Sally Ride, our nation's first female astronaut, is also our nation's first Woman-Loving-Woman QUEER astronaut!

Sally Ride's obituary in the New York Times

After 27 years in a relationship with another woman, Sally Ride came out last week.  In her obituary.  With the single phrase:

"...Dr. Ride is survived by her partner of 27 years, Tam O’Shaughnessy..."

Now we don't know if Sally identified as a lesbian, or as a bisexual, because she's not around to ask, having died of cancer at age 61 last Monday.  But,

"As details trickled out after Ride's death on Monday, July 23, 2012, it became clear that a circle of family, friends and co-workers had long known of the same-sex relationship and embraced it. For many millions of others, who admired Ride as the first American woman in space, it was a revelation..."

The now-that-I'm-dead-I-can-tell-you-the-truth-about-who-I-love coming out sparked a debate about privacy versus being out, about the responsibility of role models, and about the public's right to know.

Andrew Sullivan of the Daily Beast, wrote:

"She had a chance to expand people's horizons and young lesbians' hope and self-esteem, and she chose not to," he wrote. "She was the absent heroine."

Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson of New Hampshire, who in 2003 became the first openly gay bishop in the Anglican world, noted that both he and Ride were baby boomers who grew up

"in a time when coming out was almost unthinkable."

"For girls who had an interest in science and wanted to go places women had not been allowed to go, she was a tremendous role model," Robinson said Wednesday. "The fact that she chose to keep her identity as a lesbian private — I honor that choice."

I wish Sally had chosen to be a role model for members of our queer community, too.  I mean, she was the first American woman in space.  The youngest astronaut in space (at age 32!)  She was awesome, and what an impact for the good it might have had if she had stood up as authentically herself in front of the world...

What's your take on it?  Should Sally Ride have come out before her death? 

Namaste,
Lee

ps - I'm glad that we finally know Sally was part of our Queer History!  And maybe her partner, Executive Vice President for Content at Sally Ride Science, can develop a new a unit on lesbian and queer youth empowerment. 

I wanna be an Astronaut - a GAY Astronaut!

Okay, so now you know my childhood ambition.

Never mind that being on a see-saw made me queasy. Or that I could never read in the car without getting sick. Or that I quickly grew too tall to qualify...

I loved reading sci fi and fantasy books about life and adventures on other worlds, and you had to be an astronaut to GET to other worlds... so...

I wanted to be an astronaut. But, could I be gay, could I like other guys, and still follow that dream? There wasn't anyone gay in ANY of those books. Even the world of Star Wars was very "straight" and the multiple iterations of Star Trek (even the awesome new movie!) didn't have ANY queer people in the future!

And then I saw this message from NASA, sent out this month:

Message from the Acting Administrator -- Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and
Transgender Pride Month


During the month of June, NASA is joining other organizations throughout the United States to observe Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Pride Month.

LGBT Pride Month commemorates the events of June 1969, when patrons at the Stonewall Inn in New York City resisted police harassment that was all too common for members of the LGBT community during that era. Celebrating LGBT Pride each June commemorates this act of rejecting discrimination and standing up for the American values of fairness and equality.

This month-long observance gives all of us an opportunity to appreciate the accomplishments of LGBT Americans and celebrate the many contributions members of the LGBT community make daily to the fabric of American life. Members of the LGBT community contribute to the richness of our diversity as a country, playing vital roles in all aspects of our nation, including here at NASA today and throughout the history of the space program. LGBT people like Todd Hawley, co-founder of the International Space University, and atmospheric scientist James Pollack have made important contributions that we all have benefitted from.

LGBT Pride Month is a reflection of NASA's commitment to inclusiveness across the broad spectrum of our workforce. NASA strives to be a model employer by ensuring it adheres to the principles of inclusion. These principles include fairness and respect for the many different backgrounds, perspectives and life experiences of our employees. We are committed to practicing these principles in all facets of our work.

At NASA, we value and acknowledge the many achievements and contributions of our gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender employees in working toward the success of our agency. I encourage you to participate in the programs and activities planned at your NASA center in your community for LGBT Pride Month. If there aren't yet planned events at your center, I encourage you to organize one. Take time to learn about the contributions of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Americans, and celebrate the diversity that has helped shape and strengthen NASA and our nation.


Christopher J. Scolese
Acting Administrator

Okay, one more time. I wanna be an astronaut!

Well, actually, I still don't really like roller coasters (or see-saws). So maybe I'll let YOU be the astronauts.

Calling all Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Teens who dream of being Astronauts...

Your STARSHIP is waiting!

Namaste,
Lee

ps- The rainbow flag on the moon image is from this great article on Wired, "Space, the Final Frontier for Homosexuality."