I am a feminist. I believe in equality. I believe in opportunities and rights across every place on the spectrum. I believe in supporting my sisters.
But I also believe in calling bullshit out when I see it. No matter who is knee deep in the manure.
Yesterday's really expensive photo op of the six women in lapis lazuli blue jumpsuits going into space for ten minutes was the literal height of hubris, tone deafness, and yes, bullshit. That it occurred in a Jeff Bezos phallus shaped rocket only makes it worse.
We are, as a country, in some of the deepest shit to date. Helmed by a sundowning, fascism loving dicktator, retirement accounts being drained, innocent people being kidnapped off the streets and deported, people being shipped to concentration camp level prisons by mistake, prices climbing, recession around the corner, people losing their jobs for no reasons other than Musk couldn't get laid in high school, and complete support systems being ripped from society - we are in dire straits.
Billionaires like Bezos could be doing so much to help. From basics like paying some actual goddamned taxes to using even a small percentage of the interest on his money to help fight poverty, disease, homelessness - he could be doing so much for the greater good. Instead, like Musk, he is intent on using his money for showy displays like yesterday's rocket launch filled with stunt casting - Gayle King? Katy Perry? His future wife?
And the PR constantly referring to them as a crew? Give me a goddamned break. They were passengers who get to fly up to the edge of space and then safely come back down. That's it, that's all. In today's parlance, they were, to be generous, a squad. No different than a group of pals going to Cabo for a bridal weekend or a bunch of tech bros hitting an after hours strip club.
Calling them a crew, referring to them as astronauts, does a complete disservice to those who are actual astronauts. Who train their entire adult lives to be chosen for an actual mission in which something scientific is being undertaken. And worse?
“It’s an important moment for the future of commercial space travel and for humanity in general and for women all around,” said Katy Perry.
Is it, Katy? Was it cool? I'm sure it was. But this does nothing for women. In fact women have been the biggest critics of this vanity photo op since it happened. Female astronauts have been around since the 60s, doing actual work, advancing space flight and exploration, earning respect and opportunities.
THIS was nothing but another monumental waste of funds that advanced nothing. It was the epitome of what one does when they have so much money they don't really know what to do with it anymore, and when they are so out of touch that helping others never even enters their brain space. They exist in an orbit where they are insulated from the realities of actual life. You know, the life where every penny must be weighed before being spent; the life where people constantly make choices between gas, food, and medicine; the life where healthcare is out of reach and bankruptcy is always ever present; the life where crowds are not cheering us and paying to see us perform; the life where we water down our shampoo bottles to make them last longer; the life where we cannot write a million dollar check to curry favor with the Orange Overlord.
With everything that is going on everywhere, this was an absolute Marie Antoinette moment. Out of touch, tone deaf, so up their own asses about getting to go on what is basically an expensive theme park ride - that none of them seem to understand why they are being criticized.
With the access so many of these women have to microphones, to the public, to the ears of those in charge - they could have done something important, profound, meaningful. Like make a statement about Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the innocent man caught in an "administrative error" turned actual nightmare. Or hold up a poster championing a woman's right to choose. Or instead of squealing for ten minutes, shout out loud about children who have been brutally murdered in Gaza, Ukraine. DO. SOMETHING. THAT. MATTERS. MAKE. GOOD. TROUBLE.
Instead, Perry held up her latest set list and promoted her upcoming concerts. Uh, Houston, we have a fucking problem.
This is space tourism, yes, but it is also vapid exhibitionism. Those who have gone up, be it on a Bezos, Musk, or Russian vehicle, are not exactly the common man. They pay heavily for the privilege. And that's fine. It's their money - heli-ski, yacht all around the Mediterranean, and sure, go up in a rocket ship for a few minutes. But don't try to sell it as anything but what it is - privileged, pay-to-play consumerism.
Billionaire tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman, SpaceX’s first client to fly, has launched twice and performed the first private spacewalk. He’s now set to become NASA’s next administrator if confirmed by the Senate. Because he's rich.
Another billionaire. Just what we need. Money is not a job qualification for the average Joe and Jane trying to get by on minimum wage, but enough of it magically makes you qualified to participate in our new form of government.
I'm glad the women had a great time. But taking two people with actual science bona fides (Aisha Bowe, formerly of NASA, and scientist Amanda Nguyen) up with them does not obscure what that whole thing was: crass indulgence trying to sell itself as meaningful, inspirational, aspirational.
And for the record, I don't think Amanda (who is a brand ambassador for elf) did any favors by saying this in interviews: "Will my eyelash glue stick?" (Amanda is a sexual assault survivor and founder of Rise, a nonprofit organization that works to protect gender-based violence survivors. I personally find that more inspiring than eyelash glue and knowing what cosmetics she packed for a ten minute joyride.)
Sorry, but I'll save being inspired for women like Valentina Tereshkova (first woman in space - three days), Svetlana Savitskaya (first woman to walk in space), Sally Ride (first American woman in space), Shannon Lucid (first woman to fly on a space station), Millie Hughes-Filford (first female payload specialist), Eileen Collins (first female shuttle pilot and commander), Christa McAuliffe (would have been the first private citizen in space - trained extensively after being chosen - died in Challenger disaster) and on and on.
The women yesterday don't get it. In ten minutes they reconfirmed in the minds of so many what so many think about women to begin with - squealy, vapid, unserious, and worried about our eyelash glue.
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