People have been left outraged after a list of 19 requirements to be a flight attendant in the 1950s went viral. The list includes 11 rules and regulations referencing the attendant’s appearance
People have been left outraged over a 1950s list of 19 requirements for becoming a flight attendant, which shockingly included having ‘nice hands’ and a ‘good carriage’.
The list, called Qualifications for Stewardess, had just one educational requirement amidst a slew of appearance-based rules.
Dubbed The Golden Age of air travel, the ’50s saw many ex-war pilots take to commercial skies, with women dominating the stewardess role due to lower wages compared to men.
According to the National Air and Space Museum: “Sexist restrictions caused a large turnover of women, but airlines could pay them less than men, who tended to stay in their jobs longer.
“Airlines promoted a glamorous image of female flight attendants to attract male passengers.” In those days, stewardesses, or ‘hostesses’, were typically young, attractive, unmarried, white women, until Ruth Carol Taylor broke barriers as the first African American flight attendant in 1958.
Published by Chicago and Southern Air Lines in 1954, the list reads:
- Single – Not engaged.
- Between the ages of 22 and 28
- Between 5’2 and 5’5
- Between 100 and 120 pounds
- Good eyesight (No glasses)
- Good teeth (Even no gold showing when smiling)
- Good figure
- Slender legs
- Natural colour to hair
- At least four years of college or two years of college and two years business experience
- The ability to carry on a lively conversation
- Good carriage
- Even temper – must not become provoked by demands of passengers
- Willing and anxious to please
- Willing to transfer
- Citizen of the United States
- Excellent health
- Clear skin
- Nice hands
Reddit users have been vocal about the archaic standards, with one commenting: “This reads like a bunch of dudes sitting around a typewriter with one of them occasionally saying: ‘Oh and don’t forget ______’.” Another shared a personal anecdote: “My mum managed to get in because she was very pretty, and smart. She was 19, nothing beyond her high school education.”
One person shared: “She had a good head on her shoulders, passed their difficult training, and quit after a few years because it was disgusting being grabbed all the time by passengers and pilots.”
Another person said: “I love how literally everything is superficial. All about looks and such. And then, oh yeah, four year college degree required…” The Travel Academy states that the only physical requirements to become a flight attendant are a height range of 4”11 to 6’4 and no facial piercings, apart from a classic earlobe piercing, while tattoo policies vary between airlines.