Consideration for Grimes Lesbian Space Commune
Space theorist Layla Martin provides a feminist perspective on recent events
Original work Gabrielle d'Estrées and One of Her Sisters (1594) artist unknown. Layla Martin created the NFT Grimes and One of Her Sisters (2021)
I kept a copy of the Communist Manifesto in the freezer when I lived in Los Feliz. It served as a reminder to slow down and consider the preferences of rational decision makers. Like agreeing to your third margarita in Bangkok, some ideas are good in theory but not in practice. Information asymmetry, and too much tequila, may both lead to epic failures.
When Grimes was photographed reading the Communist Manifesto last week, I was curious how she would be received. On Twitter, she wrote, “[p]aparazzi followed me to a shoot and I tried to yield the most onion-ish possible headline and it worked ha ha.”[1] The partner of the world’s richest man reading an analytical approach to class struggle hit a nerve with people. Was it because she was reading? Or was it what she was reading? Was it that the photograph was staged (as if practically every photograph is not)? Was it that Grimes is media savvy and a performance artist? I wonder how many people who commented on the photo have actually read the Communist Manifesto. I have, which is why I put it in the freezer.
Paradise is lost here on Earth. Elon intends to colonize Mars and Grimes suggests a ‘lesbian space commune’ on Europa.[2] When asked about his vision of the future, Elon stated, “We don’t want to be one of those single-planet species; we want to be a multi-planet species.”[3] When I’ve questioned the feasibility, necessity, and reality of such a goal, I am accused of getting in the way of science, progress and the future of humanity. I am told that I lack intelligence. Actually, it was more like, “you suck”, “u r dumb” and “u should uze google to lrn how space works.”
Grimes’ original statement to Page Six was, “I’ll be colonizing Europa separately from Elon for the lesbian space commune”[4] which was reported as a joke.
“Grimes is joking that she wants to colonize one of Jupiter's moons following her split from Elon Musk.” Page Six. 27 September 2021
“[t]he Canadian singer joked” People Magazine. 28 September 2021
“[G]rimes has joked about her plans” NME. 29 September 2021
“Page Six added that Grimes’ response was “tongue-in-cheek,” which – because it’s Grimes we’re talking about here, after all – was a necessary clarification.” UK News. Yahoo. 28 September 2021.
Grimes proposed ‘lesbian commune’ is dismissed out of hand. Why are Elon’s future space ambitions (mostly) regarded as possible, as truth, with respect and awe while her ideas are marginalized, dismissed and ridiculed? Taking into consideration the understanding that Musk is a space expert with a demonstrated history of success, let us contemplate a “what if?”
What if Grimes weren’t joking about the lesbian space commune? What would she envision about how we interact with space? As confidant and advisor to a noted space pioneer, and the world’s richest man, Grimes certainly has her own perspective about the future of space. We don’t really know what that is, and we should.
Gabrielle d'Estrées played a similar role to Henry the IV of France. She was thoughtful, articulate and bright. Gabrielle acted not only as Henry’s companion, he considered and enacted her suggestions. In 1593, her opinion persuaded him to renounce Protestantism in favor of Catholicism. Six years later, Henry presented Gabrielle with his coronation ring, depicted as a symbol of her allegiance to the King in the painting Gabrielle d'Estrées and One of Her Sisters (1594). Often mistaken as a voyeuristic opportunity to witness two lesbians at play, the painting serves as an example of bias, misunderstanding and misinformation. The woman seated in the background, at the fire, is boiling water to prepare for a birth. Gabrielle is in labor and holds the King’s coronation ring. Her sister is demonstrating that Gabrielle’s milk has come in, for she is about to have Henry’s child.[5]
Space theories and cultural development both require accurate measurements. Dimensional analysis ensures consistency in the definition and use of units. Applied to space science, Newton's laws of motion describe the relationship between the motion of an object and the forces acting on it. The third law states that all forces between two objects exist in equal magnitude and opposite direction. It’s unfortunate that the law of equal and opposite force does not apply to women in relation to power, bias and distorted feminism.
I don’t keep a copy of Newton’s Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica in the freezer but I have a bottle of tequila and a bikini in my trunk, just in case.
[1] Grimes on Twitter. October 2, 2021.
[2] SpaceX and was recently awarded a contract worth $178 million (£129 million, AU$241 million) to provide launch services for a Jupiter moon mission.
[3] “Elon Musk wants SpaceX to reach Mars so humanity is not a ‘single-planet species’” By Michael Sheetz. CNBC. April 23, 2021.
[4] https://pagesix.com/2021/09/27/grimes-jokes-about-a-lesbian-space-commune-amid-elon-musk-split/
[5] The NFT attached to this piece is a modern take on Gabrielle d'Estrées and One of Her Sisters (1594) and depicts Grimes as Gabrielle. Original artist unknown. Layla Martin created the NFT Grimes and One of Her Sisters (2021).