Come Fly with Us: A Global History of the Airline Hostess (just published by University of Chicago Press) is not a nostalgic scrapbook of retro uniforms. It is a sharp, deeply researched, and often unsettling look at how a single job became a battlefield for race, gender, labor rights, and global capitalism.
Above all, you will understand that the airline hostess was never just a stewardess. She was a window into every major social battle of the 20th century: sex, race, labor, and the global reach of American culture. Come Fly with Us-- A Global History of the Airline Hostess
You will meet the woman who flew for TWA during the "Golden Age" and secretly had an abortion using a crew doctor. You will meet the first Black flight attendant hired by a major U.S. carrier in 1962—and the white passengers who refused to sit in her section. You will meet the Japanese "sky girl" who sued her airline for the right to wear trousers. Come Fly with Us: A Global History of
The word "hostess" has all but disappeared from the industry. But its history remains embedded in the jumpseat. Come Fly With Us is not a light beach read. It is a work of serious labor history, rich with archival photos, oral histories, and statistical analysis. But it is also deeply human. She was a window into every major social