Hopefully, by the time you read this, a small semblance of sanity has returned to our great nation and a great woman and candidate is in line to be next and first female President of the United States. It’s been a long time coming, if you ask me. A woman would make a great president, BECAUSE she’s a woman.
Woman are strong. They know sacrifice. They are willing to fight hard for what they know and love and believe in. Throw in the fact that she’s a mother and that’s just a bonus in my book. My mother is the strongest woman I know. She raised three young children on her own with little help and never gave up for the love and responsibility of her children. Who knows better about tough decisions than a mother?
They say that motherhood is the second oldest profession. I’ll leave it to your imagination to figure out what the first is.
Actress Gal Gadot went to Instragram Sunday to announce that she and her husband Yaron Versano are pregnant with their second child. CONGRATULATIONS, Wonder Woman! Gadot had recently expressed feelings of guilt over being a working mother to Glamour magazine. According to her husband, pursing her passion was a good example for their young daughter “Alma” and they would “figure out” the logistics. (Real life Steve Trevor, anyone? Swoon.)
Of course, along with the initial joy I felt for the couple, I did feel a slight sense of panic. Thank god Wonder Woman and Justice League are already in the can. Hopefully, she gets her bun out of the oven and back into Amazonian fighting shape in time to start filming the sequels. But then, I remembered Madonna was pregnant with her daughter Lourdes through most of the filming of Evita. She was afraid to reveal her pregnancy not wanting to put the role in jeopardy. Granted lip syncing for two hours isn’t as strenuous as fighting Ares God of War.
This got me thinking about motherhood and how it relates to Wonder Woman in general.
She’s rarely been portrayed as a mother. Not nearly, seemingly as many times as her Superman, Batman, contemporaries have for sure.
Frank Miller has Diana as Mother to Superman’s children in DK3. One is an infant, strapped to her back napping, while she does battle and wakes up in time for lunch when she’s finished. The other is a teenager named “Lara” with bad hair and a chip on her shoulder who’s aligned with the freed Kryptonian citizens of Kandor against Earth. (I know, long story.)
That doesn’t necessarily make Wonder Woman a bad mother – teens can be rebellious! Especially when they have laser vision to back it up.
Another time Wonder Woman was a mother was the Golden Age, Earth 2, gray-haired wife of Steve Trevor and Mother to Lyta Trevor who would grow to become “Fury” alongside other second generation heroes in one of my most fondly remembered comics, Infinity, Inc. Call me corny, but I miss that incarnation. Those were the days!
Wonder Woman’s origin is up in the air right now, as Greg Rucka unveils his take in the new “Rebirth” era of DC Comics, and we’ve yet to see whether this is “made from clay and a mother’s desire” Diana or the 52 “illegitimate offspring of Zeus and Queen Hippolyta’s secret affair” version.
I think it’s important to the character to maintain the original clay version. It’s unique to the character. It’s a testament to her heroism. Life is a miracle and in this case a divine one for sure. The gods answered the prayers of a woman unable and yearning for the unique aspect and right of being a woman that is motherhood.
Diana and Hippolyta have always had a strong relationship and a deep love and bond that has maintained throughout all the incarnations Wonder Woman has had over the years.
Although – and I’m not going to be very popular for saying this – but there have been a few times Hippolyta has been a crappy mom.
What? Like the times she caused Diana’s banishment or turning into clay. Like, I don’t know, lying to her and telling her that her father was a glazed ceramic planter. Or one-upping her daughter and going back in time to steal her thunder by joining the Justice Society of America as history’s first Wonder Woman. A little “Joan Crawford-ish” if you ask me.
And what kind of mother would Wonder Woman make? I think Diana would make a wonderful mother. She embodies everything I always admired in my mother and other mothers all around me growing up: strength, courage, wisdom, humor, nurturing, empathy, caring, listening, loving, soothing, passion, protector.
When I was little, I thought you really must have to be someone special to be able to be a mother. As I have grown, I know better. You don’t have to be anyone extra special to be a mother – but you should be.
So once again, congratulations to Gal Gadot on her impending motherhood. And to all the mothers – past, present, and future – it may not be the oldest profession, but it is certainly one of the most honorable ones.
See you next week for another Wonder Woman Wednesday. And as always, be sure to check out the “I Am Wonder Fan” Facebook Page.
