Gay male flight attendants I’m So Exced: The history of the gay steward stereotype.

Contents:

• THE GAY-FRIENDLIT AIRL THE SKI
• HOW THE GAY AIRLE STEWARD BEME A STEREOTYPE
• THE GAY FLIGHT ATTENDANT
• WHAT A GAY FLIGHT ATTENDANT’S LOST DISCRIMATN CASE SAYS ABOUT LGBTQ RIGHTS CHA
• WHY AIR FRANCE'S GAY FLIGHT ATTENDANTS STILL HAVE TO FLY TO TEHRAN—FOR NOW
• DON'T ARGUE WH THE GAY FLIGHT ATTENDANT
• UTAH’S ARUP BLOOD SERVIC TO EASE RTRICTNS ON GAY, BISEXUAL MALE DONORS
• HOW THE GAY AIRLE STEWARD BEME A STEREOTYPE

THE GAY-FRIENDLIT AIRL THE SKI

The historic flight took off on the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Inn raids, which are nsired one of the first major events of the gay rights and liberatn movement the flight parted Philalphia Internatnal Airport (PHL) for New York-LaGuardia (LGA) and was operated wh an Embraer E-190. The Gay-Friendlit Airl the SkiThis post ntas referenc to products om one or more of our advertisers.

For an explanatn of our Advertisg Policy, vis this recent years, many airl have woken up to the tth that our gay brothers and sisters are here, they're queer and they love to travel. As we wrap up Natnal LGBT Pri Month — and celebrate SCOTUS' momento lg for gay marriage —I'm takg an -pth look at which airl are showg their te rabow lors.

While we n never top the always-hilar Pam Ann's A-to-Z Airle Gui, here's a look at the gay-iendlit airl the THAT's a iendly sky! In the hands of another pany, s 2010 PR mpaign to have the first -flight gay and lbian weddg ceremoni would have been nothg more than a stunt. SAS is also a member of the Stockholm Gay and Lbian Network, and partners wh VisSwen the US, which promot Swen as a leadg LGBT urty of Leonard Zhovsky / ShutterstockDelta Air LNext on our list of fav is Delta: Not only has the airle been rporate a sponsor of and participant yearly Pri events ("NYC Pri, LA Pri, Utah Pri Ftival, Motor Cy Pri, Seattle PriFt, Tw Ci Pri, Atlanta Pri and Pri Toronto, among other ftivals"), but has proudly claimed s mment to LGBT employe as well:We are proud to have been signated one of the Human Rights Campaign's (HRC) "Bt Plac To Work" for LGBT employe 2010 and 2011, and we ntue to earn near-perfect sr on HRC's Corporate Equaly Inx ever sce.

HOW THE GAY AIRLE STEWARD BEME A STEREOTYPE

That's walkg the lov the gays, and shows! Amerin AirlAmerin Airl is on our list of gay-iendly fav, as well. The airle was certaly ahead of the pack 2007 wh s Pk Flight, which featured a drag queen stewarss, pk airplane food and a shirtls petn on s way om SFO to the Gay and Lbian Mardi Gras the plane got primped!

Photo urty of Peapple then 2010, an otherwise amg -flight safety vio featurg the All Blacks gby team had a weirdly homophobic moment (start at 2:55) that sparked enough plats to have the vio pulled. Among the are Athlete Ally, Boston Gay Men's Chos, Empire State Pri Agenda, Natnal Lbian & Gay Journalists Associatn, New York Cy Anti-Vlence Project, PFLAG NYC, Transgenr Legal Defense & Edutn Fund and pri celebratns at s foc ci Long Beach, CA and San Juan, Puerto Ri. Some mentary on Pedro Almodóvar’s new edy I’m So Exced has noted that rerc gay stereotyp, particularly the characters of s sassy male flight attendants, who are all gay.

When did the gay steward bee such a mon stereotype? Some stewards were hired back after returng om World War II—often out of a sense of loyalty or patrtic duty—but bee they performed what was nsired “women’s work, ” they were thought to be effemate and were therefore spected of beg homosexual, acrdg to the bias of the time. This perceptn was further rerced when the killg of a gay male flight attendant a “lover’s lane” Miami brought the stereotype to the headl of sensatnal stori the Miami Daily News.

THE GAY FLIGHT ATTENDANT

In the macho, homophobic years of the 1950s, this provoked a crackdown on the cy’s unrground gay muny, and stori like the were seen as evince that gay people were “perverts. ” Many airl (some of which traed their stewards Miami) turn quietly did away wh hirg stewards, both gay and straight. Ever sce, men have generally prised about 15 percent of flight attendants, pendg on the airle, and a high percentage of the men returng to the ranks of the flight attendant rps the 1970s were gay.

For gay men, there were many reasons to bee a flight attendant— wasn’t jt the willgns of many to do stereotypilly feme work. As Tiemeyer wr, “the aisl and galleys of airplan, as well as crew hotels and crash pads, served the same role that other gays and lbians found bars: a place where they uld meet others like themselv and even embrace their same-sex sir for the first time.

And I’d walk through termals, and I knew if there were gay men, they’d be lookg at me. So how many flight attendants were and are gay? They timated that “between 30 and 50 percent of male flight attendants were gay the 1950s, and between 50 and 90 percent the 1970s.

WHAT A GAY FLIGHT ATTENDANT’S LOST DISCRIMATN CASE SAYS ABOUT LGBTQ RIGHTS CHA

Homosexualy is not illegal Cha and was officially removed om a list of mental disorrs 2001. After the vio of him kissg his worker went viral, Chai said he was taken asi by a senr manager who told him that homosexualy was agast “socialist re valu, ” and asked him to rema silent on the topic.

WHY AIR FRANCE'S GAY FLIGHT ATTENDANTS STILL HAVE TO FLY TO TEHRAN—FOR NOW

Peng Yanhui, who heads the Cha Rabow Media Awards, an LGBTQ rights advocy group, said pani rarely fire LGBTQ employe “explicly” for beg gay.

Although Chai rerd some of his supervisor’s homophobic remarks – cludg llg homosexualy “abnormal” – durg their nversatns, Zhong said the airle sisted urt that those reprented personal opns, not a rporate posn. Chai remembered tim when workers mocked more effemate gay flight attendants at Cha Southern – he said he stayed quiet to avoid unwanted attentn.

DON'T ARGUE WH THE GAY FLIGHT ATTENDANT

After he was outed by the vio, he said many fellow gay employe retreated further back to the closet for fear of beg targets themselv.

UTAH’S ARUP BLOOD SERVIC TO EASE RTRICTNS ON GAY, BISEXUAL MALE DONORS

Sce 2016, Che censors have banned portrayals on TV and onle of what they see as “abnormal sexual behavrs, ” cludg gay relatnships.

Many of the untry’s current lears grew up durg the Cultural Revolutn the 1960s and ’70s, when thori attempted to purge any “non-socialist” elements – cludg homosexualy – om Che society.

“LGBTQ employe are still forced to live a lie a place where they spend so much time, ” said Peng, the gay rights advote.

HOW THE GAY AIRLE STEWARD BEME A STEREOTYPE

“It may be an executive’s personal opn that homosexualy is abnormal or immoral – but if there is a workplace equaly law, what that executive thks won’t matter anymore.

After readg Chai’s story, Liu, who is gay, left an angry ment on the official Instagram page of Cha Southern, which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and had been rapidly expandg s global work before the panmic.

“As a gay passenger, I wouldn’t want to spend any money flyg your airle.