Posted on | July 24, 2012 | Comments
Sally Ride. AP photo/NASA.
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The revelation that Sally Ride ?who died Monday ? was a lesbian and had a 27-year relationship with a woman came on the Sally Ride Science website and was confirmed later by a spokeswoman for Sally Ride Science.
Ride was the first woman to travel in space.
Some traditional media outlets, such as The New York Times, mentioned her partner, Tam O?Shaughnessy, in a list of survivors at the end of their stories. O?Shaughnessy is COO of Sally Ride Science.
That led to criticism from the openly gay Andrew Sullivan of The Daily Beast.
He accused the Times of homophobia for ?only perfunctorily? referring to the woman with whom Ride shared her life.
Ride?s ?sexual orientation was obviously central to her life,? Sullivan wrote, and the Times should have written more about her relationship with O?Shaughnessy. The Times would have done so for a heterosexual spouse, he said.
But others have pointed out that Ride kept her personal life to herself. Her battle with pancreatic cancer was not revealed until her death either.
In an interview with Broward Palm Beach New Times, Ride?s sister, Bear, said Sally Ride never tried to hide her relationship with O?Shaughnessy.
But Bear Ride, who is a lesbian herself, said not publicly speaking about the relationship was characteristic of Ride.
?Sally was a profoundly private person,? Bear Ride said. ?It was just part of who she was.?
Bear Ride told the website BuzzFeed.com that the posthumous coming out of Ride is a positive thing.
?The pancreatic cancer community is going to be absolutely thrilled that there?s now this advocate that they didn?t know about,? she said. ?And, I hope the GLBT community feels the same?.I hope it makes it easier for kids growing up gay that they know that another one of their heroes was like them.?
Sullivan and several other bloggers bemoaned how Ride, while alive, did not use her status as an icon to serve as a role model for young lesbians and as an example for everyone.
But others thanked Ride for coming out after death.
Andrew Rosenthal, the editorial page editor of The New York Times, said he hoped Ride?s death would spur discussion of how same-sex couples are not eligible for federal survivors? benefits.
The Defense of Marriage Act bars federal recognition of same-sex relationships and the granting of benefits to O?Shaughnessy.
A UCLA demographer said Ride could have been fired by NASA for being a lesbian (federal rules at the time she was an astronaut allowed discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation).
And older lesbians and gays ? Ride was 61 ? are much more likely to remain in the closet than younger gays, according to a survey by the Human Rights Campaign, one of the nation?s largest LGBT organizations.
Chad Griffin, president of the Human Rights Campaign, told BuzzFeed.com that many lesbian, gay and bisexual people struggle with whether or when to reveal their sexual orientation.
?For many Americans, coming out will be the hardest thing they ever do,? he said. ?While it?s a shame that Americans were not able to experience this aspect of Sally while alive, we should all be proud of the fact that like many LGBT Americans, she proudly served her country, had a committed and loving relationship, and lived a good life.?
?The fact that Sally Ride was a lesbian,? he said, ?will further help round out Americans? understanding of the contributions of LGBT Americans to our country. Our love and condolences go out to her partner.?
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Source: http://blog.pe.com/multicultural-beat/2012/07/24/sally-rides-sexual-orientation/
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