Who is Wonder Woman to you?

[Gaelforce]

For me, it's all about equality.

I first found Diana on a magazine shelf back in the early 70s. At that point in time, female role models were few and far between. I'd been lucky enough to stumble onto Emma Peel on PBS, but for the most part, female roles were generally limited to girlfriends and victims.

So there I was, staring at a comic book with a woman on the cover and her name across the top. Next to it was a Justice League where she *and* Black Canary were literally standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Superman and Batman. For me, this was amazing! I was hooked.

At the time, women couldn't get a credit card without their husband's signature, and girl's couldn't play in little league baseball, although my sister was one of, if not the first to do so (she played before there was a lawsuit to allow girl's to play - I want to say 1972).

Diana showed me that a girl could be just as strong, just as respected and just as competent as the men. Women were equals in comics and Wonder Woman, to me, was at the forefront. A couple of years later, I got to see Wonder Woman fight Superman to a standstill, proving that women can be powerhouses as well.

It's why I'm always vocal about Wonder Woman remaining on an alpha level of power - she's the shining light for my generation; an example of equality at the highest level of super-humanity.

And she did it with love and compassion. She could be powerful and still be feminine and still be accepted and respected by the male heroes that dominated the industry.

[Ascended]

Question, why does everyone keep calling the Amazons a warrior culture when they do more than fight?

Because they *are* a warrior culture. The original Greeks that DC's modern Amazons come from (both thematically and in-universe) were warriors, and that tradition continues today.

One of their greatest duties is guarding Doom's Doorway. You dont put a bunch of philosophers in charge of that. And they were given Themyscria because they did such a good job fighting for their freedom that they impressed the gods themselves. And correct me if Im wrong here, but isn't every single Amazon trained in the arts of war to such a high degree that the common Amazon farmer could defeat highly trained American soldiers? (granted, being immortal does give one a lot of time to practice) They're warriors, plain and simple.

But that doesn't mean the Amazons are *only* warriors. They're far, far more than just soldiers. They're artists and scientists and philosophers and mystics and everything else. I'm not trying to say the only thing the Amazons are good at is killing people. But they *are* warriors. Honestly, considering how many times their culture is said to be a warrior's culture and how many times it's been expressed on the page (with panels of ranks upon ranks of Amazons training and all the talk about the importance of it) I'm surprised anyone is even asking?

[Ascended]

For me, it's all about equality.

I first found Diana on a magazine shelf back in the early 70s. At that point in time, female role models were few and far between. I'd been lucky enough to stumble onto Emma Peel on PBS, but for the most part, female roles were generally limited to girlfriends and victims.

So there I was, staring at a comic book with a woman on the cover and her name across the top. Next to it was a Justice League where she *and* Black Canary were literally standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Superman and Batman. For me, this was amazing! I was hooked.

At the time, women couldn't get a credit card without their husband's signature, and girl's couldn't play in little league baseball, although my sister was one of, if not the first to do so (she played before there was a lawsuit to allow girl's to play - I want to say 1972).

Diana showed me that a girl could be just as strong, just as respected and just as competent as the men. Women were equals in comics and Wonder Woman, to me, was at the forefront. A couple of years later, I got to see Wonder Woman fight Superman to a standstill, proving that women can be powerhouses as well.

It's why I'm always vocal about Wonder Woman remaining on an alpha level of power - she's the shining light for my generation; an example of equality at the highest level of super-humanity.

And she did it with love and compassion. She could be powerful and still be feminine and still be accepted and respected by the male heroes that dominated the industry.

Just wanted to say I love this post. My wife has a vaguely similar story. We grew up in the 80's but there still werent many female role models around, and my wife's father would come home from work with Wonder Woman comics for his daughter. He was a cop, and her older brothers intended to be cops, and there weren't any female officers at the time so Diana was the role model my wife looked up to, the one who showed her that women could be badass protectors who changed and saved lives.

When the movie hit, I barely watched it. I was too busy watching my wife, who was smiling and crying at the same time through the whole thing. It was beautiful, watching her see something she had waited her whole life for.

[Gaelforce]

Just wanted to say I love this post. My wife has a vaguely similar story. We grew up in the 80's but there still werent many female role models around, and my wife's father would come home from work with Wonder Woman comics for his daughter. He was a cop, and her older brothers intended to be cops, and there weren't any female officers at the time so Diana was the role model my wife looked up to, the one who showed her that women could be badass protectors who changed and saved lives.

When the movie hit, I barely watched it. I was too busy watching my wife, who was smiling and crying at the same time through the whole thing. It was beautiful, watching her see something she had waited her whole life for.

I was crying, too. It meant so much to see Diana continue to lead the fight for equality

(I should add that I felt much the same about Star Wars when that came out - watching a princess pick up a gun and start firing? Incredible. Saw it 37 times in the theater)

[DrNewGod]

For me, it's all about equality.

I first found Diana on a magazine shelf back in the early 70s. At that point in time, female role models were few and far between. I'd been lucky enough to stumble onto Emma Peel on PBS, but for the most part, female roles were generally limited to girlfriends and victims.

So there I was, staring at a comic book with a woman on the cover and her name across the top. Next to it was a Justice League where she *and* Black Canary were literally standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Superman and Batman. For me, this was amazing! I was hooked.

At the time, women couldn't get a credit card without their husband's signature, and girl's couldn't play in little league baseball, although my sister was one of, if not the first to do so (she played before there was a lawsuit to allow girl's to play - I want to say 1972).

Diana showed me that a girl could be just as strong, just as respected and just as competent as the men. Women were equals in comics and Wonder Woman, to me, was at the forefront. A couple of years later, I got to see Wonder Woman fight Superman to a standstill, proving that women can be powerhouses as well.

It's why I'm always vocal about Wonder Woman remaining on an alpha level of power - she's the shining light for my generation; an example of equality at the highest level of super-humanity.

And she did it with love and compassion. She could be powerful and still be feminine and still be accepted and respected by the male heroes that dominated the industry.

Just wanted to say I love this post. My wife has a vaguely similar story. We grew up in the 80's but there still werent many female role models around, and my wife's father would come home from work with Wonder Woman comics for his daughter. He was a cop, and her older brothers intended to be cops, and there weren't any female officers at the time so Diana was the role model my wife looked up to, the one who showed her that women could be badass protectors who changed and saved lives.

When the movie hit, I barely watched it. I was too busy watching my wife, who was smiling and crying at the same time through the whole thing. It was beautiful, watching her see something she had waited her whole life for.

My wife was never allowed to buy comics, but she never missed an episode of Lynda Carter's series as a child. She refuses to watch it now for fear of (what she's certain is) its cheesiness ruining the memories that she cherishes. She dreaded going to see the Jenkins/Gadot film for the same reason, but she came out of that theater grinning ear to ear.

[Ascended]

My wife was never allowed to buy comics, but she never missed an episode of Lynda Carter's series as a child. She refuses to watch it now for fear of (what she's certain is) its cheesiness ruining the memories that she cherishes. She dreaded going to see the Jenkins/Gadot film for the same reason, but she came out of that theater grinning ear to ear.

I love stories like these. Was there a thread when WW hit for sharing this sorta thing? There should've been.

Like when we went to see Black Panther opening night. So many African Americans in that theater, and I don't think any of them had a dry eye. There was so much cheering at the end of the film I think I didn't actually hear the final lines of dialogue until the blu-ray came out. I'm a straight white guy, so this is a sensation I've never experienced or can relate to; Ive always had heroes who looked like me. But I absolutely love seeing this stuff happen for everyone else. Gods willing, my daughter will never know a world where she isn't represented in popular media.