British Airways - lipstick

[foolishpeach]

I just caught up on last week's A Very British Airline, and I am really that Jodie was kicked off the training course for not reapplying her lipstick often enough.

The stupid prat who fired her didn't seem to be wearing any lipstick and neither did any of the male recruits.

It is just another example of standards being different and more onerous for women.

When I was a bit younger I always wanted to be cabin crew. I had interviews with Ba, Jal, virgin and various charters. All the grooming standards were the same pretty much. I have friends who work in charters, budgets and ba and the standards are still the same now if not worse with some also insisting you keep your bmi at 20.

It's no longer my dream job. Not worth the hassle for 24 hours in Sydney once every 5 years!

I think I remember that air crash episode sashh.

I think that there are already fairly large numbers of male cleaners and nurses - I know that I often see 'male attendant' signs in toilets when out and about, and when DS was in hospital there were a few male nurses (more male nurses than male consultants actually)

I don't understand the need for identikit either - in other careers with uniforms (eg. the forces) the grooming standards are for practical reasons. It seems that it's only when it's a job originally aimed at women that the grooming standards are for 'beauty' foremost.

Airlines that advertise their wonderful luxurious business and first class facilities: Emirates, Virgin, BA, Singapore. Cathay Pacific did too.

Airlines that advertise with beautiful female crew in lots of makeup: Emirates, Virgin, BA, Singapore. Also CP.

Airlines that don't bother advertising luxury: Lufthansa, Kuwait Air, American, SAS if they're still going. Airlines that manage safety just fine without caking female crew in makeup: see above.

Beautiful women equals luxury, especially when most business flyers are still male.

Female teachers, barristers, nurses, university lecturers and doctors all manage to confer quite enough authority without looking like an Elizabeth Arden advert. It should be the same for cabin crew.

Boffin quite.

I am an academic and it is very noticeable that the people who wear make up and look "put together" are very often administrators - nothing against that but it is a typically female role.

Academics and senior managers are much more likely to be dressed in toned down clothing and have no or minimal make up or jewellery.

That's a generalisation of course. But I do think that actually, a sober and make up free appearance in a woman indicates "I am senior enough not to have to think about eyeliner".

An admin colleague of mine got,told off recently for wearing trainers when moving some heavy items. I regularly wear jeans and tshirt and no earrings to work and no one has ever batted an eyelid.

This is all about coding cabin crew as sexy servants, not authority figures.

It is a disgrace that sexism like this still happens - but amazed that BA allowed it in the final cut

Well that because they don't see it as sexism.
Women should make sure that they look their best, and that means covering themselves in makeup doesn't it?

And the fact that a single tone/colour of lipstick is going to look different on different skin tones matters not a jot. Someone somewhere has decided that lipstick colour A is the perfect colour and if it doesn't suit you well that's your fault for not having the right skin tone.

I like wearing makeup, for years I didn't see it as a feminist issue unless someone was telling me to wear it or not to wear it, if you know what I mean. Its crept up on me that while I don't see it that way many others do.

I've started to notice that I'm treated differently depending on whether I'm wearing it or not, in some situations treated more seriously for being barefaced, others not.

she got fired from the course because she failed too many of the safety procedures. they gave her several chances but she still couldn't reach the standards required unfortunately.

I have always liked the idea of working as an airhostess but not I wouldn't want to get a got at ba.. That's not even just high standards.. That's rediculius