On April 14, one of the most iconic pop stars of our time boarded a Blue Origin space capsule.
Katy Perry was one of six women in the all-female crew. Other notable members included Jeff Bezos’ fiancee Lauren Sánchez, CBS Mornings co-host Gayle King, and aerospace engineer Aisha Bowe.
While the flight was only 11 minutes long, the drama surrounding the event left many frustrated—and for good reason. I mean, come on. With all the issues the world is facing today, was the best use of our money really to put six rich women in a space capsule and call it inspirational?
Now, I don’t want to discount the fact that the flight was a heartfelt experience for everyone involved.
Sánchez recounted the adventure as “profound,” describing the Earth as a jewel in the blackness of space.
King felt the mission was a source of inspiration for youth all around the world.
Perry herself said she had dreamt of going to space for 15 years, and that the journey was a “supernatural one.”
These reactions themselves are not the target of my criticism. I’m sure most of us would be deeply impacted to see our planet from an elevated perspective. Rather, it’s the fact that the crew are calling this a win for women’s rights. It feels delusional, and a little disrespectful!
Space tourism is not feminism.
In America today, millions of women are at risk of losing their voting rights and are facing a lack of life-saving medical treatments for miscarriage and abortion complications. Sending six women airborne 60 miles above the rest of us is not going to change that.
Many also took issue with the choice of the passengers, pointing out that they weren’t “necessarily deserving of the opportunity, just wealthy enough to reserve a seat on board.” While it is commendable that the Blue Origin flight aims to set an example for young women around the world, it’s neither realistic nor applicable.
The flight was simply a flaunting of extreme wealth in a faux attempt to elevate feminist politics. According to MSNBC news, the deposit alone cost $150,000. Although the end cost of a seat on the capsule was never disclosed, spots on these flights have been auctioned off for more than $28 million.
Imagine what else could be done with that money. These ladies could have put hundreds of millions of dollars towards global health, climate change mitigation, or women’s rights movements. But as celebrities often do, they chose to grossly misuse their influence to do something that had a negative impact on the climate and received major backlash, possibly damaging women’s liberation.
This journey to space was a failed marketing prop. While its passengers expressed worthwhile sentiments about the personal impacts of the flight, it remains a mystery how it will do anything to aid or inspire the American public.
It’s not rocket science—the trip was quite literally a waste of space.
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