As a rule I’m not a lover of “reality television” however, whilst on holiday in a caravan, with less television channels than usual I found myself watching it. The programme itself didn’t inspire me, however, something I missed on the news was brought to my attention. Apparently the United Nations has chosen Wonder Woman as an ambassador for women and girls.
I am a child of the seventies and I grew up watching Diana Prince (comic book character) spin around and turn herself into a no longer boring plain woman, to “wonder woman”, Wonder Woman was strong, sassy, and a crime fighting hero. I understand that maybe the fact she is white, middle class, attractive, thin etc makes her entire existence “not politically correct” but I must argue, this didn’t have a negative affect on me as a child. I am neither sexist, racist, or in any way prejudiced. It showed me as a small girl that girls could be strong, could be noticed and could make a difference in the world, and it annoys me to have to explain to my daughters that any of these attributes are a negative thing, being a woman is undeniably hard, we face many issues even now that men will never understand, but to my thinking, us as women will never know how it is to be a man either. All of us as humans struggle in one way or another.
I am not a feminist, any more than I’m a racist, or ageist person. I am pure and simply a Philanthopist, I love humans, I think humans can be great (and undeniably terrible). No one should ever be judged on their hair colour, skin colour, age, sex or sexual preference. I feel that as someone who grew up with superman and wonder woman that I found each one equally enthralling. If the United Nations find it difficult to find a “real female role model” to represent women and girls, surely this problem lies with all of us. Maybe we all need to “up our game” and behave in a way that makes us worthy of something, that at the moment only a fictional character can live up to? Just a thought…