Wonder Woman’s reign as a United Nations honorary ambassador comes to an end this week, the UN said on Monday, in an unexpected departure less than two months after appointment of the scantily clad, curvaceous comic book character sparked outcries of protest.
Plans had called for use of Wonder Woman in an empowerment campaign for women and girls into 2017, according to the comic book’s publisher, but the character’s role is ending on Friday, a UN spokesman said.
Appointment on Oct. 21 of the comic superhero as UN honorary ambassador to fight for gender equality, especially to appeal to young people, sparked heavy criticism that the choice sent the wrong messages.
Nearly 45,000 people signed an online petition asking former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to reconsider selection of the buxom character, typically clad in a red, white and blue body suit.
“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,” the petition read.
Wonder Woman, a DC Comics Inc. heroine, first appeared in 1941, fighting villains, rescuing victims and unearthing evil plots.
Dozens of UN employees protested at UN headquarters on the day of the appointment, when Diane Nelson, president of DC Entertainment, said the Wonder Woman campaign would feature various initiatives “over the course of the next year.”

Source: Arab News