised into sex or race; as long as you loved someone, that it is what mattered to them.''"
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