About
#Shirtstorm is an hashtag reaction to a peculiar shirt worn by British scientist Dr Matt Taylor during a public conference about the landing of spacecraft Philae on a comet.
Background
On November 12th 2014, European Space Agency spacecraft Philae achieved the first landing of a spacecraft on a comet in human history[1]. A first press conference was held on the day of the achievement. Another took place the following day, featuring Dr Matt Taylor wearing a strange colorful shirt, breaking with the commonly expected scientist labcoat or formal shirt (shown below).
Twitter Reaction
Tech writer, producer and The Atlantic journalist Rose Eleveth was the first to react on Twitter about the shirt, deeming it as sexist and unwelcoming of women in the tech industry (shown below).
Many twitter users gathered to discuss the shirt and its sexist implication in the science community, spawning the hashtags #shirtstorm[2] and #shirtgate[3].
Examples
Spread
The debacle was reported on several news websites such as CNN[4], The Telegraph[5] or Talking Points Memo[6]. Other more “feminism”: oriented websites such as The Verge[7] and Stem Feminish[8] blamed Taylor for his choice of attire and pointing out rampant sexism associated with it.
Public Apology from Matt Taylor
On November 14th, Taylor released a public apology on television, breaking down in tears. The event was covered by news websites as well, including Daily Mail[9] and The Guardian[10].
Backslash
[WIP]
External References
[1]Wikipedia – Philae Spacecraft
[2]Twitter – #shirtstorm
[3]Twitter – #shirtgate
[4]CNN– Philae researcher criticized for shirt covered in scantily clad women
[5]The Telegraph – Matt Taylor’s sexist shirt and the day political correctness officially went mad
[6]Talking Points Memo – Rosetta Scientist Sparks #ShirtStorm With Scantily Clad Women On Shirt
[7]The Verge – I don’t care if you landed a spacecraft on a comet, your shirt is sexist and ostracizing
[8]Stem Feminism – Astronomical Sexism: Rosetta #ShirtStorm and Everyday Sexism in STEM
[9]Daily Mail – Comet probe scientist breaks down in tears during live broadcast following criticism for his ‘sexist’ shirt featuring scantily clad women
[10]The Guardian – Rosetta scientist Dr Matt Taylor apologises for ‘offensive’ shirt