Wonder Woman's Controversial Costume | Yellow Spandex #11 | NowThis Nerd

Wonder Woman’s wonderful wardrobe has been the heart of controversy for decades, and Versha Sharma is here with a primer on the politics of Wonder Woman’s costume.

Hot on the heels of the first Wonder Woman movie, the world fell in love with the iconic Amazon portrayed by Gal Gadot. Wonder Woman is almost single-handedly selling the Justice League movie, so on the eve of Justice League Wonder Woman, we wanted to take a looks at the controversy behind the Wonder Woman costume. Patty Jenkins crafted an incredible vision for the most famous female superhero, but above all other superheroes none have caused more controversy than Diana Prince and her Wonder Woman costume. From the original Wonder Woman costume in the ‘40s to the Lynda Carter Wonder Woman TV show to modern Wonder Woman cosplay, Wonder Woman has inspired women and girls around the world proud to be a nerd. But the history of Wonder Woman’s costume goes back further than comics, when Professor William Moulton Marston married his student, Olive Byrne. They entered into a polyamorous relationship that influenced Marston’s vision of feminism and caused him to create Wonder Woman. In her initial appearance, Wonder Woman wore a flowing, star-spangled skirt. Once it evolved to a pair of shorts, moral crusaders of the time were upset, but it’s far from the first time in the history of Wonder Woman or the evolution of Wonder Woman that she’s caused controversy.

For example, there was the 1960s New Look Wonder Woman, created by Denny O’Neil and Mike Sekowsky. They removed all of her Wonder Woman powers, including her Wonder Woman lasso of truth, her Wonder Woman bracelets, and her Amazon sisters. But feminist leaders like Gloria Steinem objected to the change, and soon she was back in her classic Wonder Woman armor. Later, during the ‘90s, Wonder Woman was subject to the same stylistic choices as the other female comic book characters of the age. Meaning giant breasts, tiny waists and even tinier superhero costumes. But then and now, the classic Wonder Woman costume always prevails. After a brief experiment with pants in the 2000s, Wonder Woman was changed forever after the Patty Jenkins Wonder Woman 2016 movie became a massive, game-changing success. Now that Justice League 2017 is just around the corner, all eyes are on Wonder Woman to see if she can save the fledgling DCEU. The DC comics character has always been part of the holy trinity of Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman, and now that the DC Universe is on the biggest stage of all, the Justice League movie and the success of the DCEU rests on Wonder Woman’s wonderfully outfitted shoulders.

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[MrJo-dnvh]

At the exact spot she says “and yes she is still wearing heels” you can clearly see she’s not wearing heels...

[diegolv]

7:45 you say she wears heels, while showing a clip where she doesn’t even have heels in her live action costume.

[joedigger]

So, in the 9th men in comic books were "walking tanks" mostly shirtless, always got the girl, were seen as sex symbols by women in comicals, and basically were the Imbodiment of what a man is supposed to be even though those expectations were very unrealistic which to me sounds a lil like objectification but you don't say so and only say the women in comics were? Double standard much?

[saadsalman]

"Flashpoint of controversy" good one guys

[joedigger]

What I learned from this video:


Concoct a female super hero and put her in an outfit that is not much more than a 1 piece bathing suit and people bitch by saying things like "It's sexist! It sends the message that women are nothing but objects of objectification. No actual female super hero would wear this as there is ZERO protection, etc. Etc. Etc."

Give character new outfit that covers a lot more and seems like an actual suit/outfit as opposed to swim wear and people STILL bitch by saying "It sends message that only pants make you strong! She should be able to wear what she wants! It's sexist to MAKE her wear pants. Her last outfit was fine as it empowers women to be confident, sexy, and bad ass!!!"


Um, all I gotta say Can you please pick one and stick with it please?

[chrismaystar]

Hmm... I like you, but just WONDERING where is Kaya?

[chongook]

For some reason a ton a men take of their shirts in comics and movies but this isn’t ok

[jackko]

Question at 5:40 what comic book is that what issue is that and who drew it because i wanna see if this is the most 90s comic artist of all time

[terryverax]

At 6:28 what movie is that from, even though I'm probably not going to get an answer I just want to know

[notoriousbigk]

those were high sandals not heels in the live action movie and the JL movie

[Vapouriste]

You're really killing it with the Yellow Spandex series !

[wisemoon]

I can’t believe you missed the George Perez run. That was the first time I had seen Wonder Woman with flat boots. Also, at one point in that run, she has a set of Greek armor, a shield, a spear and an axe. I’m fairly sure the costume and weapon designs for the WW film took inspiration from that. And I’m also fairly sure the boots in the film are flat, not high heels. Missed the mark just a little.

[Chandasouk]

Dope as hell and well researched. Although, I've heard earlier illustrations of Diana had her wearing black bracers because that is what Olive wore versus the silver mentioned.

[joshuajwars]

Oh that’s sweet then completely blown away because she’s now a goddess to every male superhero including Mera too.

[aaronkitzmann]

7:21 your point is true, but Braveheart is the last movie you should have considered showing. Basically nothing in that movie is based on the actual history, other than that there was a William Wallace who lead a rebellion and was executed.

[daninmills]

Excellent video. Would love to hear your take on the recent Justice League Amazon costume controversy.

[juandiegotorres]

I know for a fact that wonder woman became a secretary to the JSA so William Moulton Marston could keep the creative rights to her solo stories.

[lambeflores]

I think Black Panther destroyed the Highest Grossing Origin story movie record.

[wonder_cecosplay]

So, in the 90s comics were not getting enough money, so the authors did whatever they wanted. I don’t know the exact quote was but it was along the lines of the higher the thong the more people bought it. I haven’t read a lot of the 90s comics, but the era that the 90s was apart of (Post-Crisis) has been my favorite so far.

[Shanecoulson]

7:24 but her skin is indestructible and besides if she is hurt she can heal super fast