THE GREAT STEWARDESS REBELLION

A New York Times contributor examines how airline stewardesses stood up to their misogynist industry.

When 19-year-old Patt Gibbs interviewed to become a stewardess in 1961, she had no fondness for the “high heels, makeup, [and] girdles” or expectations for “Barbie-slim[ness]” she associated with the job. What she did have was youth and status as an unmarried woman at a time when airlines pushed stewardesses into retirement once they reached their 30s or married. Wulfhart, a seasoned travel reporter who has also written for Travel + Leisure, Bon Appétit, and other publications, interweaves Gibbs’ personal story with a larger narrative of how female flight attendants struggled to build long-term careers built on benefits and good wages rather than the promise of glamour and adventure. Like her future colleagues, Gibbs’ professional journey began at “the charm farm,” a stewardess college that trained women in emergency procedures, personal stylishness, and what the promotional material called “the gracious art of making people happy.” Yet Gibbs, who was “coming into her own as a lesbian” though not “out,” was disciplined almost immediately for violating sexist airline rules like not wearing white gloves at all times and riding a motorcycle to work. Drafted into a weak stewardess union, Gibbs went from reluctant member to one of its leading spokespeople. Over the next several years, she and her union colleagues struggled against dress codes that forced stewardesses into miniskirts, flimsy paper dresses, and go-go boots. Gibbs led the fight to join with the then-male dominated Transport Workers Union for expansion of flight attendant rights and then spearheaded a new, woman-led Association of Professional Flight Attendants in the 1970s when the TWU faltered in its promises to help the stewardesses reach their goals. Accompanied by occasional black-and-white images, this engaging narrative offers a fascinating look at how the intersection of the women’s and labor movements helped a little-discussed, female-dominated profession achieve viability and respect.

An informatively readable combination of cultural and feminist history.