Astronauts and their hair
21 Feb 2017DNA-Decay
So Frontier, in their wisdom, have decided that long hair is too hard.
And a chorus of agreement has risen from the cheap seats:
"Long hair wouldn't work in space."
"It would get caught in your helmet."
"Be realistic."
Unfortunately every space agency that actually puts people into space seems to have missed the memo.
Even NASA - who have a protocol for everything, are happy to have long hair in space.
So I did a little research and I found a picture of every astronaut ever.*
(*- except the blokes)
And I found that Long Hair in space is normal, accepted and pretty cool actually.
And while I accept the criticism that I am a white middle aged man commenting on the appearance of women, I ask you to hear me out.
I accept that Long Hair is technically hard.
But you know what else is hard?
That's right - mammary glands.
Here's a Kotaku article about their physics and in-game rendering.
http://bit.ly/1FUdW52
Now if there are ANY options or sliders around perk, sag, or size - that means that there have been meetings where the topic of of mammary gland physics was discussed, decided and direction given.
And there have been some sniggering threads on the forums asking who's going to swap over for a better view. And from listening to some friends who've lost theirs to a mastectomy - I appreciate that mammary glands are a strong part of identity.
So yes they too need to be right.
But when you look at the avatars that are actually chosen - it's eyes first and hair next. Only the catfish are flashing the bouncy bits.
Now generally Frontier have done a commendable job with race and gender - without much fuss.
We have female characters in powerful positions at different stages in their lives.
They are figureheads for some of the most populous and respected player groups.
It's one of the things that makes me happy to talk about the game in civilised company.
But we could be missing a trick here.
I am interested in the opinions of real astronauts on things like:
Their experience of long hair in space.
Whether managment had any policy around long hair.
Their desision to keep long hair in space.
The depiction of women in games.
Whether options around hair are more important in terms of gender and identity than options around mammary glands.
So I'm framing a letter to be sent to these astronauts (the ones that are still alive) asking for their input.
And I would like you to do a few things for me to help me frame the letter.
Can you summarise the arguments of both sides in this debate in one paragraph?
Can you choose one of these astronauts and respond as you think they would.
They're all pretty easy to google, and as I did my base research I found myself falling in love with these amazing women again and again.
So the task is a real pleasure.
I'm sure you have some idea what it is like to be one of the few women in a male dominated field.
So I'm asking you:
"What do you think these astronauts will say about the decision to leave Long Hair off the development schedule?"
Valentina Tereshkova
That's a big boofy coif right there!
Svetlana Savitskaya
A very boyish fringe, but that's some nice bangs peeking around from behind.
Sally Ride
You should know the story, and I'm sure you were saddened when she passed away.
Judith Resnik
Another sad loss (Challenger) but WOW that hair!
Kathryn D. Sullivan
Veteran of three expeditions and an early spacewalker.
Anna Lee Fisher
Not the longest hair you'll see today but you have a heart of stone if it doesn't skip a beat.
Margaret Rhea Seddon
Served on MIR that monument to the communist space era.
Long blonde hair like a high school sweetheart from a David Lynch film.
Shannon Lucid
Hair not getting in the way of payload operations.
Bonnie J. Dunbar
Biomechanical materials expert and big hair.
Mary L. Cleave
Going the pony tail for tidy route.
Ellen S. Baker
Not long hair I grant you, but not short either. Appears in excellent Werner Herzog film.
Kathryn C. Thornton
You seen Gravity right? - This is the long haired lass who fixed the Hubble telescope.
Marsha Ivins
That hair didn't get in the way of delivering and assembling the Destiny module of the ISS.
The Poster girl for big hair in space.
This picture is frequently used by blokes saying: "This is why you can't have long hair in space."
Except ITS A PICTURE OF LONG HAIR IN SPACE
Linda M. Godwin
Sorry this doesn't show her lovely hair very well, because all the photos of her are on spacewalks - she did a lot of work outside the space station.
Helen Sharman
English.
Tamara E. Jernigan
Oh now thats some space hair. That's a four tie pony tail Tamara is rockin right here, didn;t get in the way of an EVA.
Millie Hughes-Fulford
Okay we got a short hair here. Not every astronaut likes to rock long hair. She spent her time on orbit gathering medical data at a cellular level.
Roberta Bondar
Okay another short hair - I grant you, but she's Canadian and a neurologist, so we forgive her.
Jan Davis
Mae Jemison
Okay short hair.
Susan J. Helms
Ellen Ochoa
Janice E. Voss
Nancy J. Currie
First assembly mission of the ISS, and onther Hubble service mission. Plenty of hair here.
Chiaki Mukai
Yelena V. Kondakova
Eileen Collins
Wendy B. Lawrence
Another short hair but highly decorated.
Mary E. Weber
Catherine Coleman
Claudie Haigneré
Susan Still Kilrain
Kalpana Chawla
Sadly lost to the Columbia disaster.
Kathryn P. Hire
Janet L. Kavandi
Julie Payette
Pamela Melroy
Peggy Whitson
Hold up - Peggy is a short hair. But it has to be said - I'm a big fan. She's commander of the International SPace Station right now, and I saw her pass over my house about two hours ago.
Sandra Magnus
Laurel B. Clark
Stephanie Wilson
Lisa Nowak
Anousheh Ansari
Sunita Williams
_and_Sunita_Williams_(Expedition_14)_on_the_International_Space_Station.jpg)
Joan Higginbotham
Tracy Caldwell Dyson
Barbara Morgan
Yi So-yeon
.jpg)
Karen L. Nyberg
K. Megan McArthur
Nicole P. Stott
Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger
Naoko Yamazaki
Okay wait up here's a detail - Check what Naoko is wearing on her wrist. That's a watch and three hair ties. She has a watch to know the time, and hair ties to tie back her long hair.
Shannon Walker
Liu Yang
Wang Yaping
Yelena Serova
Samantha Cristoforetti
Kathleen Rubins
