1 00:00:01,600 --> 00:00:03,066 ANNOUNCER: The following program contains the use 2 00:00:03,066 --> 00:00:05,200 of racial epithets in historical context 3 00:00:05,200 --> 00:00:07,566 and to recount personal experiences. 4 00:00:07,566 --> 00:00:09,600 Viewer discretion is advised. 5 00:00:16,166 --> 00:00:22,833 ♪ ♪ 6 00:00:29,133 --> 00:00:32,533 ♪ ♪ 7 00:00:35,166 --> 00:00:38,066 CASEY GRANT: Stewardesses were glamorous. 8 00:00:40,400 --> 00:00:43,900 They were beautiful. 9 00:00:43,900 --> 00:00:46,000 They were poised. 10 00:00:47,633 --> 00:00:49,600 It just looked like the world was theirs. 11 00:00:49,600 --> 00:00:50,866 And I wanted that life. 12 00:00:53,866 --> 00:00:55,266 I just can't wait to see all the places 13 00:00:55,266 --> 00:00:56,533 I've heard so much about: 14 00:00:56,533 --> 00:00:58,800 Paris, Rome, Bangkok, Buenos Aires... 15 00:00:58,800 --> 00:01:00,866 ♪ ♪ 16 00:01:00,866 --> 00:01:03,933 ANN HOOD: How many small town girls like me 17 00:01:03,933 --> 00:01:05,966 looked at a flight attendant and thought, 18 00:01:05,966 --> 00:01:07,966 "That's the best job in the world"? 19 00:01:07,966 --> 00:01:10,766 MAN: Rosemary, 20 00:01:10,766 --> 00:01:13,800 I'd like to talk to you about your coffee service. 21 00:01:13,800 --> 00:01:16,566 You've been pouring from too high. Oh? 22 00:01:16,566 --> 00:01:19,033 JULIA COOKE: No other job offered 23 00:01:19,033 --> 00:01:21,433 as much freedom, 24 00:01:21,433 --> 00:01:24,033 with such a high cost of conformity. 25 00:01:24,033 --> 00:01:29,133 ♪ ♪ 26 00:01:30,433 --> 00:01:34,933 MARY PAT LAFFEY INMAN: We were not expected to have opinions. 27 00:01:34,933 --> 00:01:36,966 We were to serve 28 00:01:36,966 --> 00:01:39,066 and look glamorous. 29 00:01:39,066 --> 00:01:41,533 JOAN RIVERS: Where is the stewardess 30 00:01:41,533 --> 00:01:44,266 where a woman wants her, huh? Huh? 31 00:01:44,266 --> 00:01:45,666 Nowhere, busy with the men. 32 00:01:45,666 --> 00:01:47,366 Coffee, tea, what you will, hello, hello, hello. 33 00:01:47,366 --> 00:01:49,700 Hey, uh, how 'bout some coffee? 34 00:01:49,700 --> 00:01:51,200 And make it hot. 35 00:01:51,200 --> 00:01:54,800 CELESTE LANSDALE BRODIGAN: Selling sex instead of safety. 36 00:01:54,800 --> 00:01:56,733 (soft chuckle) 37 00:01:56,733 --> 00:01:58,533 Oh, excuse us. Excuse us. 38 00:01:58,533 --> 00:02:00,166 Remember what it was like before there was somebody else 39 00:02:00,166 --> 00:02:01,166 up there who loved you? 40 00:02:01,166 --> 00:02:03,566 Remember? 41 00:02:03,566 --> 00:02:05,033 I hated that. 42 00:02:06,400 --> 00:02:09,100 KATIE BARRY: Airlines hired these women who are independent and curious. 43 00:02:09,100 --> 00:02:10,700 And it's amazing to me 44 00:02:10,700 --> 00:02:13,500 that airlines would expect that they would be a docile group, 45 00:02:13,500 --> 00:02:14,566 because why would they be? 46 00:02:14,566 --> 00:02:16,533 (sign chimes) 47 00:02:16,533 --> 00:02:19,066 TWA has been shut down for more than a month 48 00:02:19,066 --> 00:02:21,033 by a strike of stewards and stewardesses. 49 00:02:21,033 --> 00:02:27,666 ♪ ♪ 50 00:02:29,433 --> 00:02:31,066 SONIA PRESSMAN FUENTES: I don't think we realized 51 00:02:31,066 --> 00:02:33,100 what a revolutionary thing we were doing. 52 00:02:33,100 --> 00:02:36,800 PATRICIA IRELAND: Stewardesses played a major role 53 00:02:36,800 --> 00:02:38,766 in launching the women's movement. 54 00:02:38,766 --> 00:02:42,833 DOROTHY SUE COBBLE: They took up economic issues, 55 00:02:42,833 --> 00:02:45,200 but they also focused 56 00:02:45,200 --> 00:02:50,066 on issues having to do with appearance, grooming, 57 00:02:50,066 --> 00:02:54,000 and control over women's bodies. 58 00:02:54,000 --> 00:02:56,100 VICKI VANTOCH: How did these women go from 59 00:02:56,100 --> 00:03:01,433 conforming to gender stereotypes 60 00:03:01,433 --> 00:03:04,433 to fighting for gender equality in the workforce? 61 00:03:04,433 --> 00:03:06,866 (protestors speaking indistinctly) 62 00:03:06,866 --> 00:03:10,233 KATHLEEN HEENAN: I was a TWA flight attendant. 63 00:03:10,233 --> 00:03:12,633 But I was an activist in the change. 64 00:03:12,633 --> 00:03:14,566 I was there. 65 00:03:14,566 --> 00:03:16,500 (crowd chanting) 66 00:03:16,500 --> 00:03:19,633 ♪ ♪ 67 00:03:27,400 --> 00:03:30,800 (car engine rumbling) 68 00:03:33,300 --> 00:03:36,166 (plane engine buzzing in distance) 69 00:03:38,266 --> 00:03:39,833 INMAN: One of my best friends, 70 00:03:39,833 --> 00:03:43,266 she had a brother who bought this Corvette. 71 00:03:43,266 --> 00:03:46,333 (car engine revving) 72 00:03:46,333 --> 00:03:47,966 We would be out on the road 73 00:03:47,966 --> 00:03:49,333 and she'd say, 74 00:03:49,333 --> 00:03:50,833 "Well, where do you want to go?" 75 00:03:50,833 --> 00:03:53,666   And I would say, "Let's go to the airport." 76 00:03:56,700 --> 00:03:59,900 HOOD: When I was in high school, 77 00:03:59,900 --> 00:04:01,500 I convinced my friend Nancy 78 00:04:01,500 --> 00:04:06,166 that we should go on a trip when our junior year ended. 79 00:04:07,866 --> 00:04:09,666 And that June, off we went. 80 00:04:09,666 --> 00:04:11,633 I shopped for a week 81 00:04:11,633 --> 00:04:13,300 for the outfit I was going to wear on the flight. 82 00:04:13,300 --> 00:04:16,733 (indistinct chatter) 83 00:04:16,733 --> 00:04:21,033 UNDRA MAYS: My first flight, I was about eight or nine. 84 00:04:21,033 --> 00:04:25,066 We were all dressed up; 85 00:04:25,066 --> 00:04:27,566 socks with the little lace 86 00:04:27,566 --> 00:04:29,300 all around the edges of it. 87 00:04:29,300 --> 00:04:31,366   I thought, "This is just like Easter." 88 00:04:31,366 --> 00:04:34,900 ♪ ♪ 89 00:04:34,900 --> 00:04:39,633 I'd been on boats before and I thought, 90 00:04:39,633 --> 00:04:44,833 well, this was going to be similar to a boat. 91 00:04:44,833 --> 00:04:49,166 ♪ ♪ 92 00:04:49,166 --> 00:04:52,433 When we started to roll, 93 00:04:52,433 --> 00:04:54,633 "Oh, this is more like a rollercoaster." 94 00:04:54,633 --> 00:04:58,533 ♪ ♪ 95 00:04:58,533 --> 00:05:00,266 HOOD: I remember the takeoff. 96 00:05:00,266 --> 00:05:01,766 (ringing sound) 97 00:05:01,766 --> 00:05:06,433 I remember playing with the air. 98 00:05:06,433 --> 00:05:08,433 You know, I had my own little vent, 99 00:05:08,433 --> 00:05:10,600 gently putting a breeze on my face. 100 00:05:10,600 --> 00:05:12,633 ♪ ♪ 101 00:05:12,633 --> 00:05:17,666 I couldn't believe when they gave me food. 102 00:05:17,666 --> 00:05:20,666 They put my breakfast down and it was delicious. 103 00:05:20,666 --> 00:05:23,900 Scrambled eggs, and those little sausages, and a fruit plate. 104 00:05:23,900 --> 00:05:27,866 And I just was dazzled from the minute I stepped on that plane. 105 00:05:27,866 --> 00:05:31,500 ♪ ♪ 106 00:05:42,300 --> 00:05:44,533 MAYS: I thought, 107 00:05:44,533 --> 00:05:48,466 "Oh, this has to be what heaven feels like. 108 00:05:48,466 --> 00:05:50,133 ♪ ♪ 109 00:05:50,133 --> 00:05:53,866 I've got to be close to heaven." 110 00:05:53,866 --> 00:05:59,166 It was the most beautiful thing I had experienced, 111 00:05:59,166 --> 00:06:00,500 just being in the air. 112 00:06:00,500 --> 00:06:02,166 ♪ ♪ 113 00:06:02,166 --> 00:06:03,966 (seagulls squawking) 114 00:06:14,200 --> 00:06:17,566 ♪ ♪ 115 00:06:22,933 --> 00:06:26,500 (indistinct talking) 116 00:06:28,266 --> 00:06:31,533 COOKE: So many of our advances as humans come from travel. 117 00:06:31,533 --> 00:06:34,866 Go! (propellers whirring) 118 00:06:34,866 --> 00:06:36,366 COOKE: It is an incredibly human impulse, 119 00:06:36,366 --> 00:06:39,600 and yet it was really restricted 120 00:06:39,600 --> 00:06:42,033 for women until the 20th century. 121 00:06:42,033 --> 00:06:46,666 ♪ ♪ 122 00:06:54,233 --> 00:06:56,033 (crowd applauding) 123 00:06:56,033 --> 00:06:57,800 These new technologies came around, 124 00:06:57,800 --> 00:07:01,933 enabling humans to move around, 125 00:07:01,933 --> 00:07:04,766 and women really wanted to be a part of it. 126 00:07:06,233 --> 00:07:09,633 ♪ ♪ 127 00:07:09,633 --> 00:07:11,866 HOOD: Ellen Church was a registered nurse, 128 00:07:11,866 --> 00:07:14,966 but she got her pilot's license. 129 00:07:14,966 --> 00:07:17,300 She knew that aviation was the future. 130 00:07:17,300 --> 00:07:19,200 (propellers whirring) 131 00:07:19,200 --> 00:07:21,333 TIEMEYER: But because airlines 132 00:07:21,333 --> 00:07:26,300 refused to countenance that a woman could be a pilot, 133 00:07:26,300 --> 00:07:29,200 Ellen's idea was, 134 00:07:29,200 --> 00:07:30,666 "All right, if they're not going to let me be a pilot, 135 00:07:30,666 --> 00:07:32,966 at least maybe they'd let me be a flight attendant." 136 00:07:32,966 --> 00:07:35,000 (engine running) 137 00:07:35,000 --> 00:07:39,233 KATIE BARRY: In the late 1920s, you see an experimental era, 138 00:07:39,233 --> 00:07:43,100 where some airlines are trying out different models 139 00:07:43,100 --> 00:07:44,766 of cabin service. 140 00:07:44,766 --> 00:07:47,066 The most obvious model would be Pullman porters. 141 00:07:47,066 --> 00:07:49,233 (train bell ringing) 142 00:07:49,233 --> 00:07:51,700 MIA BAY: But there's a longstanding association 143 00:07:51,700 --> 00:07:56,533 between technological know-how and white supremacy. 144 00:07:56,533 --> 00:07:59,066 And they do not think that Black people 145 00:07:59,066 --> 00:08:02,033 have the kind of authority to kind of help people 146 00:08:02,033 --> 00:08:04,300 through the challenges of flying. 147 00:08:04,300 --> 00:08:07,200 COBBLE: So the airlines thought, 148 00:08:07,200 --> 00:08:11,533 "We probably want white men because this might be a position 149 00:08:11,533 --> 00:08:16,500 where you would get promoted into management." 150 00:08:16,500 --> 00:08:20,233 ♪ ♪ 151 00:08:20,233 --> 00:08:24,100 HOOD: Ellen Church went to San Francisco 152 00:08:24,100 --> 00:08:27,500 to the office of what would later become United Airlines. 153 00:08:27,500 --> 00:08:29,333 And she went to an executive and she said, 154 00:08:29,333 --> 00:08:32,666 "I think if there were nurses on airplanes, 155 00:08:32,666 --> 00:08:35,066 "more people would fly. 156 00:08:35,066 --> 00:08:36,500 "You're trying to attract passengers, 157 00:08:36,500 --> 00:08:38,666 "but people think it's dangerous. 158 00:08:38,666 --> 00:08:39,666 "People get sick. 159 00:08:39,666 --> 00:08:43,866 "A nurse would be a calming person 160 00:08:43,866 --> 00:08:46,566 and we'd be able to take care of passengers." 161 00:08:46,566 --> 00:08:49,833 (engine whirring) 162 00:08:49,833 --> 00:08:54,300 Planes weren't pressurized, so they flew under 10,000 feet. 163 00:08:54,300 --> 00:08:56,566 And that means you feel every bump. 164 00:08:56,566 --> 00:08:59,033 It was always turbulent. 165 00:08:59,033 --> 00:09:03,700 VANTOCH: There were no circulation systems. 166 00:09:03,700 --> 00:09:07,400 So you could smell hot oil, 167 00:09:07,400 --> 00:09:09,766 and the disinfectant used to clean up 168 00:09:09,766 --> 00:09:13,000 after airsick passengers. 169 00:09:13,000 --> 00:09:14,666 (indistinct chatter) 170 00:09:14,666 --> 00:09:21,533 To go from coast to coast, it took 28 hours at minimum. 171 00:09:21,533 --> 00:09:27,166 Often planes would get grounded in the middle of nowhere, 172 00:09:27,166 --> 00:09:29,633 passengers would have to wait for several days 173 00:09:29,633 --> 00:09:31,866 until the weather cleared. 174 00:09:33,100 --> 00:09:35,466 It was really a big adventure, 175 00:09:35,466 --> 00:09:39,166 (chuckling): instead of a reliable way to travel. 