Wonder Woman’s background has more adventure than meets the eye…

the story…

The year was 1952, Olive Byrne was a senior at Tufts College in Massachusetts. It was at this time she met a charming psychology professor who opened her mind to new ideas. That professor was William Moulton Marston along with his wife Elizabeth Holloway. They had a great influence on the young Olive Byrne. She began assisting them with different research projects including an early version of the lie detector test. Soon Olive was bringing both William and Elizabeth into her life, including her sorority. (Naughty girl.)

Olive was an active member of her sorority when she brought William and Elizabeth into one of the baby parties. These baby parties were a demonstration of power from the older sorority girls in which they required freshman girls to dress in diapers like babies and act like children, including being blindfolded and bound. (You better remember this later.)

Unlocking it all

With such an open mind how could William not begin falling in love with the young and vibrant Olive. He gave his wife a choice. They could all live happily together or he would divorce her. Olive moved in shortly after graduation. Olive and Elizabeth both bore William two children, with Olive staying home to care for the family and Elizabeth going to work every morning. It was these two powerful, educated and creative women who, both physically and creatively, inspired William to create the character of Wonder Woman.

shaking things up

Wonder Woman has been causing a stir since her cover debut in 1942, with displays of her athleticism and costume. She wore a gold tiara, a red bustier, blue underwear and knee-high, red leather boots. In this outfit she was unbeatable. Doing everything from escaping chains of bondage (mmm bondage) to playing all kinds of sports.

Her state of dress and athleticism was a bit shocking for the world of 1940s. One bishop even voiced, “Wonder Woman is not sufficiently dressed!” It didn’t help that it appeared she couldn’t get through an issue without getting chained or whipped, which caused many to take notice and worry about the influence she was having on children. William continued to write the controversial Wonder Women with displays of bondage and submission until his death. After he died, Wonder Woman was often pushed to the side or given stereotypical “female” jobs such as secretary of the Justice League or the damsel in distress. It would be awhile before Wonder Woman would regain her role as feminist icon.

here to stay

Despite, or even because of her past, Wonder Woman has become the most popular female comic book character ever brought into existence. And except for a brief hiatus in the 1980s has been continuously in print. She has been the longest-lasting female character, being named everything from sixth on the “100 Sexiest Women in Comics” list to fifth on the “Top 100 Comic Book Heroes of All Time” list. Wonder Woman has become a feminist sex symbol (if that’s even possible).

Men want her and women want to be her. (I know I do.) Fulfilling William Moulton Marston’s original thought that “Not even girls want to be girls so long as our feminine archetype lacks force, strength, and power… The obvious remedy is to create a feminine character with all the strength of Superman plus all the allure of a good and beautiful woman.” I’m not sure about you but I think he succeeded in this.

a story ending

William Moulton Marston died of cancer in May 1947 just seven days shy of his 54th birthday. After his death, the ladies who inspired the great Wonder Women, Elizabeth and Olive, continued to live together. These living arrangements remained until Olive’s death in 1985. She was 81. Elizabeth died in 1993 at the age of 100. Though there is still much speculation and unknown elements to the polyamorous relationship between the creator of Wonder Woman and the women in his life, it can not be argued that his relationships influenced the creation of a worldwide phenomenon.