So there is some hubub around the landing of a spacecraft on a comet. But the noise isn’t about how incredible amazing that feat is, or the potential to learn about the origins of the universe. No, the hue and cry is about some guy’s shirt, and it is so loud even the CBC has reported on it.
Unfortunately it is nonsense like this that makes feminism a laughing stock and prevents many people from taking it seriously. On twitter some people are claiming the shirt is sexist, that it demeans women and some even go so far as to claim it is holding science back.
The shirt has drawings of scantily clad women on it; and admittedly it is ugly as hell. It is the sort of thing you expect some MMORPG playing kid to wear. If you look at guy wearing it, you can see, he is that kid. He has even gone so far as to tattoo the spacecraft on his leg!
Personally I love the fact that he doesn’t look like a lab coat wearing scientist. He challenges what you think a scientist should look like. A female friend of his made the offending shirt, which doesn’t really justify it but before people get too high on their horses that should be pointed out. Also, how do we know she didn’t ask him to wear it that day, for her?
Yes, it is a juvenile shirt. Yes, it is unprofessional. Yes, someone probably should have said something before he got in front of a camera. However, they were busy landing a spaceship on a celestial body travelling thousands of kilometers an hour. They don’t have a PR department to worry about whether or not someone’s personal choice in clothing offends anyone. Everyone knows someone like this who is so focused on one thing they have troubles with ordinary tasks. His sister had mentioned how he was useless at everyday things.
“Feminism” took what should have been one the greatest events in this guy’s life and drove him to tears over the shirt he put on in the morning. I put it in quotes around feminism because bitching about thoughtless men with self-righteous indignation isn’t feminism in my books. And let’s be clear, they’re drawings of a semi-naked woman and for all we know the illustrator could have been a woman as well.
If he had this all over his shirt, would that have been inappropriate? Because clearly showing off her assets is empowering to Kim Kardashian. And where was the feminist cry about this? Where was #assgate?
or this maybe we could have #scarletgate or how about #trashyhousewivesgate
#Shirtgate #shirtstorm or whatever you want to call it, holds feminism back by paying attention to the wrong thing. It makes a mountain out of a molehill and focuses on something that is trivial; the thoughtlessness of one man. And remember offense is taken, not given.
What it should have done is instead demand more interviews with the women involved in the mission. What was their perspective on the mission? What did they hope to learn from it? How did they get involved in it? What was their journey in science to this point like?
Feminism focuses so much on the negative (and what men are doing) that it forgets to celebrate the positive.
I love this picture. These are Indian scientist who have successfully landed a spacecraft on Mars. It challenges everything you think about when you think about science. Feminism would be better served by demanding we get to hear from these scientists.
And in case you wondered,