176 00:09:40,933 --> 00:09:43,466 TIEMEYER: It was a harrowing thing, to fly. 177 00:09:43,466 --> 00:09:48,766 You couldn't get a life insurance policy to cover you 178 00:09:48,766 --> 00:09:51,500 if you flew on airplanes 179 00:09:51,500 --> 00:09:53,633 because the death rate was something 180 00:09:53,633 --> 00:09:56,833 that no one wanted to insure. 181 00:09:56,833 --> 00:09:59,166 ♪ ♪ 182 00:09:59,166 --> 00:10:01,066 BARRY: The idea is that 183 00:10:01,066 --> 00:10:03,933 if you're encouraging people to fly, especially men, 184 00:10:03,933 --> 00:10:06,900 at a moment when flying can seem very scary... (laughs) 185 00:10:06,900 --> 00:10:10,366 ...if you put young white women on an airplane, 186 00:10:10,366 --> 00:10:11,866 then they're going to think, 187 00:10:11,866 --> 00:10:13,766 "Well, if these young white women are fine with flying, 188 00:10:13,766 --> 00:10:15,333 I should be fine with flying too." 189 00:10:15,333 --> 00:10:18,000 ♪ ♪ 190 00:10:18,000 --> 00:10:21,000 COOKE: Ellen Church was convinced that women would want to do this, 191 00:10:21,000 --> 00:10:22,866 and she was absolutely accurate. 192 00:10:22,866 --> 00:10:25,200 They showed up in huge numbers. 193 00:10:25,200 --> 00:10:28,566 ♪ ♪ 194 00:10:28,566 --> 00:10:32,866 COBBLE: The focus on only hiring women 195 00:10:32,866 --> 00:10:34,533 had a lot of advantages, 196 00:10:34,533 --> 00:10:36,266 the airline executives thought. 197 00:10:38,233 --> 00:10:41,833   TIEMEYER: The airlines started to realize the passengers 198 00:10:41,833 --> 00:10:44,566 were more attracted to having a woman do the job 199 00:10:44,566 --> 00:10:48,066 (chuckling): for the charm that she brought, 200 00:10:48,066 --> 00:10:49,900 the attractiveness that she brought 201 00:10:49,900 --> 00:10:53,233 to an otherwise exceptionally unpleasant experience. 202 00:10:53,233 --> 00:10:57,100 ♪ ♪ 203 00:11:03,133 --> 00:11:07,866 (ship whistle blaring) 204 00:11:07,866 --> 00:11:09,966 (passengers cheering) 205 00:11:11,566 --> 00:11:13,966 IRELAND: During World War II, 206 00:11:13,966 --> 00:11:15,633 women had worked in all kinds 207 00:11:15,633 --> 00:11:17,066 of non-traditional jobs. 208 00:11:17,066 --> 00:11:19,466 (cheers and applause) 209 00:11:19,466 --> 00:11:23,200 When the soldiers and sailors came home, 210 00:11:23,200 --> 00:11:24,600 there was a concerted effort 211 00:11:24,600 --> 00:11:28,033 to push women out of the workplace. 212 00:11:28,033 --> 00:11:31,366 (band playing, crowd cheering) MAN: March of the troops! 213 00:11:31,366 --> 00:11:33,333 Masses of manpower! 214 00:11:33,333 --> 00:11:34,833 IRELAND: Women who were poor 215 00:11:34,833 --> 00:11:38,533 or women of color ended up going back to lower-paying jobs. 216 00:11:38,533 --> 00:11:43,633 Middle-class women were expected to go home. 217 00:11:43,633 --> 00:11:46,933 ♪ ♪ 218 00:11:49,066 --> 00:11:51,266 Margaret, I'm home! 219 00:11:51,266 --> 00:11:52,500 MARGARET: We're in the kitchen. 220 00:11:54,800 --> 00:11:58,566 IRELAND: Growing up in the 1950s, it was very clear to me 221 00:11:58,566 --> 00:12:00,300 what women's roles were supposed to be. 222 00:12:00,300 --> 00:12:02,666 FILM NARRATOR: The American home. 223 00:12:02,666 --> 00:12:06,666 Today, it is perhaps the most important job in the world. 224 00:12:06,666 --> 00:12:09,200 IRELAND: It was reflected in television, 225 00:12:09,200 --> 00:12:11,133 and it was reflected in the books I read. 226 00:12:11,133 --> 00:12:13,133 It was reflected in the examples used 227 00:12:13,133 --> 00:12:15,033 in my school lessons. 228 00:12:15,033 --> 00:12:18,933 SHOW ANNOUNCER: "Father Knows Best." 229 00:12:18,933 --> 00:12:20,433 I absorbed that. 230 00:12:20,433 --> 00:12:23,033 I didn't question it at all. 231 00:12:23,033 --> 00:12:25,466 It was just the way things were. 232 00:12:25,466 --> 00:12:27,466 (dog barking) 233 00:12:28,533 --> 00:12:30,866 GRANT: As a child, I used to dream of being a nurse. 234 00:12:30,866 --> 00:12:35,766 And then, of course, I wanted to be a mother. 235 00:12:35,766 --> 00:12:37,933 We were a happy family. 236 00:12:37,933 --> 00:12:40,900 So I thought, "Ooh, that would be a nice thing to do"-- 237 00:12:40,900 --> 00:12:42,766 have children, and have a husband, 238 00:12:42,766 --> 00:12:45,533 and the picket fence and all that type of thing. 239 00:12:45,533 --> 00:12:49,900 ♪ ♪ 240 00:12:49,900 --> 00:12:52,366 FUENTES: There were all kinds of different expectations 241 00:12:52,366 --> 00:12:54,866 for men and women. 242 00:12:54,866 --> 00:12:56,766 They were basically considered 243 00:12:56,766 --> 00:12:58,100 two different types of human beings. 244 00:12:58,100 --> 00:13:02,733 ♪ ♪ 245 00:13:02,733 --> 00:13:05,666 Men were supposed to be the leaders, 246 00:13:05,666 --> 00:13:08,333 the presidents, the newspaper reporters, 247 00:13:08,333 --> 00:13:11,100 people who took dangerous jobs, 248 00:13:11,100 --> 00:13:14,533 people who took important jobs. 249 00:13:16,000 --> 00:13:20,000 Women were expected to get married and raise a family. 250 00:13:20,000 --> 00:13:22,300 But, before that, 251 00:13:22,300 --> 00:13:23,700 it was expected that they would work 252 00:13:23,700 --> 00:13:25,900 at a number of lower level jobs-- 253 00:13:25,900 --> 00:13:28,700 secretary... 254 00:13:28,700 --> 00:13:31,000 (telephone ringing) clerk... 255 00:13:31,000 --> 00:13:34,600 librarian, teacher-- 256 00:13:34,600 --> 00:13:38,400 they were not expected to have careers. 257 00:13:41,300 --> 00:13:46,566 My parents were opposed to my going to college. 258 00:13:46,566 --> 00:13:50,000 Their expectations for me were to get married 259 00:13:50,000 --> 00:13:52,300 and have a family. 260 00:13:52,300 --> 00:13:53,733 They felt that 261 00:13:53,733 --> 00:13:56,066 the fact that I had been a good student, 262 00:13:56,066 --> 00:13:58,633 was already going to make it 263 00:13:58,633 --> 00:14:01,733 harder for me to find a husband. 264 00:14:01,733 --> 00:14:03,966 ♪ ♪ 265 00:14:03,966 --> 00:14:05,733 FILM NARRATOR: Hm, is it that late? 266 00:14:05,733 --> 00:14:07,666 Dad will be here any minute. 267 00:14:07,666 --> 00:14:10,266 Better tell Mother she's needed in the kitchen. 268 00:14:10,266 --> 00:14:12,866 Brother is spending an hour before dinner 269 00:14:12,866 --> 00:14:14,900 catching up on his homework. 270 00:14:16,433 --> 00:14:19,500 BRODIGAN: My parents could only afford to send one child to college 271 00:14:19,500 --> 00:14:21,633 and that was my brother. 272 00:14:21,633 --> 00:14:25,733 FILM NARRATOR: Now, mother and daughter put the finishing touches on the dinner. 273 00:14:25,733 --> 00:14:27,633 That was the way parents thought 274 00:14:27,633 --> 00:14:28,666 at the time. 275 00:14:28,666 --> 00:14:32,333 My brother would go to college. 276 00:14:32,333 --> 00:14:36,066 I would go to secretarial school, get married, 277 00:14:36,066 --> 00:14:38,266 and produce grandchildren. 278 00:14:38,266 --> 00:14:43,300 ♪ ♪ 279 00:14:46,600 --> 00:14:53,166 (engines rumbling) 280 00:14:53,166 --> 00:14:56,333 VANTOCH: After World War II, 281 00:14:56,333 --> 00:15:00,166 the airline industry introduced the DC-6 282 00:15:00,166 --> 00:15:02,733 with a pressurized cabin, 283 00:15:02,733 --> 00:15:06,666 so airplanes could now fly higher, smoother, 284 00:15:06,666 --> 00:15:11,933 faster, and also carry more passengers. 285 00:15:11,933 --> 00:15:14,533 TIEMEYER: The customer who's sitting in the seats 286 00:15:14,533 --> 00:15:17,300 is going to experience flying 287 00:15:17,300 --> 00:15:18,700 as pretty comfortable. 288 00:15:18,700 --> 00:15:20,933 You have plush seats... 289 00:15:20,933 --> 00:15:22,633 Would you like some dinner, sir? 290 00:15:22,633 --> 00:15:24,566 TIEMEYER: You're going to be served cocktails. 291 00:15:24,566 --> 00:15:26,100 How about you, miss? 292 00:15:26,100 --> 00:15:27,666 Oh, this looks delicious. 293 00:15:27,666 --> 00:15:29,800 TIEMEYER: They were marketing comfort, 294 00:15:29,800 --> 00:15:31,233 which meant you don't need a nurse. 295 00:15:33,500 --> 00:15:37,300 This is the moment when this profession becomes 296 00:15:37,300 --> 00:15:40,133 heavily, heavily identified with women, 297 00:15:40,133 --> 00:15:44,000 and almost exclusively populated by women. 298 00:15:44,000 --> 00:15:46,100 (paper rustling) 299 00:15:46,100 --> 00:15:50,466 HOOD: I remember in seventh grade I read this book, 300 00:15:50,466 --> 00:15:53,900 "How to Become an Airline Stewardess," 301 00:15:53,900 --> 00:15:55,400 and the first line was, 302 00:15:55,400 --> 00:15:58,200 "Would you like a boyfriend in every city in the world?" 303 00:15:58,200 --> 00:16:01,300 (laughing): And I was like, "Yes, I would." 304 00:16:01,300 --> 00:16:04,833 But I also was like, "I want to go to every city in the world." 305 00:16:04,833 --> 00:16:10,466 ♪ ♪ 306 00:16:17,200 --> 00:16:20,433 COOKE: Being a stewardess was the best possible job 307 00:16:20,433 --> 00:16:24,600 for good girls who were craving something interesting, 308 00:16:24,600 --> 00:16:26,466 out of the ordinary. 309 00:16:27,866 --> 00:16:29,900 A woman could go to different places, 310 00:16:29,900 --> 00:16:33,433 and see different things, and really stand out. 311 00:16:33,433 --> 00:16:35,233 But at the same time, she was doing something 312 00:16:35,233 --> 00:16:36,800 that was still very stereotypically feminine. 313 00:16:36,800 --> 00:16:39,400 ♪ ♪ 314 00:16:52,166 --> 00:16:55,966 TIEMEYER: If you were applying to be a stewardess, 315 00:16:55,966 --> 00:16:57,533 you were going to be scrutinized, 316 00:16:57,533 --> 00:17:00,300 first and foremost, for your looks. 317 00:17:00,300 --> 00:17:04,433 NEWSREEL ANNOUNCER: To qualify on most airlines, she must be healthy, 318 00:17:04,433 --> 00:17:07,133 and of normal weight. 319 00:17:07,133 --> 00:17:10,466 HOOD: You got this chart and you wouldn't even get an interview 320 00:17:10,466 --> 00:17:13,100 if your height and weight 321 00:17:13,100 --> 00:17:15,066 was more than listed on that chart. 322 00:17:15,066 --> 00:17:18,500 TIEMEYER: If you make it physically, 323 00:17:18,500 --> 00:17:20,900 then what they're looking for 324 00:17:20,900 --> 00:17:24,133 is someone who's going to take orders well. 325 00:17:24,133 --> 00:17:26,600 They need pliant employees. 326 00:17:26,600 --> 00:17:28,200 (applause) 327 00:17:28,200 --> 00:17:30,900 COOKE: The educational requirements for stewardesses 328 00:17:30,900 --> 00:17:33,900 really varied very much by airline. 329 00:17:33,900 --> 00:17:35,400 On Pan Am you had to 330 00:17:35,400 --> 00:17:39,000 have gone to college and you had to speak two languages fluently. 331 00:17:43,966 --> 00:17:48,800 HOOD: My dream flight attendant job was with Pan Am or TWA, 332 00:17:48,800 --> 00:17:50,733 and I was as good as hired with Pan Am 333 00:17:50,733 --> 00:17:52,233 but I flunked the French test. 334 00:17:52,233 --> 00:17:57,600 With TWA I'd made it through that grueling interview process, 335 00:17:57,600 --> 00:18:00,200 and when I got the acceptance letter, 336 00:18:00,200 --> 00:18:03,400 it was beyond exciting. 337 00:18:03,400 --> 00:18:08,800 ♪ ♪ 338 00:18:11,533 --> 00:18:15,133 They flew us to Kansas City for six weeks. 339 00:18:15,133 --> 00:18:19,900 I arrived in January, freezing cold, snow up to here, 340 00:18:19,900 --> 00:18:22,800 the happiest girl in the world. 341 00:18:22,800 --> 00:18:25,866 IRELAND: The training was held in Miami. 342 00:18:25,866 --> 00:18:29,500 And the six weeks involved 343 00:18:29,500 --> 00:18:33,833 learning the procedures for services. 344 00:18:33,833 --> 00:18:37,333 How do you make coffee on the airplane? 345 00:18:37,333 --> 00:18:39,500 How do you work the ovens? 346 00:18:39,500 --> 00:18:40,966 How did you mix drinks? 