UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 14 (UPI) — The United Nations will be stripping Wonder Woman of her honorary ambassador status Friday amid protests.
The DC Comics heroine was appointed Honorary Ambassador for the Empowerment of Women and Girls back in October in an effort to raise awareness about gender equality and female empowerment.
The ceremony was attended by original Wonder Woman actress Lynda Carter, new star Gal Gadot, director of the character’s upcoming film Patty Jenkins, president of DC Entertainment Diane Nelson and a collection of Girl Scouts dressed in Wonder Woman t-shirts.
The event was protested by U.N. staff members who turned their backs with raised fists during the proceedings and walked out before it was finished.
Protests have continued, with a petition attributed to U.N. staff members having garnered more than 44,00 signatures, just shy of their 45,000 goal. Main gripes with the appointment include complaints concerning Wonder Woman’s appearance and how a fictional character is a slight against real-life female activists.
“Wonder Woman was created 75 years ago. 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,” reads the petition.
“It is alarming that the United Nations would consider using a character with an overtly sexualized image at a time when the headline news in United States and the world is the objectification of women and girls,” it continued.
The U.N. has yet to comment on why it is terminating Wonder Woman’s tenure.
Wonder Woman is set to hit the silver screen in her first solo film starring Gadot on June 2, 2017. The character made her first feature-film debut last March in “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” and will again be seen in “Justice League” out Nov. 17, 2017.
