Women Rise! The first LGBTQ+ astronaut in human history, a female fighter of an unmanned bomber, and an inventory of 5 special occupations and identities of women

Since the two world wars, with the liberation of the female labor force and the rise of gender consciousness, more and more women around the world have gradually emerged as they are engaged in identities or activities that were previously restricted to men.

Even in a patriarchal and challenging social environment, they can still show the characteristics and advantages of mutual cooperation in competition, and create the unique influence brought by "female power" with feminine energy.

This article has collected several special occupations and activities that women are engaged in, and if you are curious about this and looking forward to understanding more about gender and social issues, you may wish to follow the editor to read it together!

Female astronauts during the Cold War opened up more gender discussions

Image | Wikipedia

During the Cold War after World War II, the two camps launched a 20-year "space race" (1955~1975). The world's first female astronaut, Van Lentina Vladimirovna from Russia (former Soviet Union), flew the "Vostok VI" alone in 1963 to complete nearly 3 days of space travel, exceeding the total flight time of previous astronauts, and is the only woman to fly a spacecraft independently to complete space flight.

20 years after Van Lentina went into space, Sally Ryder, the first female astronaut in the United States, went into space and was the third female astronaut in the world. In 2012, Sally died of pancreatic cancer, and the world was surprised to find that her same-sex partner was disclosed in the obituary, making her the first known LGBTQ+ astronaut to come out publicly.

(Also screened: Masashi Wild Woman | First Lady in the Air Jia Ji, the most outstanding female pilot in history, married and had children at the age of 14)

In the history of space development in the past 60 years, countries around the world conservatively believe that men are more suitable for space missions than women, but in 2021, NASA released statistics that women may be innately more dominant than men. For example, women's smaller size and lower weight than men can reduce rocket fuel; The food and calories needed by women to maintain physiology are 15%~25% less than men.

At the same time, according to astronaut trainers, women's hearing ability is easier to recover in space, men generally have a decline in hearing sensitivity, and women's immune systems are stronger than men's.

As of 2021, the world has sent 600 astronauts into space, of which only 75 are women, accounting for less than 13%. According to the plan announced by NASA, the "Artemis Project" after 2025 will correct the long-standing gender gap and give more women the opportunity to participate in space missions!

Japanese women's sumo, subverting millennial traditions or passing on the idea of equality?

Image|Netflix "Miss Sumo"

Have you watched a Japanese sumo wrestling match? Sumo wrestling, which combines strength and skill, was designated as a "Japanese national sport", but a few years ago, due to gender controversy, it made news many times. In fact, according to the earliest official history of Japan "Nihon Shoki", women in the 17th century Edo period could compete naked with men in sumo wrestling, and it was a very common thing at that time, but later women's sumo was gradually considered to be linked to the sex industry, and after the Meiji Restoration, they were even charged with "obstructing decency", and it gradually declined.

On the other hand, the popular belief in "Shintoism" in Japan gives sumo wrestling sanctity, but the patriarchal stance also indirectly hinders women's right to participate: they forbid women to set foot in the arena "dirt and dirt" that is considered a "holy land" on the grounds of unclean menstruation. For example, female ambulance workers came to the stadium to rescue, but were loudly broadcast by the organizers to ask to leave the venue, strongly refused the female mayor's speech, and even sprinkled salt on a large scale after women left the arena to purify the venue, all these measures not only made the Japanese people dissatisfied, but also surprised many foreign media.

(Same screening: Gender Alert | Exciting!) The Japanese amateur women's sumo team was born: "Breaking the sexism of sumo is the driving force for my firm training")

Despite such severe external conditions, "sumo wrestling soul" still exists in the minds of many Japanese women. Women's sumo wrestlers, who are unable to compete as professional competitors and make a living, often appear in amateur occasions such as schools, clubs, and clubs, and strive for professional-level training and opportunities to be seen by the world.

It is encouraging that after the epidemic, the number of women's sumo wrestling competitions has increased significantly, and in order to promote sumo wrestling into the Olympic Games, the Japanese authorities have actively promoted women's participation and adjusted the competition conditions and specifications, such as not only a pair of pants, but jumpsuits and "grappling pants" competition clothing, so that more women can compete in a socially appropriate and comfortable and open state.

In addition to the gradual elimination of gender barriers, sumo wrestling also has a trend of multi-ethnicity, not only in Japan, but also sumo wrestling competitions are more international, loved by many foreigners, Japanese authorities set up sumo schools at many points in the world, poaching foreign talents, and even seeing professional sumo wrestlers with European and American faces in the professional arena, isn't it interesting?

Libyan women deminers sweep away life-threatening and reverse stereotypes

Image|Dazhi Video

The 20th century saw two of the most brutal world wars in modern times, but after entering the 21st century, the war has not stopped, and many countries are still in an extreme war environment. Thankfully, defending the country is no longer the responsibility of a single sex, but anyone who desires peace and security can participate.

