Part 8/10:
This situation exposed the ongoing critique against performative celebrity activism. The notion that a brief, luxurious experience could serve as a representative act of ‘making space’ for women in the sciences struck many as insincere. As critics dubbed the entire fiasco "fulminism," a merger of feminism and fantasy, it called into question the motivations behind such acts. Are celebrities truly paving roads for others, or are they merely performing for applause, using acts of privilege to promote a veneer of activism?