Is this not absolutely outrageous?

Question

So apparently now random male airline workers are also authorized to tell women what they can and can't wear: http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/braun/20070905-9999-1m5braun.html . A girl was almost kicked off her flight to Tucson, AZ, for wearing a white miniskirt. Welcome to the Middle East.

Aww, poor airline workers, all distracted by women's clothes because, as we know, men are just brainless sex fiends who can't control themselves with beautiful women around.

This is absolutely horrifying and simply outrages me. It is plain and obvious sex-based discrimination and - I would even go so far as to say - harassment. Her skirt was NOT obscene; with her legs crossed, you couldn't see a thing. Even if her skirt was obscene, NO ONE would be able to see it while she was SITTING DOWN on the plane. Her top was more than modest. I plan to write to this woman to encourage her to file charges. Is this not completely outrageous?

Um, yes. It was a male. Please learn to read.

"I asked him what part of my outfit was offensive," she said. "The shirt? The skirt? And he said, 'The whole thing.'"

Yes, Kendrick. I'm glad you like to randomly accuse women of "hating" men and wanting to "chop off your penis." I would in fact wager that most women could not bring themselves close enough to your penis to remove it, so you really have nothing to fear.

When you are not allowed into a club for not tucking in your shirt, it is not sexual. It is not because "you will look too sexual to other people" because "your body is for looking at and I don't like how it looks." This, unlike your club example, *is* sexual. Like Carrie said, a woman's body is suddenly not her own; it's a spectacle and a freak show that people are encouraged to look at and judge. Her outfit was *not* sexy freak-show attire. Men's bodies are rarely sexualized in this way.

P.S. You also obviously didn't catch my irony. Policing women's clothing DOES INDEED SUGGEST that men are *brainless sex fiends*, which they are NOT. They are able to fly planes with passengers in short skirts.

Ha. Carrie, I'm not sure. But I found this kind of funny opinion piece on AlterNet: http://www.alternet.org/story/56562/ .

Answer 1

And perhaps the best part is, check out the outfits that Southwest flight attendants used to wear (second pic on the left): http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5739457

Can you IMAGINE? That is utterly ridiculous. Women's bodies are so incredibly politicized, it's sickening.

I can't help but mention that I absolutely hate her shoes, but that's just my inner snob talking. ;)

Answer 2

THANK YOU!!!! Finally a question in women's studies about an actual issue. I thought it had turned into a forum for men who hate women to air their vile opinions.

So, in other words about the article. She was asked to leave for being beautiful or somewhat attractive. What if it had been a fat guy wearing a pair of shorts and one of those large tank tops with his nipples showing?

Why is seeing a cleavage or legs on an attractive woman considered obscene to children? To all those who wrote that it is another example of the sexualisation of the female body, you are right. This goes along with the breast feeding in public "debate" (as if there is a debate).

If that were me, I would have quietly explained to him that I would be taking the airlines to court if "Keith" did not apologise for his offensive comments.

He basically told her to cover herself when the weird part is, I can bet that there would be at least 40 - 50 people on the plane reading fashion magazines or those gross "men's weeklies" (maybe, only in the UK) or FHM or one of those perpetuating the women as sex objects baloney and there would be a multitude of half-naked women in those.

She should bring charges against the airline. They should compensate her and I think if possible more women should boycott the airline until they issue an apology to her.

Answer 3

The airlines are highly subjective not to females but to males as well .

http://archive.salon.com/travel/diary/hest/2000/04/18/smell/print.html

However having said that from what i see i cannot fathom her being kicked off the plane for what she wore .

I saw video of her on fox if thats her outfit then the airline is in the wrong . Unless were not getting everything i cannot fathom why she was kicked off the plane .

If it went down like she said it went down she has a case for suing .

I definatly would like to hear whether it was the flight attendant who initated this or another passenger .

Also besides what is being said by Kyla i would like to hear from the airline from there perspective why that action was taken ......compleltley .

For now Kyla my recommnedations are to sue the bastards

Answer 4

What gets me about this story is the the airline said they have no dress code as long as "the important parts" are covered. So if some one wanted to they could get on that plane in a bikini or speedo and the airline can do nothing about it. That guy just had a stick up his a$$ and felt like being rude to someone. On her way home a stewardess from the same airline complimented her. That keith guy(the ******) should be reprimanded.

Answer 5

I saw this story today, and I also could not figure out what the problem with her outfit was. Did a fight break out over who would get to sit next to her?

I only say that because her clothing would be perfectly acceptable in, say, a high school... why not a plane? Were she older or weathered or in some way not a really, really pretty girl, would anyone have even noticed?

