SuppliedThe world’s a tough place for women these days, especially women at the United Nations who, faced with many challenges, are in need of someone to not only inspire them, but to inspire humanity.
Earlier this month, the United Nations appointed Wonder Woman as the Honorary Ambassador for the Empowerment of Women and Girls, purposed with the task of raising awareness to achieve gender equality by 2030. This appointment sparked outrage from individuals both outside and within the UN, as many people did not feel that Wonder Woman was a suitable choice for ambassador due to her being a fictional character. However, Wonder Woman inspires people because of what she represents — feminism, strength, and justice — despite her being unable to actively speak out against gender inequality. The main issue, then, is not Wonder Woman herself, but the inherent sexism within the United Nations.
The outrage that surrounded Wonder Woman stemmed from the blatant sexism within the United Nations. Earlier this year, the UN chose, once again, a male Secretary General, despite there being seven eligible women for the job, one of whom was the former prime minister of New Zealand. Because Wonder Woman was not only created by a man but chosen by a man to be the honorary ambassador, the act of appointing Wonder Woman was seen as a way of demeaning women rather than empowering them by allowing an icon who implicitly represents a man’s ideal of women to represent all women.
Wonder Woman has historically been a controversial figure. When she was first introduced as a female superhero, she sparked more debates related to her clothing than anything else. It became quite obvious that she was created by a man, with a man’s ideals of what womanhood should look like. She is sexualized to a great extent, and to young girls the implication is that it is acceptable, even celebratory, to be defined by men.
In addition, there is concern over the complexion of Wonder Woman: she is a white female who wears the American flag proudly. By focusing on her “American-ness,” she does not represent women worldwide, only women in America who are white.
However, despite this critique, it’s important to emphasize that Wonder Woman does fight for justice, fairness, and peace. She is one of the first female superheroes to have ever emerged, and brings many feminist ideals with her. She is an iconic figure who is known all over the world, and in this aspect, the ideal choice for a United Nations ambassador.
Additionally, Wonder Woman is an Honorary Ambassador, meaning that she is symbolic as opposed to an active fighter for the cause. She represents not all women but the issues regarding gender equality that should be fought. Although it would be better if the United Nations appointed non-fictional women (the idea of a fictional character getting an award is a bit ridiculous to be honest), this does not make Wonder Women an inappropriate choice. To criticize Wonder Woman for not representing “real women” is hypocritical in a sense, as no individual woman has ever and will ever represent all real women. This claim assumes that women are not different and unique, and that all of our ideals are the same, which is not true. In this way, choosing Wonder Woman is no different than choosing a celebrity such as Emma Watson or Anne Hathaway. All three promote gender equality and raise awareness of the issues through their popularity around the world.
As much as Wonder Woman is a controversial figure in the UN, by focusing on her, we ignore the real issue that she represents: the issue of gender inequality. Instead of focusing on how she looks, we should focus on what she represents, and understand that no one person can represent all women, fictional or not. The prominent issue that should be criticized is the inherent sexism within the UN, and the preference for a male Secretary General over a female one. Maybe there should be a petition for that instead.
