This article was written by The Zillennial Zine’s spring editorial intern Lindsay Daneen. Find her on Instagram at @_lindsay_daneen. If you would like to share an article with The Zillennial, send us an email at thezillennialzine@gmail.com.
You’ve been living under an asteroid or understandably avoiding all media outlets if you aren’t aware of the latest American space flight. If you’d like a recap, here you are. Six highly influential women took an 11-minute flight to space courtesy of Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos’ exploration company. Were they astronauts? Not officially. Did they know anything substantial about space? Not necessarily. But they were some of the first civilians to travel into the abyss and it was quite the event. I consider myself to be a feminist. I’m always rooting for the girlies and believe we have a right to take up space wherever and however we want. But for some reason, this epic occurrence didn’t feel like true feminism. It felt more like elitism. It wreaked of exclusivity masquerading as a feminist movement. Was I the only person who felt this way?
The 6 Lucky “Celebrities”
The women who embarked on this unprecedented space flight were Lauren Sanchez, Katy Perry, Gayle King, Aisha Bowe, Amanda Nguyen, and Kerianne Flynn. The crew was led by Lauren Sanchez, former news anchor/reporter, pilot, and fiancée of Bezos. Katy Perry, the singer-songwriter we all know and love was perhaps the most well-known on the flight in terms of pop culture. Gayle King is currently known for cohosting CBS Mornings and being besties with television icon Oprah Winfrey. Aisha Bowe is an aerospace engineer, advocate for STEM, and founder of STEMBoard. Amanda Nguyen is a civil rights activist who helped pass the Sexual Assault Survivors’ Bill of Rights after surviving her assault. Kerianne Flynn is also well known for her executive film production catalog. This is a short synopsis of what these wonderful women have done. Admittedly it may not do them justice. But you now know more about them.
Why It Felt “Off”
Undoubtedly all these women are incredibly impressive and what many can aspire to be in various realms of professionalism and activism. But for some reason, this just doesn’t feel like enough of a reason to travel to space in what turned out to be a star-studded occasion. It all felt very… superficial despite these women’s impressive backgrounds and qualifications, which is unfortunate. From the perfectly glammed hair and makeup to their pearly white smiles, and their impeccably silhouette-fitted catsuits, I wasn’t convinced this was about pushing women forward so much as an opportunity to promote expensive space travel with beautiful and successful women at the helm. It was the perfect advertisement for another millionaire/billionaire’s playground as if they needed more of those.
The Controversy
Are you familiar with the Katy Perry space controversy? Well in all honesty the whole affair is being dragged through the mud by spectators on social media. Many people are in awe of these female powerhouses accomplishing this feat. But many, civilians, and celebrities alike, are puzzled and overall, just unimpressed. The pretentious ringing of the bell, lack of helmets, and dramatic kissing of soil once they landed 10 minutes later were surely cringe-worthy. Perry stating that she felt, “super connected to love” directly after the mission did not help her case. The fast-food chain, Wendy’s, took a stab at the public spectacle at Perry’s expense asking, “Can we send her back?” Gayle King also had some words for her presumed haters saying that she was “very disappointed” by the backlash the flight has been receiving.
Let’s not forget the premise behind Blue Origin is “space tourism.” It sounds ridiculous that we just tried to mask a frivolous ride to space as a feminist movement when it’s all about making money. And who has the money to travel to space? None of us. I can assure you that. The website states, “It’s this generation’s job to build a road to space so that future generations can unleash their creativity.” Really, Jeff? That’s what we’re going with? What happened to the brave and highly intelligent astronauts that have traveled to space throughout history like Kalpana Chawla, Sally Ride, and Mae C. Jemison? Were they not inspirational enough? We needed to put hair and makeup on it and make it sexy to inspire this generation. Makes sense…
Trying to Find The Positive
I don’t want to be all negative. After all, they did travel to space and return to Earth safely. I’m sure we are all incredibly grateful for that. Additionally, who are we to determine what is and isn’t inspirational? These are very accomplished women who have made incredible strides and positive changes in society and the lives of others. They had all dreamed of traveling to space at some point in time and congratulations to them for getting the opportunity to do so! I will not take that away from them.
But this was never a conversation about whether these six women deserved to go to space. This is solely an article about the obvious spin that was put on a modern-day version of capitalism and monetization of nature. If these rides were free, that would be one thing. But the idea of affordable space travel seems pretty ridiculous and there’s a lot of unnecessary risk associated with it. It’s also tone-deaf, given the current state of the world. I’ll add that according to Gayle King, Bezos is trying to find a way to help Earth and, “take the waste here, figure out a way to put it in space to make our planet cleaner.” Another great idea! (Insert side-eye emoji.) It’s not easy to find the positive in what occurred but it is what it is. They came, they saw, they conquered.
Have We Changed Our Minds?
I’m not convinced that we have or will be changing our minds on this topic. It seems to me that you are in one of three categories, the I hated it, the I loved it, and the I couldn’t care less category. And I understand all three positions. From the Katy Perry space controversy to the Gayle King reprimand, and more it has been an exhausting week, to say the least. So, let’s just end it with this. I hope people were inspired by this trek. I’m hoping that space doesn’t become another one of Earth’s trash dumps like the ocean has. It’s also my hope that we focus on true feminism and move to genuinely push women forward in STEM without the big performance that took place. But in the meantime, I’ll just mind my business here on Earth.
How do you feel about the Blue Origin all-female space flight? What do you think of the Katy Perry space controversy? Let us know in the comments!
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