New York Times accused of sexism after obituary to brilliant rocket scientist leads with her cooking

Nice to see a liberal icon falling foul of its own rules

She was one of the first female rocket scientists in the U.S. but the New York Times decided to lead an obituary for Yvonne Brill with her penchant for cooking beef stroganoff and being 'the world's best mom'.

The obituary opened with the following: 'She made a mean beef stroganoff, followed her husband from job to job and took eight years off from work to raise three children.'

The Grey Lady met the ire of several high-profile scientists and scholars following the publication of the obituary which led to a plethora of angry reactions on websites like the Daily Beast and Jezebel.

Brill was awarded a National Medal of Technology and Innovation by President Barack Obama in 2011.  Writing for Jezebel, Doug Barry chided the newspaper for burying the quite obvious lead.

'Oh yes, by the way, Number One Mom Yvonne Brill, Preparer of Divine Beef Stroganoff, Cleaner of Messy Diapers, also invented a little system that helped make satellites work. It's nothing, really, just the industry standard.'

CNN Editor and Daily Beast Washington Bureau Chief Howard Kurtz also wrote a rebuke to the obituary. 'Would a male scientist have drawn such an obit opening about his great fatherhood skills? Obviously not.'

Shortly after the uproar, the obituary for Brill was altered with a new introduction that at least introduced her career as a rocket scientist.

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Posted by John J. Ray (M.A.; Ph.D.).