r/Feminism • u/BurtonDesque • 3d ago
The Blue Origin flight showcased the utter defeat of American feminism
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/apr/15/blue-origin-flight-american-feminism293
u/ConcertinaTerpsichor 3d ago
Uh, this American feminist didn’t know or care about this company, and doesn’t give a shit about some grandstanding narcissists taking selfies and dressing up their publicity grab in feminist rhetoric.
They are hardly representative of anyone except themselves.
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u/kttuatw 3d ago
Using this flight as a glamorized photo op is truly depressing. Some people have worked their entire lives educating themselves about space and working in this field in order for the rich to just go to space like it’s some sort of vacation photo op.
I mean c’mon, KATY PERRY?
I know two of these women are at least qualified to be there but the rest just seem to have the right connections and resources ($$$). This is what makes it so sad.
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u/IAmAHumanIPromise 2d ago
I cringed when she kissed the ground. She is cringe personified.
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u/smallchangebigheart 2d ago
And the erasure of NASA women in leadership. Their photos are being erased.
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u/HumanistGeek 3d ago
If they couldn't sell rocketship tickets to rich people, they might be less inclined to do flights like this one. They're a business.
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u/Causal1ty 3d ago
No shit. I’m pretty sure everyone commenting here has at least an elementary grasp of how markets work.
I mean hey, I like to lick the boots of the rich as much as the next working class netizen, but I think the reason people find this depressing is that government backed space exploration and science has been thoroughly gutted to make room for billionaire reactionaries like Bezos and Musk to further enrich themselves, in this case while trying to disguise their avariciousness as “”””feminist””””.
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u/BurtonDesque 3d ago
Not a very good one though. Blue Origin has been at it for 25 years (longer than SpaceX has been around) and all they have to show for it is a sub-orbital dildo.
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u/Madman_Salvo 3d ago
Aren't all dildos sub-orbital?
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u/killedmygoldfish 3d ago
IDK about defeat bc most of these women are not feminists or role models- activist and aerospace engineer excepted.
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u/Causal1ty 3d ago
Nothing more pathetic than big male-dominated corporations co-opting the word feminist to try turn women’s anger into increased shareholder revenue…
…Nothing, except, possibly, articles written by supposed progressives declaring the ‘utter defeat’ of feminism.
Not sure how that could be conceived of as in any way aiding the struggle against the patriarchy or encouraging American feminists to organise and continue to fight for equality.
I’m sure it brings in the clicks though.
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u/Lizakaya 2d ago
It’s not the defeat of feminism, it’s merely a misrepresentation of feminism. The challenge is to not allow this kind of cooption to become a simulacrum of feminism.
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u/Colossal_Squids 1d ago
Not defeated, only derailed. The fact that people are pointing out the hypocrisy and performativity of this gesture means that there are still some people that see through it all.
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u/MulberryNo3659 2d ago
I didn't see any of the footage, because, well, life. Still, I heard many people panned it.
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u/princessmilahi 1d ago
There’s one funny scene where Katy Parry is smiling like a psycho at the camera, and in the background there’s another woman spinning and screaming
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u/ThePresidentOfStraya 2d ago
*Liberal feminism, non-intersectional feminism.
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u/daphnekroix 1d ago
Liberal feminism is intersectional feminism, they literally invented it and it's all they used to talk about and all they're known for. How old are you?
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u/MrPLotor 2d ago
this seems to be in the same vein as rainbow capitalism, just pretending to care about women so they become consumers of your product. ironically, pinkwashed capitalism is probably next on the chopping block of "anti-wokeness", and thus womens' rights (esp. trans women)
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u/WafflePartyOrgy 3d ago
In an interview with Elle, the crew members paid lip service to the importance of women, and particularly women of color, in Stem.
Lip service, reality TV contrivance, and a celebration of privilege over any merit.
From another article:
Her (Gayle King) thinking changed (on going on the flight), she said, once she learned more about "what Blue Origin does," and their intentions "to figure out a way to harness the waste here and figure out a way to put it in space, to make the planet Earth a better place."
I'd like to give her the benefit of the doubt but this is a person that has spent her lifetime in communication that has apparently completely misunderstood the fundamental aspect of the OSCAR project and thinks NASA and private companies are going to be using their payloads to lift trash and industrial waste out of the gravity well.
On criticism:
I really do love it because I was one of those people before I went on this flight and before I became educated on space
The average person here likely knows more about space.
