Comics Features

The Sexuality of Wonder Woman

A few weeks ago, Greg Rucka, current writer for the Wonder Woman comics, finally admitted to the world that Wonder Woman had relationships with women. Therefore, she is bisexual. For years, this has been a major debate over Wonder Woman’s sexuality. I, for one, am not surprised. Diana grew up on an island of only women. Themscriya’s culture and standards of sexuality are not like the ones in ours nor in the comics’ Man’s World.

Creator of Wonder Woman, William Moulton Marston laid the subtext of lesbianism heavily in Wonder Woman stories. The fact remains that Wonder Woman’s early stories had a long of bondage.  Wonder Woman and others were tied up constantly. Modern writers like Greg Rucka and Gail Simone have heavily implied that Wonder Woman, while living at her home, had relationships with women.

Overall, I think most people were not surprised, and they were glad that someone close to Wonder Woman said it.  But the question remains whether DC Comics will do anything about it. Wonder Woman traditionally had male love interests. For instance, Steve Trevor is her first love interest. She marries him in several timelines, has children with him, and loves him wholeheartedly, even if sometimes (depending on who wrote him) he didn’t deserve to be with Wonder Woman. He was a jerk to her alter ego (which has long since been abandoned), Diana Prince.

Another of Wonder Woman’s love interests, especially recently, is Superman/Clark Kent. Sometime in the late 1980s and the 1990s, Wonder Woman and Superman’s relationship was put into question by almost everyone, including Superman’s long-time love interest Lois Lane. Now to me, Superman and Wonder Woman have a brother-sister kind of dynamic. Other people see Superman and Wonder Woman and think that the strongest heroes should be together. Like Steve Trevor’s male-in-distress purpose, it’s a relationship with problems.

Wonder Woman is the most iconic female superhero in the world. She’s one of DC’s Trinity. I don’t think that DC wants to upset the hetero-normative nature of the most popular female superhero. Because people forget that Diana did not grow up in the Man’s World where men and women are in relationships are standard, but where she grew up, women loving each other was natural.

I will not hold my breath over ever seeing Wonder Woman in actual relationship with a woman who is her equal in strength of character or strength in battle. It would nice to have that kind of representation and diversity, especially in Wonder Woman (because who better to bring that to DC). However, consider how poor Batwoman/Kate Kane’s relationships with Renee Montoya and then Maggie Sawyer were handled. Maybe we need to have the right person (maybe it’s Greg Rucka) write Wonder Woman with a woman love interest.

What do you think about this revelation? Sound off in the comments or send us your thoughts on Twitter!

About the author

Dara Berkey

Superhero nerd. History nerd. Favorite personal hero--Shazam/The Original Captain Marvel. Favorite female hero--Any of the Batgirls. Favorite male hero, other than Shazam--Any of the Robins.