347 00:18:40,966 --> 00:18:42,100 Where did you mix them? 348 00:18:42,100 --> 00:18:44,933 How did you pass them out? 349 00:18:46,300 --> 00:18:48,900 COOKE: There were segments on understanding 350 00:18:48,900 --> 00:18:51,100 the physics of flight. 351 00:18:51,100 --> 00:18:53,000 TRAINING INSTRUCTOR: Should there be a sudden loss of cabin pressure, 352 00:18:53,000 --> 00:18:55,966 oxygen masks will be released automatically. 353 00:18:55,966 --> 00:18:58,400 COOKE: There were segments on safety. 354 00:18:58,400 --> 00:19:00,100 Fasten them tightly, 355 00:19:00,100 --> 00:19:02,066 then I'm going to show you the ready position. 356 00:19:02,066 --> 00:19:05,033 ♪ ♪ 357 00:19:05,033 --> 00:19:07,933 Part of our safety training was on mock-up planes. 358 00:19:07,933 --> 00:19:10,400 (screaming) 359 00:19:10,400 --> 00:19:14,133 They had recordings of people screaming. 360 00:19:14,133 --> 00:19:16,266 They could put smoke coming through. 361 00:19:18,266 --> 00:19:21,433 They could really make you feel like you were in a plane crash. 362 00:19:21,433 --> 00:19:24,333 (screaming, shouting) 363 00:19:24,333 --> 00:19:30,266 BRODIGAN: You have to be able to evacuate any aircraft within 90 seconds. 364 00:19:30,266 --> 00:19:36,133 (mechanism hissing) 365 00:19:36,133 --> 00:19:40,333 COOKE: The airline knew that for a huge number of their passengers, 366 00:19:40,333 --> 00:19:43,366 this would be their first flight. 367 00:19:43,366 --> 00:19:46,000 They would be in a metal tube at 35,000 feet, 368 00:19:46,000 --> 00:19:49,533 and any fear that they felt was very justified, 369 00:19:49,533 --> 00:19:52,533 and so they wanted stewardesses to be very knowledgeable 370 00:19:52,533 --> 00:19:57,100 and specific in their ability to reassure a passenger. 371 00:19:57,100 --> 00:19:59,266 Chins up. 372 00:19:59,266 --> 00:20:01,666   Stand up straight. 373 00:20:01,666 --> 00:20:03,100 Very good. 374 00:20:03,100 --> 00:20:05,433 That's fine. 375 00:20:05,433 --> 00:20:08,733 COOKE: When women were first hired on airplanes, 376 00:20:08,733 --> 00:20:12,666 the sales pitch around them was that having a mere girl 377 00:20:12,666 --> 00:20:14,833 willing to fly would help sell tickets. 378 00:20:14,833 --> 00:20:19,333 By the '50s, the pitch had flipped. 379 00:20:19,333 --> 00:20:21,700 Prices were fixed by the government, 380 00:20:21,700 --> 00:20:25,700 the airlines had to compete based on image and perks. 381 00:20:25,700 --> 00:20:28,733 BARRY: Airlines want to portray 382 00:20:28,733 --> 00:20:32,366 a vision of luxury and domesticity. 383 00:20:32,366 --> 00:20:33,866 Flight attendants really become the linchpin to that 384 00:20:33,866 --> 00:20:35,000 as hostesses. 385 00:20:35,000 --> 00:20:38,266 COOKE: They wanted someone who was 386 00:20:38,266 --> 00:20:41,366 stereotypically very beautiful. 387 00:20:41,366 --> 00:20:43,566 That was a way for an airline to distinguish itself 388 00:20:43,566 --> 00:20:47,300 and appeal to a largely masculine customer base. 389 00:20:47,300 --> 00:20:48,800 BARRY: The airlines really wanted 390 00:20:48,800 --> 00:20:52,300 a visual standardization of what a lovely stewardess looked like. 391 00:20:52,300 --> 00:20:54,933 ♪ ♪ 392 00:20:59,966 --> 00:21:02,933 IRELAND: We all got our hair cut just the length 393 00:21:02,933 --> 00:21:04,733 of our chin bone. 394 00:21:04,733 --> 00:21:06,333 We were all supposed to look the same; 395 00:21:06,333 --> 00:21:10,600 both our hair but also our makeup. 396 00:21:10,600 --> 00:21:13,566 Red lipstick, mandatory. 397 00:21:13,566 --> 00:21:16,366 ♪ ♪ 398 00:21:17,633 --> 00:21:19,566 There was an idea, I think, 399 00:21:19,566 --> 00:21:22,100 to make us into little machine parts 400 00:21:22,100 --> 00:21:25,700 and not think of ourselves as individuals. 401 00:21:28,366 --> 00:21:30,866 HEENAN: In our graduation photo, 402 00:21:30,866 --> 00:21:35,100 we look like 20 mannequins sitting in two rows. 403 00:21:36,433 --> 00:21:37,700 When I looked at it 404 00:21:37,700 --> 00:21:40,033 I couldn't find myself. 405 00:21:40,033 --> 00:21:42,166 (laughing): That was my... 406 00:21:42,166 --> 00:21:43,400 my first thing was, 407 00:21:43,400 --> 00:21:45,400 "Where am I in this photograph?" 408 00:21:45,400 --> 00:21:48,733 ♪ ♪ 409 00:21:48,733 --> 00:21:53,666 IRELAND: The grooming supervisors were former flight attendants. 410 00:21:53,666 --> 00:21:57,166 Their whole job was to make sure that your high heels 411 00:21:57,166 --> 00:21:59,566 were three inches tall, 412 00:21:59,566 --> 00:22:01,266 that you had white gloves that were white, 413 00:22:01,266 --> 00:22:05,100 no runs in your stockings, 414 00:22:05,100 --> 00:22:07,566 your shoes were polished, not just the right heel height. 415 00:22:09,800 --> 00:22:11,800 MONTAGUE: They'd look you over 416 00:22:11,800 --> 00:22:12,900 and a gal would do like this 417 00:22:12,900 --> 00:22:14,366 to your buttocks 418 00:22:14,366 --> 00:22:17,000 to see if you had your girdle on. 419 00:22:17,000 --> 00:22:20,533 ♪ ♪ 420 00:22:20,533 --> 00:22:25,466 DUSTY ROADS: They had this big piece of paper with appearance, hair, nails. 421 00:22:25,466 --> 00:22:27,833 You couldn't be too flashy. 422 00:22:27,833 --> 00:22:33,766 ♪ ♪ 423 00:22:33,766 --> 00:22:35,800 BARRY: You really need to have a good understanding 424 00:22:35,800 --> 00:22:40,433 of middle class deportment, speech, manners-- 425 00:22:40,433 --> 00:22:42,500 poise, as the airlines would put it. 426 00:22:45,700 --> 00:22:47,133 IRELAND: They told us 427 00:22:47,133 --> 00:22:50,033 they wouldn't hesitate to kick us out of that class 428 00:22:50,033 --> 00:22:51,566 if we didn't do the right things. 429 00:22:51,566 --> 00:22:54,333 May I offer you a cigarette, sir? 430 00:22:54,333 --> 00:22:56,233 Oh, no thanks, I have a fine cigar. 431 00:22:56,233 --> 00:22:58,566 Well, may I put it out for you, then, sir? 432 00:22:58,566 --> 00:23:00,400 Put it out? I just lit it! 433 00:23:00,400 --> 00:23:02,666 TRAINING STEWARDESS: Some of the passengers get a little... 434 00:23:02,666 --> 00:23:05,400 Well, you know how it is with people who don't smoke cigars. 435 00:23:05,400 --> 00:23:07,800 IRELAND: And the right things included 436 00:23:07,800 --> 00:23:10,900 always being friendly to everyone. 437 00:23:10,900 --> 00:23:13,566 You see, you can handle just about any situation 438 00:23:13,566 --> 00:23:17,900 if you'll just smile, and really mean it, inside. 439 00:23:19,700 --> 00:23:22,000 BARRY: It's expected, it's part of the job 440 00:23:22,000 --> 00:23:24,033 to act like your smile is genuine, 441 00:23:24,033 --> 00:23:25,300 and everything you're doing 442 00:23:25,300 --> 00:23:26,866 is because you like being a gracious hostess. 443 00:23:29,100 --> 00:23:30,500 BRODIGAN: If they didn't care 444 00:23:30,500 --> 00:23:32,966 for something you did, or said, 445 00:23:32,966 --> 00:23:37,466 or reacted to, they would wait until everyone was in class, 446 00:23:37,466 --> 00:23:39,466 and they'd tap you on your shoulder, 447 00:23:39,466 --> 00:23:44,866 and they took you to your room, packed your bags, 448 00:23:44,866 --> 00:23:46,200 and they sent you home. 449 00:23:46,200 --> 00:23:50,666 ♪ ♪ 450 00:23:53,900 --> 00:23:56,366 (airplane engine whirring) 451 00:23:56,366 --> 00:24:00,433 (indistinct talking) 452 00:24:00,433 --> 00:24:06,533 NARRATOR: The astonishing jet, at last, comes into its own in 1959. 453 00:24:06,533 --> 00:24:09,400 New York to Paris: seven hours. 454 00:24:09,400 --> 00:24:11,166 Here's America's Boeing 707. 455 00:24:11,166 --> 00:24:14,533 ♪ ♪ 456 00:24:25,266 --> 00:24:28,700 HOOD: All of a sudden you could be in Paris. 457 00:24:28,700 --> 00:24:29,933 You didn't take a ship 458 00:24:29,933 --> 00:24:32,600 that took weeks and weeks, it was hours. 459 00:24:32,600 --> 00:24:34,166 (woman speaking over P.A. system) 460 00:24:34,166 --> 00:24:41,366 VANTOCH: Jets were really symbolic of technological advance. 461 00:24:41,366 --> 00:24:42,966 ♪ ♪ 462 00:24:42,966 --> 00:24:47,366 This was a sign that Americans 463 00:24:47,366 --> 00:24:50,766 were going to be able to take over the world. 464 00:24:50,766 --> 00:24:54,300 PILOT: Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. 465 00:24:54,300 --> 00:24:57,766 We are now at cruising altitude, 35,000 feet. 466 00:24:57,766 --> 00:25:00,433 TIEMEYER: Now you've got a jet that can travel 467 00:25:00,433 --> 00:25:04,033 two times faster than propeller, 468 00:25:04,033 --> 00:25:07,600 and can accommodate more people. 469 00:25:07,600 --> 00:25:10,833 So this is imperative for the airline 470 00:25:10,833 --> 00:25:12,900 to start expanding their customer base, 471 00:25:12,900 --> 00:25:14,600 because they now have more seats to fill. 472 00:25:16,266 --> 00:25:19,933 They start to cater not just exclusively 473 00:25:19,933 --> 00:25:22,600 to the business traveler. 474 00:25:22,600 --> 00:25:26,300 They start to go, "Well, what about bringing your wife? 475 00:25:26,300 --> 00:25:28,500 What about bringing your kid?" 476 00:25:28,500 --> 00:25:31,133 ♪ ♪ 477 00:25:32,300 --> 00:25:35,166 VANTOCH: This is the moment where flying 478 00:25:35,166 --> 00:25:37,533 is becoming mass transportation. 479 00:25:37,533 --> 00:25:38,666 That's the vision. 480 00:25:38,666 --> 00:25:41,466 PILOT: This is your captain again. 481 00:25:41,466 --> 00:25:43,200 If you haven't already changed your watches 482 00:25:43,200 --> 00:25:44,966 to conform to the time difference, 483 00:25:44,966 --> 00:25:47,233 I suggest you do so now. 484 00:25:47,233 --> 00:25:50,700 ♪ ♪ 485 00:25:52,900 --> 00:25:56,433 TIEMEYER: The jet age is technological, 486 00:25:56,433 --> 00:25:58,200 but it's also aspirational. 487 00:25:58,200 --> 00:26:01,433 (crowd clamoring) 488 00:26:01,433 --> 00:26:04,466 It's a yearning on the part of ordinary Americans 489 00:26:04,466 --> 00:26:09,766 to participate in the glamorous lives of celebrities. 490 00:26:09,766 --> 00:26:12,000 (crowd screaming) 491 00:26:12,000 --> 00:26:15,933 So a factory worker celebrating retirement 492 00:26:15,933 --> 00:26:17,933 after 30 years on the job, 493 00:26:17,933 --> 00:26:21,300 you could be like Sinatra and fly down to Peru, 494 00:26:21,300 --> 00:26:23,833 and have a glamorous vacation. 495 00:26:23,833 --> 00:26:28,700 ♪ ♪ 496 00:26:28,700 --> 00:26:31,133 (indistinct chatter) 497 00:26:31,133 --> 00:26:37,966 VANTOCH: Stewardesses are at the center of jet age ad campaigns. 498 00:26:37,966 --> 00:26:40,733 This is a new type of woman: 499 00:26:40,733 --> 00:26:45,400 she's sophisticated, she's very fashionable. 500 00:26:45,400 --> 00:26:48,800 Every airline rolls out new uniforms. 501 00:26:48,800 --> 00:26:51,000 They call it the "jet age" look. 502 00:26:54,066 --> 00:26:58,466 HOOD: You see a crew walking in their powder blue uniforms, 503 00:26:58,466 --> 00:27:02,733 with their pillbox hats and their high heels, 504 00:27:02,733 --> 00:27:04,333 and it was quite a sight to see. 505 00:27:04,333 --> 00:27:06,000 I mean, it was the definition of glamor. 506 00:27:06,000 --> 00:27:08,566 GRANT: "Oh, you're a stewardess?" 507 00:27:08,566 --> 00:27:13,833 You were just on the same level as a celebrity, movie star. 508 00:27:13,833 --> 00:27:17,133 It opened the doors to everything-- 509 00:27:17,133 --> 00:27:18,733 clubs, parties-- 510 00:27:18,733 --> 00:27:21,600 you could crash a wedding and say you were a stewardess. 511 00:27:21,600 --> 00:27:24,600 (jet engine whirring) 512 00:27:27,500 --> 00:27:33,066 ♪ ♪ 513 00:27:38,700 --> 00:27:41,966 BRODIGAN: If I wanted to fly with my friend Lynn, 514 00:27:41,966 --> 00:27:43,366 and she was junior to me, 515 00:27:43,366 --> 00:27:45,433 I could adopt her seniority, 516 00:27:45,433 --> 00:27:48,133 and then we both could fly together. 