A look back to the sexism that prevented women from becoming astronauts

[CTyankee]

With all the attention given at DU lately to women's strength in combat, I thought it would be interesting to investigate why NASA didn't allow women to train for the space program for so long and how that got changed.

Here's what I found: http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/shortsharpscience/2009/10/why-nasa-barred-women-astronau.html

We all remember the story that Hillary Clinton told, about her letter to NASA inquiring about becoming an astronaut and being told that females would not be considered for the program. How did all that change?

Let's all remember how sexism and stupidity kept women out of space travel alongside men for so long. It's good to study the past, so that we do not repeat it...

[DURHAM D]

1. Interesting read. Thanks for posting.

She had logged more than 10,000 hours of flight time, double what the most experienced pilot of the Mercury 7 group of astronauts, John Glenn, had. During her physiological testing, she spent more than 9 hours in a tank of cold water meant to induce total sensory deprivation before the staff called off the experiment; previous tests on hundreds of other subjects had suggested that 6 hours was the limit before hallucinations started. A new study reports that Cobb tested in the top 2 per cent of all astronaut candidates, male and female. (Image: NASA)

ETA: from her Wiki entry -

In 1963, Cobb was called to testify at a Congressional hearing about women astronauts. Astronaut John Glenn states at the hearing "men go off and fight the wars and fly the airplanes," and women are not astronauts because of our social order. Only a few months later, the Soviet Union would send the first woman into space.

Thumbs up to the Soviets.

Cobb argued, along with other Mercury 13 participants, to be allowed to train alongside the men. However, at the time NASA requirements for entry into the astronaut program were that a pilot be a military test pilot, experienced at high speed military test flying, and have an engineering background enabling the pilot to take over controls in the event it became necessary. An exception was not made for Cobb.[6] Executive Assistant to Vice President Lyndon Johnson, Liz Carpenter, drafted a letter to NASA administrator James E. Webb questioning these requirements, but Johnson did not send the letter, instead writing across it, "Let's stop this now!"

Liz Carpenter always fighting the good fight. LBJ, not so much.

[CTyankee]

2. So much plain dumbness...amazing...

We need to read these histories more...

[DURHAM D]

4. I don't know if I need to read them or not.

I was pissed off then and I am pissed off now.

This may seem odd but stories like this make me think about my Dad. He was a strong feminist and inclined to see and call out sexist policies and folkways quicker than anyone. He was a gentle soul with an internal compass that always pointed toward doing the right thing.

[Starry Messenger]

3. k&r

[redqueen]

5. Read the comments. nt

[CTyankee]

6. Yeah, I saw them...

[cinnabonbon]

7. I am such a fan of space and everything in it

so when I was little, I did wonder why there were no women in the books about space travel that I read. It took a while before I learned the word for it.

Thank you for linking to such an interesting article!

[CTyankee]

8. glad you liked it! Funny now some folks around here think that gee, whiz, what are you

wimmin yelling about now? What sexism, I don't see any sexism...

[cinnabonbon]

9. I'm more used to people giving me the

"wimmen like space? Then why haven't any wimmen gone to space then? maybe they aren't smart enough...." and that is just annoying as heck.

But yes, I loved the article and I hope that if you find more like it that you will post it!

[CTyankee]

10. We ALL need to start getting these articles under discussion here at DU!

It's amazing how fast the sexism starts to fly thru the cyber space!