Gay Astronts: A Fal Frontier - KOSMICA Instute

Contents:

• GAY ASTRONTS: A FAL FRONTIER
• WHY AREN'T THERE ANY OPENLY GAY ASTRONTS?
• HISTORY’S FIRST GAY ASTRONTWHY IS STEM SO STRAIGHT?KAMNA KIRTI·FOLLOWPUBLISHED THE COLLECTOR·3 M READ·AUG 31, 2020--SHARESALLY RI WAS THE FIRST AMERIN WOMAN AND FIRST GAY SPACESOURCE: WIKIMEDIASALLY RI MA HISTORY AS AMERI’S FIRST WOMAN SPACE ON 18TH JUNE 1983. HOWEVER, WAS ONLY AFTER HER ATH THAT BEME KNOWN THAT SHE WAS GAY.THERE WERE STUTNAL REASONS WHY RI, A PH.D. ASTROPHYSICS, CID NOT TO E OUT OF THE CLOSET DURG HER LIFETIME. SHE WAS JT 32 SHE WHEN TO WENT TO SPACE.DURG HER STT AT NASA, SHE WAS PART OF MANY FIRSTS.• SHE WAS THE FIRST WOMAN TO E THE ROBOT ARM SPACE• SHE WAS THE FIRST TO E THE ARM TO RETRIEVE A SATELLE• ON HER SEND FLIGHT, THE CHALLANR, SHE SPENT MORE THAN 343 HOURS SPACE• THIS FLIGHT WAS ALSO HISTORIL THE SENSE THAT WAS THE FIRST FLIGHT TO CLU MORE THAN ONE WOMAN. RI WAS ACPANIED BY KATHRYN D. SULLIVANWHY IS STEM SO STRAIGHT?QUEER STEM ORGANIZATNS: WORKPLACE DISADVANTAG FOR LGBT EMPLOYE STEM RELATED FERAL AGENCISOURCE: MDPIACRDG TO A STUDY NDUCTED UNRGRADUATE STUNTS WHO INTIFY AS LGBTQ ARE LS LIKELY TO NTUE THEIR STEM MAJORS¹. OBVLY, SCE THE STUNTS DROP OUT OF STEM AND DO NOT GO TO GRADUATE SCHOOLS, WE SEE FEWER LGBTQ FACULTY AND THE VIC CYCLE NTU. THIS RULTS A VERY WEAK SUPPORT SYSTEM FOR STUNTS INTIFYG AS SEXUAL MORI.NASA WAS NO EXCEPTN TO THIS DURG RI’S TIME THERE. BOTH NASA AND THE US ARY OPERATED ON “DON'T ASK, DON'T TELL” ( DADT) POLICY UP UNTIL 2011. THIS MEANT GAY SERVICEMEN AND WOMEN HAD TO REMA THE CLOSET OR RISK EXPULSN.61% OF THE ASTRONTS SELECTED BY NASA HAVE E OM ARY SERVICE². THGS WERE EVEN WORSE FOR ARY PERSONNEL — APART OM THE DADT POLICY, THE NSERVATIVE NATURE OF ARY HERAGE BED WH THE TAC STRS ON MANLS MA DIFFICULT FOR SERVICE PERSONNEL TO E OUT.US ASTRONTS ALL TRA HOTON TEXAS, WHERE UP UNTIL 2003 SODOMY LAWS REMAED BOOKS.WHY SALLY NEVER ME OUT OF THE CLOSET?
• WHY AREN'T THERE ANY OPENLY GAY ASTRONTS?
• GAY ASTRONTS: A FAL FRONTIER
• WHY AREN'T THERE ANY OPENLY GAY ASTRONTS?
• SALLY RI FIRST OPENLY GAY ASTRONT
• HOW MANY OF NASA'S ROCKET RIRS WERE/ARE GAY?

GAY ASTRONTS: A FAL FRONTIER

Who would be the first openly gay astront?

Gay astronts would not always have been wele the space programs of the world, and many plac would still not be. In the Soviet Unn, beg gay was a crimal offense: any gay smonts om that era, if any exist, have kept secret. Sce the fall of the Soviet Unn, no smonts have publicly intified themselv as gay eher.