517 00:27:49,766 --> 00:27:51,300 Or you could "trip trade." 518 00:27:53,366 --> 00:27:55,966 If you knew you wanted to go to Paris 519 00:27:55,966 --> 00:28:00,666 with your best friend, you would trade to be on that trip. 520 00:28:00,666 --> 00:28:03,966 ♪ ♪ 521 00:28:08,366 --> 00:28:13,833 HEENAN: I went to Paris, I went to Rome, I went to Athens. 522 00:28:13,833 --> 00:28:18,566 I flew to London and to Frankfurt a lot. 523 00:28:18,566 --> 00:28:22,666 There was so much to see and do. 524 00:28:22,666 --> 00:28:25,466 You could go to Vidal Sassoon to get your hair cut 525 00:28:25,466 --> 00:28:28,533 and then you could go out for a really nice meal. 526 00:28:32,166 --> 00:28:36,200 It really changed me in terms of my palate. 527 00:28:38,233 --> 00:28:42,866 ♪ ♪ 528 00:28:42,866 --> 00:28:44,533 I used to go to 529 00:28:44,533 --> 00:28:47,433 a favorite restaurant in London so that I could eat 530 00:28:47,433 --> 00:28:50,133 the tandoori chicken. (laughs) 531 00:28:52,500 --> 00:28:55,100 IRELAND: When we landed, I was in Mexico City, 532 00:28:55,100 --> 00:28:57,033 and could go to dinner. 533 00:28:57,033 --> 00:28:58,433 Wow. 534 00:28:58,433 --> 00:29:02,733 Get back on the airplane and fly into Central America. 535 00:29:02,733 --> 00:29:03,933 Oh, my gosh. 536 00:29:03,933 --> 00:29:06,466 Pick up the newspaper from Guatemala 537 00:29:06,466 --> 00:29:07,866 and see what's going on there. 538 00:29:10,033 --> 00:29:12,066 HEENAN: I became quite independent. 539 00:29:13,833 --> 00:29:20,400 I felt very comfortable moving around in these foreign cities. 540 00:29:20,400 --> 00:29:22,066 ♪ ♪ 541 00:29:23,533 --> 00:29:25,333 COOKE: In the '50s and '60s, 542 00:29:25,333 --> 00:29:27,200 women very rarely traveled alone. 543 00:29:27,200 --> 00:29:30,300 And working on a plane, especially internationally, 544 00:29:30,300 --> 00:29:33,233 gave you an excuse to travel completely freely. 545 00:29:34,766 --> 00:29:37,200 You were going to these foreign countries 546 00:29:37,200 --> 00:29:41,566 and checking into a hotel with your other fellow stewardesses. 547 00:29:41,566 --> 00:29:43,700 And then no one knew what you did 548 00:29:43,700 --> 00:29:45,766 until you had to show up at the airplane next. 549 00:29:48,500 --> 00:29:53,766 IRELAND: I had grown up in a very narrow, sheltered environment. 550 00:29:53,766 --> 00:29:57,700 I went out there and I was confronted 551 00:29:57,700 --> 00:30:01,533 with all the things that the world had to offer. 552 00:30:01,533 --> 00:30:04,900 HEENAN: It gave me a lot of self-confidence 553 00:30:04,900 --> 00:30:08,700 that I could just get on an airplane and go someplace, 554 00:30:08,700 --> 00:30:13,433 on my own, and be quite happy. 555 00:30:13,433 --> 00:30:16,333 That wasn't true of everybody that I went to college with 556 00:30:16,333 --> 00:30:18,033 or I went to high school with, 557 00:30:18,033 --> 00:30:21,100 that they could do that or wanted to do it. 558 00:30:21,100 --> 00:30:23,400 But I wanted to do it, and I did do it. 559 00:30:23,400 --> 00:30:28,033 COOKE: This job was asking women for their ambitions. 560 00:30:28,033 --> 00:30:34,200 It was asking for a woman who wanted to see uncharted terrain. 561 00:30:34,200 --> 00:30:37,666 A woman whose curiosity was enormous, 562 00:30:37,666 --> 00:30:41,933 which no other feminized job in that era really wanted. 563 00:30:43,866 --> 00:30:45,866 It was incredible. 564 00:30:49,566 --> 00:30:52,000 PAT BANKS EDMISTON: I was kind of looking for something 565 00:30:52,000 --> 00:30:54,633 a little different in my life. 566 00:30:54,633 --> 00:30:56,100 I was looking at a fashion magazine. 567 00:30:58,066 --> 00:31:00,600 And the magazine had an advertisement 568 00:31:00,600 --> 00:31:04,166 for the Grace Downs Air Career School in Manhattan. 569 00:31:04,166 --> 00:31:08,133 I applied and I was accepted in 1956. 570 00:31:08,133 --> 00:31:10,566 Never had been on an airplane. 571 00:31:10,566 --> 00:31:12,333 So this was a part of, you know, 572 00:31:12,333 --> 00:31:13,600 I've never been on an airplane. 573 00:31:13,600 --> 00:31:15,133 This is great. This is great. 574 00:31:15,133 --> 00:31:19,500 VANTOCH: Women could pay the school 575 00:31:19,500 --> 00:31:23,633 and learn how to become an airline stewardess. 576 00:31:23,633 --> 00:31:25,233 The expectation, 577 00:31:25,233 --> 00:31:27,300 if you did well at the school, 578 00:31:27,300 --> 00:31:29,200 you would ultimately get hired, 579 00:31:29,200 --> 00:31:31,033 and get a job as a stewardess. 580 00:31:31,033 --> 00:31:33,566 INSTRUCTOR: Now, this is the main cabin door 581 00:31:33,566 --> 00:31:35,900 where the passengers for first class will be... 582 00:31:35,900 --> 00:31:39,266 EDMISTON: I was the only student of color in the school. 583 00:31:39,266 --> 00:31:40,633 INSTRUCTOR: ...walking straight, they'd walk directly... 584 00:31:40,633 --> 00:31:41,866 EDMISTON: There were no Black teachers, 585 00:31:41,866 --> 00:31:45,000 no Black students. 586 00:31:45,000 --> 00:31:46,600 (bell ringing) 587 00:31:46,600 --> 00:31:49,933 I remember we had a makeup class 588 00:31:49,933 --> 00:31:51,966 and someone made up my face. 589 00:31:51,966 --> 00:31:53,500 (laughs) 590 00:31:53,500 --> 00:31:56,366 I have to laugh now because I was white. 591 00:31:58,033 --> 00:32:01,000 And when I looked in the mirror, I'm saying, 592 00:32:01,000 --> 00:32:03,866 "Oh my God, how am I going to get home like this?" 593 00:32:03,866 --> 00:32:06,666 They had no makeup, of course, for people of color. 594 00:32:06,666 --> 00:32:09,900 (applause) 595 00:32:11,400 --> 00:32:12,600 When you would graduate, 596 00:32:12,600 --> 00:32:14,833 then airlines would come 597 00:32:14,833 --> 00:32:17,166 to the Grace Downs Air Career School to interview you, 598 00:32:17,166 --> 00:32:19,466 to put you into positions in their aircraft. 599 00:32:21,333 --> 00:32:25,300 I was interviewed by Mohawk Airlines, 600 00:32:25,300 --> 00:32:28,533 by Capital Airlines, which was one of the largest 601 00:32:28,533 --> 00:32:32,666 southern airlines, and TWA. 602 00:32:32,666 --> 00:32:35,233 Now, everyone was getting interviewed, 603 00:32:35,233 --> 00:32:37,033 and people were getting hired, 604 00:32:37,033 --> 00:32:38,900 but I was not even getting a response 605 00:32:38,900 --> 00:32:40,900 from any of the instructors, or the airlines. 606 00:32:40,900 --> 00:32:43,400 ♪ ♪ 607 00:32:43,400 --> 00:32:46,100 Shortly after the interviews, 608 00:32:46,100 --> 00:32:49,033 one of the chief stewardesses saw me outside, 609 00:32:49,033 --> 00:32:51,400 and she said to me, 610 00:32:51,400 --> 00:32:53,966 "Pat, I hate to see you go through this," she said, 611 00:32:53,966 --> 00:32:56,400 "but the airlines do not hire Negroes." 612 00:32:57,633 --> 00:33:03,566 ♪ ♪ 613 00:33:05,633 --> 00:33:08,833 The South, it was open, clear 614 00:33:08,833 --> 00:33:11,066 that white people had this advantage, 615 00:33:11,066 --> 00:33:14,566 Black people had no advantage. 616 00:33:14,566 --> 00:33:15,866 I'm in New York. 617 00:33:15,866 --> 00:33:20,766 It's not as clear or vivid. 618 00:33:20,766 --> 00:33:23,333 Subtle, yes, you just didn't know certain things. 619 00:33:23,333 --> 00:33:25,833 And then when the airline situation occurred, 620 00:33:25,833 --> 00:33:28,000 it just opened my eyes totally. 621 00:33:28,000 --> 00:33:30,100 Yes, it exists here. 622 00:33:30,100 --> 00:33:33,733 ♪ ♪ 623 00:33:33,733 --> 00:33:37,300 KEISHA BLAIN: Traveling by air was very expensive 624 00:33:37,300 --> 00:33:41,200 and not easily accessible, 625 00:33:41,200 --> 00:33:44,100 to most Americans in general, let alone African Americans. 626 00:33:44,100 --> 00:33:47,733 ♪ ♪ 627 00:33:52,766 --> 00:33:55,800 It's not surprising that Pat Banks didn't have 628 00:33:55,800 --> 00:33:59,600 a full understanding of what was taking place. 629 00:33:59,600 --> 00:34:01,233 BAY: A lot of airports 630 00:34:01,233 --> 00:34:04,300 in the 1950s were either segregated 631 00:34:04,300 --> 00:34:05,833 or beginning to be segregated. 632 00:34:05,833 --> 00:34:10,800 Airlines sometimes used a special code. 633 00:34:10,800 --> 00:34:13,000 If people called from a Black neighborhood, 634 00:34:13,000 --> 00:34:16,166 or if they sounded Black, then this special code 635 00:34:16,166 --> 00:34:19,733 would be written down on their ticket to indicate 636 00:34:19,733 --> 00:34:22,366 that they had to be seated apart from others. 637 00:34:24,466 --> 00:34:27,833 BLAIN: In some instances, African Americans would be 638 00:34:27,833 --> 00:34:32,333 bumped off of flights to make space for white passengers. 639 00:34:35,733 --> 00:34:39,333 (indistinct chatter) 640 00:34:39,333 --> 00:34:43,500 EDMISTON: I went home, and we had a neighbor, 641 00:34:43,500 --> 00:34:46,100 and I called him as soon as I got home and I said, 642 00:34:46,100 --> 00:34:50,200 "Pop, they're telling me that they don't hire Negroes." 643 00:34:50,200 --> 00:34:52,333 He said, "We'll take care of this." 644 00:34:52,333 --> 00:34:55,233 He introduced me to Adam Clayton Powell. 645 00:34:55,233 --> 00:34:59,000 Adam Clayton Powell referred me and introduced me 646 00:34:59,000 --> 00:35:01,400 to the New York State Commission Against Discrimination. 647 00:35:03,033 --> 00:35:04,966 BLAIN: There were no federal laws 648 00:35:04,966 --> 00:35:09,933 in place to protect against discrimination in the workplace. 649 00:35:09,933 --> 00:35:12,366 So it was very important for Pat 650 00:35:12,366 --> 00:35:14,033 to file her case in New York 651 00:35:14,033 --> 00:35:16,833 because New York was the first state 652 00:35:16,833 --> 00:35:21,166 in the United States to pass an anti-discrimination law. 653 00:35:24,866 --> 00:35:29,933 EDMISTON: I filed a case against Mohawk, Capital, and TWA. 654 00:35:29,933 --> 00:35:31,733 The statute of limitations 655 00:35:31,733 --> 00:35:34,700 had expired with Mohawk and TWA, 656 00:35:34,700 --> 00:35:38,600 but it held strong with Capital. 657 00:35:38,600 --> 00:35:44,500 Discrimination is a very difficult thing to prove. 658 00:35:46,233 --> 00:35:49,466 BARRY: Airlines don't specify that they're not going to hire 659 00:35:49,466 --> 00:35:52,166 Black women, but they don't really need to, 660 00:35:52,166 --> 00:35:54,533 because manuals will say things like, 661 00:35:54,533 --> 00:35:55,966 "Oh, are your hands soft and white?" 662 00:35:58,333 --> 00:36:00,133 BAY: They talk about how people 663 00:36:00,133 --> 00:36:02,400 shouldn't have broad or flat noses. 664 00:36:02,400 --> 00:36:04,133 People shouldn't have hook noses. 665 00:36:04,133 --> 00:36:07,700 Coarse hair, overly full lips-- 666 00:36:07,700 --> 00:36:10,033 indicating certain kind of racial stereotypes 667 00:36:10,033 --> 00:36:11,466 about Jews and Blacks. 668 00:36:11,466 --> 00:36:14,833 They actually include enough details to make sure 669 00:36:14,833 --> 00:36:19,133 that certain kinds of people really cannot get employed. 670 00:36:19,133 --> 00:36:22,933 ♪ ♪ 671 00:36:30,366 --> 00:36:31,466 MONTAGUE: When I was hired, 672 00:36:31,466 --> 00:36:37,200 you couldn't be married, period. 673 00:36:37,200 --> 00:36:39,400 We had a couple of gals that did it on the side... 674 00:36:39,400 --> 00:36:40,933 (laughs) 675 00:36:40,933 --> 00:36:43,433 but you couldn't be married then, couldn't have children. 676 00:36:46,466 --> 00:36:48,966 BARRY: From the very beginning, most airlines 677 00:36:48,966 --> 00:36:52,266 have an explicit ban on hiring married women. 