Unsubscribe from Performative Progress
I’ve been asked to weigh in on this one. You’ve seen the news. A recent Blue Origin spaceflight—featuring an all-female crew—was hailed as a win for women’s empowerment. But is it?
Here’s the thing:
Yes, women have long-faced barriers to entering fields like aerospace. Yes, representation matters. And yes, women-only spaces are still needed and valuable.
But when only two of the six women on that flight are scientists, and the rest are celebrities or in the entertainment industry, we have to ask: Is this real progress? Or is it performance dressed up as empowerment?
I’m not sure I can make the connection between this flight and the advancement of women, other than the women who were on the flight themselves. I have questions, like…
Who benefits when space exploration becomes a playground for the extremely wealthy, of any gender?
What was the point of including celebrities, other than because they wanted to do a cool thing, and they had the resources to make it happen? Am I missing something?
What work actually took place on this flight that enriches humanity or women?
What’s the environmental cost of that launch and flight?
Could that money have funded something more useful—like actual scientific research or educational access? Or, pretty much anything.
I’m all for women astronauts and scientists going to space. From what I can tell, two of those women had every right to be there - a former NASA engineer and STEM advocate, and a bioastronautics research scientist, and we celebrate that.
But the rest of it just didn’t feel like anything other than people using their privilege, access and resources to do what they want. Not sure how that’s any different from the billionaire men who’ve done the same. Not sure how it helps anyone else.
So, this week in our Unsubscribe Series, we’re unsubscribing from performative progress—the kind that looks good on paper but doesn’t necessarily hold up under deeper scrutiny.
Got thoughts? We’d love to hear them.
And if this one stirred something in you—leave a comment and let us know what you’re unsubscribing from lately.
Warmly,
Belinda
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