Nerdy Fact #1434: Wonder Woman was originally based on two women: the wife of creator William Marston and one of his former students that both he and his wife had sexual encounters with. 

(Source.)

How about you actually name ‘em?

Elizabeth Holloway Marston and Olive Byrne were among a number of women who contributed to the original Wonder Woman, and they’re fascinating people in their own right.

Elizabeth Holloway Marston was a brilliant woman. She earned three university degrees in psychology and law at a time when few women received any tertiary education. She was a successful career woman who assisted her husband with his work and was frequently the breadwinner of the family.

The main reason she was able to continue working after having children? Olive Byrne, who was not simply a casual “sexual encounter”, but the Marstons’ lover and life partner. To enable Elizabeth to work, Olive stayed at home and raised both her and Elizabeth’s children. She also wrote for Family Circle and contributed to Marston’s research.

Elizabeth is credited with pushing her husband to create a female superhero, and after his death she worked hard to preserve his vision for the character, urging DC to employ her as the comic’s editor (she was ignored).

Wonder Woman’s bracelet’s are Olive’s bracelets: Olive was known for wearing a pair of wide silver bracelets, and Marston had these in mind when he envisioned Diana’s bullet-deflecting accessories.

Marston died in 1947, but Elizabeth and Olive continued to live together until the end of their lives.

Wait. Clarification please. Are you telling me that the creator of Wonder WOMAN WAS IN A POLY-AMOROUS RELATIONSHIP?

Yep! They were in a poly relationship and had four children together, two by Elizabeth and two by Olive.

(And for those who’ve asked about sources, the Marstons’ story is covered in detail in The Secret History of Wonder Woman by Jill Lepore and Wonder Woman: The Complete History by Les Daniels)

Wonder Woman was inspired and shaped by not only a man who was incredibly progressive and awesome by todays standards let alone the standards of the day he lived in but also by a fierce, intelligent and awesome bisexual woman

This is one of the many reasons why the ways DC has ruined Wonder Woman in their pursuit of making the book as backwards and heteronormative as possible pisses me off…

Not a fierce and intelligent and awesome bisexual woman.

Two fierce and intelligent and awesome bisexual women. 

You are correct :D

Imagine growing up in that house

“Mom wants to see you.”

“Psychology mom or bracelet mom?”

“Bracelet mom.”

According to Lepore, the kids called Elizabeth “Keetie” and Olive “Dotsie”!

That is adorable.

I have reblogged this before and will continue to do it until the day I die. The origin story of WW comics is as fucking great as the character herself.

Fun fact: Olive’s bracelets were a gift from William and Elizabeth, and were basically an alternative to a wedding ring, since she couldn’t legally marry them. Diana’s bracelets, 70+ years later, are a symbol of that relationship.

Another fun fact: There’s a movie coming out about their relationship, starring Luke Evans and Rebecca Hall and Bella Heathcote that was written AND directed by a woman (Angela Robinson)

Another woman utterly failed by our society’s devaluation of women’s reproductive health. We can’t wait around for male doctors to decide what we need to know. This is why we need to take control and educate ourselves about our own bodies.

and here’s some comments i saw under the post. why is this a pattern?? why is this a recurring theme?? why is this information not common knowledge? what the fuck are doctors doing??

This is news to me so let’s share it so people will know!

Gross tmi: but i passed a pretty big clot after having my daughter. It was about the size of a baseball. It actually hurt worse because while 15 hours of labor opened my cervix, i passed the clot in 30 minutes. I knew it was a possibility because of my midwife and reading, but everyone Ive told after this (mostly other pregnant women) were shocked that this could happen.

In our culture, it’s much more common to do deep research about what family cars we want to buy than we do about childbirth when we ’re pregnant.

Tmi: I passed a huge clot after birth in the bathroom of my hospital room and called the nurse sobbing because I didn’t know it was normal. She treated me like an idiot, but NO ONE told me it was a possibility. And the pain associated with healing for the first couple of weeks after birth was worse than the labor imo. Again, I had no idea. They didn’t tell me a thing besides “sitz bath regularly and change your pads.” Before discharging me from the hospital.

