Sally Ride, who died today after a 17-month battle with pancreatic cancer, was the first female U.S. astronaut in space and became friends with Tam O’Shaugnessy at the age of 12. It was not until today, however — nearly 50 years after meeting — that their 27-year romantic relationship was made public.
The pioneering scientist was, a statement from Sally Ride Science announced, survived by “Tam O’Shaughnessy, her partner of 27 years.”
With that simple statement — listed alongside her mother, Joyce; her sister, Bear; her niece, Caitlin and nephew, Whitney — Ride came out.
Bear Ride, Sally’s sister, who is also a lesbian, told Buzzfeed: “The pancreatic cancer community is going to be absolutely thrilled that there’s now this advocate that they didn’t know about. And, I hope the GLBT community feels the same.”
Interesting. It fuels the debate over when/if famous people are obliged to disclose that they’re gay. I’m old enough to remember living in Reagan’s America, and that would have been a bombshell, believe me.
The matter-of-factness of her obituary outing was a refreshing reflection on the current state of our society. Someday soon we might even progress to the point of not spending two days talking nonstop about it after the fact.
It’s just not fair that a great name like Bear Ride goes to a lesbian.