In 2016 Wonder Woman served, briefly, as an honorary UN ambassador. Her appointment was met with protest and a petition that argued, among other complaints, that Wonder Woman's sexualized appearance made her unsuitable as a representative of the UN. This paper seeks to argue the contrary. It charts the use of the character as a political figure, both on and off the page, noting that her role as UN ambassador has significant historical precedent. While recognizing the often problematic representation of women in many iterations of the superhero genre, this paper also seeks to understand complaints over Wonder Woman's mode of dress in the context of arguments that have historically been used to bar women's entry into politics.
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2018
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