the first american woman in space was a lesbian……… this sounds like such a shitpost buts its actually real i love history
I just looked this up and it is (mostly*) true! The first American woman in space was Sally Ride in 1983. Here’s a picture of her in space communicating with ground controllers during the 6-day Challenger mission. (Source)
Prior to her first space flight, Ride got a lot of shit from the media and remained remarkably calm and non-homicidal:
“No other astronaut was ever asked questions like these: Will the flight affect your reproductive organs? The answer, delivered with some asperity: “There’s no evidence of that.” Do you weep when things go wrong on the job? Retort: “How come nobody ever asks Rick those questions?” Will you become a mother? First an attempt at evasion, then a firm smile: “You notice I’m not answering.” In an hour of interrogation that is by turns intelligent, inane and almost insulting, Ride remains calm, unrattled and as laconic as the lean, tough fighter jockeys who surround her. “It may be too bad that our society isn’t further along and that this is such a big deal,” she reflects.” (Source)
After her death in 2012 it was revealed that she had been with her partner Tam O’Shaughnessy (a woman) for 27 years. Below is a picture of Ride (left), her partner O’Shaughnessy (right), and their dog Gypsy, circa 1985. (Source).
Ride and O’Shaughnessy co-founded the Sally Ride Foundation, aimed at promoting interest in science among elementary and middle school aged-kids, especially girls. The two women also co-wrote six children’s science books. Here is a picture of them speaking at an American Library Association Conference in 2008. (source)
*Ride had been previously married to a man and it is unknown exactly how she identified (lesbian, bisexual, pansexual, etc).
But yeah, Sally Ride was not only the first American woman in space, but also the first and only known LGBT astronaut at NASA. And she was also a badass. (source).
(Also: Bear Ride, Sally’s sister. Dr. Bear Ride is a Presbyterian minister who has been arrested along with her wife at a LGBT march. (source) Badassery must run in the family.)
Sally ride calls herself a lesbian in her autobiography and so does her partner now so please stop bringing up her past marriages to men to invalidate her life as a lesbian woman in the field of science
Sally Ride called herself a lesbian. Her partner called her a lesbian. Her family called her a lesbian. Y’all want to ignore that so fucking bad and it’s such transparent lesbophobia. I can’t believe we’re still doing this.
This weekend, activists in Uganda – a country where homosexuality is punishable by death – held their first Pride.
This is the epitome of courage. I have no other words.
this is making me tear up holy shit
This makes me soo fucking proud most of us in places like Nigeria and Uganda especially northern Nigeria, the punishment by law is getting stoned to death if you show any signs of being gay. This makes me sad that Me and thousands of others can’t be themselves but still, this is so FUCKING beautiful I am proud of the people of my African continent!
I just want to make it clear that the photo was taken, and the first Ugandan Pride was held, in 2012. Five years later they’re still celebrating Pride. Despite the fact that they face police raids and arrests, they’ve made this an annual event.
