The societal perspective of women of different occupations, which is not something limited to once culture, but globally.
Flight Attendant
I looked at my boarding pass. It said 10 B. The pair welcomed me in. It was not new to me. The pairs who stood at the entrance of every air craft, clad in their uniforms, looked beautiful and smart. Their tidiness, perfectness, posture, smile, language, etc, etc. One could go on and on bragging about their appearance and behaviour. The flight attendants.
“Hello ma’am, please go straight in and your seat is on the right; and have a pleasant flight ma’am!” It was the same greetings and those same words. I was used to this. But I made sure that I wait to listen to their soft words that came out of their smiling faces. I could not remember the number of times I had flown. I loved flying. I loved the take off – especially when you were able to see those little wheels go right into the big airliner which swishes into thin air.
I sat on the aisle seat. I usually preferred the window. But this time I was not bothered so much when I made the bookings. I was able to clearly see one of the Flight Host getting ready for the safety demonstration. Everyone had settled and the engine was making a big booming sound. Most of the passengers had their ear phones plugged on and listening to music on their iPods. Another some were already dozing off as if they had been awake for days. Few were busy with their little ones, while others read. I felt I was the only one giving attention to the handsome young ‘host’, as if I was seeing those demonstrations for the first time in my life. A feeling of distress took control over me. It was heart breaking to see this young man performing his job well, and still no one had the decorum to at least pretend they were watching. I continued to watch.
I stood there, in the same position. I was also dressed well in something similar to this one here. I remembered those days when I had so wanted to be noticed and given attention. Politeness, kindness and smiles were taken for granted at times. But then it was not so bad for me; just because I was a female attendant. I was an air hostess then. And in the blue skies, a female had a voice. There was always this excessive and unnecessary attention exchanged between the air hostesses and the passengers - only because she was pretty, and clothed in attractive outfits and fair painted faces.
So it was not with the ‘male hosts’. Was this also gender discrimination? ‘Gender Discrimination’. One of those big words used by the INGOs. Nowadays everyone appears to be using this. It was kind of a fashion.
A sudden nod from the air host’s direction brought me to full conscious. I offered a smile of gratitude at him in return.
Now I can read. I took out the book which I had been reading the past days – A Thousand Splendid Islands, by Khaled Hosseini. I turned to where I had left. The flight took its departure.
Your story took me back to the early days of flying and when flying became more commercial and every day. I haven't flown for over 20 years because of my difficulty flying with paralysis. Before that, I flew frequently, including flying around the world.
In the early days, only the rich could fly. Flight attendants, then called stewardesses, had to be registered nurses because there was always the threat of illness or injury that had to be taken care of quickly on board. However, by the time I started flying, the 707 had revolutionized flying and made it more affordable every year although all stewardesses were still women and they had to be beautiful like the woman from my high school who became one. But the duties changed from making the passengers safe and comfortable to becoming well-dressed waitresses serving drinks to drunk, smoking passengers who made passes at the stewardesses every chance they got.
What I liked about flying in those days was talking to fellow passengers and enjoying the chats. I always found people who slept on planes to be either frightened of flying or sleep deprived. There were the magazine readers, but once you got their attention, they usually would open up and talk. Flights went quickly when there was good conversation.
It's all about business. Everybody flies even though driving might be a better option. Airlines now fill cattle cars with people who fly on the spur of the moment if they have the cash and find the whole process so boring that they have their noses in their smart devices until they fall asleep from boredom. Men have entered the "flight attendant" realm as waiters to people who don't tip them and demand things they don't need, often angry and willing to fight over ridiculous things.
Soon this will all change. Rich people will fly subspace at ridiculous speeds. Average and poor people will take the supersonic train between cities and who knows if anyone will ever converse with anyone in these venues again. We are all quickly becoming a part of the lonely crowd.
Pecked to Death offers a refreshing perspective on managing the chaos of everyday life, encouraging you to take control and prioritize what truly matters.
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