Description

Book Synopsis

Wonder Woman and Philosophy: The Amazonian Mystique explores a wide range of philosophical questionssurrounding 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, rela

    Table of Contents

    Contributors: The Myndi Mayer Foundation xi

    Acknowledgments xvii

    Editor’s Note xix

    Introduction: In and For a World of Ordinary Mortals 1
    Jacob M. Held

    Part I You Are a Wonder Woman 3

    1 Becoming a (Wonder) Woman: Feminism, Nationalism, and the Ambiguity of Female Identity 5
    J. Lenore Wright

    2 The God of War is Wearing What? Gender in the New 52 19
    Sarah K. Donovan

    3 Wonder Woman vs. Harley Quinn: The Paradox of the Moral Hero 31
    Jill Hernandez and Allie Hernandez

    4 Great Hera! Considering Wonder Woman’s Super Heroism 44
    Trip McCrossin

    Part II Dispatches from Man’s World 55

    5 Wonder Woman: Feminist Faux Pas? 57
    Andrea Zanin

    6 Feminist Symbol or Fetish? Žižek, Wonder Woman, and Final Crisis 72
    Matthew William Brake

    7 When Clark Met Diana: Friendship and Romance in Comics 81
    Matthew A. Hoffman and Sara Kolmes

    Part III When I Deal with Them, I Deal with Them 91

    8 Bound to Face the Truth: The Ethics of Using Wonder Woman’s Lasso 93
    Melanie Johnson-Moxley

    9 “What I Had to Do”: The Ethics of Wonder Woman’s Execution of Maxwell Lord 104
    Mark D. White

    10 Can a Warrior Care? Wonder Woman and the Improbable Intersection of Care Ethics and Bushido 115
    Steve Bein

    11 Wonder Woman: Saving Lives through Just Torture? 126
    Adam Barkman and Sabina Tokbergenova

    12 Wonder Woman Winning with Words: A Paragon of Wisdom, Disarming Threats One at a Time 133
    Francis Tobienne Jr.

    Part IV God(s), Country, Sorority 141

    13 Wonder Woman, Worship, and Gods Almighty: Purpose in Submission to Loving Authority 143
    Jacob M. Held

    14 Merciful Minerva in a Modern Metropolis 151
    Dennis Knepp

    15 Wonder Woman and Patriarchy: From Themyscira’s Amazons to Wittig’s Guérrillères 162
    Mónica Cano Abadía

    Part V Tying Up Loose Ends 171

    16 The Lasso of Truth? 173
    James Edwin Mahon

    17 Loving Lassos: Wonder Woman, Kink, and Care 188
    Maria Chavez, Chris Gavaler, and Nathaniel Goldberg

    18 Golden Lassos and Logical Paradoxes 198
    Roy T. Cook and Nathan Kellen

    Index 209

Wonder Woman and Philosophy

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    A Paperback / softback by Jacob M. Held, William Irwin

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      Publisher: John Wiley and Sons Ltd
      Publication Date: 05/05/2017
      ISBN13: 9781119280750, 978-1119280750
      ISBN10: 1119280753
      Also in:
      Feminism and feminist theory Philosophy

      Description

      Book Synopsis

      Wonder Woman and Philosophy: The Amazonian Mystique explores a wide range of philosophical questionssurrounding 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, rela

        Table of Contents

        Contributors: The Myndi Mayer Foundation xi

        Acknowledgments xvii

        Editor’s Note xix

        Introduction: In and For a World of Ordinary Mortals 1
        Jacob M. Held

        Part I You Are a Wonder Woman 3

        1 Becoming a (Wonder) Woman: Feminism, Nationalism, and the Ambiguity of Female Identity 5
        J. Lenore Wright

        2 The God of War is Wearing What? Gender in the New 52 19
        Sarah K. Donovan

        3 Wonder Woman vs. Harley Quinn: The Paradox of the Moral Hero 31
        Jill Hernandez and Allie Hernandez

        4 Great Hera! Considering Wonder Woman’s Super Heroism 44
        Trip McCrossin

        Part II Dispatches from Man’s World 55

        5 Wonder Woman: Feminist Faux Pas? 57
        Andrea Zanin

        6 Feminist Symbol or Fetish? Žižek, Wonder Woman, and Final Crisis 72
        Matthew William Brake

        7 When Clark Met Diana: Friendship and Romance in Comics 81
        Matthew A. Hoffman and Sara Kolmes

        Part III When I Deal with Them, I Deal with Them 91

        8 Bound to Face the Truth: The Ethics of Using Wonder Woman’s Lasso 93
        Melanie Johnson-Moxley

        9 “What I Had to Do”: The Ethics of Wonder Woman’s Execution of Maxwell Lord 104
        Mark D. White

        10 Can a Warrior Care? Wonder Woman and the Improbable Intersection of Care Ethics and Bushido 115
        Steve Bein

        11 Wonder Woman: Saving Lives through Just Torture? 126
        Adam Barkman and Sabina Tokbergenova

        12 Wonder Woman Winning with Words: A Paragon of Wisdom, Disarming Threats One at a Time 133
        Francis Tobienne Jr.

        Part IV God(s), Country, Sorority 141

        13 Wonder Woman, Worship, and Gods Almighty: Purpose in Submission to Loving Authority 143
        Jacob M. Held

        14 Merciful Minerva in a Modern Metropolis 151
        Dennis Knepp

        15 Wonder Woman and Patriarchy: From Themyscira’s Amazons to Wittig’s Guérrillères 162
        Mónica Cano Abadía

        Part V Tying Up Loose Ends 171

        16 The Lasso of Truth? 173
        James Edwin Mahon

        17 Loving Lassos: Wonder Woman, Kink, and Care 188
        Maria Chavez, Chris Gavaler, and Nathaniel Goldberg

        18 Golden Lassos and Logical Paradoxes 198
        Roy T. Cook and Nathan Kellen

        Index 209

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