The Jet Sex Airline Stewardesses and the Making of an American Icon (Audible Audio Edition) Victoria Vantoch Donna Postel University Press Audiobooks Books
Download As PDF : The Jet Sex Airline Stewardesses and the Making of an American Icon (Audible Audio Edition) Victoria Vantoch Donna Postel University Press Audiobooks Books
In the years after World War II, the airline stewardess became one of the most celebrated symbols of American womanhood. Stewardesses appeared on magazine covers, on lecture circuits, and in ad campaigns for everything from milk to cigarettes. Airlines enlisted them to pose for publicity shots, mingle with international dignitaries, and even serve (in sequined minidresses) as the official hostesses at Richard Nixon's inaugural ball. Embodying mainstream America's perfect woman, the stewardess was an ambassador of femininity and the American way both at home and abroad. Young, beautiful, unmarried, intelligent, charming, and nurturing, she inspired young girls everywhere to set their sights on the sky.
In The Jet Sex, Victoria Vantoch explores in rich detail how multiple forces-business strategy, advertising, race, sexuality, and Cold War politics-cultivated an image of the stewardess that reflected America's vision of itself, from the wholesome girl-next-door of the 1940s to the cosmopolitan glamour girl of the Jet Age to the sexy playmate of the 1960s.
Though airlines marketed her as the consummate hostess-an expert at pampering her mostly male passengers, while mixing martinis and allaying their fears of flying-she bridged the gap between the idealized 1950s housewife and the emerging "working woman." On the international stage, this select cadre of women served as ambassadors of their nation in the propaganda clashes of the Cold War. The stylish Pucci-clad American stewardess represented the United States as middle class and consumer oriented-hallmarks of capitalism's success and a stark contrast to her counterpart at Aeroflot, the Soviet national airline. As the apotheosis of feminine charm and American careerism, the stewardess subtly bucked traditional gender roles and paved the way for the women's movement. Drawing on industry archives and hundreds of interviews, this vibrant cultural history offers a fresh perspective on the sweeping changes in twentieth-century American life.
The book is published by University of Pennsylvania Press.
The Jet Sex Airline Stewardesses and the Making of an American Icon (Audible Audio Edition) Victoria Vantoch Donna Postel University Press Audiobooks Books
When passenger flights started to become common in the 1930s, the co-pilot was the one who helped carry luggage and passed out blankets. As the number of flights and passengers increased, the airlines realized they needed a dedicated employee in the cabin to assist with passengers. The turbulent nature of early flight meant many passengers became airsick and so the first flight attendants were trained nurses. Since nurses were almost all women at the time, so were flight attendants.This quirk of history has created a fascinating test tube in which to observe how the job evolved and how we look at the person doing the job. Victoria Vantoch has examined the social history of flight attendants through interviews, advertising, newspaper and magazine articles, and found that how flight attendants have been perceived and how they've been used, reveals a lot about America in the mid 20th century.
The job morphed from nurse/hostess to waitress in the sky to ambassador to the world. During the Cold War, American stewardesses represented our superiority over the Russians by being more attractive than Aeroflot stewardesses. They could have their equality, what was it worth if their women weren't as good looking as ours?
With the 1960s came youth culture and miniskirts and ads that featured stewardesses inviting customers to "Fly me!" Another ad at the time assured the public that the stewardesses (or perhaps the planes themselves) "really move our tail for you!" At the same time, flight attendants were beginning to organize and protest the sexist rules that required them to quit by age 32, be fired if they became pregnant, resign if they married, be fired if they missed their required weight standards. Something had to give.
Meanwhile, black women found themselves shut out of the job and had to sue the airlines to be hired. It took years in the courts before the airlines ever so grudgingly began to hire black women.
I was surprised to find out how difficult it was to become a flight attendant -- even after they didn't have to have a nursing degree, they still had to have some college, a second language, and be able to converse on a variety of topics. In addition to the beauty pageant training ("Poise counts!), they had to be resourceful and self-assured.
The Jet Sex is an enjoyable exploration of attitudes and roles, it's well researched and thoroughly documented with end notes. Recommended!
Also recommended -- Airborne Dreams: “Nisei” Stewardesses and Pan American World Airways.
(A side note -- I rented this kindle edition for thirty days at a significant discount from the full price. I hope this option becomes available for more books!)
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The Jet Sex Airline Stewardesses and the Making of an American Icon (Audible Audio Edition) Victoria Vantoch Donna Postel University Press Audiobooks Books Reviews
I had high hopes for this book, and I was not disappointed. This book had so much information on aviation and the trials of a stewardess that I'd thought about before. I'd never expected to enjoy this book so much, but it was one of the best I've read in a while. I highly recommend reading it.
