LordOfLore
Banned
From The Mary Sue:
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Earlier today, in a ceremony at the United Nations, Wonder Woman was named an Honorary Ambassador for the Empowerment of Women and Girls, in conjunction with the UNs Sustainable Development Goal #5 which, according to a press release, focuses on gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls as a critical component of a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world. However, there are those at the UN who were not thrilled with this particular choice of ambassador.
As reported in the New York Times, over 600 members of the UN staff have signed an online petition calling for the Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, to reconsider using Wonder Woman in this way, preferring instead that a flesh-and-blood woman with a proven track record of activism, rather than a fictional character, be bestowed with this honor. Part of the petition reads:
Wonder Woman was created 75 years ago. Although the original creators may have intended Wonder Woman to represent a strong and independent warrior woman with a feminist message, the reality is that the characters current iteration is that of a large breasted, white woman of impossible proportions, scantily clad in a shimmery, thigh-baring body suit with an American flag motif and knee high boots the epitome of a pin-up girl. This is the character that the United Nations has decided to represent a globally important issue that of gender equality and empowerment of women and girls. It appears that this character will be promoted as the face of sustainable development goal 5 for the United Nations at large.
The online petition was followed up by an IRL protest during the ceremony itself. According to Revelist, several dozen protesters held up their fists with their backs turned on the proceedings in silent protest of the decision.
*sigh*
As a woman of color who loves comics and empowering women, I have mixed feelings about this whole thing.
On the one hand, I understand the hesitation on this. Had anyone asked me (PS, no one did), I wouldve suggested that they have Wonder Woman as an honorary ambassador and an actual, real-life human woman as a goodwill ambassador, or vice versa. This is especially sensitive, considering the fact that the United Nations has never had a female Secretary General. This month, the UN apparently rejected seven female candidates for the position in a year when everyone was certain it was going to be a womans turn, only to name António Guterres of Argentina as the next Secretary General.
THAT sucks. In fact, thats unconscionable. How are you going to claim a Sustainable Development Goal like empowering women while not empowering women in your own organization? THAT, quite frankly, is some bullshit, and THAT needs to be called out, for sure.
But it also has nothing to do with Wonder Woman being chosen as a symbol of female empowerment, and the petition, while understandable, also reeks of ignorance about the character and a lack of self-awareness as far as what the UN has always done, rightfully so, as far as creating these symbolic positions to raise awareness.
Lets talk character first:
Although the original creators may have intended Wonder Woman to represent a strong and independent warrior woman with a feminist message she was never just a warrior. Wonder Woman has always been about love and peace first, war as a very last resort, and only defensively.
the characters current iteration is that of a large breasted, white woman of impossible proportions, scantily clad in a shimmery, thigh-baring body suit with an American flag motif and knee high boots the epitome of a pin-up girl. So much to unpack here: 1) of which current iteration are they speaking? Do they know she has several titles with several different creative teams, each doing very different takes?, 2) her appearance changes with every artist, as does the size of her breasts and how pronounced the American flag motif is, 3) whats wrong with large breasts and knee-high boots? Women who have or wear these cant be good examples or role models?
A fourth point deserves its own space. The fact that Wonder Woman is a white woman and that she wears an American flag motif. Of all the reasons why Wondy would be inappropriate for a global organization, these are the two I understand the most. And yet, I think whoever created this petition doesnt really know or understand the character and is making assumptions based on that ignorance.
Like, for example, calling her white. Now, white means something very specific here in the States, and it can mean something else entirely depending on where you are in the world. However, something to keep in mind is that Diana of Themyscira grew up worshiping both Greek and Egyptian goddesses, and depending on what version of her story you read, Themyscira (or Paradise Island) is located somewhere in the Mediterranean. Wonder Woman herself again, depending on the telling could be Greek, or Turkish, or even Middle Eastern. But rather than approaching the character with any sort of complexity, or alternately, using this as an opportunity to find the international layers within the character, theyve made a blanket assumption on sight, or else, based on the TV show in which an American actress portrayed the character and for which the words Red, white, and blue are sung in the very theme song! (NOTE: even this is misleading, considering that Carter herself is part Latina, her mother being of Mexican, Spanish, and French descent!)
And speaking of Wonder Womans Americanness, again that depends on what version of her youre talking about. In Darwyn Cookes New Frontier, for example, Wonder Woman is clearly not all about America. We first meet her fighting alongside female rebels in China when Superman comes to rein her in, and shes all NOPE. Even when shes fighting on the side of America in certain stories, its never (or rarely) because MURICUH! Shes always fighting in the interest of global peace and women everywhere.
Now that weve gotten character stuff out of the way, I have to bring up the fact that she is an HONORARY ambassador. The role is a symbolic one. What more appropriate thing to do than to have an actual symbol in that role? In a separate New York Times piece, writer Somini Sengupta refers to Wonder Woman as a mascot when deriding the choice in an op-ed, and my first thought was, Well yes.
Thats pretty much the point of something like this. Honorary ambassadorships are entirely designed to be mascots, symbols to raise awareness. It should be more troubling when actual people are put into those roles, but it isnt, because the people understand what function they serve. Its their job to be the face of a cause, to draw worldwide attention to an effort of global importance.
More in the article.
Worst example.
