Reinstate Wonder Woman as the UN's Honorary Ambassador for the Empowerment of Women and Girls
- by: Concerned Citizens of the World
- recipient: Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations and Concerned United Nations Staff Members
On October 21st 2016, the Secretary-General of the United Nations announced that the new Honorary Ambassador for the empowerment of women and girls would be Wonder Woman. Since then individuals who state they are members of the United Nations staff have successfully petitioned to remove Wonder Woman as Honorary Empowerment ambassador.
Our goal is to reverse this decision and reinstate Wonder Woman.
A Petition to Reinstate Wonder Woman as the UN's Honorary Ambassador for the Empowerment of Women and Girls
On October 21st 2016, the Secretary-General of the United Nations announced that the new Honorary Ambassador for the empowerment of women and girls would be Wonder Woman. Since then individuals who state they are members of the United Nations staff have successfully petitioned to remove Wonder Woman as Honorary Empowerment ambassador.
The purported UN employees who made that petition have falsely stated that Wonder Woman is unfit to be a symbolic representative for the empowerment of women and a role model to young girls because of misguided assumptions based off of the way she dresses, her ethnicity, and her body type. It is sad and disappointing that these individuals, who exist in advanced and advantaged spheres of society and are allegedly employed in positions that are crucial for the further advancement of the rest of the world, are judging fictitious personalities based on looks and the clothes they wear as opposed to the character’s virtuous nature, positive attitude, high level of competency, selfless deeds, powerful and just actions, and other innumerable admirable qualities that Wonder Woman embodies.
If the original petitioners were aware of what the creative team(s) behind Wonder Woman has been striving to accomplish they would realize the logical fallacies inherent in their argument. But, because they do not have the facts accurately represented in their ideas, did not properly research the extensive 75 year history of Wonder Woman, and did not apply critical thinking to their body of work, instead just pointed out the most basic gut reaction and shallowest observations, they have held back a positive female role model. To put it in the simplest of terms, their opinion is intrinsically flawed because it is based on a single caricature of an image rather than acknowledging the many amazing artists and writers that have created compelling and truly empowering images of Wonder Woman as an exemplary figure for female empowerment.
The original petition states ”It is alarming that the United Nations would consider using a character with an overtly sexualized image at a time when the headline news in United States and the world is the objectification of women and girls.”
Wonder Woman is being put on trial for a crime she did not commit. Wonder Woman is innocent of these charges. As demonstrated by the examples shown here, modern artistic interpretations of Wonder Woman are not over sexualized, they are tasteful and often purposefully drawn to be endearing and relatable.
The actual language bears repeating even though it is cringe-worthy, the original petition states, “the reality is that the character’s 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.”
Please note that in the art presented above Wonder Woman is shown as being 6ft 2in tall. The proportions and muscular build of this artistic rendition are tasteful and accurate. While some artists have taken stylistic choices that have made Wonder Woman more attractive, curvy, voluptuous or feminine (explained as sexualized in the above quote), this is not a reflection of the character and all the things that the 75 year body of work collectively stands for, but instead of the stylistic choices of the artist and writer.
The original petitioners state that Wonder Woman is a “white woman of impossible proportions” and that this “is not culturally encompassing or sensitive” and that these are “attributes the United Nations expects all its staff members to embody in the core value of respect for diversity.” Ignoring that fact that Lynda Carter can be considered Mexican American (Her mother, Juana Córdova, is from Chihuahua, Mexico) and that Gal Gabot is Israeli, is in fact, not culturally encompassing or sensitive in itself. Further to the point, Wonder Woman is an Amazonian woman from Themyscira. When she came to the United States of America she was detained. Stating that she's “a white woman in a star spangled one piece bathing suit” completely disregards the characters mythological Greek origin and the updates made to her costume by various artists and writers over the decades.
Another point that should be addressed is the statement that describes Wonder Woman as a “pin-up” with “life-size cut outs of which have already appeared at UNHQ”.
There is nothing wrong with wearing “shorts” in a mediterranean or tropical climate - but listening to critical feedback on the artistic material used for the campaign is reasonable enough. Wonder Woman has been wearing pants for decades (when appropriate for the setting and cultural context of the location and era she is in, her attire can easily be adjusted). The publically available campaign image is featured at the top of this petition. Judging by that image, this point is not grounds for dismissal of the character.
