What Wonder Woman Means To Me
Written by GeekGirlCon Twitter Administrator Kristine Hassell
Special Invitation
Join us this Saturday, June 3rd at Barnes & Noble South Center for a free Wonder Woman Day Celebration with costumes, fun activities, and a panel discussion, “Wonder Woman IRL”. You can RSVP online, right now!
A percentage of your purchases in-store on Saturday (or online June 3rd to 8th) will be donated to GeekGirlCon when you use the code 12164679.
What Wonder Woman Means To Me
When I was a kid, there was one television channel I could to watch without parental supervision and that was the local PBS affiliate. I absorbed all the classics: Sesame Street, Electric Company, Vegetable Soup, Doctor Who, Monty Python… okay, the last two weaseled their way in there when my mother wasn’t paying close attention to my media consumption. So believe me when I tell you that it was a big deal when my mother let me watch Wonder Woman.
If you are of a certain age, there is a good chance that you did what I used to do, or a reasonable facsimile thereof. You might have painstakingly fashioned a tiara and bracelets out of aluminum foil, and used a red marker to make the stars just right. You might have borrowed a bedsheet to wear as a cape and lastly, you might have found something that resembled a gold lasso to complete the ensemble. If you were me, you begged your mother to buy the fancy cord remnant that you found at the fabric store. Then every week, you donned your makeshift superhero costume and you were ready for the show to come on. Those animated stars exploded across the screen and that theme song kicked in!
What comes to mind when you think about Wonder Woman: the comic, the show, the cartoon, the movie? I see all those things and more. I think about what she represents to me and in turn, to others. I recall the statuesque and jaw-droppingly beautiful Lynda Carter blocking bullets with her bracelets, leaping off buildings, or spinning that iconic twirl to transform from Diana Prince into Wonder Woman. In case you were wondering, why I described my wardrobe ritual, when Diana twirled to change, I did so right along with her without fail. I’d fling the bedsheet off, whip my hair back and forth, emerging excited for the rest of the episode to see her battling against that week’s villain.
Who created the Wonder Woman twirl? End of blog has that answer… (source)
I recall the animated versions of her from the Super Friends (with all its renames and spin-offs), Justice League, and Justice League Unlimited. Side tangent for a little GeekGirlCon ‘14 trivia: in the JL/JLU universe, Wonder Woman was voiced to perfection by one of our former GeekGirlCon contributors, Susan Eisenberg! Yup, pretty cool stuff! The JL/JLU Wonder Woman held her own when fighting against Superman, had a great friendship with Hawkgirl, and was easily one of the best parts of that entire animated universe.
Diana Prince/Wonder Woman from JL/JLU.
Diana Prince/Wonder Woman from Super Friends.
And now we have Gal Gadot, the actress tasked with bringing this venerable icon to life for a new generation of young women and for us old folks who are excited to witness a big screen, big budget, live-action version of her. It’s only taken how many years again…?
Lynda Carter and Gal Gadot: two Wonder Women! (source)
In all these iterations of Wonder Woman, some things have changed while some have remained the same. Wonder Woman is just, with an unflagging moral compass to do what is right. She is powerful and inspirational, exuding empowerment by the very virtue of her existence.
When I was a kid watching Wonder Woman, I felt a connection to her. Maybe it was because my father was in the Navy, as was was Diana. Maybe it was because we both had dark hair. Maybe it was as simple as she was cool woman doing cool things. As I stop to reminisce, I can’t quite place the why but I remember how confident I felt after casting off my makeshift cape to become a superhero. I was unstoppable! I was Wonder Woman!
My niece Riley loves superheroes and right now. Wonder Woman and Spider-Man are her total jam! At her last birthday party, she dressed up as Wonder Woman and received her First Book of Girl Power!
When I saw these photos, my heart grew three sizes that day. I remembered being that age and saw myself reflected back: a hapa Filipina thrilled to dress like her favorite superhero, rife with kid energy, ready to climb monkey bars with no fear, and ignoring those who said that I couldn’t do it. I saw Wonder Woman.
DC’s new logo for Wonder Woman (source)
In 2016, Wonder Woman celebrated a 75-year legacy. In addition to her big screen debut on June 2nd, “Wonder Woman Day” happens on June 3rd. Over 2,000 bookstores, comic book shops, libraries, and other retailers will host events to celebrate all things Wonder Woman!
GeekGirlCon and Barnes and Noble Celebrate Wonder Woman
GeekGirlCon has the honor of joining Barnes and Noble at Southcenter Mall to do just that: celebrate and discuss Wonder Woman!
This FREE family-friendly event kicks off at 1 p.m. Kids (and adults) are encouraged to dress up as their favorite superhero, or supervillain! There will be a children’s costume contest, story time, crafts, and various activities. At 2 p.m., GeekGirlCon is hosting a panel called “Wonder Woman: IRL” and we’d love to see your smiling faces there.
If you’ve made it this far, thank you. You probably already know that GeekGirlCon connects geeky women, girls, and their allies in order to build an empowering and inclusive community. Our mission is to celebrate and honor the legacy of women and girls in the fields of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math), comics, science-fiction, arts, literature, and game play and game design. We cultivate safe and welcoming places to share our passions. We work to amplify underrepresented voices, and celebrate who we are and what we love. In a sense, we are all Wonder Woman.
If we see you on Saturday (and we legit hope that we do), we would love for you to invest in GeekGirlCon by buying a pass to our convention in September, donating at our table, or simply stopping by to learn more about what we do and why it’s important. With your help, we can continue our work in building a community that creates space and opportunities for women and girls to discover what they love. An investment in GeekGirlCon supports our inclusive vision of geeky women and girls having a safe and supportive community that is equitable, diverse, accessible, and empowering! We are excited for you to learn more, hear us speak about “Wonder Woman: IRL” and to see where this journey leads. Help us and we can all be as magnificent as Wonder Woman!
Trivia Time
Did you know that Lynda Carter invented Wonder Woman’s spin? It’s true! According to a 2005 interview with Entertainment Weekly, they couldn’t figure out how to facilitate her quick costume change. In the comics, Diana just left and returned as Wonder Woman. Carter was a dancer and informed the producers that she could pirouette or spin. After they filmed the twirling sequence which took nearly an hour, the explosion was added afterward.
In 1974, Lynda Carter auditioned for the role of Wonder Woman for a made for TV movie. The part went to Cathy Lee Crosby. Carter auditioned a year later for another Wonder Woman role and was chosen out of 2,000 other actresses trying to land the part. When she received the good news about the role, she was nearly broke with only $25 in her bank account!
Wonder Woman has a twin sister named Nubia who was stolen as a baby by Mars, the God of War. “Molded from black clay, at the same time Princess Diana was created from white clay, both were given gifts of life and beauty by Aphrodite, yet Wonder Woman was raised by the Amazons. The two women have the same powers, except Nubia possesses a magic sword which is the only weapon that can counteract Diana’s magic lasso.” If they ever decide to introduce Nubia into the DC Extended Universe (which I would love to see), I really REALLY hope they retcon that origin story because it’s problematic as hell.