A brilliantly written book about the history of a fine occupation. While I love the book jacket, it does not do justice to the intelligent writing inside. I absolutely loved this book.
It's Victoria Vantoch. Enough said.
As a fan of her previous book and writing voice, I was curious to see how a historical thesis book would hold up. The writing is refined and informative. I learned so much about the history of stewardesses and their immense role in the shaping of the modern world. Would definitely recommend to anyone interested in the subject, or to those who work or worked in the profession. I saw Ms. Vantoch speak about this book and it is clear she is deeply invested in the topic.
First of all, I don't normally seek out history books to read since I lean more toward the scientific and I simply don't enjoy reading most history books. This book was a departure for me in that regard, but when I saw it I was intrigued because I grew up in the era and remember vividly wanting to be a stewardess. I was entertained, learned some things I was not aware of previously, and thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It is well written and seems to be well-researched. I highly recommend it.
If you came here because of Misha, do yourself a favor and read this book seriously...not just because his wife wrote it. It's a serious, scholarly look at the subject and deserves to stand on its own merits.
I'll admit that I ordered this book to get a peak inside the head of the lady who married Misha Collins. I'm a big Supernatural fan. But her writing is excellent on it's own. I want my niece, who's 8 now, to read this book when she's older, so she can see how far women have come in fairly recent years in the jobs they are now able to do. Not that they weren't able to do the job before, but society couldn't handle women in roles of authority.
Had no idea that stewardesses started off required to be nurses! Lots of information and it's a good read. Sometimes a bit too much like a text book than what I was looking for, but I learned a lot. The pictures of advertising from different eras makes me happy to be a woman now and not then. Lots and lots of footnotes, which I love, cause if there's something you want to know more about, they give you a place to start researching.
I was a teenager during the "coffee, tea or me" era of advertising. Until reading this book I had no idea that stewardesses were involved in the women's rights movement. It's annoying how many women who wanted to be pilots wound up being stewardesses cause they couldn't get pilot jobs, but loved flying so much that they just had to be in the air. It's due to them that women can become pilots now.
If you have an interest in the airline industry in the early days up till the 70's, or the women's rights movement, you need to read this book.
This book gives an in-depth, critical view of an American culture that is often portrayed in media, but never really explored. I bought this to work on my Master's thesis, and ended up being pleasantly surprised by the readability, even in a non-academic sense; my thesis ended up changing centuries, so the book didn't quite make it into my citations, but I finished reading it (while on a flight!) anyway, just for pleasure. If you like history, feminism, airplanes, or in general just learning new things, this book doesn't disappoint.
When passenger flights started to become common in the 1930s, the co-pilot was the one who helped carry luggage and passed out blankets. As the number of flights and passengers increased, the airlines realized they needed a dedicated employee in the cabin to assist with passengers. The turbulent nature of early flight meant many passengers became airsick and so the first flight attendants were trained nurses. Since nurses were almost all women at the time, so were flight attendants.
This quirk of history has created a fascinating test tube in which to observe how the job evolved and how we look at the person doing the job. Victoria Vantoch has examined the social history of flight attendants through interviews, advertising, newspaper and magazine articles, and found that how flight attendants have been perceived and how they've been used, reveals a lot about America in the mid 20th century.
The job morphed from nurse/hostess to waitress in the sky to ambassador to the world. During the Cold War, American stewardesses represented our superiority over the Russians by being more attractive than Aeroflot stewardesses. They could have their equality, what was it worth if their women weren't as good looking as ours?
With the 1960s came youth culture and miniskirts and ads that featured stewardesses inviting customers to "Fly me!" Another ad at the time assured the public that the stewardesses (or perhaps the planes themselves) "really move our tail for you!" At the same time, flight attendants were beginning to organize and protest the sexist rules that required them to quit by age 32, be fired if they became pregnant, resign if they married, be fired if they missed their required weight standards. Something had to give.
Meanwhile, black women found themselves shut out of the job and had to sue the airlines to be hired. It took years in the courts before the airlines ever so grudgingly began to hire black women.
I was surprised to find out how difficult it was to become a flight attendant -- even after they didn't have to have a nursing degree, they still had to have some college, a second language, and be able to converse on a variety of topics. In addition to the beauty pageant training ("Poise counts!), they had to be resourceful and self-assured.
The Jet Sex is an enjoyable exploration of attitudes and roles, it's well researched and thoroughly documented with end notes. Recommended!
Also recommended -- Airborne Dreams “Nisei” Stewardesses and Pan American World Airways.
(A side note -- I rented this kindle edition for thirty days at a significant discount from the full price. I hope this option becomes available for more books!)
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