The idea of Wonder Woman not being heterosexual is not new, especially in recent years, with writer Greg Rucka confirming 100% that the Amazons of Themyscira have same sex relationships in the comics, but it’s also not something Warner Bros. allowed her theatrical debut to really get into. That’s not exactly surprising, but that doesn’t make it less disappointing, and fans are trying to get something done about it.
Over on Change.org, there’s a petition for the studio to rectify that in future films, which has garnered nearly 3,000 signatures since being posted. Gianna Collier-Pitts, the petition’s author and a GLAAD campus ambassador, notes that Wonder Woman was “a success for everyone … except the bisexual community.” She goes on to explain that it’s so important to make Diana’s sexuality explicit specifically because bisexuality is so often misunderstood and even written off as nonexistent.
She writes, “We are oversexualized and underrepresented. We are called greedy, dishonest, and confused. We are the least likely to come out and the most likely to suffer from depression and anxiety, on top of experiencing higher rates of sexual/intimate partner violence. We are made to feel invisible and in doing so we begin to see ourselves as invisible. Making Wonder Woman canonically bisexual on the big screen would make her the first openly LGBTQ superhero of any gender from either DC or Marvel’s cinematic universes, and would solidify her place as a true role model for women of all ages and identities.”
She also makes mention of another important point: that keeping Steve Trevor as Diana’s current love interest doesn’t mean they can’t make her bisexuality an official part of her character. In fact, it’d probably only serve to help, among the greater population, to break down the idea that someone is no longer bisexual if they’re in a monogamous relationship, which contributes to negative ideas about bisexuality overall.
There’s no guarantee that the petition will change any minds as Warner Bros., as movie studio executives continue in their entrenched ideas of what’s “safe” for their massive franchises, but Gal Gadot herself has already mentioned that she’s on board. They’re definitely not going to change anything if people don’t make their voices heard.
(via Daily Dot, image: Warner Bros.)
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