And guess why her partner of the last 27 years doesn't qualify for the federal benefits that other US astronauts' widows get?
edit: now I look through the NASA obituary, it doesn't even mention Dr. O'Shaughnessy. I'm not going to fault them for this because it's possible they didn't know, but even accidental erasure is sad.
Wikipedia Pete gets everything he knows from other sources, and sometimes what he repeats doesn't accurately represent those sources:
Ride's sister, Bear, who is also gay, told New Times Monday night that her sister never publicly revealed her sexual orientation because of a closely held commitment to her personal privacy...
But Bear said Sally didn't make any efforts to hide the relationship: "They went places together, they're in business together, they wrote books together," she said. "We consider Tam a member of the family."
See also International Business Times (http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/365992/20120723/tam-shaughnessy-oshaughnessy-sally-ride-lesbian-partner.htm), which describes her as "open about her partnership with Tam O'Shaughnessy".
So I don't think "closeted" is warranted. She didn't seek to publicise her orientation, but she didn't make a secret of it either.
...and as I said, I'm not faulting NASA for omitting that information, because they may not have known, or may have been unsure about her wishes. I'm not pinning the erasure on them; I'm pinning it on a society that still discourages the acknowledgement of same-sex partners. She may have been a private person, but even so, it seems unlikely that a male partner would've ended up missing from the obituary.
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(no subject)
Date: 2012-07-24 01:12 am (UTC)edit: now I look through the NASA obituary, it doesn't even mention Dr. O'Shaughnessy. I'm not going to fault them for this because it's possible they didn't know, but even accidental erasure is sad.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-07-24 01:26 am (UTC)So I don't blame really NASA for not knowing and/or not outing her, given that UNTIL TODAY her desire was to not be outed.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-07-24 01:49 am (UTC)(http://blogs.browardpalmbeach.com/pulp/2012/07/former_astronaut_sally_ride_re.php)
See also International Business Times (http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/365992/20120723/tam-shaughnessy-oshaughnessy-sally-ride-lesbian-partner.htm), which describes her as "open about her partnership with Tam O'Shaughnessy".
So I don't think "closeted" is warranted. She didn't seek to publicise her orientation, but she didn't make a secret of it either.
...and as I said, I'm not faulting NASA for omitting that information, because they may not have known, or may have been unsure about her wishes. I'm not pinning the erasure on them; I'm pinning it on a society that still discourages the acknowledgement of same-sex partners. She may have been a private person, but even so, it seems unlikely that a male partner would've ended up missing from the obituary.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-07-24 01:11 pm (UTC)