There are many references to Wonder Woman throughout Show Us Your Tits and I wanted to elaborate here, how and why the idea of Wonder Woman helped me through the toughest battle of my life.
You see, a battle is never fair and having a superhero in your corner to draw strength from, can just tip things into the ‘I CAN do this’ realm.
Wonder Woman’s impact on my life, goes way back…
When I was a young girl, I loved Wonder Woman. I would watch both the 1970-80s TV series and Super Friends cartoon religiously, in awe of this woman with superior strength, speed, intelligence and agility. My truth-lasso-wielding-invisible-jet-pilot-bullet-deflecting-braclet-clad-heroine was mesmerising. One female alone, in a superhero world, which was back then, completely dominated by male muscle. As kids do, I played pretend games where I was Wonder Woman, capturing the villains and restoring justice to the world!
At the same time that I was diagnosed with breast cancer at the end of 2017, Wonder Woman had undergone a re-birth. Only a few months earlier the Warner Bros movie version, starring Gal Gadot had been released. With great anticipation I went along and with a mix of nostalgia and modern technical updates, I gave the movie a big thumbs up.
Was it some weird coincidence, or was there more to it, when at 1 am frightened and unable to sleep, I turned on the TV in hospital after my first cancer surgery to find Wonder Woman being courageous, brave and FIGHTING numerous villains.
Fighting.
Fighting for what you believe in, for good, for truth and yes, for your life. Fighting can morph us all into heroes.
And where there is cancer – there is an almighty fight to be had.
What villain could be scarier?
CANCER – a word that drives fear into the heart of everyone – those diagnosed and their loved ones. We are all ducking and diving, trying to live healthy lives, avoiding increasing the risk of being told we have it. Yet, when it arrives on your doorstep, an unwelcomed guest, you can’t simply turn it away. There is no choice. You have to open the door, and reluctantly, invite cancer in.
In Show Us Your Tits, I curse a lot at cancer and label it ‘THE BIG FUCKING GIANT called CANCER’. A big fucking giant it is indeed!
Cancer is THE leading cause of death worldwide. It accounted for nearly 10 million deaths in 2020 (1 in every 6 deaths).
Breast cancer claimed 700 000 of those lives.
The statistics don’t lie. This villain is well-equipped to bring you down with its own arsenal of weapons.
It’s sassy.
It’s stubborn.
It’s a chameleon - changing and morphing.
It is quiet - hiding in stealth.
So, when cancer comes knocking it’s ‘man all battle stations!’
It’s ON… like Donkey Kong and ready or not, you are in the ring and having to throw punches with immediate urgency and accuracy. You’ve got to dig deep and find ALL that you have to fight it.
This is why Wonder Woman is so great! Your internal-fuck-you-cancer-Wonder-Woman (or Superman) is there, ready to fight. Your very own warrior.
We’ve all got a superhero inside of us. Perhaps yours is yet to be tested, but don’t worry, it is there. Many people told me I was ‘brave’ in my fight against breast cancer.
Brave?
What other choice is there?
Lay down and roll over? (Actually, that would also be brave.)
Brave is all you’ve got.
So hail your own inner Wonder Woman or Superman.
Acclaim them a hero, because that hero is an integral part of who you really are.
JO xx
Thoroughly enjoyed the Wonder Woman blog!