Amid protests, U.N. gives Wonder Woman an honorary title

UNITED NATIONS — The United Nations celebrated Wonder Woman’s 75th birthday Friday by naming the comic book character as its new honorary ambassador for the Empowerment of Women and Girls, despite demands from both inside and outside the world organization that the spot go to a real — and less sexualized — woman.

The carefully choreographed ceremony was marred by some 50 U.N. staffers protesting at the visitor entrance to the U.N. They then went inside the Economic and Social Council chamber and silently turned their backs to the stage during the opening speech, some with their fists in the air.

U.N. staffer Cass Durant, who held a sign saying “Real Women Deserve a Real Ambassador” said the protesters “don’t think that a fictitious comic book characters wearing basically what looks like a Playboy-type bunny outfit is really the right message we need to send to girls or even boys for that matter.”

The superheroine’s image will be used by the U.N. on social media platforms to promote women’s empowerment, including efforts to reduce gender-based violence and promote the fuller participation of women in public life (using the hashtag WithWonderWoman). The push, hoping to reach young people, is backed by DC Entertainment and Warner Bros., which produce both comics and films featuring Wonder Woman.

But an online petition, started by U.N. staffers, asked the secretary-general to reconsider the appointment, saying, “The message the United Nations is sending to the world with this appointment is extremely disappointing.” As of Friday afternoon, it had more than 1,100 signatures.

Honorary ambassadors — as opposed to goodwill ambassadors such as Nicole Kidman and Anne Hathaway — are fictional characters. The U.N. previously tapped Winnie-the-Pooh to be an honorary Ambassador of Friendship in 1998 and Tinker Bell as the honorary Ambassador of Green in 2009.

The Friday event brought together actress Lynda Carter, who played Wonder Woman in the 1970s TV series, and Gal Gadot, who has taken on the role in the forthcoming “Wonder Woman” film, as well as Girl Scouts in Wonder Woman T-shirts and U.N. staffers’ children, with one girl wearing a full Wonder Woman costume.

Carter, who gave a moving speech about how Wonder Woman embodies the inner strength of every woman, was the only one to acknowledge the protesters in her remarks, imploring them to “please embrace her.”

BEBETO MATTHEWS / ASSOCIATED PRESS Lynda Carter, who played Wonder Woman in the 1970s TV series, speaks at a U.N. meeting Friday.