The Rebel Yell of America’s Long-Ago Stewardesses

Your backside barely fits.

There’s not much wiggle room but you’re grateful for the seat; you could use more leg room, but the inconvenience is worth it to see the world again. You were welcomed aboard, you don’t even mind the loud-talker in the seat in front of you and you’ll be taking off soon so now’s the time: Pull “The Great Stewardess Rebellion” by Nell McShane Wulfhart out of your carry-on and buckle in.

Patt Gibbs’ parents had given their children an interesting life. They’d traveled, owned retail businesses and restaurants, and each of the kids worked with the circus at one time or another. So when Patt was 19 and ready for change again, her cousin suggested she apply to be a stewardess with American Airlines – its Miami hub is one of the country’s busiest and has been since 1989 –  has been and it seemed like a good idea.

That was in 1961, and Patt moved to the “charm farm” to learn to walk in high heels, style her hair identical to that of her co-workers, wear the ultra-strict underwear-to-outerwear uniform and to cater to businessmen on the short flights she was assigned. It wasn’t until she accidentally became a member of the stewardess union – a time that coincided with the women’s rights movement – that she and her colleagues began to question those stringent rules, and others.

The government had just passed the Equal Opportunity Act, so why didn’t women have access to better jobs with the airlines? Why was the pay different for men and women for the same work? Why were men’s work rules more relaxed?

Stewardesses began to file grievances over issues, which led to lawsuits on behalf of a growing number of women in an industry that was itself growing. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission went to work. The Teamsters union was briefly involved. And every time Patt and her fellow stewardesses were denied better and equal working conditions, they found other ways to fight.

From the beginning in 1930, when Ellen Church became the first “stewardess,” female flight attendants labored under interesting and often chafing rules. So what happened? As Wulfhart shows in “The Great Stewardess Rebellion,” there were a variety of pressures from inside and out.

Primarily, though, the reason for change and for this book were the women who worked side by side with a burgeoning awareness of inequality. In Wulfhart’s stories, their predicaments seem, at first, merely old-fashioned – like the girdles they’re forced to wear and the bubble hairdos they must maintain – but as times change inside this book, so will readers’ minds. Outrage then expands and Wulfhart acts as a teacher of culture, showing how American society altered the way women worked and vice versa. That part of the story touches upon more than just white women’s rights, and it’s almost made for Hollywood.

What happened 50 years ago may bring to mind the issues flight attendants have today, which makes this book all the more relevant, astounding, cringey and cheerworthy, and you’ll admire your attendant doubly if you’re flying this summer. Whether you’re in business class or not, “The Great Stewardess Rebellion” is a book spending time with.

“The Great Stewardess Rebellion: How Women Launched a Workplace Revolution at 30,000 Feet” by Nell McShane Wulfhart. 320 pages. Doubleday Books. $30.