Feminist heroines for our times: Screening the Amazon Warrior in Wonder Woman (1975 – 1979), Xena: Warrior Princess (1995 – 2001) and Wonder Woman (2017)

Wonder Woman (1975 – 1979), Xena: Warrior Princess (1995 – 2001), and Wonder Woman (2017) are films all feature a female action hero alongside Amazon characters based on the Amazons from Greek mythology. This paper discusses the pilot episode of Wonder Woman from 1975, the Xena: Warrior Princess episode ‘Hooves and Harlots’ (1995) and Wonder Woman (2017) in the light of contemporary feminism, to understand how far these popular media texts can be seen to promote feminism through their depictions of all-female Amazon societies, and their Amazonian female protagonists. My analysis is supported by viewer responses obtained from screenings and online questionnaires.