678 00:36:54,533 --> 00:36:56,833 Starting in 1953, 679 00:36:56,833 --> 00:36:58,766 American Airlines impose a new rule 680 00:36:58,766 --> 00:37:02,100 that stewardesses will leave the job when they turn 32. 681 00:37:02,100 --> 00:37:05,000 (applause) 682 00:37:07,633 --> 00:37:09,100 ELAINE ROCK: It took a little while, 683 00:37:09,100 --> 00:37:12,700 but other airlines started adding the age rule too. 684 00:37:12,700 --> 00:37:14,733 (applause) 685 00:37:14,733 --> 00:37:17,900 ♪ ♪ 686 00:37:17,900 --> 00:37:19,666 They wanted us to be hired, 687 00:37:19,666 --> 00:37:21,966 do our job for a couple of years and leave. 688 00:37:23,466 --> 00:37:25,800 COOKE: Airlines wanted women 689 00:37:25,800 --> 00:37:29,366 who projected a degree of wholesomeness, 690 00:37:29,366 --> 00:37:32,300 but also a little bit of sexual availability. 691 00:37:33,733 --> 00:37:35,900 They wanted her to be young, 692 00:37:35,900 --> 00:37:38,800 so that she would appear to be single 693 00:37:38,800 --> 00:37:41,000 without having to say so. 694 00:37:43,300 --> 00:37:44,600 BRODIGAN: United had 695 00:37:44,600 --> 00:37:47,933 flights out of New York to Chicago 696 00:37:47,933 --> 00:37:51,300 called executive flights. 697 00:37:52,900 --> 00:37:57,233 Only men could buy a ticket on those planes. 698 00:38:01,600 --> 00:38:05,500 HEENAN: When I went for my interview with TWA, 699 00:38:05,500 --> 00:38:10,033 I signed a paper, which they presented to me, 700 00:38:10,033 --> 00:38:12,133 and on it, it said 701 00:38:12,133 --> 00:38:15,500 that I would be retired at the age of 35. 702 00:38:18,133 --> 00:38:21,600 35 was a long ways away. 703 00:38:21,600 --> 00:38:26,000 I thought I would be married with children. 704 00:38:26,000 --> 00:38:28,366 That was the expectation-- 705 00:38:28,366 --> 00:38:32,266 you would meet Mr. Wonderful in first class, 706 00:38:32,266 --> 00:38:34,833 and you'd be swept off your feet, etcetera, 707 00:38:34,833 --> 00:38:38,966 and, and that would be happiness ever after. 708 00:38:42,733 --> 00:38:46,333 TIEMEYER: The requirement to be unmarried, 709 00:38:46,333 --> 00:38:50,733 the requirement to stay under a certain age, it's really about 710 00:38:50,733 --> 00:38:53,166 making sure that flight attendants 711 00:38:53,166 --> 00:38:56,800 are not getting paid top dollar, 712 00:38:56,800 --> 00:38:58,100 that they're not gonna get a pension, 713 00:38:58,100 --> 00:39:00,133 that they're not gonna accrue vacation benefits 714 00:39:00,133 --> 00:39:01,700 that they would've gotten 715 00:39:01,700 --> 00:39:04,366 if they're in year 15 or year 20 of their career. 716 00:39:05,600 --> 00:39:07,866 ROADS: It was money, money, money. 717 00:39:07,866 --> 00:39:09,366 What do you think it costs 718 00:39:09,366 --> 00:39:13,400 to have an ace stewardess at age 32, top salary, 719 00:39:13,400 --> 00:39:15,566 maximum vacation, 720 00:39:15,566 --> 00:39:17,933 gonna fly until she's 60, 721 00:39:17,933 --> 00:39:19,533 get a retirement? 722 00:39:19,533 --> 00:39:22,500 If you're not married and having babies and happy to stay there, 723 00:39:22,500 --> 00:39:23,566 tough luck, honey. 724 00:39:24,566 --> 00:39:27,433 I didn't want to stop flying. 725 00:39:27,433 --> 00:39:29,533 Flying was exciting. 726 00:39:29,533 --> 00:39:32,066 God, it, it was that. 727 00:39:32,066 --> 00:39:33,766 It still is, but then 728 00:39:33,766 --> 00:39:35,633 it was really exciting. 729 00:39:35,633 --> 00:39:40,466 (bus engine rumbling) 730 00:39:40,466 --> 00:39:44,633 ♪ ♪ 731 00:39:47,400 --> 00:39:48,500 BARRY: Flight attendants 732 00:39:48,500 --> 00:39:52,366 start to organize in the late 1940s. 733 00:39:52,366 --> 00:39:54,433 They're unhappy with their wages, 734 00:39:54,433 --> 00:39:55,733 but they're also unhappy 735 00:39:55,733 --> 00:39:57,533 with being patronized by the airlines. 736 00:40:00,833 --> 00:40:03,533 COBBLE: Pretty quickly, 737 00:40:03,533 --> 00:40:06,433 they begin to realize that they would have 738 00:40:06,433 --> 00:40:09,633 greater bargaining leverage 739 00:40:09,633 --> 00:40:12,566 if they joined with some of the other workers. 740 00:40:18,100 --> 00:40:23,866 The pilots set up a division for stewards and stewardesses. 741 00:40:25,600 --> 00:40:28,400 And some of the flight attendants went into 742 00:40:28,400 --> 00:40:30,366 the Transport Workers Union. 743 00:40:31,933 --> 00:40:36,166 BRODIGAN: Unions just weren't something I thought of. 744 00:40:36,166 --> 00:40:38,200 When I was in training, 745 00:40:38,200 --> 00:40:42,566 I failed the section on the contract. 746 00:40:42,566 --> 00:40:44,433 I didn't understand it. 747 00:40:44,433 --> 00:40:47,833 And I didn't understand it until I started flying, 748 00:40:47,833 --> 00:40:52,800 and I realized how the company took advantage of stewardesses. 749 00:40:55,633 --> 00:40:57,266 INMAN: Being from Pittsburgh, 750 00:40:57,266 --> 00:41:02,266 I was quite familiar with unions. 751 00:41:02,266 --> 00:41:05,166 And so, there would be a union meeting, and I would go to it. 752 00:41:05,166 --> 00:41:08,700 ♪ ♪ 753 00:41:12,100 --> 00:41:13,300 BRODIGAN: The grievance procedure 754 00:41:13,300 --> 00:41:17,666 was an orderly settlement of a dispute. 755 00:41:17,666 --> 00:41:19,400 I thought, "Hmm, this is interesting. 756 00:41:19,400 --> 00:41:21,000 I kind of like that." 757 00:41:23,266 --> 00:41:27,633 COBBLE: Flight attendants, pilots, and baggage handlers 758 00:41:27,633 --> 00:41:31,533 wanted to be paid fairly. 759 00:41:31,533 --> 00:41:35,500 They wanted more control over their hours, their flight time. 760 00:41:37,033 --> 00:41:40,366 But flight attendants also had problems 761 00:41:40,366 --> 00:41:41,566 that the men didn't face. 762 00:41:48,033 --> 00:41:49,933 When American Airlines said, 763 00:41:49,933 --> 00:41:51,566 we're gonna put it in the contract 764 00:41:51,566 --> 00:41:55,100 that flight attendants can't work past the age of 32, 765 00:41:55,100 --> 00:41:58,200 the union pushed back. 766 00:41:58,200 --> 00:42:00,933 The rule still went in. 767 00:42:00,933 --> 00:42:05,700 But what they did win was a compromise, 768 00:42:05,700 --> 00:42:08,000 what they called a "grandmother clause," 769 00:42:08,000 --> 00:42:10,166 so that any flight attendant 770 00:42:10,166 --> 00:42:16,066 who had been hired before 1953 could continue on. 771 00:42:16,066 --> 00:42:17,800 It saved a lot of jobs. 772 00:42:19,666 --> 00:42:24,200 ROCK: Dusty wasn't required to retire when the age rule came in. 773 00:42:24,200 --> 00:42:26,800 She had nothing to lose. 774 00:42:26,800 --> 00:42:29,466 She said, "I want to fight this. This is wrong." 775 00:42:29,466 --> 00:42:33,366 And that was her motivation to join the union. 776 00:42:35,100 --> 00:42:39,433 ROADS: My family was very Republican. (chuckles) 777 00:42:39,433 --> 00:42:43,600 And unions were naughty, naughty, naughty, terrible. 778 00:42:43,600 --> 00:42:46,766 Nobody in my family had ever belonged to a union. 779 00:42:46,766 --> 00:42:48,733 That was just, "Oh my goodness, 780 00:42:48,733 --> 00:42:51,800 we're college people, we don't join unions. Oh!" 781 00:42:52,800 --> 00:42:57,133 ROCK: She became vice chair and would file grievances on behalf 782 00:42:57,133 --> 00:42:59,133 of other stewardesses. 783 00:42:59,133 --> 00:43:02,200 Dusty exuded this sense of confidence. 784 00:43:02,200 --> 00:43:06,166 She always spoke to anybody who would speak to her, 785 00:43:06,166 --> 00:43:09,333 and many men always did. 786 00:43:09,333 --> 00:43:12,166 Because she was so attractive, they wanted to know, 787 00:43:12,166 --> 00:43:13,200 "Who is this woman?" 788 00:43:14,866 --> 00:43:18,066 ♪ ♪ 789 00:43:23,566 --> 00:43:27,766 ROADS: I figured out that the Congress was in session on Tuesday, 790 00:43:27,766 --> 00:43:29,566 Wednesday, and Thursday, 791 00:43:29,566 --> 00:43:34,666 and then they went home on Friday. 792 00:43:34,666 --> 00:43:39,233 So, I bid the Washington trip on Monday. 793 00:43:39,233 --> 00:43:42,766 And I'd always have a bunch of congressmen on board, 794 00:43:44,366 --> 00:43:47,433 And they got to know me. 795 00:43:47,433 --> 00:43:48,666 "Dusty, how you doing?" 796 00:43:48,666 --> 00:43:50,233 I said, "Oh, I'm really upset about this. 797 00:43:50,233 --> 00:43:51,500 "My best friend's being fired 798 00:43:51,500 --> 00:43:54,733 because she's 32." 799 00:43:54,733 --> 00:43:56,700 They said, "What? They fire you?" 800 00:43:56,700 --> 00:43:58,733 Here these guys are 60. 801 00:44:00,733 --> 00:44:02,033 BARRY: Dusty, as she's flying, 802 00:44:02,033 --> 00:44:05,000 she's working her connections. 803 00:44:05,000 --> 00:44:06,566 She's leveraging the visibility 804 00:44:06,566 --> 00:44:07,766 of stewardesses 805 00:44:07,766 --> 00:44:09,000 to gain access, essentially, 806 00:44:09,000 --> 00:44:11,100 to people who can pull levers of power 807 00:44:11,100 --> 00:44:12,566 in policy-making circles. 808 00:44:12,566 --> 00:44:15,033 ♪ ♪ 809 00:44:18,833 --> 00:44:20,133 ROCK: In 1963, 810 00:44:20,133 --> 00:44:24,600 Dusty decided to put on a press conference. 811 00:44:24,600 --> 00:44:27,633 (indistinct chattering) 812 00:44:27,633 --> 00:44:29,366 ROADS: To say the word "stewardess" 813 00:44:29,366 --> 00:44:30,800 in those days was glamour. 814 00:44:30,800 --> 00:44:31,833 Oh boy, oh boy. 815 00:44:33,100 --> 00:44:37,500 ROCK: She got four stewardesses that were under 32, 816 00:44:37,500 --> 00:44:39,733 and four stewardesses that were over 32. 817 00:44:41,400 --> 00:44:44,400 ROADS: I said, "Now, they're firing us at age 32. 818 00:44:44,400 --> 00:44:47,866 Can you tell me which ones are 32?" 819 00:44:47,866 --> 00:44:49,933 And of course they said, "No, no, no, no." 820 00:44:49,933 --> 00:44:52,300 But I did look pretty good. 821 00:44:52,300 --> 00:44:57,700 ♪ ♪ 822 00:44:57,700 --> 00:45:01,666 BARRY: The idea is, basically, "Hey, take a look at us. 823 00:45:01,666 --> 00:45:04,000 "Don't we all look like lovely stewardesses?" 824 00:45:05,600 --> 00:45:08,366 It's a kind of dare to the airlines' policy. 825 00:45:08,366 --> 00:45:10,633 Can you really tell who's past the age limit? 826 00:45:10,633 --> 00:45:13,766 ♪ ♪ 827 00:45:13,766 --> 00:45:15,833 We hit every newspaper in the country. 828 00:45:16,900 --> 00:45:19,500 ♪ ♪ 829 00:45:33,366 --> 00:45:36,733 ♪ ♪ 830 00:45:39,033 --> 00:45:43,366 COOKE: These women were really trying to use the sexism 831 00:45:43,366 --> 00:45:46,366 that was being wielded against them to get what they wanted, 832 00:45:46,366 --> 00:45:47,733 which was to keep their jobs. 833 00:45:47,733 --> 00:45:52,400 ♪ ♪ 834 00:45:55,800 --> 00:45:59,500 ROCK: When the stewardesses went into negotiation 835 00:45:59,500 --> 00:46:02,533 with the union and management, 836 00:46:02,533 --> 00:46:05,833 American Airlines came into the room 837 00:46:05,833 --> 00:46:10,366 with a stack of newspapers from all over the country 838 00:46:10,366 --> 00:46:12,866 and just plopped it down on the desk, saying, 839 00:46:12,866 --> 00:46:15,700 "That was an interesting stunt that you girls pulled. 840 00:46:15,700 --> 00:46:20,433 We're not going to negotiate the age rule now." 841 00:46:20,433 --> 00:46:22,800 It's terrible 842 00:46:22,800 --> 00:46:26,600 to be fired because of age. 843 00:46:27,966 --> 00:46:30,100 But I had hopes 844 00:46:30,100 --> 00:46:34,566 because I knew how smart Dusty was. 845 00:46:35,566 --> 00:46:38,000 ROADS: I believed in fair play. 846 00:46:38,000 --> 00:46:41,733 Every club I ever was in, I became president. 847 00:46:41,733 --> 00:46:44,466 I was president of the Women's Athletic Council 848 00:46:44,466 --> 00:46:47,066 and president of my sorority. 