Is outer space patriarchal?

By: Shaheera Sami 

It’s been 60 years since humans made their maiden journey into space and have been exploring it since. To date, more than 600 human beings from around the world have been to space, landed on the moon and lived on ISS (international space station) but not to anyone’s surprise only 70 of these were women. In this time of the 21st century when landing on mars and starting a colony there is not a topic of surprise to anyone this fact might surprise you that no woman has yet walked on the moon. The first all-female spacewalk took place in just 2019! And it is too late for women to still be in the category of “firsts”. In this blog, we will see if the space itself is not fit for female bodies or is it us who have made it seem that way.

  Effects of space on female bodies 

                                                                                                                                           Credits: NASA/NSBRI

 Although some factors differ for every individual irrespective of gender, such as the loss of bone and muscle mass, as shown by the diagram above women and men bodies are affected differently in space. Female astronauts are more likely to experience drowsiness and nausea as space motion sickness (SMS) is more common with women during spaceflights. Inability to stand without fainting (Orthostatic Intolerance) upon landing is more prevalent in women as well. Women are more susceptible to radiation-induced cancers although scientists believe that excess fat around important organs in female bodies protect them from cosmic radiations. These radiations can also have an impact on women fertility as studies conducted on male astronauts found that the quality and number of sperms produced decreases after space travel but are regenerated unlike in females who are born with all the eggs they need for a lifetime. Due to these factors, female astronauts are urged to freeze their eggs before embarking on a space mission and radiation permissible exposure levels are lower for women than men astronauts.

 

                                                                                                                                                  Credits: NSBRI 

     Space mission duration distribution for astronauts and cosmonauts (all nationalities) (1998–2013)

However, women have the advantage over men in various other aspects. The VIIP syndrome (visual impairment / intracranial pressure) is more common in male astronauts and all clinically significant cases of visual impairment have been reported by male astronauts only. Loss of hearing sensitivity with age is more rapid in male astronauts as well. Male astronauts experience re-entry sickness unlike women when returned to earth and are less resistant to viral and bacterial diseases increasing the chances of falling sick during a mission. Studies also found that women astronauts were slightly better at managing stress and anxiety while on a long mission than their male counterparts giving them a slight advantage. 

  Disadvantages for women in space 

Although nature has somewhat balanced the effects of space on both genders, women have been kept out of space due to numerous reasons. Before the famous all-women spacewalk in 2019, a previously scheduled spacewalk was cancelled as there were not enough medium-sized spacesuits on the ISS for the three women who were supposed to go out at the same time. The unavailability of smaller sized suits to fit the women better was due to the elimination of small and medium-sized spacesuits back in 1990. NASA had to nix their small-sized suits in the 1990s due to budget cuts, NPR reported, That meant one-third of the women at the time were unable to fit into any spacesuits (Prasad, 2019). Only recently another major issue regarding women comfortability on ISS was addressed in 2020. As it was a challenge to use the toilet on the ISS for females especially while menstruating, NASA launched a new model of the toilet which will for the first time accommodate the specific needs of female astronauts. There has also been a bias in the hiring process with male candidates selected more often regardless of their qualification. Lack of role models and encouragement in a male dominant society has also led to women staying out of space. 

  Reality vs cinema 

Most movies made about space travel depict the reality of insignificant female representation in space, with rarely a female mission commander cast and more men to women ratio in a mission team. The 2007 Pixar release, Wall-E was no exception. It was about how after the earth was made inhabitable all the humans were shifted onto a spacecraft and lived on it for generations. As in reality, Male dominance in mission command was seen in the movie as well. In a scene, the captain of the spacecraft was seen looking at the pictures of the previous captains who were all males.

The movie was far from reality and failed to address a major issue of refuelling among other factors. such a huge aircraft in space for more than 700 years, in reality, will need refuelling more than a million times and the movie did not show this aspect of such a journey. Although the movie depicted the loss of bone mass due to microgravity and minimal movement accurately, it defied the scientific phenomenon of depleted muscle mass as all aboard the axiom (spacecraft in the movie) were obese. Fan theories have deduced that the unnatural phenomenon was due to the unseen cannibalism in the movie! As scientific studies have found out that consuming 1 human’s flesh provides you with 125,000 calories most of which is turned into adipose tissues (fat). 

This explains the overweighed passengers on the axiom as even with no physical exercise a person can not be obese unless the intake of calories is high. This theory is also justified by the fact that there were no dead bodies seen in the disposal area of the spacecraft and all the food served was slurped through a straw. Also, the mission had only 5 years worth of food but it was extended for 650 more years, how did they get 650 years worth of food without returning to earth? The easiest solution was to blend up the dead passenger and serve them to the ones alive in a cup

.Final verdict 

Space just like the earth is not biased. There is no discrimination in nature and both genders have their unique qualities to fit in. However human beings have for ages oppressed women and created a male dominant society that is not restricted to earth but extends to space. as we saw space have its limitations and disadvantages for both genders equally but we humans have created much more problems for females to be a part of it. the conditions for space travel support females more than male astronauts in reality. As weight is a crucial factor of any space mission, women are the better-suited candidates. They are comparatively smaller in size and their bodies require less oxygen to function than men significantly reducing the weight and fuel needed for a mission. Women bodies also perform better on restricted diets and lose weight slower than men which reduces the amount of food needed for a mission further reducing the weight aboard. Fewer calories mean less waste out which helps with the reduction of weight to carry on a long voyage. All these factors clearly show that even though nature has not set limitations for a specific gender, women have always felt disadvantaged and inferior due to man-made restrictions in every part of the society that we live in. It is about time we realise how it is unjust to categorise professions based on genders and let women excel in all fields.

References:

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-49744892 

 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4235984/#B30

 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4236030/ https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-47725946 https://www.nasa.gov/content/men-women-spaceflight-adaptation

 https://www.theguardian.com/science/2021/sep/24/immersion-tank-study-impact-space-travel-on-female-body https://www.businessinsider.com/space-travel-effects-men-women-differences-2017-5

 https://elemental.medium.com/why-womens-bodies-are-better-suited-for-space-travel-dc1e5513ae36

 https://www.thelily.com/whats-so-special-about-this-toilet-its-the-first-one-nasa-designed-for-women/

https://vocal.media/geeks/pixar-theory-the-unseen-cannibalism-of-wall-e