Ode To Sally Ride (or Lesbians...IN SPACE)

Like this, but all ladies.

For every little girl aspiring to be an innovator, to achieve excellence, to take up arms against mediocre expectations of women in modern society, there is a list of great women that inspires and encourages her.  Every female child with promise learns these names like a litany to the saints, like a prayer for the courage and brilliance that inspired those women. 

This is especially true when that little girl dreams of excelling in fields that are still male-dominated, like science, engineering, or mathematics. I always knew that I was going to be a scientist, so I too learned to sing the praises of Marie Curie, Ada Lovelace, Clara Barton, Rachel Carson, Elizabeth Blackwell, Rosalind Franklin, Jane Goodall, Grace Hopper, Caroline Herschel...

...and Sally Ride.

Dr. Sally Ride was the first American woman and the youngest astronaut in space. She earned her PhD in physics at Stanford University and became a professor of physics at the University of California, San Diego.   She was in a marriage to fellow astronaut Steven Hawley in the 80s that lasted only five years. Her foundation, Sally Ride Science, encourages smarter science education for children, especially for those 50% of children who have vaginas and therefore "can't" science. Dr. Ride died of pancreatic cancer on May 23rd. She was sixty-one years old. All of this except for the date of Ride's death was known by little Ingrid when she dreamed of the stars and thought of her space-faring foremothers.

What nobody knew until she died was that for twenty-seven years, Dr. Ride had loved and been loved by a professor emerita of psychology, a childhood friend, and Vice President of Ride's foundation. They were in a committed relationship that, for those curious, lasted 127.987 Kardashian Units of Marital Longevity. (We're still making Kardashian jokes, right?) 

And no, I didn't misspell "emeritus".

Professor emerita. Emerita. That means "female".

That's right, ladies, gentlemen, variations thereof and none of the above, America's first female pioneer of space was a lesbian. A big, scary, family-values destroying LESBIAN. And don't give me that "she was married to a guy" jazz. That was the 80s. Everyone made bad decisions in the 80s. All that hairspray and Whitesnake must have had some effect on the collective judgment of the world.

The 1980s: Not Even Once

Ladies, gentlemen, variations thereof and none of the above, Sally Ride is a big deal. Out LGBT people are mainly confined to the arts and entertainment, where weirdness and shock value are expected. We're nothing more than sideshow freaks unless people in the "big leagues" start outing themselves. I mean people in "serious" occupations, like the sciences. So it would be nice to have geniuses and scientific minds who are openly gay.

Sally Ride was not an out lesbian when she was alive, and some criticize her for that. I don't. Coming out is a deep and personal decision, and apparently she felt that she was happier off keeping that part of her life private. She kept many aspects of her personal life, such as her illness, sub rosa as well so we can assume  her secrecy didn't indicate that she wasn't ashamed or burdened by that part of her identity.

I'm not quite as flippant as I usually am. Though I never met her, Sally Ride was a heroine of mine, combining all the gumption of a Female First with the adventurous thrill of exploration, mixed heavily in with the terrifying mystery of the stars. Yeah, I romanticized her, and she became proof that there's plenty of room for women in space. Sally Ride inspired me to pursue knowledge as one who is taught to be passive and receptive. Let her inspire us to pursue love without fear.

I miss you. Rest in peace.