849 00:46:47,066 --> 00:46:49,233 I knew all the rules, and I went by them. 850 00:46:49,233 --> 00:46:52,400 And if I didn't like a rule, we changed it. 851 00:46:53,433 --> 00:46:56,066 ROCK: Dusty wasn't just fighting 852 00:46:56,066 --> 00:46:58,700 airline management and an age rule; 853 00:46:58,700 --> 00:47:03,600 she was fighting national gender discrimination. 854 00:47:06,100 --> 00:47:08,866 ♪ ♪ 855 00:47:18,400 --> 00:47:22,466 EDMISTON: Once things began to hit the newspapers, 856 00:47:22,466 --> 00:47:25,100 I would get letters. 857 00:47:25,100 --> 00:47:26,666 When I had threatening letters, 858 00:47:26,666 --> 00:47:29,366 I had to report it to the police. 859 00:47:31,133 --> 00:47:33,133 You kind of expect these things. 860 00:47:33,133 --> 00:47:37,300 You knew you were gonna get focused on. 861 00:47:37,300 --> 00:47:40,766   You knew that you were gonna get letters of negativity. 862 00:47:40,766 --> 00:47:43,333 I mean, this is something, "Oh, here it comes." 863 00:47:44,800 --> 00:47:47,433 (sighs) 864 00:47:47,433 --> 00:47:48,900 Um... 865 00:47:50,933 --> 00:47:54,433 I just couldn't deal with the racism anymore. 866 00:47:54,433 --> 00:47:57,666 I couldn't deal with it. I didn't think it was fair. 867 00:47:57,666 --> 00:47:59,466 Um... 868 00:48:01,900 --> 00:48:05,400 I'm just as equal to you as you are to me. 869 00:48:05,400 --> 00:48:07,166 We're one. 870 00:48:07,166 --> 00:48:09,166 We're humans. 871 00:48:09,166 --> 00:48:12,133 And you're not gonna treat us this way anymore. 872 00:48:14,466 --> 00:48:17,300 VANTOCH: Pat's plans were put on hold 873 00:48:17,300 --> 00:48:21,700 while her lawyers researched her case. 874 00:48:21,700 --> 00:48:23,000 They had to look 875 00:48:23,000 --> 00:48:24,366 at the supervisor notes 876 00:48:24,366 --> 00:48:28,133 and see who met what criteria, 877 00:48:28,133 --> 00:48:31,100 how did Pat compare to the other applicants. 878 00:48:32,500 --> 00:48:35,566 They were trying to prove that she was 879 00:48:35,566 --> 00:48:39,166 the typical all-American girl. 880 00:48:39,166 --> 00:48:45,166 She played violin, she was respectable. 881 00:48:45,166 --> 00:48:50,366 So, the element that excluded her from that image of 882 00:48:50,366 --> 00:48:54,833 femininity and Americanness was her race. 883 00:48:54,833 --> 00:48:59,066 I was determined 884 00:48:59,066 --> 00:49:01,566 that somebody of African American heritage 885 00:49:01,566 --> 00:49:02,700 was gonna get this job. 886 00:49:05,733 --> 00:49:08,100 (bus engine rumbling) 887 00:49:11,100 --> 00:49:12,933 VANTOCH: Finally, 888 00:49:12,933 --> 00:49:16,633 in late February 1960, 889 00:49:16,633 --> 00:49:18,966 Pat got her ruling. 890 00:49:20,433 --> 00:49:22,600 ♪ ♪ 891 00:49:22,600 --> 00:49:26,866 EDMISTON: I was working for Con Edison, going to college at night. 892 00:49:28,200 --> 00:49:30,100 And there was a little candy store 893 00:49:30,100 --> 00:49:31,633 on the corner where I used to get the bus 894 00:49:31,633 --> 00:49:33,200 to go home. 895 00:49:35,400 --> 00:49:37,866 When I got into the candy store, 896 00:49:37,866 --> 00:49:40,200 the man in the store said, "Pat, Pat, you won the case!" 897 00:49:40,200 --> 00:49:44,300 ♪ ♪ 898 00:49:47,766 --> 00:49:49,633 I couldn't wait to get home. 899 00:49:49,633 --> 00:49:50,800 My mother says, 900 00:49:50,800 --> 00:49:52,400 "Patsy, the phone is ringing off the hook. 901 00:49:52,400 --> 00:49:54,600 You won! You won! You won!" Oh, my God. 902 00:49:54,600 --> 00:49:58,233 ♪ ♪ 903 00:50:07,000 --> 00:50:10,766 The court ordered Capital Airlines to hire me, 904 00:50:10,766 --> 00:50:12,933 or it would go to the Supreme Court. 905 00:50:17,233 --> 00:50:19,033 The president of Capital Airlines called me. 906 00:50:19,033 --> 00:50:21,333 I don't remember his name, 907 00:50:21,333 --> 00:50:25,100 but he called to apologize and welcome me into training 908 00:50:25,100 --> 00:50:26,933 in Alexandria, Virginia. 909 00:50:26,933 --> 00:50:28,866 (laughs) 910 00:50:28,866 --> 00:50:32,133 ♪ ♪ 911 00:50:43,133 --> 00:50:44,500 You know, it was like, just, we did it. 912 00:50:44,500 --> 00:50:47,333 They can't get away with this anymore. 913 00:50:51,833 --> 00:50:53,600 I'm young now. 914 00:50:53,600 --> 00:50:57,033 I like to hang out with friends and do things. 915 00:50:57,033 --> 00:51:00,833 But I had to be this perfect human being. 916 00:51:00,833 --> 00:51:02,666 And the only way I could do that 917 00:51:02,666 --> 00:51:05,300 was to do my job, 918 00:51:05,300 --> 00:51:07,533 go home, come back. 919 00:51:07,533 --> 00:51:11,600 I wouldn't do anything that may have led to a mistake. 920 00:51:14,166 --> 00:51:17,500 (engine rumbling) 921 00:51:18,533 --> 00:51:20,500 I remember we were on a DC-3, 922 00:51:20,500 --> 00:51:24,100 and DC-3s are kind of bumpy. 923 00:51:24,100 --> 00:51:26,566 This man looked at me, and he said, 924 00:51:26,566 --> 00:51:27,766 "When you finish doing your work, 925 00:51:27,766 --> 00:51:29,233 would you please hold my hand?" 926 00:51:29,233 --> 00:51:32,100 And I said, "Sure, sir, I'll sit down with you." 927 00:51:32,100 --> 00:51:35,933 So he held my hand, and he asked me, he said, 928 00:51:35,933 --> 00:51:38,100 "Have you ever been to Montana?" 929 00:51:38,100 --> 00:51:39,933 I said, "No, sir." 930 00:51:39,933 --> 00:51:43,033 He said, "The grass is so beautifully green, 931 00:51:43,033 --> 00:51:44,766 the trees are so green." 932 00:51:44,766 --> 00:51:47,233 He said, "No niggers and no winos." 933 00:51:47,233 --> 00:51:48,766 (gasps) 934 00:51:48,766 --> 00:51:51,066 I'm holding his hand. 935 00:51:51,066 --> 00:51:52,266 Now, the word "nigger" 936 00:51:52,266 --> 00:51:55,300 is something you never touch me with, 937 00:51:55,300 --> 00:51:56,900 but by the power of God, 938 00:51:56,900 --> 00:52:00,200 I was able to sit there and hold his hand and not respond. 939 00:52:00,200 --> 00:52:02,866 I mean, I didn't respond until I got home that night. 940 00:52:02,866 --> 00:52:07,433 But these are the kind of situations that occurred 941 00:52:07,433 --> 00:52:11,133 that you had to really, really keep it together. 942 00:52:15,266 --> 00:52:17,600 I worked for a year. 943 00:52:17,600 --> 00:52:20,500 I wanted to go on with my life, 944 00:52:20,500 --> 00:52:22,333 finish school. 945 00:52:22,333 --> 00:52:25,266 I was planning on getting married, 946 00:52:25,266 --> 00:52:29,133 so I decided to leave. 947 00:52:29,133 --> 00:52:32,300 I felt it was accomplished. 948 00:52:32,300 --> 00:52:35,533 The barrier was broken. 949 00:52:37,000 --> 00:52:39,400 ♪ ♪ 950 00:52:39,400 --> 00:52:41,633 GRANT: Any questions that any company may have had 951 00:52:41,633 --> 00:52:44,766 as to whether a Negro 952 00:52:44,766 --> 00:52:46,633 was capable of doing the job, 953 00:52:46,633 --> 00:52:48,500 Pat set the record straight. 954 00:52:48,500 --> 00:52:50,466 We could go above and beyond 955 00:52:50,466 --> 00:52:52,233 doing this job. 956 00:52:52,233 --> 00:52:55,166 ♪ ♪ 957 00:52:58,366 --> 00:52:59,933 BLAIN: The floodgates do not open. 958 00:53:01,233 --> 00:53:04,066 It really, at that time, is about 959 00:53:04,066 --> 00:53:05,333 saving face. 960 00:53:05,333 --> 00:53:07,066 It's about letting a few in 961 00:53:07,066 --> 00:53:09,600 to avoid more lawsuits. 962 00:53:09,600 --> 00:53:13,533 ♪ ♪ 963 00:53:19,600 --> 00:53:21,600 Pat is very much part 964 00:53:21,600 --> 00:53:24,066 of a group of activists at the grassroots level 965 00:53:24,066 --> 00:53:25,766 who are pushing for changes, 966 00:53:25,766 --> 00:53:28,833 certainly at the local level, 967 00:53:28,833 --> 00:53:31,200 but even more significantly, at the federal level. 968 00:53:35,600 --> 00:53:39,733 ♪ ♪ 969 00:53:39,733 --> 00:53:43,400 (indistinct talking) 970 00:53:44,766 --> 00:53:48,166 BAY: Pat's victory with the airlines 971 00:53:48,166 --> 00:53:50,533 takes place just as the civil rights movement 972 00:53:50,533 --> 00:53:52,266 is really heating up. 973 00:53:54,000 --> 00:53:55,300 Change is in the air. 974 00:53:55,300 --> 00:53:58,166 (protestors singing and clapping) 975 00:53:58,166 --> 00:54:05,733 CROWD: ♪ Freedom, freedom ♪ 976 00:54:05,733 --> 00:54:09,400 (horn honking) 977 00:54:10,600 --> 00:54:13,433 NEWS ANCHOR: Congress passes the most sweeping civil rights bill 978 00:54:13,433 --> 00:54:14,866 ever to be written into the Law, 979 00:54:14,866 --> 00:54:17,400 and thus reaffirms the conception of equality 980 00:54:17,400 --> 00:54:20,466 for all men that began with Lincoln and the Civil War 981 00:54:20,466 --> 00:54:21,966 100 years ago. 982 00:54:21,966 --> 00:54:26,600 The Negro won his freedom then; he wins his dignity now. 983 00:54:28,266 --> 00:54:30,666 Five hours after the House passes the measure, 984 00:54:30,666 --> 00:54:33,100 the Civil Rights Act of 1964 985 00:54:33,100 --> 00:54:36,133 is signed at the White House by President Johnson. 986 00:54:36,133 --> 00:54:38,300 (indistinct conversation) 987 00:54:38,300 --> 00:54:39,600 TIEMEYER: The Civil Rights Act 988 00:54:39,600 --> 00:54:42,400 was designed to address 989 00:54:42,400 --> 00:54:44,866 the race-based inequalities 990 00:54:44,866 --> 00:54:46,866 that have been a part of the United States 991 00:54:46,866 --> 00:54:49,133 since before the United States was founded. 992 00:54:50,566 --> 00:54:53,566 Less known about the Civil Rights Act 993 00:54:53,566 --> 00:54:55,666 is that the worker protections 994 00:54:55,666 --> 00:55:00,233 to prevent discrimination also covered sex. 995 00:55:00,233 --> 00:55:03,466 ♪ ♪ 996 00:55:06,966 --> 00:55:10,833 FUENTES: Just before it was passed, 997 00:55:10,833 --> 00:55:14,233 Howard Smith, a congressman from Virginia, 998 00:55:14,233 --> 00:55:17,133 introduced an amendment 999 00:55:17,133 --> 00:55:21,866 to include prohibition on gender discrimination. 1000 00:55:21,866 --> 00:55:22,900 It was then called 1001 00:55:22,900 --> 00:55:24,100 "sex discrimination." 1002 00:55:24,100 --> 00:55:26,200 ♪ ♪ 1003 00:55:28,900 --> 00:55:30,633 This stunned everybody there, 1004 00:55:30,633 --> 00:55:35,333 because this was a law that was supposed to help Black people. 1005 00:55:37,666 --> 00:55:39,466 What is your opinion, Mr. Chairman, 1006 00:55:39,466 --> 00:55:40,766 of the current civil rights bill? 1007 00:55:40,766 --> 00:55:43,733 Now, we've had trouble with 1008 00:55:43,733 --> 00:55:45,833 the so-called "civil rights" thing 1009 00:55:45,833 --> 00:55:50,600 for a good many years. 1010 00:55:50,600 --> 00:55:52,866 His motivations were not clear. 1011 00:55:56,833 --> 00:55:58,900 BARRY: One interpretation is that he did that 1012 00:55:58,900 --> 00:56:02,166 to add this laughable idea of sex discrimination 1013 00:56:02,166 --> 00:56:06,233 that would help tank the bill. 1014 00:56:06,233 --> 00:56:09,033 The other interpretation is that he wanted to ensure, 1015 00:56:09,033 --> 00:56:11,100 if this bill was gonna provide all these protections 1016 00:56:11,100 --> 00:56:12,433 for Black Americans, 1017 00:56:12,433 --> 00:56:15,100 that white women should get protection, as well. 1018 00:56:17,266 --> 00:56:21,200 If that's the ugliness of the sausage making, 1019 00:56:21,200 --> 00:56:23,066 I mean the sausage isn't that bad, right? 1020 00:56:23,066 --> 00:56:25,166 Because for the first time in the United States, 1021 00:56:25,166 --> 00:56:28,000 we now have employment protections 1022 00:56:28,000 --> 00:56:29,566 that are designed, really, 1023 00:56:29,566 --> 00:56:32,133 to promote women entering professions 1024 00:56:32,133 --> 00:56:34,033 that were otherwise reserved for men. 1025 00:56:36,033 --> 00:56:38,000 INMAN: Our eyes were like, oh, 1026 00:56:38,000 --> 00:56:40,766 that is gender. That includes gender. 