Even Superheroes Can't Escape Body Norms

In Laurel Thatcher Ulrich's book, Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History, she writes that Wonder Woman was created by a man who thought the world needed a female hero and leader--that the strong and nurturing qualities of women were just what the world needed to make it a better place. I think it's really cool that a man created her with that ideal (we won't mention the disaster which apparently was his family life), but I still have my mixed feelings about what I call the "Kill Bill syndrome": the need for female heroines to be kick-ass and hot at the same time.

Fun with feminism picks up on this theme with their post, Even Superheroes Can't Escape Body Norms. Go check it out!

What do you think? Are female superheroes and comic book characters good role models for girls? Does it matter what they look like? Comment away!