See Jane Fly

Feminism in Aviation

For all our nostalgia about the “Golden Age of Air Travel”, it was more mythical than we like to think.  As with other forms of transport then, until the 1970s, commercial and military aviation were strictly gendered and racist divisions of labour, both in the cockpit and cabin.  This book outlines the impacts and effects this had.

For all our nostalgia about the “Golden Age of Air Travel”, it was more mythical than we like to think.  As with other forms of transport then, until the 1970s, commercial and military aviation were strictly gendered and racist divisions of labour, both in the cockpit and cabin – piloting was a lifetime career for white men, “stewardessing” a temporary one for women.  Western culture was built upon images of men as chivalrous knights, cowboys, and soldiers — all living rugged manly lives, their greatest joy the comradeship on cattle drives, or men-of-war or in the trenches. In reality, by the beginning of the twentieth century, few males had ever been cowboys or seen active military service. Nevertheless, fueled by paperback novels and later Hollywood, the mythology persisted. National identity was defined by masculinity- in the United States it was the cowboy, in Australia the “digger” and in Canada, the lumberjack, the Mountie and since the last war, the air ace. Women in pulp fiction and movies were either the faithful forgiving wife and mother, the schoolmarm - or the dance hall prostitute. Pilots were defined by their training, professionalism, and their courage in the air. To frightened passengers – and that was everyone then, whoever sat in the flight deck was omnipotent. One learned professor even cited Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution, proposing that those who became pilots had evolved from birds and the remainder of humanity from fish and would never be able to fly a plane! Women were defined by their domesticity as mothers and homemakers. Airlines recruited them for their femininity, to be substitute mothers, wives, and daughters to look after male clientele.  “The association of commercial flying and maleness” wrote Albert James Mills in “Sex, Strategy and the Stratosphere: the gendering of airline cultures.” was largely achieved through the exclusion of women.”

UK Delivery:

• Free delivery on all orders of £10 or more.
• £1.49 delivery fee on orders below £10.
• UK orders are shipped via Royal Mail 2nd Class.

International Delivery:

• Flat rate delivery charges vary by country.

Dispatch and Delivery Times:

• All orders are shipped from our warehouse in Northampton, UK within 48 hours of receipt during working hours.
• UK mainland orders typically arrive within 3-5 working days via Royal Mail 2nd Class.
• International estimated delivery times:
• Europe & Channel Islands: 7 to 10 working days
• USA: 7 to 15 working days
• Rest of the World: 9 to 21 working days

View our full delivery infomation here.