Wonder Woman and Philosophy

Wonder Woman and Philosophy: 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.

Wonder Woman and Philosophy: 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.

Contributors: The Myndi Mayer Foundation xiAcknowledgments xviiEditor's Note xixIntroduction: In and For a World of Ordinary Mortals 1Jacob M. HeldPart I You Are a Wonder Woman 31 Becoming a (Wonder) Woman: Feminism, Nationalism, and the Ambiguity of Female Identity 5J. Lenore Wright2 The God of War is Wearing What? Gender in the New 52 19Sarah K. Donovan3 Wonder Woman vs. Harley Quinn: The Paradox of the Moral Hero 31Jill Hernandez and Allie Hernandez4 Great Hera! Considering Wonder Woman's Super Heroism 44Trip McCrossinPart II Dispatches from Man's World 555 Wonder Woman: Feminist Faux Pas? 57Andrea Zanin6 Feminist Symbol or Fetish? ?i?ek, Wonder Woman, and Final Crisis 72Matthew William Brake7 When Clark Met Diana: Friendship and Romance in Comics 81Matthew A. Hoffman and Sara KolmesPart III When I Deal with Them, I Deal with Them 918 Bound to Face the Truth: The Ethics of Using Wonder Woman's Lasso 93Melanie Johnson-Moxley9 "What I Had to Do": The Ethics of Wonder Woman's Execution of Maxwell Lord 104Mark D. White10 Can a Warrior Care? Wonder Woman and the Improbable Intersection of Care Ethics and Bushido 115Steve Bein11 Wonder Woman: Saving Lives through Just Torture? 126Adam Barkman and Sabina Tokbergenova12 Wonder Woman Winning with Words: A Paragon of Wisdom, Disarming Threats One at a Time 133Francis Tobienne Jr.Part IV God(s), Country, Sorority 14113 Wonder Woman, Worship, and Gods Almighty: Purpose in Submission to Loving Authority 143Jacob M. Held14 Merciful Minerva in a Modern Metropolis 151Dennis Knepp15 Wonder Woman and Patriarchy: From Themyscira's Amazons to Wittig's Guérrillères 162Mónica Cano AbadíaPart V Tying Up Loose Ends 17116 The Lasso of Truth? 173James Edwin Mahon17 Loving Lassos: Wonder Woman, Kink, and Care 188Maria Chavez, Chris Gavaler, and Nathaniel Goldberg18 Golden Lassos and Logical Paradoxes 198Roy T. Cook and Nathan KellenIndex 209