If there were ever a litmus test for how to make female superheroes into feminist icons, it's Patty Jenkins' adaptation of Wonder Woman. Led by Gal Gadot as the titular hero, the film checked off all the boxes it needed to, made nearly a billion dollars globally, and, most importantly, showed the world that female warriors can fight in outfits that don't look like Princess Leia's slave outfit.
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Someone should've told that last bit to Zack Snyder. Controversy has rightfully erupted over the treatment of Wonder Woman's all-female warriors from the island of Themyscira. Unlike the armor designed by Lindy Hemming for the film, which she described as authentic and real" and "hot as hell," the costume designer for the Justice League film, Michael Wilkinson, decided that what the world really needs is... sexualized warrior outfits.
\u201cIn case you wonder: Here's a picture of how the Amazons looked in Wonder Woman...next to pic how they look in Justice League. First designed by Lindy Hemming, second by Michael Wilkinson. \n\nSome steps backwards, methinks.\u201d— Aasa T, Master of Arts (@Aasa T, Master of Arts) 1510517250
The altered costumes showed up on The Golden Lasso, a fan website run by cosplayer Kimi (or GoldenLassoGirl), and appear to show the Amazons in skimpy new outfits. Leave it to an all-male team to royally screw up the costumes a female director and female costume designer created.
\u201cHere's Brooke Ence for example. First from the left is from WW, the one in the middle is from JL-flashback and in the right from modern day-JL: \n\nSo the change is still there.\u201d— Aasa T, Master of Arts (@Aasa T, Master of Arts) 1510533493
According to a follow-up post, these costumes are allegedly from a prehistoric era, which makes them literally a step backward for the Amazon women. If you had hope that the "modern" take on the costumes in Justice League would right the wrongs of their prehistoric era outfits, we're sorry. They're still sad sexualized ideas of what men think female warriors would wear to battle.
\u201cHere is a fantastic example of the difference between the male and female gaze.\nPatty Jenkins' Amazon warriors on the left. Zack Snyder's on the right.\u201d— Melissa Silverstein (@Melissa Silverstein) 1510530386
