Originally Posted by
kjn
I think you are missing the point from where Wilson writes. She is not denying that Diana is human (for some values of human). Wilson is rather talking about humanity, or the human beings who live, or have lived, that we know or can read their writings. She is coming from a place where she sees that Diana is from a culture that was the most advanced in the world 3,000 years (or more) ago, made up of immortal women, and that has developed without contact with the outside world since then. Wilson experienced culture shock firsthand when she went to live in Egypt, and what hit Diana was far more extreme.
Diana's views of fundamental practices, memes, and assumptions are literally out of this world, despite her having skinned her knee or had to be potty trained. The society where she grew up had entirely different views on classes, labour divisions, gender divisions and patterns, or sexuality. All of us have internalised that. Diana haven't. Their views of concepts on freedom, justice, or truth are likely to be rather different from most of us. Their ways of talking to each other or the perception of gestures are also really different.
And when I read interviews with Wilson, and reviews of her fiction, Wilson appears to be a world-builder at heart. I read the same sensibility from her as I do from Ursula K Le Guin, Lois Bujold, or Nalo Hopkinson. To her, to understand Diana means she has to understand Themyscira. And quite frankly, I'm not sure any writer yet has tried to dig into this question, or explore the kind of culture shock that Diana would receive in Man's World. (And culture shock is central to Wilson's writings.)
Marston simply made Diana into a superpowered modern woman. Pérez had some superficial examples, but he made Themyscira into some sort of Platonic ideal state, and shied away from any examination how Diana would view our society. Rucka mentioned Diana's philosophy in is first run and how it was received, but very little is told about it. Simone dug into some aspects of Themysciran culture, but largely worked with a depopulated island. Rucka's second run had some culture shock, but it was largely relegated to ice cream and drinking cola. Morrison made the Themyscirans into nasty misandrists with Diana being the only open-minded among them. De Liz sidestepped it by making Diana depressed and suffering from amnesia. And the movie scratched it by having Diana act somewhat like a 21st century woman put in the First World War period.
Diana is human. But she came from a culture that in some ways probably would be more alien to us here than the Mycenaean Greece.