Wonder Woman UN Ambassador!
Jondee here at Themyiscra,
Wonder Woman was named Honorary Ambassador for the Empowerment of Women and Girls by the UN. This tied to her 75th anniversary which is also today. Her first appearance was in All Star Comics #8 (1941), sharing her debut with the Justice Society of America, “Introducing Wonder Woman.” Sensation Comics #1 (1942) by William Moulton Marston and Harry G. Peter, “Wonder Woman Arrives in Man’s World” featured Wonder Woman and her origin. She received her own solo title in 1942 that retold her origin. The Wonder Woman 75th logo is on current DC Comics. The Wonder Woman 75th Anniversary Special comic book is out on October 26th. Of course promoting the UN event was actress Gal Gadot, director Patty Jenkins, both of whom worked on the upcoming Wonder Woman movie out on June 2nd next year. Also attending the ceremony was actress Lynda Carter, currently playing President Olivia Marsdin on Supergirl, but of course is well known for playing Wonder Woman on the television show from 1975 to 1979. Wonder Woman has been a feminist icon. She was chosen by Gloria Steinem to be on the cover of the first Ms. magazine in 1972.
Wonder Woman was chosen according to Stephane Dujarric, UN spokesman for the secretary-general (Antonio Guterres is the next secretary-general), “in order to reach young people, in order to reach audiences outside of this building, we need to be creative and have creative partnerships.” Still, there seems to be controversy of the choice of Wonder Woman as honorary ambassador. An online petition by 1,000 plus UN staff members criticized Wonder Woman as “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.” They were apparently disappointed that a real life woman wasn’t chosen. This all leads to what I think is the confusion of super-heroes as role models in today’s society and also a poor reflection of a thousand UN staffers who have their own issues. Super heroes are the perfect role models; we see these in the children who are excited at the visits of Chris Pratt and Chris Evans as their costumed characters from their films. Super-heroes speak to what is best in us. They are a heroic ideal that are fictional which makes them immune to the sad foibles of human nature. A sports hero can be capable of scandal, the same as any political or literary figure. The other part is this supposed sexualized image of a woman, this is a comic book character, if these staffers are offended by a comic book image, they should seek professional help for themselves. In interviews about this subject, Carter, Gadot, and Jenkins all stated that they see Wonder Woman as a positive image for everyone. The Lasso of Truth is around me and I agree so let’s celebrate this occasion!
