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dancePROOF

- 2 years ago

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Isn't Wonder Woman Really Just a Man?

Yesterday me and my sis were talking about female action movie and comics and super heroines. How in a sense the easiest way to make them is to just write a normal macho man action movie, change all the "hes" to "shes" and throw in a love relationship to really cement the female demographic interest.

I mean seriously, doesn't Wonder Woman just exude masculinity? There's the whole Amazon thing, which is already synonymous with, let's say "built" women. Then there's the barely disguised cowboy archetype twirling the lasso: this misunderstood and solitary renegade just beneath a fresh application of eye shadow.

So then me and my sister decide that woman are kind of being told from a young age that in order to be powerful, they have to portray male features, male characteristics, and even (minus huge boobs and a tiny waist) male physicality. Can't a powerful woman portray femininity alone and still be thought of as powerful? And vice versa, why are men who show feminine traits portrayed as weaker?

Is it really just a man's world? Why are gender stereotypes so skewed towards edifying the masculine and sensualizing the feminine?

Are gender biases just as bad as they've ever been?

source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bbaltimore/10566043/

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I agree with this point but only to a certain degree. I think some females are just masculin, but that's not to say that females cannot be powerful and more feminine. This whole argument is valid and I had a hard time giving an opinion about it. I'm sort of on the fence, but more likely to disagree.

You're contradicting yourself. If you yourself didn't have an idea of "femininity" or "masculinity" than you wouldn't ask this question. Wonder Women is a female, so she's acting like a female.

Come to think of it, you're totally right! But to answer your question, stereotypes, especially this one, go back a long way where a woman was supposed to be slim, feeble, emotional, sensitive, and sit around cleaning and cooking and a man was supposed to be strong, able, stoic, and go out doing all the arduous labor type things. Well now, in the 21st century, things are definitely changing. Woman have more rights by law but I still feel there are some prejudices against us. It's still pretty hard to get people to listen to you when your young and a girl because you're not supposed to have a mind of your own. Your just supposed to smile serenely and nod while the big man does all the work and that's not right! There are loads of guys in my class and guys that I've met that I could, no offense, totally whip there butt! And how does that make me masculine? Last time I checked even though I was strong and had a mind of my own, I was and still am a GIRL! It's all to do with the roles women played a long time ago and they have been embedded in our minds for hundreds of years.

"I don't care if it's a mans world, as long as I'm a woman in it." - Marilyn Monroe

Why wouldn't they be?

You definitely have something there since it's true that a lot of power comes from masculinity and masculine traits, but I think that the opposite can also be true. If a woman is too masculine, she can be looked down upon and might not hold as much power than if she dressed more feminine, carried herself more lady-like, put on make-up, whatever.

I think where the power comes from really is a special blend of masculinity and femininity. If you look at the most powerful leaders of companies or countries or whatever, the men usually are a bit more sensitive to appeal to certain audiences, but have a very masculine appearance to show that they can do both, and thus hold that power.With women, they have to be able to show that they can have a feminine appearance and masculine sensibilities as well, while keeping their feminine hold on the population. It's really about presentation I think.

Great question. ^ ^

super heroes are supposed to be celibate and asexual in most senses - others adore them, and they may "have feelings" for one special other, but they never get laid.

Children's toy aisles.

Gender biases are just as bad as ever. Our media is overflowing with sexism. The problem is that people believe what they see in the media and act on it.

if a woman is promiscuous shes labelled a s**t.
if a man is promiscuous hes labelled a casanova.

instead of putting labels, cant we just say women have friendly vaginas and men have friendly penis'? at the end of the day, the more love and sex their is, the happier we'll be. btw how many women/men do you have to sleep with to be considered promiscuous?

No. Wonder Woman is a woman.

Mary Wollstonecraft in "A Vindication of the Rights of Woman" (1792) says that virtues such as "courage" and "fortitude" which are associated only with "masculinity" should not be - but instead should be associated with "humanity."

Concisely; don't worry, those virtues and images aren't just for men, they are for all of humanity.

The view that Wonder Woman is masculine is one that you are seeing through the veneer of gender stereotypes; just see her abilities and virtues as human virtues.

lol...most women I know DON'T want to share their realistic flaws with men. We would rather have intestinal cramps than pass gas, we don't tell ppl when we find a unexpected hair somewhere we never thought hair would grow. Our lives are based on hormonal swings that we can't predict or even control. We don't tell men that their appendages are not the be-all and end-all that men think they are. We perfect the "is that all for me!?!" look. Would men really want to know everything that we brood over? As a mother, the last thought a woman may have before she goes to sleep is if her kids will remember when they are adults how she yelled at them that day. Has she scarred them for life? We mentally grow as we age. So, the ideal woman, the perfect one that is most content with herself.....hmmmmm exponentially at the rate of increased mental stability, with perceived body image comfort....is about 65 years old.
All kidding aside, we all have powerful intuition. My life has depended on it a few times. Most times, I override that feeling with reason and have traveled a few dark roads.
Most women are pleasers. That is our main fault. We are taught to be pleasers from childhood. If we were taught to listen to our gut then maybe we would think differently.