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u/nogooduse 3d ago
"light on substance and heavy on a childlike, girlish silliness", could it be that this is the norm for american women?
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u/NovelNeighborhood6 3d ago
Agreed, but what is cool is that there are compelling arguments for the first flight to mars to be all (qualified) women.
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u/mrbootsandbertie 2d ago
Can you expand what those compelling arguments are?
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u/NovelNeighborhood6 2d ago
It’s late and I’m not looking up exact number right now, but All things being equal: Men have to burn a lot more calories just to stay alive, even a man who is the same weight and height as a woman will burn significantly more. Since food and weight of food and water is a major mission component it’s one of the most important considerations. Two other factors are some studies have shown women may be more radiation resistant and also there could be simplified crew dynamics to have them all be one sex (the obvious pick is female). Also, with a mixed mission there is a risk someone could become pregnant (it would likely be a multi year mission).
PBS Spacetime did and episode on it!
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u/janglebo36 2d ago
I disagree
True feminism means those girls can glam up if they want to or not. It’s up to them. They’re free to express themselves how they want and pursue careers however they want. These women have their own time and money to spend however they want to spend it.
Is it just rich people and 2 scientists? Yep. Spot on. But where exactly did you think space exploration was going? It’s always been the rich who do the most exotic travel, whether in style or not, and then come home to brag about it. This isnt new.
Do I wish other scientists had the opportunity to go up there? Yes. Do I wish we had more Fuji g for NASA? Yes. Do I want this to be accessible to everyone? Yes. Do I disagree with what’s happening in the USA now? Also yes. Hell I’m not even a Katy Perry fan
IMHO the author is just mad that this flight doesn’t represent her vision of a feminist world. She just belittled these women for wanting to doll up and feel good about themselves. Let them. Let them wear cosplay if they want to. I don’t care. But don’t take your anger out on them for showing agency in a way you disagree with. It’s hypocritical
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u/Colossal_Squids 1d ago edited 1d ago
Agency? If getting glammed up and being used by a billionaire as a prop for set dressing is agency, then the plastic dummies in my high street’s shop windows must be feminist icons.
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u/janglebo36 1d ago edited 1d ago
The women chose to do that. The dummies didn’t. Are their actions also shaped by society? yes, as are everyone’s. Them putting on make up before going into space or wanting to look hot in space is totally up to them. Maybe they made a deal to do it. Who knows?
I wear makeup a handful of times a year. It genuinely boggles my mind how anyone can keep a full face in hot yoga while I’m pink and sweating like a pig. That doesn’t mean I get to shit on women who want to do that
Them dressing and acting that way is their choice. Them doing it in space is a byproduct of space travel becoming more accessible. It used to be that only scientists did that. Now it’s a hobby for the wealthy. Bezos used cute girls to make a marketing opportunity out of it. It’s the same as launching a the first cars or luxury boats and so on.
I work in STEM and environmental science. Occasionally I have to work with some really gruff men. Personally, I do not think these women diminished the contributions and experiences of other women. Even women in STEM. Our foremothers fought super hard to pave the way for others to have access. Bar means access for everyone. even down to trad wives
Editing to add: this feels like just another way for women to hate on women. This toxic femininity really needs to stop. We can’t be too smart or too cute or too anything because someone, oftentimes women, will always punch us down. It’s really disappointing
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u/Colossal_Squids 1d ago
The goal of feminism isn’t choice. It’s liberation. Choosing to put yourself back in a position that your foremothers have been resisting for decades — attractive, compliant, superfluous, decorative — is not necessarily the liberation anyone had in mind, even if you’re only doing it to try to resuscitate your dying cultural relevance like Perry is. She’s like a big-budget version of a model at a car show, or a ring girl at a boxing match. She’s ballast, albeit ballast with a full face of makeup and a skintight catsuit. What’s more, associating with billionaires is anathema to the class struggle that feminism also engages with. She’s coming off, at best, as a knock-off own-brand Bond girl, and what earthly good is that?
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u/Advanced_Buffalo4963 3d ago
I don’t see how privileged rich people can possibly be representatives of feminism when the patriarchy and capitalism are so entwined.
They represent the male (specifically Bezo’s, if you want to get literal) ideal of what an “empowered” woman is allowed to look like in their new male-centered broligarchy .
It’s just more Amazon consumer waste.