Monday, June 15, 2015

Wonder Woman For President!




Here are three Wonder Woman covers produced for Ms. magazine. The first one was produced way back in 1972 by Murphy Anderson. The second is from 1997 and uses the Anderson artwork in a new way. The third from 2012 is by Michael Allred. It is perhaps ironic that none of these (I cannot identify the new art on the 1997 issue) is produced by a woman, especially the most recent one.

In researching this artwork I stumbled across this website maintained by Pete Marston, the son of William Moulton Marston, the psychologist who created Wonder Woman so many decades ago. And here is a 2014 The New Yorker article by Jill Lepore about the creation and history of the character.

As for a woman becoming president, it's taken way too long for that to happen. Maybe this next election will solve that situation. Hillary Clinton is far from a "Wonder Woman" but she is certainly competent and qualified for the position. But it's a long time until the election and as we saw last time, a lot can happen. For some perspective on how far we've come (or perhaps haven't) check out this Gloria Steinem article from that very first issue of Ms. 

Rip Off

2 comments:

  1. I don't know if Ms. magazine is available in the UK but there was until recently a magazine for teenage girls called "MIZZ" - perhaps British teenage girls don't know how to pronounce Ms. When I first saw Ms. Marvel in the '70s I didn't have a clue how to say "Ms." and I assumed it must be some alternative pronunciation of "Miss" so for me she was Miss Marvel which kind of defeated the feminist angle they were aiming at. I've read that Hillary Clinton isn't that much different from a conservative - rather like our Labour Party in Britain.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Based on the standards when I was a young man some few decades ago, she would be a Republican for sure. In fact despite all the hand wringing and howling you hear, President Obama has governed pretty much as a moderate Republican might've done decades ago. He's called a "radical" (code these days for Communist) but he's actually pretty much in line in terms of policy with Richard Nixon, not a guy who'd have cottoned to being called a Communist.

      The one true left candidate we have this time is Bernie Sanders, a Socialist from Vermont who has little chance of winning, but who will put some of the issues on the table that need to be discussed.

      As for "Ms.", I still use it when I talk to folks about whose status I'm uncertain and I doubt few if any know that I'm trying to be decorous, but merely saying it funny.

      Rip Off

      Delete