NEWS: International Space Station Launches First Female Commander

GEEK: International Space Station Launches First Female Commander

I don't want to say that women have been underrepresented in aeronautics in the United States; there have, in fact, been a few of note. That said, how many female astronauts can you name right now that didn't either explode in a tragic disaster or implode in a jealous rage? If you said "Sally Ride," you're not at all uncommon. It's just a fact that, in this particular area of intrepid-adventure expertise, women are an outnumbered lot.



This month, however, history aims to add at least one more name to the shortlist of successes: Peggy Whitson has been named the new commander of the International Space Station -- the first female to hold the title since its inception in the 1970s -- relieving previous commander Clay Anderson as his six month post draws to a close.



Now, am I just too sensitive, or is it in our nature as a nation to stress gender roles a little too overtly when we fear they are being challenged? Does it make your average American feel more comfortable being told that this new commander is not some bullish take-charge woman, but just as darling as you or me? Because boy, oh boy, Ms. Whitson is being reported as having quite the chipper attitude about this mission.

Fun! I hope she screens Bridges of Madison County. It doesn't stop there, either, as the article seeks the opinion of one of Whitson's colleagues.

What a sweet gal! I'm already imagining Whitson wearing some sort of space apron and using a retrorocket's heat to bake snickerdoodles, and that's without even mentioning the cute-shoes quote. (That's a gem which I'll leave you, dear reader, to find.) It's like something out of a madcap Doris Day movie, where she ultimately wins the love of fellow astronaut James Garner and they get married on the moon. The hilarious thing is that it's not even just Whitson being pushed into the mold. This is what they have to say of the preceding commander:

Meat, potatoes, and beer? Oh my! I hope you're happy, Middle America. This is your NASA.



Still, Whitson herself states that she finds the interest surrounding her as the first female commander of the Space Station a little bit uncomfortable. She wants everyone to just focus on the Station itself, she says. In a way, she's right -- these sorts of gender placements, where one can't be simply an astronaut without being dragged down by stereotypes of June Cleaver or a cleaver-wielding lust -- aren't going to go away as long as there's a big deal to be made of women in space from the start. Like it or not, however, until that list of notable space cadets gets a little longer, it's still history being made.



Put that party dress down for a moment, Ms. Whitson, and just be proud.





* Comment refers to this whole ordeal.



_DictionaryGirl_ can only say she always wanted to be an astronaut so many times.

oh you wacky astronauts...you're all a bunch of space cadets!

although I must admit, if I have to miss craft time on the ISS I'll have to throw myself out an airlock.

this article title reminded me of the Sarah Silverman show episode about how "if we put a man on the moon, we can put a man with aids on the moon and then one day we'll be able to put all the people with aids on the moon." I'm not sure why but it justed popped into my head. But seriously My real question is how can she command the space station from the kitchen? That was a joke too guys... Obviously it should be no big deal if a man or a woman commands the space station as long as the best person for the job is chosen...

I wouldn't worry too much about the fact that the new commander likes to cook, or have fun, or give hugs... The fact of the matter is that she's an astronaut and that alone makes her stand out from her gender... It is ok to be a little bit normal on the side, I promise. There's no way she would have been made a commander without demonstrating leadership and probably being a real hardass when she needs to. As for the meat and potatoes previous commander... After eating tube food for six months I'll bet there's alot of us that would come back home wanting steak, potatoes and most of all alcohol. *raises hand* Though I think sex would be priority number one, frankly.

Movie night in space... awesome...

Wow, someone that didn't report Sally Ride as "first woman in space" - I'm impressed!

i imagined it too

I reject the notion that there is anything wrong with meat, potatoes, or beer!

You know when the Cylons attack she is just going to take the ISD and blindly jump away leaving us all for dead. You can't trust a woman to command space assets it just end up badly for all parties involved......




(Obviously kidding)

Oooh, eff that! Valentina Tereshkova for LIFE!



The U.S. was a full twenty years behind on that. Kind of sad, really.

I applaud your talent for self-parody. Keep it up

Please, please, please tell me that they sit around and make wisecracks about terrible movies for 'Movie Night'....

Why do we give a flying monkey fuck about this. Industrialized nations have little if no progress in constructing any viable research facility. The shuttle is a total joke, why did we ditch the Saturn 5? 1/5th the cost 10 times the payload and 15 times more reliable (source NASA engineering comparison report 1974) and repeated ever since...

Lets see...

- the commies put a metal ball in space with a radar becon in the late 1950's
- a dog then a monkey then a man then a woman (yeah wasnt sally ride sorry)
- lets see what other skittle color have we not shot into space? Pandas? Whale? Conjoined Twins? who about someone with a mental health issue or wheel chair Timmeehhh. WTF? Is this not about science? I can think of better ways to spend massive amounts of money then hyper expensive, unreliable systems to shoot the next x into space, with nothing to show for.

we wrote a song about this (sort of)...
Mr Kamikaze

That's awesome.

Indeed - some of the coverage of Peggy Whitson was just plain disturbing. This is the commander of the international space station, how can there not be more interesting things to discuss with them than their cookery and hugging skills?

Although, maybe I'm just ticked because I can't use my PPL to pilot a shuttle. Feck.

Also,

Why is this news?!

Thankyou.

I think these are the types of role models that young women need to be successful in life. I recognize this as a major step in bridging the gap between yesterdays stereotypes and modern society. The world should applaud women like Peggy Whitson.