On March 26, 2017 two young girls who were flying standby on United Airlines were stopped for wearing leggings. The internet reacted and United was subjected to a lot of criticism. What the internet did not know was that the two girls were flying with an employee pass--meaning they are then expected to abide by the dress codes of employees of the airline. However, there are still criticisms about the dress codes being very gendered.What I find interesting about this whole debate is the emphasis on the culture of people who would dress up to go on an airplane, primarily in the past. What made dressing up on an airplane the norm? When did that norm change? Who still follows the norm? How do airlines feel about the attire of their passengers?
It seems that when air travel started gaining popularity, the only consumers were those who could afford the high price tag, which may have started the norm of dressing up to fly on an airplane. In the 1930’s, a the longest flights (12,000 miles), when adjusted for inflation, could cost up to $20,000. In the 50s, a Huffington Post article says that a Chicago to Phoenix ticket could cost over $1,500 when adjusted for inflation. There were probably very few people who could afford to travel by air, and those who could likely prioritized dressing up in everyday lives anyway.
However, according to an article by Christopher Muther of The Boston Globe, there were in fact dress codes associated with air travel, especially dress codes and standards for the stewardesses. Suzy Strutner from the Huffington Post says, “ A flight attendant manual mandated that stewardesses be single, stay under 125 pounds, and maintain “high moral standards” during employment” (Strutner). This norm seems to have changed somewhat, but a woman fitting that description is likely the person serving you on an airplane.
When looking into the question of “when did people stop dressing nicely on airplanes”, one must look no further than the 1970s. According to Muther of the Boston Globe, “The decade ravaged good taste, and that included the way people dressed on airplanes. It started in 1978, when President Jimmy Carter signed the Airline Deregulation Act into law. When deregulation occurred, airfare pricing wars commenced” (Muther). This theory follows nicely with the idea that only the rich and famous could afford air travel in the beginning, so once prices dropped, so did standards of dress.
An airport, in my opinion, is one of the best places to people watch. You see basically every walk of life in an airport. So, when in an airport, the people I see that still abide by the old dress codes are older people, perhaps of the baby boom generation--people like my parents--and the younger generation dubs sweatpants and sweatshirts if not yoga pants and basketball shorts. There are, of course, outliers and people in between, but I have to wonder if the younger generation values comfort over style or if styles have become more casual since air travel’s prime.
I was surprised to find that the dress codes of United Airlines looked a lot like the codes at my public high school in Utah--no midriff, cleavage under control, no miniskirts, shorts and skirts must be at most three inches above the knee, no form-fitting lycra clothing, or generally provocative clothing, just to name a few. These specifications are arguably targeting of women and in my opinion are sexist. They reinforce the idea that women are often held to higher standards of dress.
There are many opinion articles on the internet today that advocate for dressing up during air travel. They enumerate benefits like possibly getting an upgrade, or saving space in your suitcase. However, while there might be some truth to those points, for the most part, airlines don’t necessarily dictate what an individual wears when he/she has paid for a plane ticket--keyword being paid. My understanding is airlines are generally pretty lenient with what an individual wears because there is so much airline competition for passengers. Some people might not be happy with someone in sweatpants and flip-flops, but all in all, there really won’t be a punishment.
Works Cited
Farrell, Paul. “United Airlines Dress Code: 5 Facts You Need to Know.” Heavy, 26 March 2017,
http://heavy.com/news/2017/03/united-airlines-dress-code-spandex-leggings/. Accessed 9 April 2017
Muther, Christopher. “What happened to the glamour of air travel?” The Boston Globe, 6
September 2014, https://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/travel/2014/09/06/what-happened-glamour-air-travel/D2tH33b60WzmIkKPmUQMBP/story.html. Accessed 9 April 2017
Novak, Matt. “What International Travel Was Like in the 1930s.” Paleofuture, 27 November
2013, http://paleofuture.gizmodo.com/what-international-air-travel-was-like-in-the-1930s-1471258414. Accessed 9 April 2017
Strutner, Suzy. “This is What Your Flight Used to Look Like (And it’s Actually Crazy).” The
Huffington Post, 15 June 2014, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/15/air-travel-1950s_n_5461411.html. Accessed 9 April 2017
“How two teens in leggings became a PR mess for United Airlines” CNBC, 28 March 2017,
I thought this post was very intriguing. I did further research on the topic, wondering if men also had the same kind of dress restrictions placed on them while flying standby as women, and they don't. The rules applied focus mainly on females: No midriffs showing, no undergarments showing, mi i skirts, short shorts, spandex pants and dresses. The only rules that may apply to men was the rule that you can't wear any clothing with derogatory terms. When rules are in place like this, we continue to see how social institutions reiterate sexism and a stratification between males and females. You did a good job about v=bringing this continuing disparity into light.
ReplyDeleteI found this post very interesting. It brings a lot of controversy to light when thinking about sexism and how women are often discriminated based upon what they are wearing. They are held to a higher standard of appropriate attire while doing basically anything. The story that you told also brought to light the differences in generation. You wanted to dress comfy vs your mom wanting you to dress more "appropriate" brings to light the idea that airlines are stuck in the past in an old system.
ReplyDeleteI thought that this post brought some really good points in to focus. I wonder if we can connect these "dress codes" to our understanding of what cultural capital is. Dress is often a signifier of wealth and wealth allows for social mobility in a stratified society. Having the means to use air travel also allows for physical mobility, which in this day and age could be a sign of social mobility because those flying have enough money to do so. I wonder if there are other connections to be made between cultural capitalism and air travel.
ReplyDeleteI thoroughly enjoyed this post. It was relevant and informative in regards to a topic I previously knew nothing about. After reading some of the comments as well, I find it shocking that these codes are only imposed on female passengers. This seems sexist and unfair. It is interesting that because you are flying for free, they can impose specific regulations for you. In a more thorough study, I think it would be interesting to see what kind of deviance from these regulations is most likely to be overlooked or disregarded. This is informal deviance but can have a major effect on the way people travel and make their travel preparations. United's dress code regulations also seem like a pretty explicit form of stratification, imposing specific regulations over a group of people, thus asserting power over them. It would be interesting to see what other large companies have similar, seemingly hidden policies.
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