Marston philosophies, down the rabbit hole here we go:
Marston didn't use to bondage to appeal to men (though it defiantly did draw men in), it was really more to spread his philosophies. That the path to peace was to change submitting from something negative to something positive, and that people won't enjoy being bound if there wasn't something erotic about it. (Weather his philosophies and his way of depicting them was appropriate, isn't the topic I'm addressing.)
If there was anything about Marston's Wonder Woman that he indented to be appealing to men, it was the desire to be dominated by a strong woman. If you want an exact quote: "About male readers, he later wrote: "Give them an alluring woman stronger than themselves to submit to, and they'll be proud to become her willing slaves!""
-
Marston had Diana use a sword too, but people gloss that over. He never had her use it outside of ritual combat or tournaments.
And it's not the sword I don't like, it the over-the-top warrior persona that too many writers use when she has the sword. I feel Perez and Rucka handled it just fine for the most part.
-
Although, I do see the side that is completely opposed to her using a sword. That the act of her ever using a sword against anyone is a mishandle, since swords were created to kill people and that goes against the strong no-kill rule Diana debuted with.
And, that is an augment I can relate too, since I think there is an inherent response that in order to be strong you need to be "tough", and that to be "tough" you need to be willing to "do whatever needs to be done" including kill, and I don't find the desire to avoid taking life as weak.
And it's that version of "tough" that is used to appeal to a male audience since I think there's a push from society that men shouldn't be seen liking as looking up to a character who doesn't fit surface level's of "toughness". Superman suffers from this too, I think.