| Advertisement |
UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 23 (UPI) -- The original Wonder Woman Lynda Carter is fighting back against critics of the character's honorary ambassador role at the United Nations that was recently taken away. "What I find interesting is that they didn't look at the larger picture," the actress said Thursday in an interview with the New York Times about protester's claims that Wonder Woman was unfit to be named an ambassador due to complaints concerning the superheroine's appearance.
Advertisement
"I agree that the issue of gender equality is much larger than any character is, and I understand that a comic book character should not be representative of something that is that important. I agree with that. What I disagree with is this idea about Wonder Woman. She's an iconic defender, she's archetypal. It's the ultimate sexist thing to say that's all you can see, when you think about Wonder Woman, all you can think about is a sex object," she continued.
The DC Comics staple was appointed Honorary Ambassador for the Empowerment of Women and Girls in October in an effort to raise awareness about gender equality and female empowerment during a ceremony that was attended by Carter and current Wonder Woman star Gal Gadot.
The event was protested by U.N. staff members who also started an online petition to remove the character's title. "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," the petition read.
The U.N. then announced that it would be terminating Wonder Woman's tenure as honorary ambassador in December.
Carter took issue with those remarks and addressed Wonder Woman's attire stating, "Superman had a skintight outfit that showed every little ripple, didn't he? Doesn't he have a great big bulge in his crotch? Hello! So why don't they complain about that? And who says Wonder Woman is "white"? I'm half-Mexican. Gal Gadot is Israeli. The character is an Amazonian princess, not "American." They're trying to put her in a box, and she's not in a box."
"I never really thought of Wonder Woman as a super-racy character. She wasn't out there being predatory. She was saying: "You have a problem with a strong woman? I am who I am, get over it." I never played her as mousy. I played her being for women, not against men. For fair play and fair pay," the 65-year-old responded when asked if she thought Wonder Woman was sexy.
"There was this idea that inside every woman is a secret self. It's much less about the color of your skin, much less about your height or weight or beauty, but it's the attitude, the strength of character, the fight for rights: the beauty within, the wisdom within."
On Monday, Gadot also fought back against critics of Wonder Woman in an interview with Time, noting about the protesters, "There are so many horrible things that are going on in the world, and this is what you're protesting, seriously?"
"They say, 'If she's smart and strong, she can't also be sexy.' That's not fair. Why can't she be all of the above?" Gadot said.
Wonder Woman is set to hit the silver screen in her first solo film starring Gadot on June 2, 2017. The character made her first feature-film debut last March in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and will again be seen in Justice League out November 17, 2017.
