Obviously the character of Diana Prince, Wonder Woman, is not American, but as a property she is very much an icon of the USA. While showering, naturally I started thinking about Wonder Woman and asked myself, "Where does she fall on the left/right scale of American Politics?" One of the reasons why I find this question so interesting regarding this particular character is because Wonder Woman traditionally has embodied some natural incongruities:

• She's a diplomat for peace but was raised as a warrior in a military society
• She's an advocate for the poor, weak, and downtrodden and yet was born a Princess of an absolute monarchy
• She believes in self-empowerment and yet worships ancient gods who were responsible for her very birth (one way or another)
• She's an icon of feminism and yet historically her books had a strong undercurrent of female submission (via bondage)

She's got some internal conflicts and I think that makes her interesting. It does, however, make my original question somewhat difficult to answer.

First, I'd have to establish my terms, as "Left" and "Right" don't have clear definitions even within one political realm, and although they are often treated similarly to terms like "liberal" and "conservative," aren't exactly the same. So, being as general (and neutral) as I possibly can, I'll make some lists of how I personally see each side of the US political spectrum:

Left values:

• Social support programs
• Social justice
• Market regulation
• Secularist values

Right values:

• National defense/security
• Privacy/personal liberty
• Free-market capitalism
• Religious values

Obviously over-simplified, and feel free to correct me if you disagree, but I'm not trying to determine Diana's affiliation to any particular movement or political party, but rather a general left-right alignment. I think like most of American voters (not that she could legally vote), she'd find herself pulled in both directions in different ways, and even more-so because of her own internal conflicts.

Looking at Diana's left-leaning sympathies, she's clearly an advocate for social equality. While this is mostly considered in the context of gender equality, I'd argue that she represents as broad a sense of "social equality" as possible, including racial equality (DC's Amazons were multi-racial) and sexual orientation equality (in certain story arcs there are strong implications of lesbianism among some members of the Amazons). She's also focused on the poor and the idea of "fixing the ills of man's world" if you'll pardon the paraphrase. I would think that includes fixing poverty, and I don't ever recall seeing Amazons using currency at all, which in my mind leans away from capitalism, let alone the free-market capitalism favored by the American right. However, this also leads us to her right-leaning sympathies.

Regarding Diana's right-leaning sympathies, to start with, it's possible that the reason we never see the Amazon's trading with each other is not because they represent some sort of leftist, utopian compound, but rather because they are a military society where possessions and food are rationed out. Clearly in American politics, equipping, feeding, clothing, and generally supplying military troops is not viewed as some sort of social support program, and parallels could be made in that regard to the Amazons. Furthermore, for all their talk of peace, the Amazons are a warrior society, and Wonder Woman is arguably the most aggressive, well-armed, and lethal member of DC's iconic "trinity." She may or may not be for capital punishment, for example, but she's clearly willing to take a life if she feels it's necessary. That's not a decision I personally could see Batman making (or Superman pre-reboot). Security, stability, and a strong hierarchy of leadership are clearly values held by Diana, as befitting someone happily raised in a military society.

Finally, she is religious, however she opposes the gods of her pantheon as often as heeding them, and one could make the argument that as she worships "pagan" gods, her religious views are more left-leaning then right-leaning. I'll just call this point a wash.

Although I'm unable to pin a particular viewpoint on the character, I certainly don't see that as a negative. I think one would find similar conflicts with DC's other iconic characters—"What's Bruce Wayne's views on taxes?" for example—and ultimately I think it's a good thing for Wonder Woman's appeal that she can find common ground with readers on both sides of the US political spectrum.

Do you agree? Disagree? Do you think I pegged her points well or do you feel she leans predominantly left or right? If you're not a United Statesian, how does Diana fit into your own local political spectrum? Let me know!