Miniskirts, high heels and bikinis: Flight attendant uniforms limited to stereotypes even in MeToo era
In March, Japan Airlines removed the requirement that its female flight attendants should wear high heels or skirts after Japan's #KuToo campaign against workplace dress codes for women gained momentum. Japan Airlines became the first major company to relax its dress code regulations after its employees complained that having to wear high heels was uncomfortable and often left them in pain.
This development has brought into focus the sexism rampant within the airline industry. As airlines remain grounded during the ongoing pandemic, the female employees of major airlines are more at risk of losing their jobs in the subsequent fallout.
Japan Airlines is not the only airline company to come under fire for its dress code restrictions for women. Virgin Atlantic, belonging to UK businessman Richard Branson has been criticized often, not just for its dress code, but also its general treatment of the idea of women in the airline industry.
It was only last year that Virgin Atlantic told its female employees that they now don't have to mandatorily wear makeup in the air. They also said that they will provide the female crew with trousers as part of their standard uniform, rather than only providing them on request.
Meanwhile, British Airways dropped its rule that women could not wear trousers in 2016, but still requires its female crew to wear makeup. In fact, the cabin crew is expected to wear lipstick and blusher as a minimum. The more concerning aspect about British Airways' treatment of its female staff is, however, its policy surrounding maternity pay - there was reportedly 90% cut in pay for pilots and this came when the airline drew profits of more than $2.5 billion (£2 billion) in 2018.
Last year, Norwegian Air's dress code also invited criticism. It was revealed that female employees are required to wear make-up and heels that are at least two centimeters high, while male flight attendants cannot wear make-up or have long hair. The guidelines also stated that the female crew had to carry a doctor's note with them at all times if they wanted to wear flat shoes outside the cabin. These guidelines have since been rewritten.
Not to forget, Vietnam's VietJet, which grabbed headlines for its PR stunt which saw its flight attendants dress in bikinis. The staff was also made to do a dance mid-flight to celebrate its first flight from Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City to the country's tourist hub, Nha Trang. The airline was subsequently fined as they didn’t have permission from the aviation authority, yet that didn't prevent the low-cost airline from replicating the stunt with the Vietnamese under-23 football team onboard.
In 'Femininity in Flight: A History of Flight Attendants', author Kathleen Barry documented the evolution of flight attendants as well as their sexualization. The first female flight attendants began working on airplanes in 1930 and for the first several years often wore uniforms similar to nurse outfits before the industry moved on to other modest, customized attire. But over time, they were increasingly seen as sex objects.
But the sexism in the airline industry goes beyond dress code regulations. Advertisements have often, in the past, promoted little boys growing up wanting to be pilots, while little girls grow up wanting to serve drinks to customers. The role of a flight attendant is now less sexualized than it was perhaps 30 years ago. Old Pam-Am commercials showing male pilots surrounded by young women, (stewardesses) were the norm.
Moreover, advertisements for the airline industry often sexualized flight attendants. In the 1970s, airlines released an increasingly risque array of advertisements that objectified female flight attendants. Meanwhile, two Eastern Airlines employees, Sandra Jarrell and Jan Fulsom left their jobs over airlines’ weight limits and grooming regulations.
Regressive dress code policies are not unique to airlines from countries that are often viewed as being behind the times. It is eminent that airlines across the world need to revamp their policies regarding women and the first place they could start with, is in giving their female flight attendants the freedom to be comfortable in a stressful job.