Popular Culture Review Volume 29, Number 2, Summer 2018 | Page 191

Popular Culture Review 29.2
female agency ” ( Yockey 52 ). “ Commissioner Gordon and Batman regulate female sexuality , a function they ritualistically carry out in their constant recontainment of Catwoman . Consistent with the super-hero genre ’ s repression of sex , sexuality is exclusively both female and criminal . As a conservative antidote , Batgirl is necessarily asexual ” ( Yockey 50 ). As for Superman , Lynda Carter , responding to the Wonder Woman United Nations backlash , pointed out , “ Superman had a skintight outfit that showed every little ripple , didn ’ t he ? Doesn ’ t he have a great big bulge in his crotch ? Hello !” ( Williams ). Marjorie Wilkes Huntley , who had a close relationship with the Marstons , came to this conclusion long before the Wonder Woman television series , or this essay for that matter . In 1955 , when she discovered that Wonder Woman remained on Parents ’ Magazine ’ s list of objectionable comics even after being watered down , she wrote to the magazine that Wonder Woman “ is now a character which is active in the ways that Superman is active�which you do approve of ” ( Lepore Location 9524 ).
On the basis of genre style , the restorative justice of Wonder Woman ( 1975-1979 ) could have taken off to join the philosophies of Batman and Superman in enriching the collective superhero pantheon long before Wonder Woman ( 2017 ), which came 38 years later , much longer than any gap between Superman and Batman ’ s live-action adaptations . This is especially striking when one considers the centrality of love to any character ’ s longevity in fandom ( Yockey “ Wonder Woman ”). Lynda Carter ’ s Wonder Woman was seen as threatening because she existed�not just as a woman or a superwoman , but as a superwoman epitomizing particular ideals . The series was suppressed , undone ( not necessarily in its lifespan in comparison to other shows at the time , but in its identity ), and after that , discredited , with the cultural
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