Current Events

TOPICS:

Previous

PAGE: 

1 ... 

38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42

 ... 441

Next

_DictionaryGirl_

_DictionaryGirl_

NEWSWIRE

San Diego, CA

OCT 20, 2007 08:10 AM





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.



Whitson does have plans for having some fun on the space station. "One of the things I thought was important the last time was movie night, so we would have dinner and a movie," she said. "I would try to come up with something unique like rehydrated hamburgers or create something. The long term advantage is not only camaraderie but keeping everybody happy and upbeat about the 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.



Astronaut Dan Tani will join Whitson on the space station next week. He has known Peggy Whitson since they were both selected as astronauts in 1996.



"She is a hugger," he said of Whitson. "I love that about her. She hugs everybody when she sees you. She is very friendly, and her house was party central. She threw the best parties, she cooked the best food."





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:



Astronaut Clay Anderson will be returning to Earth on the next shuttle mission; he spoke wistfully about missing his family, and a good steak dinner with a loaded baked potato. He may want a beer, too, but it is politically incorrect for an astronaut to even breathe a word about alcohol these days*.





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.




xazapdmytinu

xazapdmytinu

Fort Collins, CO
July 2007

OCT 20, 2007 09:02 AM

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.

noluck77

noluck77

Luxembourg
June 2005

OCT 20, 2007 09:06 AM

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...

outryder

outryder

Oklahoma City, OK
September 2007

OCT 20, 2007 09:29 AM

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...

gcash056

gcash056

Orlando, FL
October 2004

OCT 20, 2007 10:01 AM

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

Crissis

Crissis

Ecuador
January 2007

OCT 20, 2007 10:43 AM

What a sweet gal! I'm already imagining Whitson wearing some sort of space apron and using a retrorocket's heat to bake snickerdoodles


puke i imagined it too

N8theSk8

N8theSk8

Gibsonia, PA
March 2005

OCT 20, 2007 11:00 AM

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

Colinism

Colinism

Atlanta, GA
July 2005

OCT 20, 2007 11:02 AM

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)

_DictionaryGirl_

_DictionaryGirl_

NEWSWIRE

San Diego, CA

OCT 20, 2007 11:03 AM

gcash056 said:
Wow, someone that didn't report Sally Ride as "first woman in space" - I'm impressed!



Oooh, eff that! Valentina Tereshkova for LIFE! love



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

SockPuppet

SockPuppet

I'm lost
July 2006

OCT 20, 2007 05:06 PM

Colinism said:
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)



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

wink

jonze

jonze

Willimantic, CT
December 2005

OCT 20, 2007 05:27 PM

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

stereocrash

stereocrash

Charlottesville, VA
August 2005

OCT 21, 2007 12:16 AM

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.

robinrobotic

robinrobotic

United Kingdom
August 2007

OCT 29, 2007 12:30 PM

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

Jennifer_

Jennifer_

Venezuela
November 2006

OCT 29, 2007 04:04 PM

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


That's awesome.

_DictionaryGirl_ said:
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?


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.

SockPuppet

SockPuppet

I'm lost
July 2006

OCT 29, 2007 05:43 PM

Also,

Why is this news?! mad

robinrobotic

robinrobotic

United Kingdom
August 2007

NOV 02, 2007 11:39 AM




Jennifer_ said:
robinrobotic said:
we wrote a song about this (sort of)...
Mr Kamikaze


That's awesome.




Thankyou.

soulcompromise

soulcompromise

I'm lost
November 2006

NOV 02, 2007 02:17 PM

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.