As Pride Month officially kicks off, Lynda Carter has spoken: Wonder Woman is an LGBTQ+ icon.
"I didn't write Wonder Woman, but if you want to argue that she is somehow not a queer or trans icon, then you're not paying attention," Carter wrote on Twitter. "Every time someone comes up to me and says that WW helped them while they were closeted, it reminds me how special the role is."
Carter isn't the first person to consider the Amazonian princess an icon of the LGBTQ+ community; some even consider Diana to be the first bisexual superhero. Mairghread Scott, the screenwriter for the animated Wonder Woman: Bloodlines, has stated that she's "always thought of Wonder Woman as bisexual," and even current Wonder Woman star Gal Gadot has spoken to Diana's sexuality in the DC Extended Universe. In 2019, writer Greg Rucka explained his decision to focus on Diana's sexuality in the DC Rebirth relaunch of Wonder Woman.
"It's supposed to be paradise," Rucka said of Themyscira. "You're supposed to be able to live happily. You’re supposed to be able -- in a context where one can live happily, and part of what an individual needs for that happiness is to have a partner -- to have a fulfilling, romantic and sexual relationship. And the only options are women...But an Amazon doesn’t look at another Amazon and say, 'You're gay.' They don’t. The concept doesn’t exist."
Carter played the original live-action Wonder Woman in the television show of the same name from 1975 to 1979. In a previous interview, the actor revealed that Wonder Woman producers initially thought that women wouldn't like her portrayal of Diana, particularly because of the costume.
"When producers mentioned... 'oh women are gonna not like you because the outfits and blah blah blah,' I thought, 'women are going to love me,'" Carter said. "They're going to want to be me or my best friend because Wonder Woman is non-predatory. Wonder Woman is all of us." Her portrayal of the iconic superhero earned her a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2018.
Carter went on to cameo in 2020's Wonder Woman 1984 as Asteria, whose golden eagle armor Diana wears in the film's climactic battle with Cheetah. Asteria would also appear in the film's post-credits scene, confirming that she still exists in the present day, despite a flashback sequence leaving her fate unknown. It was confirmed in November 2021 by Gadot that Carter would return to the DCEU for Wonder Woman 3.
Wonder Woman 3 has yet to receive a release date.
Source: Twitter