1027 00:56:40,766 --> 00:56:43,766 Women have rights now. 1028 00:56:49,800 --> 00:56:55,900 IRELAND: The passage of the Civil Rights Act was a major step forward. 1029 00:56:55,900 --> 00:56:58,300 But the passing of a law is not enough. 1030 00:56:58,300 --> 00:57:00,533 It's nowhere near enough. 1031 00:57:00,533 --> 00:57:03,466 You comply with the law because you think 1032 00:57:03,466 --> 00:57:05,333 it's a good for the-- you know, 1033 00:57:05,333 --> 00:57:06,533 it's a good way to live. 1034 00:57:06,533 --> 00:57:07,866 You stop at a red light 1035 00:57:07,866 --> 00:57:11,033 so people don't crash into each other, good. 1036 00:57:11,033 --> 00:57:13,366 But if you pass a law 1037 00:57:13,366 --> 00:57:16,933 that people don't want to obey, they won't. 1038 00:57:22,666 --> 00:57:27,966 TIEMEYER: The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission was set up 1039 00:57:27,966 --> 00:57:30,933 to be the enforcement mechanism 1040 00:57:30,933 --> 00:57:35,100 to make sure that discrimination in employment 1041 00:57:35,100 --> 00:57:36,266 was not happening. 1042 00:57:36,266 --> 00:57:38,300 RECEPTIONIST: Good morning, 1043 00:57:38,300 --> 00:57:39,866 this is the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. 1044 00:57:39,866 --> 00:57:42,166 May I help you? 1045 00:57:42,166 --> 00:57:43,633 TIEMEYER: The expectation 1046 00:57:43,633 --> 00:57:47,833 at the EEOC, when they opened their doors, 1047 00:57:47,833 --> 00:57:49,000 was that they were gonna hear 1048 00:57:49,000 --> 00:57:52,400 from a bunch of African Americans 1049 00:57:52,400 --> 00:57:56,066 who had documented cases where 1050 00:57:56,066 --> 00:58:00,166 their rights as a worker had been ignored. 1051 00:58:02,333 --> 00:58:05,600 MONTAGUE: I was gonna be fired at age 32. 1052 00:58:05,600 --> 00:58:07,566 (airplane engine humming) 1053 00:58:07,566 --> 00:58:10,300 Dusty and I went to the EEOC 1054 00:58:10,300 --> 00:58:14,566 so I could file a complaint. 1055 00:58:14,566 --> 00:58:17,833 Dusty had heard they were opening that day, 1056 00:58:17,833 --> 00:58:21,266 so we planned our flight to be there. 1057 00:58:23,200 --> 00:58:24,700 And there were people putting 1058 00:58:24,700 --> 00:58:28,200 typewriters here and, you know, chairs there, 1059 00:58:28,200 --> 00:58:30,166 and getting it all straightened out. 1060 00:58:30,166 --> 00:58:32,200 They had just opened the doors. 1061 00:58:32,200 --> 00:58:35,166 They weren't really ready at all. 1062 00:58:35,166 --> 00:58:37,100 ♪ ♪ 1063 00:58:37,100 --> 00:58:39,900 ROADS: We were there the first day. 1064 00:58:39,900 --> 00:58:41,900 This Black woman looked at me, she said, 1065 00:58:41,900 --> 00:58:43,066 "You're free, white, and 21, 1066 00:58:43,066 --> 00:58:44,233 "what are you here for? 1067 00:58:44,233 --> 00:58:46,666 You have everything going for you." 1068 00:58:46,666 --> 00:58:48,400 So we said, "Sit down, honey. 1069 00:58:48,400 --> 00:58:49,966 I got a story to tell you." 1070 00:58:49,966 --> 00:58:51,866 And we told them, and they went, 1071 00:58:51,866 --> 00:58:53,866 "Ooh. Ooh." (typewriter keys clacking) 1072 00:58:53,866 --> 00:58:54,933 They couldn't believe it. 1073 00:58:54,933 --> 00:58:59,000 (phone ringing) 1074 00:58:59,000 --> 00:59:01,166 ♪ ♪ 1075 00:59:01,166 --> 00:59:04,800 FUENTES: I joined the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission 1076 00:59:04,800 --> 00:59:08,000 October 4, 1965, 1077 00:59:08,000 --> 00:59:10,000 three months after the agency opened. 1078 00:59:11,033 --> 00:59:14,000 I was the first woman attorney 1079 00:59:14,000 --> 00:59:16,700 in the office of the general counsel, 1080 00:59:16,700 --> 00:59:19,066 which dealt with answering 1081 00:59:19,066 --> 00:59:21,766 the big legal questions that came up 1082 00:59:21,766 --> 00:59:23,633 administering the law. 1083 00:59:23,633 --> 00:59:25,400 (phone ringing) 1084 00:59:25,400 --> 00:59:28,433 We had tons of complaints filed by the stewardesses. 1085 00:59:28,433 --> 00:59:29,833 (keys clacking) 1086 00:59:29,833 --> 00:59:31,633 TIEMEYER: They had no idea 1087 00:59:31,633 --> 00:59:35,300 what was coming, this volcanic kind of expression 1088 00:59:35,300 --> 00:59:38,066 of a yearning for justice 1089 00:59:38,066 --> 00:59:43,166 of women keeping it bottled up for so long. 1090 00:59:43,166 --> 00:59:45,700 (keys clacking, phones ringing) 1091 00:59:45,700 --> 00:59:49,233 IRELAND: They challenged restrictions on age, 1092 00:59:49,233 --> 00:59:52,666 the ability to get married, 1093 00:59:52,666 --> 00:59:56,233 that you couldn't be pregnant and be a flight attendant. 1094 00:59:56,233 --> 01:00:00,933 They filed complaint after complaint after complaint. 1095 01:00:00,933 --> 01:00:03,266 Within a year, flight attendants had more than 100 cases on file. 1096 01:00:05,033 --> 01:00:06,966 COOKE: These were not women who were setting out 1097 01:00:06,966 --> 01:00:09,233 to break barriers for women. 1098 01:00:09,233 --> 01:00:12,100 They just wanted to keep their jobs. 1099 01:00:12,100 --> 01:00:15,700 But the EEOC was not taking these complaints 1100 01:00:15,700 --> 01:00:17,333 based on gender very seriously. 1101 01:00:19,200 --> 01:00:21,833 FUENTES: There were commissioners who were favorable 1102 01:00:21,833 --> 01:00:23,466 to women's rights. 1103 01:00:23,466 --> 01:00:27,200 But the executive director was opposed to women's rights, 1104 01:00:27,200 --> 01:00:29,566 the vice chair was opposed. 1105 01:00:29,566 --> 01:00:35,166 And on the staff level, I was the only woman speaking out. 1106 01:00:36,500 --> 01:00:39,800 From an early age, I was sensitized 1107 01:00:39,800 --> 01:00:45,733 to the second-class treatment of Blacks in this country. 1108 01:00:45,733 --> 01:00:48,133 But I was blind 1109 01:00:48,133 --> 01:00:51,533 to the second-class treatment of women in this country. 1110 01:00:51,533 --> 01:00:54,900 I had never done anything or given any thought 1111 01:00:54,900 --> 01:00:57,333 to women's rights, but I read the statute. 1112 01:00:57,333 --> 01:01:03,400 The law said you have to handle cases of sex discrimination. 1113 01:01:03,400 --> 01:01:05,433 You don't have a choice, 1114 01:01:05,433 --> 01:01:09,066 when a law says something has to be investigated, 1115 01:01:09,066 --> 01:01:13,000 to say, "I don't feel like doing that part of the law." 1116 01:01:13,000 --> 01:01:16,633 (TV show theme song playing) 1117 01:01:19,433 --> 01:01:24,133 This book has sold more than 50,000 copies 1118 01:01:24,133 --> 01:01:25,600 in the hardcover edition, 1119 01:01:25,600 --> 01:01:28,633 and 700,000 have been published in paperback. 1120 01:01:28,633 --> 01:01:31,033 ♪ ♪ 1121 01:01:35,066 --> 01:01:36,700 J. FRANK WILLIS: Betty Friedan, 1122 01:01:36,700 --> 01:01:40,933 a trained psychologist turned housewife, mother, and author... 1123 01:01:40,933 --> 01:01:42,933 BETTY FRIEDAN: "The Feminine Mystique" is the name 1124 01:01:42,933 --> 01:01:46,666 that I have given to the image of woman 1125 01:01:46,666 --> 01:01:49,166 that we have been living by in America, 1126 01:01:49,166 --> 01:01:51,366 and, in fact, in most of the Western world 1127 01:01:51,366 --> 01:01:54,766 for the last, uh, 15 or 20 years. 1128 01:01:56,900 --> 01:02:00,133 IRELAND: "The Feminine Mystique" put words 1129 01:02:00,133 --> 01:02:05,033 around the disquiet that a lot of women 1130 01:02:05,033 --> 01:02:09,566 of a certain class were experiencing. 1131 01:02:09,566 --> 01:02:13,366 It called to people's attention the reality that women 1132 01:02:13,366 --> 01:02:18,433 who were smart and educated and could do so much 1133 01:02:18,433 --> 01:02:21,100 were confined to one role 1134 01:02:21,100 --> 01:02:22,833 once they were married and had children, 1135 01:02:22,833 --> 01:02:24,666 and that was mom and wife. 1136 01:02:24,666 --> 01:02:27,466 WOMAN: Miss Friedan, do you think maybe society is, 1137 01:02:27,466 --> 01:02:29,400 right now, in an age of evolution... 1138 01:02:29,400 --> 01:02:30,466 Yes. ...and of change? 1139 01:02:30,466 --> 01:02:31,666 Oh, yes, and I think 1140 01:02:31,666 --> 01:02:34,066 no one's going to hand women anything. 1141 01:02:34,066 --> 01:02:37,033 I think women must begin to say "yes" to themselves, 1142 01:02:37,033 --> 01:02:38,700 and become who they could be, 1143 01:02:38,700 --> 01:02:42,900 and ask, for society, the real solutions that women still need. 1144 01:02:45,666 --> 01:02:50,266 FUENTES: Betty Friedan came to the EEOC 1145 01:02:50,266 --> 01:02:53,366 because she thought she was going to write a follow-up book 1146 01:02:53,366 --> 01:02:57,066 to "The Feminine Mystique" about all the progress 1147 01:02:57,066 --> 01:02:59,866 she thought women had made. 1148 01:02:59,866 --> 01:03:02,533 And she saw me there, a woman, 1149 01:03:02,533 --> 01:03:05,366 so she came over to me, and she said, 1150 01:03:05,366 --> 01:03:07,333 "What's really going on here? What's happening?" 1151 01:03:08,333 --> 01:03:10,266 I was feeling pretty down. 1152 01:03:10,266 --> 01:03:13,400 I had had a discussion with the executive director 1153 01:03:13,400 --> 01:03:16,333 who was opposed to women's rights. 1154 01:03:16,333 --> 01:03:20,566 I asked her to come into my office, and I leveled with her. 1155 01:03:20,566 --> 01:03:23,366 I said, "What this country needs 1156 01:03:23,366 --> 01:03:26,033 is an organization to fight for women 1157 01:03:26,033 --> 01:03:30,700 like the NAACP fights for its members." 1158 01:03:30,700 --> 01:03:34,533 ♪ ♪ 1159 01:03:34,533 --> 01:03:37,333 IRELAND: Halloween weekend, 1966, 1160 01:03:37,333 --> 01:03:40,300 19 women and two men 1161 01:03:40,300 --> 01:03:43,733 met in the basement of the "Washington Post" 1162 01:03:43,733 --> 01:03:49,333 to form NOW, the National Organization for Women, 1163 01:03:49,333 --> 01:03:54,433 which had been conceived in the summer. 1164 01:03:54,433 --> 01:03:56,866 FUENTES: All of us wanted women 1165 01:03:56,866 --> 01:04:02,366 to be accepted in educational institutions on an equal basis. 1166 01:04:02,366 --> 01:04:05,666 And we wanted women to be treated equally on the job. 1167 01:04:05,666 --> 01:04:09,466 ♪ ♪ 1168 01:04:09,466 --> 01:04:13,566 IRELAND: Sonia started feeding information 1169 01:04:13,566 --> 01:04:16,100 to two of the other NOW founders 1170 01:04:16,100 --> 01:04:21,500 about what the EEOC was not doing about women's equality. 1171 01:04:25,466 --> 01:04:27,800 FUENTES: Then we would draft a letter, 1172 01:04:27,800 --> 01:04:31,666 from NOW to the EEOC, 1173 01:04:31,666 --> 01:04:35,166 complaining about the EEOC's action 1174 01:04:35,166 --> 01:04:37,900 in various sectors. 1175 01:04:39,433 --> 01:04:42,766 ♪ ♪ 1176 01:04:44,800 --> 01:04:48,466 I knew that wasn't proper procedure, 1177 01:04:48,466 --> 01:04:53,100 but, um, I was so emotionally involved 1178 01:04:53,100 --> 01:04:54,866 that I, that I did it. 1179 01:04:56,300 --> 01:05:00,666 To my amazement, nobody ever raised the question 1180 01:05:00,666 --> 01:05:04,166 of how come these people know what the commission is doing 1181 01:05:04,166 --> 01:05:06,000 at its innermost meetings? 1182 01:05:06,000 --> 01:05:09,466 (protestors shouting) 1183 01:05:09,466 --> 01:05:11,966 IRELAND: NOW took many directions 1184 01:05:11,966 --> 01:05:15,466 to try to pressure the EEOC to enforce the law. 1185 01:05:15,466 --> 01:05:17,166 (chanting) 1186 01:05:17,166 --> 01:05:19,333 They used demonstrations. 1187 01:05:19,333 --> 01:05:20,766 WOMAN: We have a lawyer contacting... 1188 01:05:20,766 --> 01:05:24,500 IRELAND: They filed lawsuits. 