Ride, Sally Ride: A Pioneer Dies, But Her Inspiration Lives On
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| Audience/Grade: | High School Junior -Continuing Education 11-Continuing Education |
| Discipline(s): |
Aerospace Engineering Engineering Mechanics Mechanical Engineering |
| Special Topic(s): | |
| Learning Resource Type: |
Community - Blog |
| Media Type: |
WWW |
| Author(s): |
Lauren Barbato |
| Description: | Ms. article about special blog issue on Sally Ride. Excerpt: "Since America first saw Ride in her blue NASA jumpsuit, she has been the face of the “modern scientist”—an idol that more closely resembled girls and young women who were labeled “tomboys” or “brainy.” It seems like Ride enjoyed this sort of “tomboy heroism,” which let her to play off stereotypes while simultaneously debunk them. And one more influential act has come with her passing: In the obituary released by Sally Ride Science, the astronaut/scientist/trailblazer officially came out as a lesbian through the simple phrase, “survived by her partner of 27 years, Tam O’Shaugnessy.” Ride’s sister Bear, a lesbian as well, confirmed the romantic relationship today—a relationship that was hidden from the public eye. As Ride hoped she would change society’s perceptions of women in STEM, Bear hopes that her posthumous coming out will be a boost for LGBT youth. She told BuzzFeed, “I hope it makes is easier for kids growing up gay that they know that another one of their heroes was like them.” Since Ride’s first space mission in 1983, 42 American women have flown with NASA, though they still compose only 26 percent of NASA’s astronaut corp as of 2008. We have a way to go in eliminating the STEM gender gap, but let’s not forget the woman who brought this gap to our attention and forced us to reexamine the way we envision a scientist, and hope we boost little girls who want to pursue the field." |
| Rating: | No Rating |
| Related Resources | |
| Keywords: | gender equity Lesbian LGBT NASA Sally Ride Women in Science |
| Version Info | |
| Platform/Format: |
Unknown |
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| Cost: |
Free |
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| Metadata: |
IEEE LOM Record |
| Collection: |
NEEDS
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