Michelle Evans is a rpected space historian and thor, as well as an expert advote for LGBTQ (Lbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgenr, and Queer) issu. Their biggt worry is that anizg protts favor of gay and trans rights might lead to larger protts agast the untry’s learship — and this is somethg that will not be tolerated. ”Gay Amerins were persecuted throughout the 1960s, the when astronts first flew.

WHY AREN'T THERE ANY OPENLY GAY ASTRONTS?

Cocintally, was the summer of 1969, when NASA triumphed wh s Apollo 11 moon landg, that the Stonewall rts New York began an assertive time of grassroots prott and mand for equal rights for gay and trans Amerins. It was not until 2003 that the Supreme Court crimalized homosexualy Ameri. There are however still no laws the state explicly protectg gay rights.

Even then, until a Supreme Court lg of 2020, discrimatn employment was still wily rried this, gay Amerins were barred om feral employment by laws passed durg the same Cold War that had created the space program. Gay Amerins were prohibed om servg the ary, a policy only eased slightly wh 1993’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” directive. Unr this lg, gay Amerins uld serve the ary — as long as remaed a total secret.

Any gay astronts who were active ary members before this spent their reers forced to live a lie.

HISTORY’S FIRST GAY ASTRONTWHY IS STEM SO STRAIGHT?KAMNA KIRTI·FOLLOWPUBLISHED THE COLLECTOR·3 M READ·AUG 31, 2020--SHARESALLY RI WAS THE FIRST AMERIN WOMAN AND FIRST GAY SPACESOURCE: WIKIMEDIASALLY RI MA HISTORY AS AMERI’S FIRST WOMAN SPACE ON 18TH JUNE 1983. HOWEVER, WAS ONLY AFTER HER ATH THAT BEME KNOWN THAT SHE WAS GAY.THERE WERE STUTNAL REASONS WHY RI, A PH.D. ASTROPHYSICS, CID NOT TO E OUT OF THE CLOSET DURG HER LIFETIME. SHE WAS JT 32 SHE WHEN TO WENT TO SPACE.DURG HER STT AT NASA, SHE WAS PART OF MANY FIRSTS.• SHE WAS THE FIRST WOMAN TO E THE ROBOT ARM SPACE• SHE WAS THE FIRST TO E THE ARM TO RETRIEVE A SATELLE• ON HER SEND FLIGHT, THE CHALLANR, SHE SPENT MORE THAN 343 HOURS SPACE• THIS FLIGHT WAS ALSO HISTORIL THE SENSE THAT WAS THE FIRST FLIGHT TO CLU MORE THAN ONE WOMAN. RI WAS ACPANIED BY KATHRYN D. SULLIVANWHY IS STEM SO STRAIGHT?QUEER STEM ORGANIZATNS: WORKPLACE DISADVANTAG FOR LGBT EMPLOYE STEM RELATED FERAL AGENCISOURCE: MDPIACRDG TO A STUDY NDUCTED UNRGRADUATE STUNTS WHO INTIFY AS LGBTQ ARE LS LIKELY TO NTUE THEIR STEM MAJORS¹. OBVLY, SCE THE STUNTS DROP OUT OF STEM AND DO NOT GO TO GRADUATE SCHOOLS, WE SEE FEWER LGBTQ FACULTY AND THE VIC CYCLE NTU. THIS RULTS A VERY WEAK SUPPORT SYSTEM FOR STUNTS INTIFYG AS SEXUAL MORI.NASA WAS NO EXCEPTN TO THIS DURG RI’S TIME THERE. BOTH NASA AND THE US ARY OPERATED ON “DON'T ASK, DON'T TELL” ( DADT) POLICY UP UNTIL 2011. THIS MEANT GAY SERVICEMEN AND WOMEN HAD TO REMA THE CLOSET OR RISK EXPULSN.61% OF THE ASTRONTS SELECTED BY NASA HAVE E OM ARY SERVICE². THGS WERE EVEN WORSE FOR ARY PERSONNEL — APART OM THE DADT POLICY, THE NSERVATIVE NATURE OF ARY HERAGE BED WH THE TAC STRS ON MANLS MA DIFFICULT FOR SERVICE PERSONNEL TO E OUT.US ASTRONTS ALL TRA HOTON TEXAS, WHERE UP UNTIL 2003 SODOMY LAWS REMAED BOOKS.WHY SALLY NEVER ME OUT OF THE CLOSET?

