The Jet Sex: Airline Stewardesses and the Making of an American Icon

Victoria Vantoch

Published by University of Pennsylvania Press 2013

The Jet Sex

Airline Stewardesses and the Making of an American Icon

Victoria Vantoch

https://doi.org/10.9783/9780812207743

Overview
Contents

About this book

Victoria Vantoch takes us on a fascinating journey into the golden era of air travel. The Jet Sex explores the much-mythologized stewardess within the context of the Cold War, globalization, and the emerging culture of glamour to reveal how beauty and sexuality were critical to national identity and international politics.

Author / Editor information

Victoria Vantoch is a journalist and historian whose work has appeared in the Washington Post, U.S. News and World Report, and the Los Angeles Times. She is the author of The Threesome Handbook and has a doctorate in history from the University of Southern California.

Reviews

"An original, evocative, and informative work that explores provocative questions about the place of the stewardess in American culture. With a flair for storytelling and for capturing the experiences of individual stewardesses, Victoria Vantoch also gives us a rich description of the development of a profession, the development of an industry, and the curious ways in which gender factored in at every turn."—Jennifer Scanlon, author of Bad Girls Go Everywhere: The Life of Helen Gurley Brown

"The Jet Sex is an impressive study of the stewardess as an American icon and a real human being. Those of us who came of age in the 1950s and 1960s can't help but remember her appeal as a model of beauty and of service in the magical realm of flying. Written in sprightly and compelling prose, the book should appeal both to scholars and to the general public."—Lois Banner, author of Marilyn: The Passion and the Paradox

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
Introduction Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
1. Flying Nurses, Lady Pilots, and the Rise of Commercial Aviation Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	9
2. The Rise of the Stewardess Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	27
3. Breaking the Race Barrier Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	58
4. A New Jet-Winged World Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	91
5. Vodka, Tea, or Me? Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	125
6. From Warm-Hearted Hostesses to In-Flight Strippers Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	153
7. Beautiful Beehives and Feminist Consciousness Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	186
Notes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	215
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	273
Notes on Sources Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	281
Acknowledgments Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	285

(Deutsch)

Language: English
Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press
Audience: General/trade;
Pages
- Main content: 296
Illustrations
- Other: 30 illus.
Keywords: American History; Women's Studies; Gender Studies; American Studies; Gender Studies

eBook

Published: March 5, 2013
ISBN: 9780812207743