Flight before Feminism
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The "Fly Me" ad campaign, launched by National in 1971.
(National Airlines 1971)
(National Airlines 1971)
Sit pretty & Sell Seats
From the beginnings of commercial flight in the 1930s, flight attendants, the stewards of modern exploration, were held to restrictions on marital status, age, weight, and appearance, which grew increasingly draconian. Airlines used the flight attendants' sexy persona to attract customers. These "flying geisha girls" were subject to constant sexual objectification.
"Some of the restrictions such as the no-marriage rule and weight restrictions ended a career. The same restrictions forced some to hide a marriage, living in fear of being found out and losing their job. The weight restrictions surely damaged the health and self esteem of thousands of young women."
-Patricia Friend, former president of the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA), in a personal interview
"[With] the physical and behavioral requirements demanded of them which were recognized by them as unacceptable already, having male passengers and pilots that expected things of them certainly aided in igniting their revolution." |
Outfits worn by Southwest flight attendants. (Kim, 1972-4)
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a marketing tool
"...Airlines scrambled to win travelers' business with luxurious innovations in air transport and even more emphasis in fulfilling the promise of an attractive, attentive hostess." |
The job of the earliest stewardesses was to keep passengers calm and safe. However, as airlines resorted to new methods of competition, the sexy stewardess became their biggest asset. Through degrading marketing campaigns, stewardesses were trivialized and sexualized, and their work as safety professionals was belittled.
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A Jamaican Air advertisement using their stewardesses to sell seats (SWFR)
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(Southwest Airlines, 1972)
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(Braniff International, 1965)
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Examples of sexual references and objectifying outfits in 1970's airline commercials.
“Because service is one of the chief areas of competition among the lines, the companies increasingly are stressing the importance of the girls.” An ad from National Airline's "Fly Me" campaign, from 1971. A quote displayed on this ad was "I'm Pat. And I'll fly you like you've never been flown before." (SFWR)
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“... new revelations about women’s dissatisfaction with prevailing sexual attitudes and gender expectations could no longer be contained. American women had grown weary of the persistent patriarchal consensus that had relegated their social roles to happy housewives and doting mothers during the postwar boom years. Heavy governmental and public pressures led women to abandon their jobs in the workforce immediately after the war, yet, significantly… By 1960 women constituted 40 percent of the nation’s employees… however, this growing trend of female employment outside the domestic sphere conflicted with traditional values regarding gender roles … women were expected to concede top jobs to men, gracefully. Social attitudes about sexuality and acceptable gender roles became … registers of … conflict for women who, at once, were expected to remain virgins until marriage and be sexually alluring to men.” Gloria Steneim, pictured above in 1970, was an iconic figure of the second wave and helped introduce "lipstick" feminism, or feminism embracing traditional notions of femininity. (Bergeron, 2015)
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