Pen-Elayne on the Web

Celebrating Women - 12 March 2004

Women's history, like history in general, isn't just a past-tense thing - it's always in the making. Hu Shixiang, deputy chief commander of China's manned space program, has announced that women will be recruited as potential taikonauts for space voyages starting next year, with candidates chosen from mainland China as well as from Hong Kong and Macau. I admit to a bit of skepticism regarding Hu's biologically deterministic view ("He said the meticulosity innate to women is helpful for smooth progress of space-based experiments") but I suppose one can't expect progress overnight regarding those who hold up half the sky (although I'd settle for not too much backsliding since that saying first became popular).