therearecertainshadesoflimelight:

jesssicacruz:

“Just wondering if you were some plain Jane, raised in the ‘burbs — even someone like me — could you do what you do?”

The best thing about this scene is that it’s one of the only times you’ll see it acknowledged openly that Superman is able to do what he does for two major reasons:

1. He’s a man

2. He’s a beautiful man

His beauty—as a white man with gorgeous blue eyes—-helps him assimilate.    It’s one of the major reasons why Superman is able to show his face and be a creature of the “light” because even though people may initially fear the presence of an alien….they ultimately learn to trust him, in part,  because he’s culturally acceptable in his beauty, physically pleasing and male.   

Now, Diana is not knocking Clark for that here.  She’s saying outright that he’s the kind of man that does NOT abuse his privilege and that he uses the gifts he’s been given to help others.   

And the bottom line is this…

Lois is saying point blank….you couldn’t be Wonder Woman if you came where I came from.  If you were born in Man’s World and raised in this culture.  I’m doing the best I can.   And she’s right.   Diana’s heritage and power informs who she is.

And Diana is agreeing with her.  She’s basically like, “You’re right.  I had alot of help by way of my birth and there is privilege in that.”

But she’s also reminding Lois that her situation is different from Clark’s as she is still navigating man’s world as a woman.   And maybe the two of them have alot more in common than they think.   And, in a way, she’s basically saying to her, “You know, there are things that I understand about you that even your husband might not understand simply due to the fact that his gender gives him privilege.  But I get it.  And if you can open up and acknowledge that I get it….we might be true friends.”

Reading this issue (an issue that Phil Jiminez still says is one of the most asked about/popular issues he ever wrote)  in the wake of the new 52 is jarring and not just because the new 52 has gone out of their way to dissolve the Clark/Lois bond and pair Clark with Diana.   It’s jarring because there is a clear understanding the PRIVILEGE issue here from Wonder Woman both about the privilege that she has and the privilege Superman has.  She gets it.  She understands it.   She’s blunt and honest about it and compassionate.   Whereas, now, the privilege that both Clark and Diana have is not only not acknowledged but almost celebrated as a way to put them above the humans.  And there is no realization now (as there was here )  that the things that Lois and Steve Trevor do—-not just surviving but thriving and fighting in the world without the benefit of that privilege—-are of inspirational, vital importance to keeping that privilege in check.