Wonder Woman and Philosophy: The Amazonian Mystique

by Jacob M. Held (Editor)

Wonder Woman and The Amazonian Mystique explores a wide range of philosophical questions surrounding the most popular female superhero of all time, from her creation as feminist propaganda during World War II up to the first female lead in the blockbuster DC movie-franchise.

The first book dedicated to the philosophical questions raised by the complex and enduringly iconic super-heroine  Fighting fascism with feminism since 1941, considers the power of Wonder Woman as an exploration of gender identity and also that of the human condition – what limits us and what we can overcome Confronts the ambiguities of Wonder Woman, from her roles as a feminist cause and fully empowered woman, to her objectification as sexual fantasy Topics explored include origin stories and identity, propaganda and art, altruism and the ethics of care, Amazonians as transhumanists, eroticism and graphic novels, the crafting of a heroine, domination, relationships, the ethics of killing and torture, and many more.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, Wonder Woman, Feminism, Pop Culture, Essays, Dc Comics

241 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 21, 2017

About the author

Assistant Professor of philosophy at the University of Central Arkansas specializing in legal and political philosophy, nineteenth-century German philosophy, and applied ethics.

Reviews

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first book in the "and philosophy" series by Blackwell, and i am excited to read more of their publishings. Some of my favorites from this collection are "wonder woman and the patriarchy" "Can a warrior care?" and "Great Hera!". I loved the juxtaposition of care ethics and bushido tradition in "Can a warrior care?", and the other references to the ethics of care through out the book. To me this is what has set Wonder Woman apart from others and that is explained more in depth in the book. Great read for those who are not completely new to philosophy.

[Dan Sumption · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is, in parts, an interesting read, but it's of pretty niche interest - the essays are (as so often with collections like this) of variable quality, and while the "philosophy" does much to illuminate the Wonder Woman stories and the DC Comics multiverse, most tell us little about the real world. Still, Wonder Woman is an interesting bundle of contradictions: created during World War two by William Moulton Marston, a progressive psychologist who lived in a polyamorous relationship, believed that women are superior to men, invented the polygraph lie-test, and appeared to have an interest in bondage. Many of Marston's interests are represented in Wonder Woman, the sexy feminist with bondage-bracelets and a lie-detecting whip. Naturally, feminism is discussed often in this book (with many, many references to Simon de Beauvoir's "The Second Sex"), but ultimately Wonder Woman's feminism appears to be an early version of the Spice Girls' "Girl Power" - strong women as envisaged by men. Other topics covered include Wonder Women's attitudes to killing and torture (she's pretty pragmatic). If you're a Wonder Woman fan and also a philosopher, you'll probably find a lot here to interest you. If not, then probably not.

[Melissa Rininger · Rating 3 out of 5]

Since I enjoy philosophy and superheroes, this compilation of essays edited by William Irwin was a no-brainer. I will say that I did notice some essays contradicting information that I read as fact from DC authorized books, so I will probably double-check my sourced material to make sure I didn’t misinterpret what was stated in these essays versus what was stated in the DC authorized books. Also, something to take note of since I referenced “DC authorized books” is that this compilation of essays is not an authorized DC book. So there is the possibility that some of these scholarly papers have the wrong information because they are not sourced by anyone other than the writer.

Another thing to take note of: you can tell which writers truly know something about Wonder Woman in the comics and her role as a feminine icon and which writers know very little about Wonder Woman and only use her as an example to further an argument for the sake of writing a paper. There are a couple of interesting essays in this book, but there are still a great deal of essays that create a cringe worthy reaction. I found myself sitting through a series of paper lectures at the last comic convention I attended and I found those topics to be very interesting and I felt that the presenters had value to offer to the particular topic they spoke about. However, some of the essays presented in this compilation are not essays that I would want to sit and listen, but then anytime someone uses the word “existential” my brain is hard-wired to shut down and stop listening.

https://geekdad.com/2017/05/stack-ove...

[Carly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some of the essays were especially fascinating and as standalone essays I would share them with friends and read them again and again (Jill and Allie Hernandez commentary on Wonder Woman and Harley Quinn, Matthew A Hoffman and Sara Kolmes essay on friendship and romance, and Mark D White’s discussion of wonder woman’s ethics). There were also some interesting discussion about Marsten (the original WW creator) and his polyamory and sex positivity and the way that influences WW, but mostly I was underwhelmed by a lot of what I read. In particular, the two dimensional discussions of Wonder Woman and feminism that often painted feminist perspectives as singular and lacking nuance.

[Whitnee Ramos · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a veryyy niche book and probably not for all fans of Wonder Woman, but I really enjoyed the philosophical take. Some essays were definitely stronger than others, but overall I found it to be a mentally stimulating read.

[Peggy D'onofrio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Slim intriguing volume capable of much more depth and breadth.

[Jennifer Rolfe · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favourite books so far this year. What a surprise. I was particularly impressed by the choice of perspectives presented. It will be a book I return to often.

[Angelina Titeryakova · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5

[Rachel Remer · Rating 2 out of 5]

A very thought provoking read. A lot of variety in the topic, style, quality, and my own interest in the different essays.

[Will · Rating 3 out of 5]

I expected trouble when I started by turning to the index and finding plenty of references to Marston, but only two to Olive, the real Wonder Woman, and his legal wife Elizabeth. This gives them fewer than Jill Lepore (whose The Secret History of Wonder Woman I recommend without reservation), Grant Morrison, or even Lois Lane. Something is off here.

The part I most appreciated was the section on the golden lassoo... which, the contributors remind us, was not anything as simple as a "lie detector" in the beginning.

[Viktória Larišová · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vziať si do ruky knižku o Wonder Woman vydanú v roku 2017 je situačný risk. Vyše polovica príspevkov je totiž veľmi zábavná a hlavolomivá, čo je pravdepodobne výsledkom toho, že sa v dnešnej dobe vieme inteligentne hrať s komiksami. Zvyšok príspevkov je plný mileniálovskej feministickej gang-mentality, pričom autori sa vás postupne snažia presvedčiť, že žijete v surovom patriarchálnom svete, že je nevyhnutné podniknúť femi-revolúciu, a že rovnosť pohlaví je možné dosiahnuť iba nadvládou žien (a úprimne, podobnej logike v rovine zbohom-zdravý-rozum som nikdy neprišla na chuť). 3/5, kvôli tomu, že som musela svoje hodnotenie spriemerovať. A pretože si myslím, že silná ženská môže nosiť skimpy outfity a nie nevyhnutne rozplandané svetre.