COLUMN: Faux feminism – call it when you see it
NS-31 astronauts celebrate at the crew capsule after a successful flight to space. (From left) Kerianne Flynn, Katy Perry, Lauren Sánchez, Aisha Bowe, Gayle King, Amanda Nguyễn. (Courtesy photo | Blue Origin)
When I first heard that Katy Perry was going to space, I honestly thought it was a joke.
But on April 14, 2025, the popstar did in fact take a trip through the atmosphere... alongside three other women who had no reason to go to space. Clad in their trendy flared blue jumpsuits, the group made history as the first all-female crew to go to space for a whopping 11 minutes.
What did they accomplish in those 11 minutes? Absolutely nothing.
The trip was part of Blue Origin’s New Shepard initiative, which commercializes space by making it a million-dollar tourist attraction. (If you’re interested, reserving a seat on the next flight is easy. Just put down $150,000 as a deposit and they’ll start training you to be an astronaut!)
While I hold a lot of criticisms for this bonafide “let them eat cake” moment, I want to focus on the thing that really grinds my gears.
Members of the NS-31 flight crew, including Perry, Gayle King, Aisha Bowe, Amanda Nguyễn, Kerianne Flynn and Lauren Sánchez have heralded their mission as a milestone of feminism.
While it’s nice to think the NS-31 mission was a total girl-power move, the reality is that it was a grossly out of touch publicity stunt disguised as feminism.
For starters, only two of those women were remotely qualified to go to space. Bowe is an aerospace engineer, and Nguyễn is a civil rights activist with a history of working alongside NASA.
Leading up to launch, the company focused the spotlight heavily on Perry and King’s presence on the flight. Little to no attention was given to the women who arguably earned a right to that experience. Blue Origin used them to give their spectacle some credibility.
To make matters worse, what should have been a victory for marginalized women working in STEM related fields turned out to be a loss.
The crew was one of the most racially diverse in the history of American space travel.
But instead of using the platform, they were given to shed light on gender disparities, the members of the NS-31 flight literally sang the praises of an institution owned by a man who donated to the United States President Donald Trump’s election campaign, enabling his administration to disenfranchise women of color.
Women, and especially women of color, already face numerous barriers upon entering the STEM field. And this mission did nothing to call attention to that.
As the crew floated in zero gravity for four minutes, NASA was reportedly in the process of closing offices in compliance with executive orders targeting diversity, equity and inclusion programs that would allow women of color to be fairly considered for NASA recruitment.
If these women truly wanted to be regarded as feminists, then they could have at least advocated for or highlighted the hard-working women who helped get their capsule in orbit.
Regardless of what Perry, King and their fellow space tourists have said upon landing, calling the trip an act of feminism is a deeply harmful misrepresentation of what feminism is at its core.
Feminism is fundamentally centered on advocating for gender equality in societal, legislative and cultural spaces. It’s about leveling the playing field, so that women are not limited by a glass ceiling.
These women did more damage to feminism than they did to their wallets.
Before the launch, several crew members pledged to bring glam with them into space. Saying that for the first time, someone will go to space with their hair and makeup done.
Nonsensical comments like these directly reinforce the stereotype that intelligent women, like those who are adept for space travel, are lacking in their femininity.
I think we can all agree that having a good hair day is not super important when you’re about to fulfil your life’s work and potentially make a groundbreaking scientific discovery.
But sure Katy Perry, let’s “put the ass in astronaut.”
The only thing that these women proved was that there is equal opportunity for the women who can afford it. They did not inspire young girls; they profited off hard-working women by making brand deals and announcing setlists.
So please, do not look to them as heroes or pioneers. See this mission for what it was: one large step back for all of womankind.
If you want to be a feminist, educate and advocate for the women in your life and for yourself. Don’t be afraid to throw a stone at the glass ceiling, and bring your friends while you’re at it.
Cristin Coppess is a Central Michigan Life news reporter and a rising sophomore majoring in Photojournalism with a double minor in leadership and multimedia design.
