Rosetta scientist Dr. Matt Taylor has now apologized for the shirt he wore showing half-naked women and the outraged masses seem to have begrudgingly accepted it.
Yes, it was a tactless decision to wear the shirt. Good for him for apologizing and feeling bad, etc. But what’s with the outrage? It’s the outrage that I find bewildering. It’s a tacky shirt. That’s it. Would the reaction had been different if a female scientist wore a shirt showing half-naked men? Yes. People would have laughed, maybe even encouraged her, and then gone back to the success of the mission at hand. Not the case with Dr. Taylor. It was the only thing that filled up my news timeline for days. Hashtags like #sexistshirt and #shirtgate started trending and, all of a sudden, no one is focused on the fact that the ESA just managed to land a probe on a comet. Which is amazing. This is fantastic news. But no, attention shift to sexism outrage and we’re no longer celebrating the successes of humanity.
I know women have a hard time in STEM fields. Lacking personal experience, I have read articles and talked to with women who have told me the challenges they face. It really blows, to say the absolute least. But I think I can speak on behalf of at least 3 or 4 people when I say, “This mission is an amazing one, Dr. Taylor, and you should be very proud of yourself and your team. I’m really looking forward to the information we’ll attain by exploring the final frontier… on an aside, maybe try a white button-down next time.”
nonprophetess 