White Enough

Not Grace Kelly.

I don't get all of the arguments floating around the opinionverse at the moment about Wonder Woman being a white woman and therefore part of the problem (pick a problem - any problem), rather than part of the solution. The character is Mediterranean/Hellenic (the "white Australia" of the 19th and 20th Centuries would let you know in no uncertain terms that such a background doesn't count as "white") and has so far been played by someone who is of mixed race (Hispanic) heritage and someone who is of a mixed race (Semitic) background. Saying "white woman" over and over again in regards to this character is ignoring the fact that we have a non-white character who a) is something people admire and look up to, and b) has so far managed to avoid being cast as a typical blonde American*, which I think deserves a round of applause (look, American producers! See that you don't have to recast every role as an "All American Girl/Boy"!). While we're arguing about "White feminism" all that crap, we're not celebrating the fact that one of the biggest, most famous and most successful female superheroes of all time *isn't* your stereotypical white American. And we should be celebrating this, because we want more of it. And... And it's just a bit jerky, really. I mean, what is this actually saying? You look kind of pale, and you're not poor. Therefore you are white and privileged and have to wear everything that entails. Your culture doesn't count. Whatever struggles your family has gone through over the years don't count. Whatever else it is about you that makes you belong to your place and your people doesn't count. This a judgement based purely on the colour of your skin, and you're white enough. Think about this from the perspective of a kid who's from a Mediterranean, or Hispanic, or Semitic background. They get told in so many different ways that they're not "white enough" to belong in the same circles as upper-middle-class white people. They know that the real privileges of "white privilege" aren't on offer to them (at least, not if they embrace their background instead of trying to hide it). And now they have a frickin' superhero who looks just like them, and they're being told that she is a veritable symbol of white privilege. Where is this coming from? Why are we using the word "white" in regards to this character so we can use her as a symbol of the things we don't like about mainstream white culture? It's like we've been given something that we've been complaining about not having for years, and then petulantly saying "that doesn't count, because it hasn't come in the shade I wanted". *Apart from that abortive thing with Cathy Lee Crosby, which doesn't count for various reasons