Fans are disappointed, but not surprised, with the change to Amazon costumes from Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman to Zack Snyder’s Justice League.  The Golden Lasso posted an article about the costumes that Wonder Woman’s Amazon sisters are wearing in Justice League, and how they differ from the costumes in Wonder Woman‘s own movie.

Leather bikinis.  The Amazon warriors in Justice League are wearing leather bikinis.

Zack Snyder caused an Amazonian uproar on social media when he started sharing pictures of Amazons from Justice League in leather bikinis.  This abrupt change of direction is a shock and these outfits look like generic barbarian women from a game of Dungeons and Dragons. They completely lack the unique flavor of the Greco-Roman-inspired armor ensembles that Lindy Hemming put so much thought and historical research into creating for Wonder Woman. The Wonder Woman designs received acclaim from fans and costume fanatics alike. They were clearly inspired by the Amazon’s origins in the Mediterranean and were feminine but very functional. Why mess with perfection?  Oh, right. The all-male team of directors and executive directors wanted women to fight in bikinis.

Confession:  I used to read Red Sonja and Conan comic books in my younger days.  I loved Roy Thomas’ writing.  I hated Red Sonja’s chain-mail bikini.  It has got to be the most impractical costume in the history of comic books. (Roy did much better with Valda, the Iron Maiden in the Arak, Son of Thunder comic books.)  Bikinis, whether metal or leather, are not practical fighting garb.  Bikinis are good at grabbing male interest, especially the crucial 16-34 year old male demographics.  And as near as I can tell, that’s the only reason for changing the outfits the Amazons wore from Wonder Woman to Justice League.

My colleague, SCIFI.radio writer Wyatt D. Odd, said, “Wonder Woman was hailed as ground-breaking for its portrayal of smart, beautiful, competent warrior women – including Diana – without going to cheesecake. This would seem to be a betrayal of all that.”

https://twitter.com/Eve_Beauregard/status/929490458169950208

It’s an unfortunate fact that fantasy novels, comic books, and movies rarely feature women in practical armor.  Power Girl comes to mind as an example, as do Starfire, Star Sapphire, Supergirl, Black Canary, the White Queen, and a host of others.  Comic books, the common knowledge goes, are written for teenage boys, and were originally written (in some cases) by teenage boys.  News flash:  girls like comic books, too.  For decades, in order to read about an interesting heroine, female fans had to put up with the T&A of artwork designed to appeal to hormonal male teenagers.

“When the show was number three, I figured it was our acting.  When it got to be number one, I decided it could only be because none of us wears a bra.”   Farrah Fawcett-Majors on Charlie’s Angels

Connie Nielson's costume in JUSTICE LEAGUE is more practical than what her subjects wear.

Connie Nielson as Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons. This is actually much more reflective of the Amazonians’ modern outfits. {image via Warner Bros.}

The same was true in Hollywood, and has been for years.  Certainly the costume Lynda Carter wore was designed more to appeal to male viewers than to inspire females to emulate her courage and determination.   Even today, Wonder Woman’s costume provides far more eye candy and far less protection than the armor her teammates wear.

The men of the Justice League wear armor. Wonder Woman has a great deal of exposed, unprotected skin.

Wonder Woman’s costume provides far less protection than the costumes worn by her teammates. {image via Warner Bros.}

It’s hard for women, real or fictional, to be respected for their deeds and their intellect rather than their physical appearance.  It’s even harder when Hollywood insists that women are eye candy first, and people second.  The recent raft of complaints of sexual harassment in Hollywood are proof of that.  Page Six reported that Gal Gadot will not sign a contract to film the sequel to Wonder Woman unless Brett Ratner, who has been accused of sexual harassment, is removed from the project by Warner Brothers.  The studio has denied this rumor, but many film industry media are repeating it.

Justice League, starring Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, Jason Momoa as Aquaman, Ben Affleck as Batman, Ezra Miller as the Flash, and Ray Fisher as Cyborg, opens in theaters on November 17, 2017.

Update

It turns out that the leather bikinis are, in fact, not the “modern” look of the Amazons, but of how the Justice League movie portrays them in a flashback sequence from thousands of years ago, while their appearance in present day is much as they appeared in the Wonder Woman movie.

The original images that got everybody talking came from Golden Lasso reporter Melissa Silverstein’s tweet showing the flashback costumes alongside the ones from Wonder Woman.

Rob Keyes, a reporter from Screen Rant, scolded her publically. “Do your research”, he said.

Here’s what we’re actually getting. As you can see from this tweet, they’re much more in line with what we saw in Wonder Woman, and if anything, they’re closer to authentic Greek armor than anything we’ve seen to date.

https://twitter.com/djcharters/status/930141912916426753

Of course, the debate still rages on Twitter about whether the flashback Amazon costumes sexualize the women unnecessarily, and not everyone is convinced that they don’t.

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Susan Macdonald

Susan Macdonald

Susan Macdonald is the author of the children’s book “R is for Renaissance Faire”, as well as 26 short stories, mostly fantasy in “Alternative Truths”, “Swords and Sorceress ”, Swords &Sorceries Vols. 1, 2, & 5, “Cat Tails” “Under Western Stars”, and “Knee-High Drummond and the Durango Kid”. Her articles have appeared on SCIFI.radio’s web site, in The Inquisitr, and in The Millington Star. She enjoys Renaissance Faires (see book above), science fiction conventions,  Highland Games, and Native American pow-wows.