On Friday 21st October 2016 the UN appointed Wonder Woman, an American comic character, as an honorary ambassador for the equality between men and women. This ceremony has launched a year-long campaign. But does she really advocate the right image for the emancipation and empowerment of women and girls?
Long legs, knee-long boots, red lips, erotic look, a short and tight outfit in the colors of the American flag (US flag on an international UN symbol? How is this possible?). That is Wonder Woman. Is that really the image of a strong woman representing peace and equality that the UN wants to communicate to thousands and millions of girls? I personally find this perverse! Is a woman only emancipated when she runs around half naked? For how many women does she represent a desirable example?
I am not the only one who has a problem with this sexualized image - 50 people have protested during the nomination ceremony and left the room. 600 further UN workers have tried to stop the appointment of Wonder Woman in an online petition. Cass DuRant, who works at the UN has compared Wonder Woman’s outfit with the outfit of a Playboy Bunny and has expressed that she strongly believes that this nomination is a “toxic” message for both girls and boys globally.
While I believe that it is important to give such an important campaign a face I strongly despise this sexualized image as this should not represent the desired outcome. It would have been more suitable if the image would have represented and highlighted some of the domains in which women still face inequality and difficulties, all over the world, not only in the third world. So what image would have been better? In my opinion, a strong and real woman who advocate and fight for the rights of women in all domains (education, employment, health care etc.) would have been more suitable for me as naked skin does not necessarily mean equality. It is true that Wonder Woman fights for truth, pride, and justice but she does not explicitly fight for the rights of women.
