There has never been an openly gay or lbian astront at NASA. Sally Ri's legacy uld change that.
Contents:
- WHY SALLY RI WAED UNTIL HER ATH TO TELL THE WORLD SHE WAS GAY
- AFTER ATH, SALLY RI REVEALS SHE WAS GAY
- SALLY RI DIDN'T WANT TO BE A GAY IN
- WHY AREN'T THERE ANY OPENLY GAY ASTRONTS?
- SALLY RI GAY: FIRST KNOWN LGBT ASTRONT BORN IN NASA HISTORY!
- SALLY RI REVEALED TO BE GAY: HER SISTER, ON RI'S LIFE, DEATH, AND DIR FOR PRIVACY (UPDATED)
- GAY OR NOT GAY? SALLY RI
WHY SALLY RI WAED UNTIL HER ATH TO TELL THE WORLD SHE WAS GAY
In life, Sally Ri beme famo as Ameri's first woman space — and ath, she's now add to her fame as the first acknowledged gay revelatn me a low-key way: Monday's obuary om Sally Ri Science, the tnal venture she found a ago, referred to Tam O'Shghnsy as "her partner of 27 years." A spokwoman for Sally Ri Science, Terry McEntee, s * was sally ride gay *
Amerin Library AssociatnIn life, Sally Ri beme famo as Ameri's first woman space — and ath, she's now add to her fame as the first acknowledged gay revelatn me a low-key way: Monday's obuary om Sally Ri Science, the tnal venture she found a ago, referred to Tam O'Shghnsy as "her partner of 27 years. "Bear, a gay Prbyterian mister, tak a different approach. "I'm a rather out-there advote for LGBT [lbian-gay-bisexual-transgenr] rights — my partner and I have even been arrted a uple of tim public prott!
I hope mak easier for kids growg up gay that they know that another one of their hero was like them. Is any surprise, then, that no active or former astronts have publicly announced that they're gay? Why not straights and gays?
(I'm g the term "gay" here as admtedly aquate shorthand for the LGBT muny. But one group had to wa until her ath this week to claim her as a member - the gay a statement prepared before her ath on Monday of pancreatic ncer, Ri, 61, acknowledged publicly for the first time that she had a longstandg relatnship wh a woman, Tam O’Shghnsy, who was her partner bs, science wrg and astront’s webse, Sally Ri Science, listed O’Shghnsy, Ri’s partner for nearly 30 years, as a survivor.
AFTER ATH, SALLY RI REVEALS SHE WAS GAY
Sally Ri was the first U.S. woman space and a role mol for women everywhere. But one group had to wa until her ath this week to claim her as a member - the gay muny. * was sally ride gay *
“It was a role which she was never fully fortable, ” Hawley Human Rights Campaign, the largt lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr civil rights group the Uned Stat, posted a tribute to Sally Ri on the ont page of s webse on Tuday. But one group had to wa until her ath this week to claim her as a member - the gay a statement prepared before her ath on Monday of pancreatic ncer, Ri, 61, acknowledged publicly for the first time that she had a longstandg relatnship wh a woman, Tam O'Shghnsy, who was her partner bs, science wrg and astront's webse, Sally Ri Science, listed O'Shghnsy, Ri's partner for nearly 30 years, as a survivor. “"It was a role which she was never fully fortable, " Hawley Human Rights Campaign, the largt lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr civil rights group the Uned Stat, posted a tribute to Sally Ri on the ont page of s webse on Tuday.
And led some to qutn what Ri’s life may have been like a ls homophobic, sexist world.
SALLY RI DIDN'T WANT TO BE A GAY IN
CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Rters) - Sally Ri was the first U.S. woman space and a role mol for women everywhere. But one group had to wa until her ath this week to claim her as a member - the gay muny. * was sally ride gay *
)Photographer Mackenzie Calle has spent years documentg what means to be an LGBTQ astront through her project, The Gay Space photographs explore Ri’s boundary-breakg exploratn of space—and some of the acplishments that have ma her an in of science, women’s history, and LGBTQ wore this uniform on her historic first ri to space on June 18, 1983, wh the STS-7 space shuttle missn. Should she have ed to fight for gay rights? Bear further elucidated her sister’s posn on gay rights:.