Between 2011 and 2020, Libya in North Africa, saw two large-scale civil wars, and despite the end of the fighting, 15 million square meters of explosive remnants remain in Libya; According to official statistics, unexploded ordnance and landmines killed more than 400 people and injured more than 3,000. Since the end of the war, it is not only the unexploded bombs left behind that threaten lives, but also the unresolved political disputes in Libya, which have allowed the continued and widespread deployment of landmines, which are a huge and pervasive threat to innocent people, so mine clearance is an urgent and important task.

(Same screening: Ukrainian women on the front line|Did you know that International Women's Day originated from the bravery of Ukrainian women? ）

At the beginning of 2022, after three months of intensive training, Libya's first female deminers were officially put into demining work. As the proportion of women joining demining efforts has increased in recent years, gender stereotypes in the field of demining have been subverted, such as women with their petite physiques compared to men and may spend more time removing explosive debris.

In fact, women's carefulness, patience and willingness to work as a team have helped to make the process of bomb disposal and demining smoother, and according to comprehensive surveys, there is no difference between different genders in the effectiveness of demining work, showing that gender equality is also moving towards the relatively niche field of demining.

Myanmar drone female warrior, guarding her homeland under the fires of war

Photo by Richard R. Schünemann on Unsplash

Again, let's move from North Africa to Southeast Asia.

In 2021, Myanmar's military junta came to power, and the People's Defence Force, which has been fighting the military for two years of civil war, has been exercising high-intensity ground resistance. Even as the Air Force's helicopters roared and surprise bombings were everywhere, the People's Defence Force's strong defensive ambition remained undiminished. Among the many squads, there is even a female drone bombing team, which uses civilian drones to carry homemade bombs and modifications, with short and accurate bomb drops, taking advantage of the military's unpreparedness and effective attacks.

(Also screened: Masashi Wild Woman | First Lady in the Air Jia Ji, the most outstanding female pilot in history, married and had children at the age of 14)

In an interview with BBC News, Qin Sheng, a drone female warrior nicknamed "Tiger", said: "Compared to airplanes, our drones are like a grain of sesame, but when you have a lot of sesame seeds, they have a big impact." Just like she worked side by side with a group of female partners, delving into effective and coordinated combat methods that matched the advantages of women's dexterity, and gathered seemingly small forces to become a crack squad that caused headaches for the military government.

Women are often seen as weak and need to be protected in war, but digging deeper, it is not difficult to find that in different corners of the cruel world, many women are guarding their hometowns and beliefs in a steadfast and intelligent way.

Female car paint technician, Taiwan's technical Olympic light

Image|Yang Tingyu Facebook

When it comes to the automobile manufacturing industry chain, many people may have a male image in their minds, but in the 2019 international skills competition, known as the Technical Olympics, Yang Tingyu, a 21-year-old Taiwanese girl at the time, won the first gold medal in automobile painting for Taiwan. Even though it was raining when the awards were presented, it still did not reduce the excitement of winning Taiwan's medal in the car painting project for 18 years.

The moving moment of shining on the stage relies on determination, perseverance and perseverance. From the selection of national players to training, it takes an average of 3~4 years, and in order to devote themselves to it, players often need to break away from the existing pace of life, put down work or choose to take a break from school. Facing a long and uncertain future, Yang Tingyu will replace her hesitant and apprehensive mood with 18 hours of high-intensity practice every day.

(Same screening: Taiwan's first female car painting female national player, 22-year-old her: There is no gender in her profession)

Car painting is a test of beauty and experience of the special technology, each car after the wind, sun, rain, color may be different, and in the process of preparing spray paint for different cars, women's keen discrimination of color has become Yang Tingyu's development advantage, so that her color is more accurate. In addition, different cars also have completely different appearances, concave, convex, streamlined and curved, from the amount of material used when replenishing soil, area mastery, to subsequent machine or manual polishing, etc., each complicated process requires incomparable care and patience, with dexterous hands to take care of every detail.

I believe that in many industrial chains in Taiwan, there must be women like her. However, on the road to pursuing her dreams, Yang Tingyu is not afraid of difficulties and uses her own experience to set an example for everyone, even in an environment where the gender is relatively single and completely different from herself, as long as she is determined and recognizes the goals ahead, she can create an unexpected and bright path.

After reading the above few special roles that throw away the shackles of gender and are played by women, do they bring you different inspiration?

Even today, with the rise of women's power and gender consciousness, there are still prejudices, discrimination and inequalities in different countries and societies, but when we try to see, listen and try, we have the opportunity to see the precious characteristics and energy contained in different genders.

We know that there is no end to the road to gender equality, and we deeply believe that when a person is willing to put aside the boundaries left by stereotypes, there are infinite possibilities in thinking, acting and life.