Another appeal to fallacious logic is demonstrated by this quote “The bottom line appears to be that the United Nations was unable to find a real life woman that would be able to champion the rights of ALL women on the issue of gender equality and the fight for their empowerment.” Artist Nicola Scott’s response resonated the best, “Absolutely, real life women can and should hold roles for female empowerment and equality for the U.N. But the "honorary" ambassador role is strictly created for fictional characters. Why can't we have both? “
It is important to note that Wonder Woman is a complex character that can be a representative and a role model for many groups. It would be a disservice to the LGBTQ population to omit some of the most basic aspects of the mythological story the origin of Wonder Woman is based off. Themyscira is inhabited by an all female Amazonian society - in her homeland Wonder Woman is known as the princess of Themyscira. While not always overtly stated, Wonder Woman’s fluid sexual orientation has always been a part of her character design. There has never been a more important time than now to celebrate the product of a seed which was planted 75 years ago.
Wonder Woman as a character has progressively evolved over time and now stands for much more than her original stories.
She stands for gender equality.
She stands for the empowerment of women.
She stands for acceptance of diverse sexual identity.
She stands for truth and justice and social responsibility.
Wonder Woman is a perfect example of a character that strives to do the right thing and and stand up to fight for others who can not stand up for themselves.
We ask the Secretary-General to consider the reinstatement of Wonder Woman as the Honorary Ambassador for the empowerment of women and girls. In the UN’s own words, "To those who say that they don't need a fictitious character to empower them or to tell them about women's empowerment, we agree, you are not the intended audience for such campaigns. We are not going to preach to the converted. We are trying to reach new audiences and young people who do not follow UN news or read the organizations reports and resolutions. Young people who get their world views and often, inspiration, from pop-culture icons such as Wonder Woman."
We would urge you to please sign this petition to ask the Secretary-General to reconsider the appointment of Wonder Woman as the Honorary Ambassador for the empowerment of women and girls.
Appendix included for further context and study:
UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals:
https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/211617%20Goals%2017%20Partnerships.pdf
Lynda Carter on WW:
http://www.dccomics.com/blog/2010/06/28/wonder-woman-can-save-the-world-by-lynda-carter
Why female role models matter:
Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wonder_Woman
Wonder Woman was created by the American psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston,[1] with his wife and co-creator Elizabeth Holloway Marston, and artist H. G. Peter. Their cohabitant, Olive Byrne, is credited as being Marston's muse for the iconic characters' physical appearance.[2][3][4][5][6] Marston drew a great deal of inspiration from early feminists, and especially from birth control pioneer Margaret Sanger. The character first appeared in All Star Comics #8 in December 1941 and first cover-dated on Sensation Comics #1, January 1942. The Wonder Woman title has been published by DC Comics almost continuously except for a brief hiatus in 1986.[7]
Wonder Woman's origin story relates that she was sculpted from clay by her mother Queen Hippolyta and given life by Athena, along with superhuman powers as gifts by the Greek Gods. However, in recent years artists updated her profile: she has been depicted as the daughter of Zeus, and jointly raised by her mother Hippolyta and her aunts Antiope and Menalippe; artists George Perez gave her a muscular look and emphasized her Amazonian heritage; artist Jim Lee redesigned Diana's costume to include pants; she inherits Ares's divine abilities, becoming the personified "God of War"; and most recently, writer Greg Rucka, clarified her sexuality, giving her a backstory that includes positive relationships with women.[8][9][10]
Link to original petition(s): http://www.thepetitionsite.com/741/288/432/reconsider-the-choice-of-honorary-ambassador-for-the-empowerment-of-women-and-girls/
Photo of UN Protesters turning their backs on female empowerment:
Nicola Scott’s full response to real life women playing a role as ambassadors:
Absolutely, real life women can and should hold roles for female empowerment and equality for the U.N. But the "honorary" embassador role is strictly created for fictional characters. Why can't we have both?
Fictional characters have the ability to cross boarders and boundaries that real people can't. They're universally accessible and can be reformed as needed.
Wonder Woman was created for female empowerment during WWII but these petitioners are fixating on a 70's or 90's version. 75 years of power and progress and they've reduced her to pretty lady in a bathing suit. Way to strip her of her power and position, just another woman who's lost her job.
I created the art for the U.N. with a full understanding of who she is and how much reach she has and what she means to millions of people. The purpose of this initiative was so incredibly positive, with the best of intentions and knowing how perfectly Diana fit into this role. Personally I find it a shame but I'm really disappointed we won't get the full roll out if the plan. Way to suck the potential fun and accessibility out of an important issue.
Support other petitions to reinstate:
https://www.change.org/p/united-nations-make-wonder-woman-a-un-ambassador-again
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