Billionaire bachelorette party B.S.
But look at the party favor! 🚀 Every girl should have one 😉
A destination bridal shower in a giant phallus. Fun! Unique! Memorable!
And of course, the gals brought the glam. "Who would not get glam before the flight?!" Jeff Bezos’ fiancée Lauren Sánchez asked, when interviewed by Elle magazine. "We’re going to have lash extensions flying in the capsule!"
Jeeeezuz. Read the room.
A spaceship filled with glammed-up women in tight spandex suits is about as appropriate for these times as an old James Bond movie.
The bride-to-be invited women of genuine accomplishment: singer Katy Perry, aerospace engineer Aisha Bowe, civil rights activist Amanda Nguyen, film producer Kerianne Flynn, and CBS Mornings host Gayle King. I don’t care that they made the trip. Rich people gonna do what rich people gonna do.
This is what bugs me. King said, as reported in the Guardian, that in her eyes, “anybody that’s criticizing [the space voyage] doesn’t really understand what is happening here”.
Really? I saw a missed opportunity, where women were given a platform, and instead of using it, they let themselves be used as a distraction. The women on the Blue Origin boondoggle performed “girl power,” instead of empowering girls.
UPDATE: May 14, 2025: I’ve had second thoughts since writing this post. Read about it at the link below.
“We can all speak to the response we’re getting from young women from young girls about what this represents,” the longtime broadcast journalist added.
What about what it doesn’t represent? You know, like a hopeful, safe, equitable future (or current day) filled with opportunities for young women and girls.
Take up space? I think you meant, “let them”
As in ‘let them eat cake” while the Trump administration systematically removes their rights and their role models.
In the last three months, girls’ prospects (unless they’re BFFs with an oligarch’s fiancée) have faded with actions by the Trump administration.
Trump has FIRED most of the military’s top female ranking officers
A 1965 (1965!!) executive order requiring federal contractors to identify and address barriers to employment, especially for women and people of color. REVOKED.
Protections for federal workers facing discrimination based on race, religion, sex, and age. ELIMINATED. This has the greatest negative impact on women and women of color.
The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations, like extra bathroom breaks or leave for doctor’s appointments. AT RISK Trump’s pick for Deputy Secretary of Labor (Keith Sonderling) has previously voted against its renewal.
Shall we talk about how Bezos treats his Amazon warehouse employees? SURVEILLED. INJURED. EXHAUSTED. Words used by employees.
All mentions of graphic novels, featuring female leads and diverse crews, were ERASED from NASA’s website: “First Woman: NASA's Promise to Humanity" and “First Woman: Expanding Our Universe” were free downloads.
NASA instructs all employees to remove their preferred pronouns from emails—identities DENIED.
Us too, Gayle. Us too.
The snarky backlash has been swift on social media. And these Substack writers have captured the moment beautifully <chef’s kiss>!
I absolutely do not think it is craven pink-washing to frame the passengers as feminist heroes for participating in a billionaire’s deeply Freudian vanity project as he endorses and supports the president responsible for rolling back women’s rights by half a century.
Is it cool? For sure. Historic? No more historic than my dog finally learning how to ring the doggy bathroom doorbell today.
Rich people have to undertake much more lavish and theatrical stunts to let us know that they don’t ever have to fill their own gas or unpack their own groceries or struggle to pay for daycare. Such as: joy rides into space!
I didn’t plan to write about this today, but it’s been taking up space (har-har) in my head. Say what you will about DEI initiatives, the fact is that women’s rights, and therefore our opportunities, are under attack and just saying “take up space” isn’t enough.
Open your false-eyelashed eyes to:
Voting rights (Stop the SAVE act!)
Unequal pay
Access to health care and abortion
Lack of female representation in leadership
Bias in hiring
Affordable day care, paid family leave
Sexual harassment and microaggressions in the workplace
Employment accommodations for pregnancy, menopause, or disabilities
Spousal abuse, rape, femicide.
The list goes on. Maybe that’s why the women were screaming?
Thanks for reading. Please leave a comment. I’d love to hear your thoughts and questions on these topics.
Work hard. Be brave. Believe.
Catherine
Hey Catherine, What a sham/shame for these women to turn a blind eye and go for pleasing Daddy.
Powerful, clear voice you have. Yes! TAKE UP SPACE.
Thank you for this.
Insanity. I couldn't even read it, Catherine, nor did I watch any of the coverage when it was on the news except what I saw as I passed by the t.v., which was on in the living room. Love you, but it's enough to know they did this--rather not be reminded that this is our USA. I look forward to your next post with a different photo! (Though it's an incredible phallus, you gotta admit.)