Feminism has been hijacked, not by men this time, but by marketers for the super-elite. 

Six women on April 14, 2025, made their way to space and are considered as one of the first all-female crews to launch into orbit since 1963. That crew includes Pop star Katy Perry, journalist and Jeff Bezos’s finacée Lauren Sábichez, civil rights activist and astronaut Amanda Nguyen, film producer Kerianne Flynn, journalist Gayle King, and astronaut Aisha Bowe. The 10-minute endeavor on the Blue Origin ship played a key role in the accessibility of space travel while unsuccessfully portraying women’s empowerment.

Meanwhile, legislators are advancing new laws that could restrict women’s ability to vote and limit access to essential healthcare, all unfolding against the backdrop of the ongoing violence in Gaza. Yet, in the face of these pressing global challenges, millionaires such as the owner of Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos, have chosen to flaunt their wealth and expand into space rather than prioritize people’s needs.

What some fail to realize is that this isn’t feminism; this is a poor example of space travel. The whole ordeal regarding Blue Origin and numerous other explorations, like the New Shepard, is presented for the rich, playing dress up as empowerment for all. Bezos, the second richest man on the planet, acts as though an easy $28 million ticket for about 10 minutes in space is accessible for everyone. 

The exploration of Blue Origin has been receiving backlash regarding the women aboard. Only two out of the six women, Nguyen and Bowe, are trained astronauts, causing concerns to be raised about the rank of wealth over space exploration.

Such flights are a tone-deaf, wasteful usage of space-class tourism that undermines more crucial scientific goals and the exploration of feminism to promote a new luxury experience in space. 

Tough news for NASA and Bezos, looks like the Oscars missed their cue as the best stunt category won’t make its debut until 2027. And what an expensive ‘stunt’ costing over 100 million dollars just to implement it. One must ask: Was it worth it?

Especially when Bezos’ rocket company has laid off  10% of their employees just months before spending billions on Blue Origin, it sounds ironic for someone who has a space company, so the  “future generations can unleash their creativity” when he lets go of those who would have unveiled that future. 

Nearly thousands of scientists scramble to find jobs, the real priority is given to the development of space expansion, forgetting the fact that the average human can barely obtain eggs at the rapid 10.4% price increase.

As unhinged as it sounds, long before Blue Origin made headlines, the rich and famous had already been acquainted with space. Some critics and even fellow space explorers, such as those from Blue Origin, Gayle King, argued that instead of criticizing the women on board and those behind the mission, we should celebrate the moment and recognize how far we’ve come as a society in making space exploration more inclusive and accessible.

Many claim this is an amazing opportunity for women to be able to step into traditionally male-dominated roles. Yet, this is exactly what most had in mind when it came to women’s empowerment, especially when a step back was taken when realizing they expected a grand applause before the curtains closed. 

It’s important to recognize that space isn’t a playground for the rich and famous. And that feminism isn’t a manipulative tool to be used to gain advantage by the elite men to get their way.

Maybe it’s Katy Perry kissing the ground after going to space for around 10 minutes. Maybe it’s us being reminded again how detached wealthy people are from the rest of the world’s problems, or perhaps it’s celebrities like Emily Ratajkowski bashing Katy Perry for going to space when in fact she takes private jets, proven to be harmful for the environment.

Or perhaps it’s NASA funding Blue Origin as an ideal feminist, empowering movement when in fact, NASA has also been cutting the jobs of female scientists like Katherine Calvin. Meanwhile, employees are left overlooked, watching the next spaceship get suited up for an unreasonable liftoff.

If the stars are within reach, why are we limiting who gets to touch them? The future of space, let alone anything, shouldn’t look like the past for elites; it should look like all of us.