They would also be put through a seri of qutns by psychologists, a profsn that listed homosexualy as a mental disorr to the mid-1970s, when they downgrad to the margally ls misguid “disturbance” of sexual orientatn.

“Given the tim, a gay astront would not have been selected, ” she explas. ”“Gay employe would almost certaly stay the closet until after retirement, or even beyond, ” Michelle Evans explas.

WHY AREN'T THERE ANY OPENLY GAY ASTRONTS?

“A good example of the nservative nature of aerospace is Pete Knight, a pilot for the X-15 rocket plane who flew suborbal space missns, and how he handled his brother and his son g out as gay the late 1990s.

He disowned them, then worked as a California State Senator to create legislatn to harm gay people by not allowg them to be married. “Texas was not a very welg environment for gay people, ” he tells me.

GAY ASTRONTS: A FAL FRONTIER

“Although I did meet some gay people there, was kept pretty quiet. I’m certa NASA would have gone ballistic if there had been any gay astronts then.

In such an atmosphere, I’m certa we wouldn’t have selected someone who was known to be gay.

”Wh so many reer obstacl before, durg, and after any attempt at beg an astront, did any gay applints make through before civil rights advocy abolished many of the more discrimatory hurdl? Some of Ameri’s bt-known and most distguished astronts ma first spacefarer to publicly e out as gay did so a remarkable way — the day she died. An expert partmentalizg her life, as Lynn Sherr explas her excellent 2014 bgraphy “Sally Ri: Ameri’s First Woman Space, ” she was never lookg to be a standard-bearer for gay rights.

WHY AREN'T THERE ANY OPENLY GAY ASTRONTS?

What was perhaps the fal thrhold had yet to be crossed — uld a current NASA astront be openly gay? “I had no knowledge of any gay astronts prevly. I hadn’t known Sally Ri was gay until she died and me out then, even though I’d dated her for a while s earlier.

”The paful way which this news me out overshadowed somethg historic — for the first time, an active NASA astront was space, and beg reported as a gay Amerin the media. Not only bee McCla was not able to choose the moment of her outg, but also bee a gay astront no longer seemed to be an unual ia to media reporters.

Sally Ri’s announcement seven years earlier seemed to have ma the ia a faiar the announcement of the first woman space, first black astront, and other posive steps spacefarer diversy, the story of gay astronts so far has e out three different, more plex ways. There is not yet a gay male astront who has e out eher.

SALLY RI FIRST OPENLY GAY ASTRONT

A greater mment to diversy all forms has rulted gay-iendly events for employe at NASA facili. “There were mors about gay astronts, but they were mors about astronts om other untri.

We had people leavg our Epispal church Texas due to the ordatn of women and gay prits. While I would hope we would have been different the astront office, I still fd hard to image people beg tolerant of an openly gay person then.

”There are other gay astronts, although is their choice when — or even if — to ever make this public. One former flight traer tells me there are a number of other gay women, and also a uple of men, currently wh the astront rps. But nsirg the number of known gay astronts jt tripled, may only be a matter of time until someone choos to be an ambassador.

HOW MANY OF NASA'S ROCKET RIRS WERE/ARE GAY?

Jt as Sally Ri was an enormoly posive role mol for young women lookg to advance their reers science, so a gay astront uld be a wonrful, posive role mol for LGBTQ stunts lookg to overe prejudice and reach for their own thanks to Charlie Boln, John Charl, Michelle Evans, Hoot Gibson, Johann Kemppanen, Dee O’Hara, Jason Reimuller, Lynn Sherr, and Tara Sweeney for their rearch assistance. D., USAF School of Aerospace Medice, Aerospace Medil Divisn (AFSC) Brooks Air Force Base, Lovell terview, “The Men Who Walked on the Moon, ” Jam Burke, BBC Televisn, 1979Francis French’s prr article on this subject, “Out In Space: A History of Gay Astronts, “ n be read The Natnal Space Society’s “Ad Astra” Magaze, Issue 2, 2020. 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. 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.