Exploring Backlash: All-female commercial space flight’s impact on women in STEM

Why are you mad about six women taking a space flight for no reason other than space tourism?

During the earlier days of Blue Origin, the rhetoric was excited and geared up for exploration—the next wave of space journeys.

When I posted in opposition to space tourism and urged people to think before they clutter space and launch for fun without fear of environmental repercussions, the response was rather repressive.

(Back in 2021 - can't access the comment sections or discourse threads - going to do better to speak through posts to allow for recall)

Society shifts out of favour for space tourism

I know that audiences can be selective, and we often hear the loudest voice, but I find these audiences interesting. In the case of repression of space tourism, it was mainly a male voice quick to quash my female concern, and now, when women travel, we have women quick to quieten their excitement.

All of our experiences are unique, but for me, before seeing any media from the Blue Origin launch featuring Katy Perry, I saw Emily Ratajkowski bashing them on Instagram, reposted via a third-party account.

In fact, I was exposed to more content parodying, diminishing, and rejecting the power of women in space before I saw any content surrounding the flight itself and statements from the women themselves.

Here's where the anger lies

What frustrated me the most about this experience was the lack of visibility into real female astronauts and what suborbital flights can offer us. It appears to have increased and highlighted the disinterest of the seemingly angered audience in exploring professional women in STEM.

Common themes brought up in opposition to this space flight are environmentalism, capitalist exploitation, "Eat the rich," and the minimization of women in STEM.

Economic and financial disregard for the sake of adventure

I agree with the first two points here. Don't be fooled by my commentary thus far. I am not here to support Blue Origin by any means, only in the interest of society and societal commentary.

Minimization of women in STEM

I want to focus on the third point, specifically the underrepresentation of women in STEM fields. On this point, I side with Gayle King, who has spoken out about her intention to have this journey be seen as nothing but inspiring to young women. By throwing shade and minimizing what was accomplished here, what message are we sending to young women?

If this is the future, shouldn't we be thrilled to see women in space?

The response is minimizing women in STEM, not the action

Of course, we should see more women in STEM be able to take a journey into the unknown, rather than just those who can afford it... but what about the young girls who relate to Katy Perry's fascination with the extraterrestrial and get to have this experience vicariously through a favoured celebrity?

Do you think Katy Perry's fans are feeling empowered to follow their interest in space fostered through Katy's creative lens, or feel silly thinking they had any right to aspire to explore the cosmos?

If we don't think of space in terms of numbers, exploration, and profit, what's the point? Where are the scientists, and why are we supporting creatives, journalists, and leaders?

Where's the passion? What's the motivation to aspire to this position?

After this backlash - it's possibly extreme - why would I, a woman, want to dream big and take a risk to shape the future when I see other women will tear it down?

Why is it humorous to think of this being a possible reaction to Blue Origin's all-female crew?

Amanda Nguyen was aboard this journey; the first Vietnamese woman in space and an incredible inspiration.

She had a goal to make it into space, and that goal was achieved on this flight after a pivot pushed her beyond NASA but never away from her dreams. Her story is not mine to share; she speaks eloquently for herself.

Influential and scientific women were aboard Blue Origin's all-female flight

The point is that so many of us didn't take the time to look into the women aboard the flight. Instead, we took to the sheep's mind and latched onto the popular bandwagon of hate and envy led by female celebrities.

Why not take this opportunity to highlight and empower the women aboard Blue Origin's flight while engaging in a productive discussion of opposing viewpoints?

If this is the future, let's celebrate Amanda, support Katy, and hear Gayle while learning more about entrepreneur Lauren Sánchez, former NASA scientist Aisha Bowe, and film producer Kerianne Flynn.

I love that the conversation has begun, but let's not let it end here.

Time to go beyond the people and focus on the supplier

Let's not make it about the women who went up alone; let it be about what it is about: the frivolous use of resources with limited regard for the impact on remaining environments and their resources.

How do we explore and enjoy the future of technology in a productive way that does not harm our world?

One flight response can harm the future of female space flight.

Let's focus on the fact that we are not happy with space tourism for tourism's sake in this way. Perhaps we aren't there yet as a society, and from a PR and propaganda viewpoint, could it have been Blue Origin's goal to prove this to harm the competition by eroding investors' faith?

A traditional strategy for burying news in today's world is to distract your audience and reveal something even more grandiose! The Kardashians utilize this strategy to bury distasteful news by launching a new baby or product line to clutter the headlines and take over search results, utilizing similar keywords.

Distraction steals attention

The saying goes, all news is good news and right now the news is reading headlines such as "Blue Origin's all-female space flight was a step backwards for feminism," "Blue Origin mission with all-female crew, including Katy Perry, completes space trip," and "Why Is Blue Origin Facing Backlash? Inside the All-Female Space Trip's Controversy — and How Its Crew Is Responding" for the search all-female crew.

In agreement with the haters, these do a great job of discrediting women in space and burying headlines about the all-female crew aboard Virgin Galactic. Interesting SEO play, huh?

all-female crew aboard Virgin Galactic search results on April 18, 2025, flooded by Blue Origin positive and negative press coverage, burying all information on the all-female research crew preparing for a 2026 flight.

I encourage all women who feel threatened by the frivolity of this journey to look into Blue Origin's competitor, Virgin Galactic. This company has an all-female crew leading glorious groundbreaking research through multiple suborbital journeys.

Look beyond and you'll find what you're looking for

Don't let Bezos bury us and make us haters. Let's be united and stop this conversation because it's harmful to the female future, all people looking to learn more about women in space and the benefits of suborbital experimentation.

Let's not allow our future selves to be researching this time and be affronted by this recognition. Let's move the conversation away from those on board and onto why the flights are happening. Would suborbital flights be the best path forward as we reduce the number of orbital rocket launches?

Do you feel it should be stopped or altered, or are you no longer angry about women taking a journey into space for sheer fun?