I was most definitely told about this in school. Fucking hell, 4-6 weeks of bleeding? My periods were/are bad enough, why the hell don’t we get told this?

I didn’t know it could last so long, wtf? Is the bleeding inevitable after birth? 

Bleeding is inevitable after birth - your uterine wall is shedding a fuck ton of lining. It can last from three to six weeks (possible longer) and it tapers off.

More TMI - I passed a MASSIVE clot after my fourth birth. At this point I already knew this could happen - it’s normal. What I DIDN’T know, was that I had caused it.

My post birth contractions were so bad after the birth that it felt like full transition labor. And they don’t give you anything for the pain. So I used a hot water bottle, without the nurses knowing, and it caused me to bleed even more. I lost so much blood that by the first time they sat me up to go to the bathroom, I fainted. It took three more tries until I could sit up.

Anyway, that’s not the point. The point is, the next morning I passed a clot the SIZE OF ANOTHER PLACENTA I KID YOU NOT, and I know what is and is not normal. So I called for the nurse and through the door told her I had passed a huge clot, and her response was - “It’s not big. I know what big is.” She hadn’t even looked. So I rolled my eyes and said, “Yeah, no. It’s big, I’m telling you.”

So, sounding extremely put upon, she asked me to open the door. I did, and after a long pause she goes, “Okay, yeah, that’s a little big.”

YOU DON’T SAY.

The point I’m trying to get across is that this shit is so common - women not knowing this stuff is so expected, and it keeps getting reinforced. People don’t expect you to know anything, don’t teach you anything, and then make you feel like you’re totally ignorant and a burden for your lack of knowledge when THEY WON’T SHARE.

Fucking learn EVERYTHING you can when it comes to childbirth, girls. It is the single most empowering thing you can do for yourself. And if you missed something, that’s okay. But the more knowledge you arm yourself with, the more in control of your situation you’ll be.

A few post partum tips:

This is just a few things, but PLEASE feel free to send me an ask if you have any questions about ANYTHING childbirth/pregnancy/nursing related. I have four incredible kids. I’ve done it all - c-section, vacuume birth, episiotimy, stitches, with an epidural, without an epidural. I’m here.

….I know I keep reblogging this but people keep adding super important information.

I feel like no one tells women this stuff because if a woman was even a little on the fence about having a baby before this would kinda make them run for the damn hills.

…..you are correct, typing.

300% EXTRA SURE I’M NOT HAVING BABIES. 

peri bottles, witch hazel or anti-pain anticeptic spray are your friends. Also passing large clots after birth is a WARNING SIGN. Bigger than a half dollar is a sign that you have not passed your entire placenta (this is most common in hospital vaginal births where the mother is not allowed to naturally birth the placenta and instead has it ripped out by the doctor) if there is any placenta left in your uterus you can get extremely ill. This happened to both myself and my mother in law

WOW I didn’t know any of this and I’m terrified of what more I’m unaware of about my own body :( Honestly when will we fucking abolish this taboo about the female body…

I had pretty great sex ed in school (lots of contraceptive information, and totally acknowledged that teenagers might have sex) and all of this is news to me.

And, as a 28-year-old person with a uterus, I’m extremely appalled I’m just learning this.

Long, but very important information, even for those who don’t plan to have children, because you will almost certainly know someone who will, and you might be able to to help them. Or at least increase your level of empathy for them.

…HOLY HELL. REBLOG TO SAVE A LIFE, SERIOUSLY.

people loooove to make out like pregnancy and childbirth are this beautiful thing that a woman’s body is made to do, and leave out all this incredibly important and scary info.

the healthcare system fails women in so so many ways, especially around sexual and reproductive health, and it needs to stop.

I’m never having kids. My body is already really fucking unreliable, so that was decided from the get-go. But if it were an option? And I got pregnant without knowing this information? Holy shit.

It makes me think about all of the people I know who have given birth and never mentioned any of this. Are they embarrassed for having not known? It’s the doctors and educators who need to be embarrassed.

