Wonder woman: a feminist icon

Is Wonder Woman a “pinup girl” or a feminist icon? The question dogged a United Nations campaign that featured the superhero as a symbol of self-empowerment for girls and women.

While some feminists may have felt triumphant when the United Nations announced the end of the Wonder Woman campaign this month, one loyalist was not going to sit by as her cape was dragged through the mud: Lynda Carter, the actress who starred in the 1970s television show Wonder Woman.

Of the pushback that accompanied the campaign, Carter believes that some of it may be because “the UN didn’t put a woman in there.” The ambassadorship was announced just weeks after the U.N. passed over several women to be secretary-general.

Now 65, she is preparing to pass her golden lasso to Gal Gadot, an Israeli actress who will appear in next spring’s film version of Wonder Woman. Carter took time from acting (including a role as the president on Supergirl and a governor in the coming film Super Troopers 2) and career as a singer (she just competed a four-city tour and is recording her third studio album) to discuss the complex legacy of her Amazon princess alter ego. (This interview has been edited and condensed.)

There seems to be some disagreement about what a feminist icon should look like.

What I find interesting is that they didn’t look at the larger picture. I agree that the issue of gender equality is much larger than any character is, and I understand that a comic book character should not be representative of something that is that important. I agree with that. What I disagree with is this idea about Wonder Woman. She’s an iconic defender; she’s archetypal. It’s the ultimate sexist thing to say that’s all you can see, when you think about Wonder Woman, all you can think about is a sex object.

What about those skimpy outfits?

Yeah, so? Superman had a skintight outfit that showed every little ripple, didn’t he? Doesn’t he have a great big bulge in his crotch? Hello! So why don’t they complain about that? And who says Wonder Woman is “white”? I’m half-Mexican. Gal Gadot is Israeli. The character is an Amazonian princess, not “American.” They’re trying to put her in a box, and she’s not in a box.

Did you ever think of your character as sexy?

If you think of the ‘70s, that was miniskirts and bikinis. I never really thought of Wonder Woman as a super-racy character. She wasn’t out there being predatory. She was saying: “You have a problem with a strong woman? I am who I am, get over it.” I never played her as mousy. I played her being for women, not against men. For fair play and fair pay.

Some critics called Wonder Woman a “male fantasy.” But wasn’t the show more aimed at girls than boys?

I still have women at airports coming up to me saying: “Oh, you don’t know what it meant to me. That show got me through this difficult time, that difficult time.” That’s really where the fantasy became a reality, where Wonder Woman became something much more than a TV show or a comic book. And I’ll tell you this, when women recognize me in airports, I hold them in my arms and they cry. If a guy comes up and says, “Oh my God, I had such a crush on you when I was a teenager,” I say: “Talk to the hand. I don’t want to know.”

How did it feel to get your first burst of fame by winning the 1972 Miss World USA pageant?

That’s so funny. I did one beauty pageant — one! I had been on the road as a singer, I came home, and I entered one beauty pageant. I didn’t like it very much, because there was no talent in it. I just thought it was stupid. I still do.

Why did Wonder Woman strike such a chord with girls watching at home?

There was this idea that inside every woman is a secret self. It’s much less about the colour of your skin, much less about your height or weight or beauty, but it’s the attitude, the strength of character, the fight for rights: the beauty within, the wisdom within.

You have been open about your struggles with alcohol and finding sobriety. Was that all about the post-Wonder Woman blues?

Yes and no. I think that that was more about my bad marriage. I went through some tough times, and it brought solace at the time. But now it’s coming up on 20 years since I’ve been sober.

This fall, you returned to the small screen playing another female superhero of sorts — the president of the United States — on an episode of Supergirl. What was your inspiration for the role?

It was Hillary. I’ve known Hillary Clinton for 35 years. She is the kindest, most wonderful human being. She grew up in a time where you had a be a certain way to be taken seriously. Now you can be whoever you want. You can be feminine and powerful at the same time.