Editorial: Not everyone loves a superhero

Paul Brooks

AS women the world over -- mostly -- celebrate the release of the movie Wonder Woman, there is one country that's not so sure.

There are forces at work in Lebanon to have the film banned there for one reason and one reason only.

The star is an Israeli woman, Gal Gadot. Okay, the woman part is irrelevant, but the Israeli part is the reason.

Israel and Lebanon are officially at war, and to have one of the enemy staring down at them from the silver screen is too much for some Lebanese to bear, hence the call to have the film removed from theatres and ejected from the country.

Very mature.

Further, the film's main character caused controversy recently when she was chosen as an honorary United Nations ambassador for gender equality.

The choice of a fictional woman created an uproar and resulted in 44,000 people signing a petition in protest.

The problem was her costume, which was described as "overtly sexual" and therefore inappropriate for a UN ambassador serving as a role model for women and girls.

Her employment was terminated.

I'm confused. I thought women could wear what they want without without being accused of being any of those adjectival nouns to do with sex.

Part of the empowerment of women is being able to dress how they please and not be condemned for it, so to therefore accuse Wonder Woman of dressing inappropriately seems wrong.

Her alter ego, Diana Prince, dresses according to her daily activities, as does her superhuman other half.

After all, you can't take on all the bad guys while wearing constrictive clothing and being bashful.

There are lots of physical demands being Wonder Woman, and the clothing needs to allow movement.

Nevertheless, there are women the world over who "get it" and they'll be there, as will plenty of blokes, to see the film when it gets to the theatres.

More power to the ladies, I say.