Moreover, as somethg of a classic, Rockwellian Amerin heroe, Ri’s own intifitn as homosexual might have been (and ed, may still be) a more effective talyst for social nservative rensiratn than the admissn of a “liberal ele” actor or “media ele” journalist.
What might Ri’s visibily have meant to LGBT youth, to young lbians, who are all too often crowd off of the media stage by gay men? Gay youths are sperate need of mentors, and what mak Ri’s reticence all the more disappotg is how clearly gifted she was that kd of role. To be sure, gay kids n benef om relatnships wh mentors who are straight and vice versa, but knowg that you share certa experienc mon n make a world of difference.
WHY AREN'T THERE ANY OPENLY GAY ASTRONTS?
The announcement of Sally Ri's ath ma her the first openly gay astront, albe posthumoly. Why are there no others? * was sally ride gay *
"Very few people general knew that she was gay. On she and Ri, their early 30s, realizg they wanted to be together I had realized that I was gay a few years earlier, and I never thought of Sally kd of romantilly. Very few people general knew that she was gay.
Related: Why Aren't There Any Openly Gay Astronts?
SALLY RI GAY: FIRST KNOWN LGBT ASTRONT BORN IN NASA HISTORY!
Followg her ath, a shockg revelatn surfaced before the world. Sce then, Sally Ri Gay speculatns took a drastic turn... * was sally ride gay *
O'Shghnsy said that seemed to her that "Anne McCla is aaid of beg who she really is bee she's aaid that she won't get the excg opportuni if people know that she's a gay relatnship. "There's that fear that 'if I'm hont about who I am and tell others that I'm gay, then maybe I won't get promoted, maybe I won't get to fly space, maybe I won't be able to walk on the moon' … I thk that if there are other astronts who are members of the LGBTQ muny or aspirg men and women out there who are members of the muny and who are applyg to bee an astront, you know my sense is they're gonna be worried about beg open, " O'Shghnsy said.
As one iend on Facebook wrote, jt, "That lady astront was gay. Progrsive and gay blogs are lamentg the fact that O’Shghnsy will not receive Ri’s feral benefs bee of the Marriage Act (DOMA) and blamg obvly didn’t want to be a gay in.
SALLY RI REVEALED TO BE GAY: HER SISTER, ON RI'S LIFE, DEATH, AND DIR FOR PRIVACY (UPDATED)
Only one is publicly known to have been gay or bisexual — Sally Ri — and she kept private until her ath, yterday (July 23), when her obuary on the Sally Ri Science anizatn's webse stated that Ri was survived by Tam O'Shghnsy, her "partner of 27 years. "I hope mak easier for kids growg up gay that they know that another one of their hero was like them, " Bear Ri, who intifi as gay, told Buzzfeed Rights Campaign print Chad Griff ncurred, tellg Buzzfeed, "The fact that Sally Ri was a lbian will further help round out Amerins' unrstandg of the ntributns of LGBT Amerins to our untry. But the lack of even one openly gay or lbian astront the history of Amerin spaceflight may reflect the culture at the NASA astront office.
GAY OR NOT GAY? SALLY RI
Still, the fact remas that no astronts have ever e out as gay or lbian, while many astronts clu mentn of their hbands, wiv or children on their NASA official bgraphy pag. )Cassutt said even though he spects there are or have been some other gay or lbian astronts, and spe of the progrs ma on LGBT issu, "I don't expect anyone the current rps to be 'out' any time soon, assumg anyone is gay. ' While there are a great many more people who are openly gay today, we are not yet to a pot of universal acceptance, " he is also the fact that 219 of the 330 current and former astronts served the ary, acrdg to NASA.
Ary operated unr a "don't ask, don't tell" (DADT) policy om 1993 until 2011, unr which gay and lbian servicemen and women had to rema closeted or risk expulsn. The repeal of DADT last year allowed gays and lbians to serve openly the U. She me out as gay her obuary.
In addn to keepg her health stggl private, Sally Ri also kept one other part of her personal life private until after she died: She me out to the public as gay her obuary, which listed Tam O'Shghnsy as her partner of nearly three s, acrdg to Bs Wire. After ‘Sally Ri Gay’, news surfaced all over the ter.