Ink-Stained Amazons and Cinematic Warriors: Superwomen in Modern Mythology

252 Pages·2010·0.86 MB·English

by  Jennifer K. Stuller

INK-STAINED AMAZONS
AND
CINEMATIC WARRIORS
“Femaleheroesaboundinliterature,filmandallwalksoflife,although
most people don’t know that they do. Not surprising given how much
theychallengethegenderrolesinwhichwomenandgirlshavehistori-
callybeenconfined.Thiswonderfulbookshowsfemaleheroesbreaking
out of gender boxes left and right and illuminates new possibilities for
theindomitableheroinallofus.”
—Kathleen Noble, Ph.D., author of The Sound of the Silver Horn:
Reclaimingtheheroismincontemporarywomen’slives
“Onceuponatime—onlyafewyearsago,actually—womencouldturn
on their TV sets and glory in the adventures of Buffy, Xena, Sydney
Bristow, Dana Scully, and many more strong, ass-kicking women. To-
daythereisnotoneshowonthesmallscreenthatstarsafemaleaction
hero.Whathappened?Comicsarenotmuchbetter.Asidefromtheocca-
sionalexception(forwhichwearegrateful)likeBirdsofPrey,andwomen
writerslikeIvoryMadison(TheHuntress)andGailSimone’snewlyfemi-
nistinterpretationofWonderWoman,mostcomicbookactionheroines
continuetobemale-writtenanddrawncreationswhosebreastsarebigger
thantheirpersonalities.
NowalongcomesJenniferStuller,withherveryentertainingbook,
Ink-stained Amazons and Cinematic Warriors, to explore the whys and
whereforesofpopculturesuperwomen,andperhapsjoltusallintode-
mandingmoreandstrongerwomencharacters.Thankyou,Jennifer.We
needthoserolemodels!”
—TrinaRobbins,authorofTheGreatAmericanSuperheroines
INK-STAINED AMAZONS
AND
CINEMATIC WARRIORS
Superwomen in Modern Mythology
Jennifer K. Stuller
Publishedin2010byI.B.Tauris&CoLtd
6SalemRoad,LondonW24BU
175FifthAvenue,NewYorkNY10010
www.ibtauris.com
DistributedintheUnitedStatesandCanadaExclusivelybyPalgraveMacmillan
175FifthAvenue,NewYorkNY10010
Copyright©2010JenniferK.Stuller
TherightofJenniferK.Stullertobeidentifiedastheauthorofthisworkhasbeen
assertedbytheauthorinaccordancewiththeCopyright,DesignsandPatent
Act1988.
Allrightsreserved.Exceptforbriefquotationsinareview,thisbook,oranypart
thereof,maynotbereproduced,storedinorintroducedintoaretrievalsystem,or
transmitted,inanyformorbyanymeans,electronic,mechanical,photocopying,
recordingorotherwise,withoutthepriorwrittenpermissionofthepublisher.
ISBN:9781845119652
AfullCIPrecordforthisbookisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary
AfullCIPrecordisavailablefromtheLibraryofCongress
LibraryofCongressCatalogCardNumber:available
TypesetinAGaramondbyMacmillanPublishingSolutions
PrintedandboundinIndiabyThomsonPressIndiaLtd
For Ryan
You are the Superman to my Superwoman
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Contents
ForewordbyRozKaveney ix
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction 1
SECTION I Standing on the Shoulders of Amazons
1 TheBirthofModernMythologyandtheMother
ofFemaleSuperheroes 13
2 ModernMyth,MeetFeminism 29
3 WomenofSteel:TheBuffandtheBacklash 53
4 SuperGrrrlPowerinthe1990sandtheTurn
oftheTwenty-FirstCentury 65
SECTION II Journey of the Female Hero
5 LoveWillBringYoutoYourGift:OnRedemption,
Collaboration,andCompassion 87
6 Who’sYourDaddy?:OnFathersand
TheirSuperdaughters 105
7 AlwaystheMother,NevertheMessiah:OnMothers,
Daughters,andWomenMentoringWomen 117
SECTION III The Mythmakers
8 WomenMakingMyth 137
viii Conclusion:“WhereDoWeGofromHere?” 157
From(A)eonto(Z)oë:ASelectGlossaryofSuperwomen
inModernMythology 163
S
R
O Endnotes 175
RI
R
A Bibliography,Filmography,andInternetSources 209
W
C AuthorRecommendations 231
TI
A
M Index 235
E
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Foreword
Alotofpeopledisapproveoffemalesuperheroes.
Iamnotjusttalkingaboutothercharactersinthefictionalworldsinwhich
they exist—policemen who regard them as lawless vigilantes or headmas-
terswhothinktheyneglecttheirstudiesorparentswhowouldratherthey
stopped. I am thinking about critics who worry that they are just an
escapist way to avoid acknowledging female oppression in the real world,
or a way for middle-aged men to fetishize young fit female bodies—and
that’s just people on the side of progress and justice. Back in the 1950s,
FredericWerthamdisapprovedmoststronglyoftheonlyfemalesuperhero
he knew about. He saw Wonder Woman’s strength and independence as
unhealthy and her friendship with women aviators as coded propaganda
forlesbianism—andassumedthatthiswasabadthing.
One of the reasons why people want heroes is that they feel—often
with good reason—that they are powerless in their daily lives; being able
todreamofpeopleforwhomthatconditionisabsentordifferentisafirst
steptotakingstepstoimproveyourownreality.WonderWoman’screator
WilliamMoultonMarstonsawher,quitespecifically,asawayofencourag-
ingyoungwomentothinkabouttheirownautonomyandambitions,and
the rise of second wave feminism has been paralleled at every turn by the
creationofinspirationalwomencharactersinfilm,television,andcomics.
Jennifer Stuller’s study documents their irresistible rise, but also defends
thempassionatelyassubjectsforcriticalattention.
Sheisaseloquentabouttheclassicleatherjump-suitedheroinesofthe
pop1960sassheisaboutmorerecentfigures—thereisalineofdescenthere
fromHonorBlackman’sCathyGaleandDianaRigg’sEmmaPeelthrough
to more recent characters like Jennifer Garner’s Sydney Bristow in Alias.
Sheisexcellentonaselectionoffemalesuperheroesfromcomics—Wonder
Womeninhervariousincarnations,inparticular.
Likealotofpeople,Iwasdrawntothisareaofthestudyofpopularcul-
turebyJossWhedon’sBuffyandbyhisotherstrongfemalecharacterslike
Faith, Willow, and Cordelia; Faith’s reference to herself and Buffy as “hot