Wonder Woman: Not Trying to Start a Crusade Here, but…
Star TrekStargate:AtlantisFirefly…I am more than a little bit disgusted and discouraged by the dismissive attitude that I’m seeing in regards to the use of Wonder Woman on the February 2008 issue of Playboy magazine.
I’m a guy. I like women. I’m the one in the Pink Raygun household who subscribes to the digital edition of Playboy Magazine, and I’m the one who told Lisa about the cover. Lisa and I are the ones who first posted on this use of the Wonder Woman character by Playboy Magazine.
Within a week of posting, our little post pointing out the distinctly different ways in which DC seems to allow use of their trademarked characters (based on the character’s gender, apparently) had been picked up and and was being discussed on jezebel.com, afterellen.com, athleticwomen.com, and many of the usual suspects when it comes to issues of feminism and comics.
Today I came across the latest installment of Steven Grant’s Permanent Damage column over at comicbookresources.com (which I have been gladly reading for as long as he’s been writing).
Wonder Woman isn’t an ideal for girls anymore, and probably hasn’t been for a long time; to teenage girls and younger, she’s an old hat fuddy-duddy. - Steven Grant
Maybe that’s true, and maybe it isn’t - but if it is true, somebody should tell the licensing department at DC/Warner that they’re completely wasting their time with all that silly Wonder Woman merchandise that you can currently buy. Children’s plates? Toddler’s costumes? Wonder Woman Barbie Dolls? All available either today or recently from stores like Target and Sears, and all completely Pointless. What girl would want any of that crap?
(Speaking of Barbie - She came into being almost 50 years ago, 18 years after Wonder Woman’s first appearance. Both characters were created to appeal to little girls, and marketed as such. I would argue that in the US, the two most recognized “girl” icons are Wonder Woman and Barbie - one the action girl, the other the girlie-girl. Can anyone imagine Mattel EVER allowing Playboy magazine to co-opt the image and name of Barbie to sell their magazine?)
Anyway - DC/Warner continues to market Wonder Woman to little girls. More importantly, they continue to market Wonder Woman to the mothers of today’s little girls, those same mothers who have fond memories of their own Wonder Woman Underoos, bed sheets, dress-up kits, purses, and Crazy Foam bath soap from when they were little girls. DC/Warner wants to have it both ways - a sexed up Wonder Woman as wank material to help sell adult fare, and a safe, action-heroine Wonder Woman they can get their percentage on to sell merchandise to children.
All in all, it’s a hissy fit clawing for an issue. - Steven Grant
Again, can anyone imagine Mattel doing the same with Barbie? And if Mattel were to go the Warner route with their most recognized girl’s brand, can you imagine the backlash that would occur both in print and at the cash-register?
Of course, I could be wrong, and this could be the start of a brave new marketing world for DC/Warner. Imagine how much better the well the Wonder Woman Resin Mirror would have sold…
| Hey Girls! Now you can look into our products and see yourself!
And Mom? Remember all those hours spent imagining yourself as Wonder Woman? Well, here ya go! |
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