People need to get a grip. Vaginas can be gross, but no more or less than penises. My dad freaks out when I throw tampons in the garbage but like… obviously he knows vaginas exist and what they do. What’s the point in making a regular function something shameful?

Ugh. Patriarchal societies are disappointing and awful.

Glad I learned this now holy crap

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Okay, so I keep following this project for a bit already and it just sounds really good n like such a good alternative n a way outta this dead end many peeps face on tumblr? I’m def gonna support it n hope for the best. Your pitch is good; now let’s see if this can actually work :)

“I’m eating three extra large pizzas in one sitting and no one can stop me.”

"Please share at least, Honey. We ordered that for both of us."

avengerssugardaddy:

Steve huffs and shakes his head. He kisses Tony's forehead and nuzzles at his hairline. "I'm not happy that you do it, but I'm not going to get mad at you for it. If it becomes a problem with you smoking a pack or more a day regularly, then I'm going to want to try to help you quit, but I'll never get mad at you over something like this, Tony. It'll be just like when you stopped drinking so much." He smiles and leans in to kiss him gently on the lips. "I love you and I want you to be healthy and smoking isn't the healthiest hobby."

Steve did not want this. He wanted nothing to do with this. Having to marry someone in the guise of keeping them safe. It seemed more like a prison. But this person, man, Tony, needed to have 24/7 surveillance to keep him safe. And if marriage was the only way to do that, then that’s what he would do.

He hadn’t been there for the wedding. They had signed his name for him and told him where he would meet his husband for the honeymoon. He had his one bag in hand, wearing a nice button up with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and a pair of black slacks, as he pushed open the door to the room.

He smiles as he enters, wanting to seem approachable to Tony but pauses when he sees the man. He was beautiful. God damn he was so beautiful. “Uh. Hi. I’m Steve Rogers.” He walks into the room and offers out his hand to Tony. Was a handshake appropriate? They were married. Maybe a kiss would be better. But that seemed too forward. He flushes darkly and looks down at his own hand so he wouldn’t have to see Tony’s facial reaction to his offer.

avengerssugardaddy:

“I’m sharing a cigarette with you. It’s intimate. It’s close. It helps me relax because you are here doing it with me.” He explains and then smiles sheepishly. “I don’t plan on picking the habit back up. I know it is bad for people and I don’t want to encourage it if someone sees me smoking. But here in privacy with just me and you, I can and will do it, if you are doing it too.”

avengerssugardaddy:

“It is important to make a stand not just financially but verbally as well. This is something we are doing for the good of children everywhere.” He smiles and cups Tony’s face, looking into his eyes. “I love you. You are going to do great. If you get nervous, I’ll be in the crowd.”

avengerssugardaddy:

“During the war, everyone smoked. Was part of team bonding.” He says with a little laugh and offers the cigarette back to Tony. “Was part of the rations we got too. Always had smokes to go around. Helped calm nerves. Helped with talking after a long night. You didn’t have to talk about how many friends you lost if you were too busy puffing on a cigarette to talk.” He smiles sadly and leans in to kiss Tony’s temple. “So yeah, did it all during the war. But I stopped after I woke up. Left me feeling empty when I didn’t have my team to smoke with while all joking around.”

Steve comes down to the lab, coming home a bit early from the mission. They had decided to wait to do the debriefing until tomorrow to just let the team go home and rest. He wasn’t shocked by the smell of smoke, but it did make him worry as he rushed into the lab to make sure that Tony was okay. And then he saw the man standing there smoking. He comes over to Tony, making a bit of noise so as to not startle the man too much. He comes close and presses up against Tony and grabs the cigarette from the man’s hand and brings it up to his own lips to take a long drag. He moans at the feeling and slowly exhales the smoke, turning so he wouldn’t hit it right in Tony’s face. “Since when do you smoke, Honey?”

avengerssugardaddy:

Steve pulls Tony’s notes out from his pocket and hands the cards to the man with a kiss to his cheek. “Here, Honey. It’s all written down here.” He smiles and nuzzles his temple. “You’ll do fine.”