“Yes, I do find ‘frontier’ to be problematic.”
In a recent interview with National Geographic, a prominent astronomer expounded on the racism and sexism that underpins discussions surrounding space exploration, particularly the colonization of Mars.
When it comes to such conversations, the “space community at large” is awakening to the “racist, sexist ideologies that historically led to the subjugation and erasure of women and indigenous cultures,” averred Nadia Drake in a piece (“We need to change the way we talk about space exploration”) published by NatGeo last week.
Drake spoke with Lucianne Walkowicz, whose impressive resume includes a stint serving as the Chair of Astrobiology at the Library of Congress, about the “problematic” language used in space exploration dialogue.
Language such as “manned,” for example, which Walkowicz finds self-evidently troubling (“Just think about it a little bit.”)
This was far from the only term in the space exploration lexicon that Walkowicz, who proudly advocates for social justice on her Twitter profile, took issue with:
Colonization: “I’ve seen people talk about the arrival of the first European settlers as this romantic, heroic story of people making it in a harsh environment. But of course, there were already people here, in the Americas, when those historical events happened.”
Frontier: “Yes, I do find ‘frontier’ to be problematic.”
Settlement: “That comes up a lot and obviously has a lot of connotations for folks about conflict in the Middle East.”
Manned: “I don’t understand why anyone is still using ‘manned.’ How old is the NASA style guide that says not to use ‘manned?’ It’s been around literally for years.”
Walkowicz offered a solution to the problem and — as her interviewer put it — “progress in a way that will allow space travelers to better reflect humanity.”
“I think that one of the very first steps forward is to stop having our narratives about space only coming from people who are extremely privileged, which in this space means predominantly rich, white, male venture capitalists,” said Walkowicz, who is herself white.
“If there’s going to be a really inclusive effort to go beyond Earth, it has to start here on Earth,” she added.
To social justice … and beyond.
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