The United Nations Just Fired A Greek Princess From Her Ambassador Role

Wonder Woman's role as an honorary UN ambassador for women's issues lasted less than two months.

By
Hayes Brown
by Hayes Brown

BuzzFeed News Reporter

Less than two months after she was named as an honorary ambassador for women's issues, Diana, Princess of Themyscira, will be leaving her role, the UN said.

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Diana, also known as Wonder Woman, was appointed to the position back in October, and the campaign she was to head will wrap up on Friday.

It's a swift turnaround from a campaign launch that saw Lynda Carter and Gal Gadot, two women who've portrayed her on screen, coming together to celebrate.

Timothy A. Clary / AFP / Getty Images

Wonder Woman specifically was meant to embody the Sustainable Development Goal of empowering women and girls.

United Nations

"The Wonder Woman campaign highlights what we can collectively achieve if women and girls are empowered — along with examples of women and girls who have made and are making a difference every day by overcoming barriers and beating the odds to reach their goals," the campaign's website reads.

"The campaign is about women and girls everywhere, who are wonder women in their own right, and the men and boys who support their struggle for gender equality, bringing about positive change in their homes, workplace, communities, countries and the world together."

But not everyone was on board with the idea of a fictional character representing real issues that women have to go through.

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Among her detractors: the Woman SG campaign, which had lobbied to see the first woman named as secretary-general of the United Nations.

Woman SG Campaign @She4SG

Statement from #WomanSG regarding selection of #WonderWoman as honorary @UN #ambassador for #genderequality

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And a petition started by staffers concerned with her sexualized nature got tens of thousands of signatures.

Warner Bros. Animation

"Although the original creators may have intended Wonder Woman to represent a strong and independent 'warrior' woman with a feminist message, 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 reads. "This is the character that the United Nations has decided to represent a globally important issue — that of gender equality and empowerment of women and girls."

Which leads to the news that Diana will be forced out of her ambassadorship, so soon after getting lassoed into the post. But that's all according to plan, according to the UN.

Warner Bros.

"The campaign is not ending early, it's ending when it was agreed to end," Jeffrey Brez with the UN Department of Public Information told BuzzFeed News. "It was only a doubt of when in the end of December it would end, and so we decided before the holidays and on Friday because it's a Friday."

Brez said that this was always going to be the case and that the decision had nothing to do with the backlash that came out after the campaign's launch.

But Wonder Woman's firing has in turn has provoked backlash, namely from people who don't think that her costume makes her a bad role model.

Ghela Boskovich @GhelaBoskovich

What women wear is clearly of more importance than their abilities or superpowers or symbolism. Slut shaming Wonder… https://t.co/x7y5xGgV2B

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People also took issue with the idea that Wonder Woman is necessarily white.

Caitlin Fitzsimmons @niltiac

I've never thought of Wonder Woman as "white". She's an Amazonian from Atlantis and her ethnicity is drawn ambiguou… https://t.co/R8b0Whz7lN

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And held up some of her characterizations in the comic as a sign that the UN made the wrong choice in backing away.

Phil Jimenez @Philjimeneznyc

This is the ambassador the @UN just rejected. Apparently, they know nothing about #WonderWoman (an actual UN ambass… https://t.co/N9y6O56hMz

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The Themyscarian Embassy in DC did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the controversy from BuzzFeed News.

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