With every great accomplishment made by a woman, there are at least 100 men lining up to diminish and degrade her. 

I can already hear the outrage of these same kinds of men just from reading the first sentence, but I cannot find it in myself to care. Yes, not all men do this; however, the hundreds of comments I have seen on social media regarding Christina Koch being the first woman to fly to the moon has me unwilling to care about the feelings of men. 

Ever since it was announced that a female astronaut was chosen to fly on the Artemis II mission, where a crew of four astronauts would fly around the moon and back to Earth, I have seen several misogynistic comments on social media about her. During live streams of the mission and since Koch returned to Earth, these comments have only increased in volume and crudeness. 

The comments I have seen have taken on a few different subtypes. There are the comments that complain about those congratulating Koch on being the first woman to fly to the moon, along with questioning why her accomplishment should be celebrated. There are comments that question Koch’s qualifications, despite her spending 338 days in space after the completion of the Artemis II mission. Then there are the comments that imply or state that Koch was only on the mission to sexually satisfy the male crew members. 

I do not think there are enough words in the English language to convey the disgust I felt when reading these comments. 

I have, mostly, made peace with the fact that there will always be men who will doubt the accomplishments and expertise of women. According to Koch’s brief biography on NASA’s website, she has been an astronaut for over a decade and has served as an engineer on multiple expeditions on the International Space Station. I find it both ironic and ridiculous that she is the astronaut facing allegations of being underqualified when Jeremy Hansen, the other mission specialist on the Artemis II mission, went to space for the first time during the Artemis II mission. 

The comments claiming that Koch was only sent to satisfy the male astronauts is simply misogynistic. There are other accurate adjectives to describe those comments, such as repulsive or abhorrent, but there is no justification that can be used for the men writing and posting these statements. 

The doubts of Koch’s abilities can be attributed to an outdated mindset. The complaints about her being celebrated for this accomplishment can be traced to a general disdain for acknowledging the barriers of marginalized groups. There are a million and one excuses that can be made for the negative comments Koch has been facing, except for the ones that reduce her down to a sex toy. 

I wish I could find some kind of lighthearted solution to this issue. I wish there was a witty retort I could make to stop all misogyny forever. But the fact of the matter is that there will always be repugnant men who will refuse to see women as people. 

I hope, for Koch’s sake, that she does not see just how vile the internet can be to a woman who did nothing but accomplish something great. But the world is not that kind, especially with men who are still typing away. 

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