Just goes to show you, watch yourself on planes, these days they are throwing people off for anything.

I don't think it is outrageous, per se, but it certainly is confusing and unfounded. She definitely deserves a refund, if not additional compensation for being inconvenienced.

Most likely, some righteously indignant woman with a chip on her shoulder complained. That IS grounds for being tossed off a plane, anymore. Too bad. Of course, these days I hear stories about flight attendants trying to pick fights with patrons, just to get them thrown off. Very, very sad.

Carrie... the stewardess pic is AWESOME! And an excellent point... what is the difference between this girl's outfit and typical flight attendant garb, even 10 years ago? The boots? Love it. Great research.

Answer 6

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Answer 7

The one I saw on TV in a white skirt outfit, I'm guessing her undies showed when she sat down, assuming of course that she had.......... .
The brunette in the blue dress, well. If a guy tried to get on a plane with no shirt on his back, just a tie around his neck and see through slacks, they would probably give him a blanket too. Have you ever noticed? Gals like this are seldom wearing an A Cup bra? Drama queens, just want attention. Slow the rest of us down.

Answer 8

Not saying that all male flight attendants are gay, but I'm guessing this 'Keith' was a hater. Why? Because his failed attempts at dressing in drag were a chip on his shoulder. Her feminine sex appeal made him resent her becaue he knows he could never have that without gender surgery. I have quite a few gay friends, both male and female. The guys can be just as catty as girls (but i loooove them)!

My reason for why I think this happened aside, YES she should sue the airline. And for all those who think the airline was in the right, try and imagine where this imaginary line in the sand gets drawn, will you? There was nothing wrong with her attire, it was just how one person perceived it. What happens when the airline doesn't like what you're wearing? What if they just don't like the way you look? Are they going to start kicking people off who dodn't tuck in their shirts?

Kendrick, you'll get no pity from me. You should be old enough to know that certain clubs require certain attire. Like another pp said, you hadn't paid an exorbitant cover so there is absolutely no comparision.

To anyone who thinks her attire is innappropriate, then I'm guessing you live with the Amish????? Boy, you would sure hate to see what I wear day to day! LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!

Answer 9

Hey, I have no problem with it if a woman wants to dress pretty. And, yes, she ought to sue! And, yes, the male flight attendant ought to have for his punishment being dropped from an airplane at 30,000 feet without a parachute! And, yes, I do find it quite interesting that, of 34 posts to this thread, the two posters who claimed that this woman was "dressed like a prostitute" are both posting under female names. Neither of you has the foggiest idea what prostitutes dress like. And, by the way, for all those of you who complained about how this woman was dressed, what do you suggest she do? If she were to wear a g..d... burkah next time she gets on a plane, she'd no doubt be detained as a potential terrorista!

Answer 10

i seriously doubt flight attendants give a sh*t about what passengers wear. if you've ever worked in a field that involved customers, you've probably dealt with a customer that didn't like something about another customer and expected you to do something about it. the odds are pretty good that another passenger was bothered by the girl's attire and asked the staff to intervene. and as far as that girl being "beautiful", i think you're taking it a little far. did you actually see her picture? far from being a beauty queen. she's a hooter's waitress by trade and was on her way to a doc's appointment out of state. how much do you want to bet it was a plastic surgeon? in the age of lame lawsuits, the last thing she needs to do is file suit. it's not like anyone told her she had to go sit at the back of the plane.

Answer 11

I'm not quite sure what to make of this. Completely outrageous is not how I would term what happened. Before reading the article, I just looked at the picture so the reading wouldn't influence how I viewed her. I didn't find anything significant about what she was wearing. In fact, this sort of dress can be seen all over college campuses, sporting events, concerts, etc. That doesn't mean that it isn't obscene just that it is commonplace and/or not obscene to my personal tastes. I'm not so sure this is plain and simple sex discrimination. One would have to compare how many men have been kicked off a plane for wearing something obscene versus the number of women who were kicked of a plane for wearing something obscene while ruling out the fact that what they were wearing truly is obscene in this culture. I'm not a population so my personal opinion doesn't count for being a culture. This is an unfortunate incident no doubt about it.

The article states "Angelique, the agent who took my call, assured me that a young woman could [wear a bikini on the plane]". Either Angelique is grossly misinformed or the plane officials who asked the girl to change are. In order for this to be sex discrimination one would have to prove that she was the only woman wearing an outfit like this on the plane and that she was singled out because she was a woman. Either way this doesn't detract from the fact that this event was unfortunate, but 'absolutely outrageous' and 'sex discrimination' is a little presumptuous.