Why can't we all just be human without having to catagorize things as correctly maculine or feminine? Isn't the height of feminism the idea that woman should be able to be themselves, to not be tied to some ideal of what they should or shouldn't, or can and can't do? Quite frankly, so long as Wonder Woman is being herself and she's anatomically a female than that's enough for me. Some women are dispositioned to be what would more classically defined as "masculine". Insinuating that those women should be fighting their own strengths or going against their own desires to fit into a more classic ideal of feminity is offensive.

Quite frankly this relatively new idea in feminism that women should be able to work 50 hours a week, be a wife, a mother, be in great shape, have a phd, be strong but not in a manly way, be able to stand up for herself but not be a b*tch... it's all very tiring as a woman to even just think about juggling so much bullshit while walking some societal tight rope. And while it may take quite a bit of strength and energy to fit into that idea, it's not for everyone. Just as not every woman is cut out or interested in being "wonder woman" or "cat woman". Not everyone woman is interested in being a wife, or a mother, or cleaning up dirty laundry.

Why can't society just settle for the idea that someone is a good person when they're making the most of their own abilities rather than trying to stuff everybody into some prefab idea of identity? That goes for men to.

I'd like to share this very interesting perspective of how constructions like "women's intuition" and "mother's instinct" are actually harmful to women, rather than empowering:

http://youtu.be/z-X62CBTv44

It's an hour long, and features a lot of interesting insights, so get comfortable, otherwise skip to 09:14 for the start of the "intuition" part.

I so badly want to say my superpower is producing milk...but someone (probably of the male gender) would counter with they "can make life"....then I would have to say that "since typically only 1 of the 40 million spermatozoa actually make it in the rush to live, thats its not very impressive"....then they would maybe come back with, "I am just a vessel to carry their progeny"...then and only then would I yelp "you only like wonder woman cause she has huge boobs"

one thing that women still can't get away with that men can is being a player. if i girl bones a lot of dudes shes considered a s**t, and if i man scores a lot of girls he's considered an idol.

I think it is very easy to say that a person is not sexist but I wonder if in fact it might be self delusional.

I'll use myself as an example. I consciously see myself as equal opportunity in every sense of the word. I had been interacting with a person on Soul Pancake that I assumed was a man. A comment was made that made it appear that I was actually talking to a woman. It made me pause. I have to ask myself, why am I pausing in reflection if I am treating this person as an individual first and foremost?

So, after stewing on this for about 15 minutes I have decided that I like being a man and I like that women are different than me. I prefer to spend time with women more than with men and if my bias results in me treating women better than men; maybe that's not such a bad thing. Viva la difference!

Are gender biases just as bad as they've ever been? Absolutely not. Don't get me wrong, things aren't perfect by any stretch and they never will be for most. However, females have come a long way since the feminist heydays of the '60s. There are still ways in which women are seen, portrayed and treated as lesser-than today, certainly, but those things are all also true of men today. We're nearly equal in our inequalities, if that makes sense. I'm not saying it makes it right, I'm just saying.

I take a post-feminist approach to the state of gender bias. The day of feminism is long past and it's done it's part, in my opinion.

I believe that women are incredibly strong and the gender stereotypes are ridiculous. I'm very feminine and when I need to get something done I can do it while still being a lady. To me, women with feminine traits are viewed as weaker because many men that write things for comics and movies still have the mindset that stereotypes sell and in my opinion that needs to change.

dancePROOF

Isn't Wonder Woman Really Just a Man?

Are gender biases just as bad as they've ever been?

kokobow

I agree with this point but only to a certain degree. I think some females are just masculin, but that's not to say that females cannot be powerful and more feminine. This whole argument is valid and I had a hard time giving an opinion about it. I'm sort of on the fence, but more likely to disagree.

mistielovesyou

You're contradicting yourself. If you yourself didn't have an idea of "femininity" or "masculinity" than you wouldn't ask this question. Wonder Women is a female, so she's acting like a female.

Cordelia76296

aehtila

"I don't care if it's a mans world, as long as I'm a woman in it." - Marilyn Monroe