It’s funny at first, and then not so funny when you think about this Eastern Airlines ad from the 1960’s. Anyone who flew back then remembers what a pleasant experience it was- passengers dressed up and the planes were decorated in lush colors. There was more space, better food and shorter lines. In those days you MET interesting people on flights. This ad reminds one that stewardesses actually had frequent weigh-ins in order to keep their jobs. Imagine if MEN were held up to standards like these! Women have made progress since Eastern Airlines among many others, belittled them, but they still have a long way to go. At least half of the people in public office should be female. Vote accordingly.
Above, among the “losers” – a dead ringer for Ali MacGraw in the front row and the tallest one in the back is a Jean Shrimpton lookalike.
12 Comments
This really pisses me off. Revoltingly sexist. I’m so grateful I wasn’t an adult in those times, and just want to say: “THANK YOU” to all the baby boomers/second wavers who worked their butts off to change the horribly misogynistic world we lived in. Hail Second Wavers! Third Wave, don’t be complacent, we still have a lot of work to do! And Janet, I can assure you, I vote accordingly.
I’m with Georgie! And by the way, that IS Ali in the front row… I “enlarged” her on my iPhone and it IS her. Makes sense because at the time this photo was taken, she had done some modeling and also worked as a photographer’s assistant in NYC… this photo predates “LOVE STORY” by a few years… Which tells me that every other “girl” in this picture is actually a model… all told to look dour and wear really ugly clothes! 🙂
The flight attendants of Eastern Airlines were a valiant, and beautiful lot. Look up Eastern Airlines flight 401–a flight attendant led the passengers to safety, in the dark, in a swamp, after the plane crashed.
TOTALLY AGREE #1 Georgie – I thank God I was born in the 1960’s and NOT an adult then. It would have been a frustrating time for me. Meryl Streep was complaining about Walt Disney and the writers of his time being non women, well many years had to go by for that to change. Can’t stand it when if one tries to even protest immediately one says “feminist, dragon lady, bit%%, etc” but its okay for the guys. Its my life and I only have so much time on the planet. Please let me deliver the best that I can. FIGHT ON!
Well said fellow posters! High fives to you all!
…….so I will fly with them.
I once wrote Eastern Airlines a letter and told them how bad their food was, and darned if I didn’t get a letter back from Frank Borman, former astronaut and president of Eastern Airlines apologizing for my bad experience! He told me they would try hard to make their food tastier. What a hoot that was!
I agree with the women posting on this board. Thankfully we were babies when this was going on, and not actually living it. Keep up the fight!
Exactly! That’s not a dead ringer for Ali MacGraw, that IS Ali Macgraw!
She did alot of print ads back in the 1960’s before she became a movie actress.
50% of them today would be full on lesbo’s!
Yeah,virtually anybody can be a stew (oops! “flight attendant!”) now–no matter how old, fat or ugly. You call that progress?!? In early air travel, stews were classy looking, as were the passengers–who today will practically fly in their pajamas and slippers! Yecchh!
Good lord listen to all of the winy, entitiled, fat women on this site!
Away from the keyboard and go service your man from under the kitchen table while he reads the funnies. Then thank him!