In 1972, flight attendant associations filed a series of class-action lawsuits against United, Pan Am, and Delta. The charges: forced retirement by age or marriage, weight discrimination, and the requirement that female—but not male—attendants remain childless.
Above all, you will understand that the airline hostess was never just a stewardess. She was a window into every major social battle of the 20th century: sex, race, labor, and the global reach of American culture. Come Fly with Us-- A Global History of the Airline Hostess
As one retired United attendant puts it in the final pages: "People still say to me, 'Oh, you must have had such a glamorous life.' And I say, 'Darling, glamour was the uniform. The life was the fight.' In 1972, flight attendant associations filed a series