Sexism In The Mercury 13

“‘I am not content to sit back and listen to their silly excuses,’ Cobb wrote to Cochran, shedding her reserve, If anyone seriously doubted that women should be astronauts, let them prove it by gaining and testing women to see how they measure up, she fired back. ‘The qualification rules have been laid down for astronauts and although NASA say they have nothing against women, it just so happens that the requirements are such that no woman can meet them.’” (138). This passage connects with the rest of the novel because it expresses the fueling hatred Cobb had towards NASA for not allowing women to join their program or have the opportunity to fly their aircrafts. It is important because Cobb’s hatred and the sexism in NASA is the reason the Mercury 13 took their case to Capitol Hill, a pivotal change in the career of all the Mercury 13 members. The quote creates a message to tell the reader to question the status quo of society. By stating how Cobb disagreed with the requirements to become an astronaut it shows how Cobb desired to make a change so women could meet the requirements. Since Cobb is the main character, the reader is most likely to follow Cobb’s lead and learn the most from her life. The quote intrigues me because Cobb was mostly shy and polite, however, this shows how …show more content…
This paragraph still develops Cobb as a character because it describes how all of her efforts towards going to space weren’t pointless. Although she wasn’t able to go to space, she was able to witness Eileen Collin achieving their shared dream. Cobb knew that she had paved the way for Collin to travel to space. This is important because it relates to the theme of sexism because this was a monumental moment for the Mercury 13 because they succeeded in their fight against sexism and finally sent a woman into