1189 01:05:24,500 --> 01:05:27,033 They went into the legislature 1190 01:05:27,033 --> 01:05:30,466 to say, "Hey, they aren't enforcing your law." 1191 01:05:30,466 --> 01:05:34,633 (chanting) 1192 01:05:39,300 --> 01:05:41,666 CATHERINE MACKIN: Ida Phillips is a waitress in Florida. 1193 01:05:41,666 --> 01:05:44,400 She was refused a job at a defense plant 1194 01:05:44,400 --> 01:05:47,200 because she had a preschool-aged child. 1195 01:05:47,200 --> 01:05:50,300 The company felt the child, not yet in school, 1196 01:05:50,300 --> 01:05:53,533 would keep Mrs. Phillips home from work too often. 1197 01:05:53,533 --> 01:05:55,266 She took her case to court, 1198 01:05:55,266 --> 01:05:58,900 and the Supreme Court has agreed to review it. 1199 01:05:58,900 --> 01:06:00,133 The Supreme Court is involved 1200 01:06:00,133 --> 01:06:03,200 because of the 1964 Civil Rights Law. 1201 01:06:05,233 --> 01:06:06,666 DOROTHY SUE COBBLE: One of the things 1202 01:06:06,666 --> 01:06:10,266 the EEOC did was to signal 1203 01:06:10,266 --> 01:06:12,500 how the courts were gonna think about things. 1204 01:06:15,200 --> 01:06:20,033 Of particular concern for the airlines, 1205 01:06:20,033 --> 01:06:25,500 was whether they were gonna have to change rules 1206 01:06:25,500 --> 01:06:28,800 about marriage and age. 1207 01:06:28,800 --> 01:06:32,400 ♪ ♪ 1208 01:06:32,400 --> 01:06:37,133 TIEMEYER: In Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, 1209 01:06:37,133 --> 01:06:39,900 there is mention of 1210 01:06:39,900 --> 01:06:43,333 a "Bona Fide Occupational Qualification." 1211 01:06:46,500 --> 01:06:49,200 FUENTES: That was a provision in the statute. 1212 01:06:49,200 --> 01:06:50,633 MAN: Hut! 1213 01:06:50,633 --> 01:06:55,266 FUENTES: And what it meant was, for some jobs, 1214 01:06:55,266 --> 01:06:59,066 you don't have to hire men and women equally. 1215 01:06:59,066 --> 01:07:00,933 (crowd cheering) MAN: Play ball! 1216 01:07:00,933 --> 01:07:06,333 FUENTES: For example, if you were hiring somebody as a wet nurse, 1217 01:07:06,333 --> 01:07:08,800 you don't have to interview men for that job. 1218 01:07:08,800 --> 01:07:11,133 (baby fussing) 1219 01:07:12,433 --> 01:07:16,366 COBBLE: The airlines thought it was absolutely necessary 1220 01:07:16,366 --> 01:07:18,366 for their business 1221 01:07:18,366 --> 01:07:22,033 that they have only women, and, 1222 01:07:22,033 --> 01:07:23,833 because they only had women, 1223 01:07:23,833 --> 01:07:25,633 they really weren't discriminating. 1224 01:07:25,633 --> 01:07:27,500 (chatting indistinctly) 1225 01:07:27,500 --> 01:07:29,600 TIEMEYER: Airlines were very confident 1226 01:07:29,600 --> 01:07:35,266 that the public liked having stewardesses on planes. 1227 01:07:35,266 --> 01:07:37,833 They actually did surveys 1228 01:07:37,833 --> 01:07:41,666 that showed that 80% of the flying public 1229 01:07:41,666 --> 01:07:44,300 preferred stewardesses over stewards. 1230 01:07:44,300 --> 01:07:48,266 ♪ ♪ 1231 01:07:48,266 --> 01:07:51,700 COBBLE: They pushed the EEOC to have hearings 1232 01:07:51,700 --> 01:07:53,900 so they could clarify the situation. 1233 01:07:58,266 --> 01:08:02,900 BARRY: They put on this whole elaborate defense. 1234 01:08:02,900 --> 01:08:05,633 "Men can carry trays, but they can't be charming. 1235 01:08:08,300 --> 01:08:09,433 "They can't create 1236 01:08:09,433 --> 01:08:10,900 "the liveliness and the, 1237 01:08:10,900 --> 01:08:13,733 the atmosphere that, that young women can create." 1238 01:08:13,733 --> 01:08:17,400 "And we argue that a man cannot do this 1239 01:08:17,400 --> 01:08:21,766 "in the same capacity whatsoever that a woman can. 1240 01:08:21,766 --> 01:08:24,766 And, therefore, being a woman is essential for the job." 1241 01:08:26,000 --> 01:08:29,766 BARRY: The Employment Opportunities Commission issues its opinion... 1242 01:08:32,933 --> 01:08:35,566 ...and it says being female is absolutely not 1243 01:08:35,566 --> 01:08:37,533 a qualification for this job. 1244 01:08:38,766 --> 01:08:42,333 FUENTES: Then they had to issue the second decision, 1245 01:08:42,333 --> 01:08:45,833 which was, is it a violation of Title VII 1246 01:08:45,833 --> 01:08:49,966 for airlines to terminate or ground stewardesses 1247 01:08:49,966 --> 01:08:53,666 at the age of 32 or 35 or when they got married? 1248 01:08:54,733 --> 01:08:58,366 I drafted the decision of the commission 1249 01:08:58,366 --> 01:09:02,166 finding that it was unlawful. 1250 01:09:02,166 --> 01:09:07,466 TIEMEYER: One option for the airlines is to just give up 1251 01:09:07,466 --> 01:09:11,533 and to change their hiring and firing policies. 1252 01:09:11,533 --> 01:09:17,200 But if something is so dear to you, then you're gonna fight. 1253 01:09:19,000 --> 01:09:23,166 BRODIGAN: I was a doctor's assistant in Washington, D.C. 1254 01:09:23,166 --> 01:09:27,700 I did all the bookkeeping, I did all the secretarial work. 1255 01:09:27,700 --> 01:09:29,633 I met Richard Lansdale. 1256 01:09:29,633 --> 01:09:31,900 He was an attorney, 1257 01:09:31,900 --> 01:09:33,200 and I fell in love. 1258 01:09:33,200 --> 01:09:35,366 That was-- I just fell in love with him. 1259 01:09:36,566 --> 01:09:39,700   He said, "Why don't you get out of what you're doing now 1260 01:09:39,700 --> 01:09:42,400 and become a stewardess?" 1261 01:09:42,400 --> 01:09:43,800 I was working 1262 01:09:43,800 --> 01:09:46,533 60 hours a week and getting paid for 40 1263 01:09:46,533 --> 01:09:48,766 and no vacation, no sick leave. 1264 01:09:48,766 --> 01:09:50,666 So I had no benefits at all. 1265 01:09:50,666 --> 01:09:55,000 So, it seemed like a good thing to do. 1266 01:09:55,000 --> 01:09:58,200 ♪ ♪ 1267 01:09:58,200 --> 01:10:01,933 I went to United, and they hired me. 1268 01:10:04,333 --> 01:10:10,333 When I was hired, stewardesses could not be married. 1269 01:10:10,333 --> 01:10:12,100 I thought it was wrong. 1270 01:10:12,100 --> 01:10:15,166 Just, why can't you be married? 1271 01:10:15,166 --> 01:10:17,000 Pilots can be married. 1272 01:10:17,000 --> 01:10:21,100 Why is it okay for a pilot to be married and not a stewardess? 1273 01:10:21,100 --> 01:10:24,533 What... I don't understand, what's the difference? 1274 01:10:27,733 --> 01:10:32,333 I was secretly married for four years. 1275 01:10:32,333 --> 01:10:35,700 ♪ ♪ 1276 01:10:35,700 --> 01:10:41,300 We had observation reports called "check rides," 1277 01:10:41,300 --> 01:10:45,466 and you were evaluated on everything. 1278 01:10:46,933 --> 01:10:49,933 ♪ ♪ 1279 01:10:58,466 --> 01:11:01,166 I remember there was a supervisor 1280 01:11:01,166 --> 01:11:04,366 who gave me a performance evaluation. 1281 01:11:06,400 --> 01:11:10,833 She said one of my problems was that I just was tenacious. 1282 01:11:13,466 --> 01:11:16,600 They wanted someone who complied. 1283 01:11:16,600 --> 01:11:19,233 You did what you were told to do, 1284 01:11:19,233 --> 01:11:21,133 and you didn't challenge them. 1285 01:11:21,133 --> 01:11:24,966 Um, I found it hard not to challenge them. 1286 01:11:26,133 --> 01:11:31,533 When they started giving me extra check rides, I thought, 1287 01:11:31,533 --> 01:11:34,166 "They have to know I'm married, 1288 01:11:34,166 --> 01:11:35,800 and they're trying to get rid of me." 1289 01:11:44,400 --> 01:11:48,100 (birds chirping, dog barking) 1290 01:11:48,100 --> 01:11:50,833 I was off of work for nine months. 1291 01:11:52,466 --> 01:11:54,600 I really never wanted to be a housewife. 1292 01:11:55,666 --> 01:11:58,100 I wanted to get back in the air. 1293 01:11:58,100 --> 01:12:01,200 And then one day I said, "To hell with this." 1294 01:12:01,200 --> 01:12:03,633 And I went to the "Miami Herald." 1295 01:12:03,633 --> 01:12:06,433 And I said, "Do you want a funny story?" 1296 01:12:06,433 --> 01:12:10,333 ♪ ♪ 1297 01:12:14,100 --> 01:12:17,233 DAVID BRINKLEY: This stewardess married secretly. 1298 01:12:17,233 --> 01:12:19,033 Then, when she admitted she was married, 1299 01:12:19,033 --> 01:12:20,766 the airline fired her. 1300 01:12:20,766 --> 01:12:22,700 She, the stewardess, said today, 1301 01:12:22,700 --> 01:12:25,666 "They certainly have a funny set of morals." 1302 01:12:26,966 --> 01:12:28,400 BRODIGAN: When it hit the news, 1303 01:12:28,400 --> 01:12:30,200 there was a group of stewardesses 1304 01:12:30,200 --> 01:12:35,233 in Miami, and they all wore wedding bands to work. 1305 01:12:35,233 --> 01:12:38,966 They kind of ganged up on the company. 1306 01:12:42,333 --> 01:12:46,633 It hit the fan in the executive offices in Chicago. 1307 01:12:48,566 --> 01:12:52,333 Fortunately, I had free legal services from my husband, 1308 01:12:52,333 --> 01:12:54,533 and I filed a lawsuit. 1309 01:12:58,333 --> 01:13:01,400 BARRY: Flight attendants are contesting age and marriage rules 1310 01:13:01,400 --> 01:13:02,833 on a variety of airlines. 1311 01:13:05,300 --> 01:13:07,166 COOKE: For the first couple of years, the judges who were hearing 1312 01:13:07,166 --> 01:13:09,366 these sex discrimination cases 1313 01:13:09,366 --> 01:13:12,700 really sided with the airlines, almost unilaterally. 1314 01:13:13,700 --> 01:13:16,166 TIEMEYER: Then there's a crucial court decision 1315 01:13:16,166 --> 01:13:19,300 where the judges determine 1316 01:13:19,300 --> 01:13:23,233 the essential work that an airline does 1317 01:13:23,233 --> 01:13:25,266 is safely transport people 1318 01:13:25,266 --> 01:13:26,966 from point A to point B. 1319 01:13:26,966 --> 01:13:30,600 If that's the essential work of an airline, 1320 01:13:30,600 --> 01:13:33,700 then the essential work of a flight attendant 1321 01:13:33,700 --> 01:13:35,433 is about safety. 1322 01:13:37,000 --> 01:13:39,733 It doesn't matter if you're a woman. 1323 01:13:39,733 --> 01:13:43,500 It doesn't matter if you're under age 32. 1324 01:13:43,500 --> 01:13:45,866 It doesn't matter if you're married. 1325 01:13:46,866 --> 01:13:49,200 BARRY: We start to see a kind of consensus among courts, 1326 01:13:49,200 --> 01:13:51,100 and they start to rule for flight attendants. 1327 01:13:57,200 --> 01:13:59,100 BRODIGAN: As it turned out, 1328 01:13:59,100 --> 01:14:00,833 they had to give me all of my back pay, 1329 01:14:00,833 --> 01:14:03,766 and they had to pay my lawyer's fees. 1330 01:14:09,566 --> 01:14:12,800 COBBLE: Flight attendants had achieved a lot 1331 01:14:12,800 --> 01:14:17,600 in terms of gaining certain workplace rights. 1332 01:14:17,600 --> 01:14:20,400 But there was a lot more to be done. 1333 01:14:21,966 --> 01:14:24,333 GRANT: In the earlier days, aircrafts were smaller, 1334 01:14:24,333 --> 01:14:26,100 so therefore it was very important 1335 01:14:26,100 --> 01:14:28,133 to have a weight limit. 1336 01:14:28,133 --> 01:14:30,966 You have to filter in fuel, baggage, 1337 01:14:30,966 --> 01:14:32,533 the weight of the passengers 1338 01:14:32,533 --> 01:14:35,833 and you also had to add in the stewardess's weight. 1339 01:14:36,833 --> 01:14:38,466 WOMAN: Remember to bend your knees. 1340 01:14:38,466 --> 01:14:41,033 FILM NARRATOR: The girls who fly come in various sizes. 1341 01:14:41,033 --> 01:14:42,800 The assortment is greater than most people think. 1342 01:14:42,800 --> 01:14:45,100 They can be as tall as 5'9". 1343 01:14:45,100 --> 01:14:50,566 One airline takes girls as short as 4'5". 1344 01:14:50,566 --> 01:14:52,666 BRODIGAN: They had a card, your appearance card. 1345 01:14:52,666 --> 01:14:55,533 They weighed you in every month and put your weight down. 1346 01:14:57,300 --> 01:15:00,933 HOOD: You would just get off a plane, a supervisor is waiting for you 1347 01:15:00,933 --> 01:15:03,200 with a clipboard. 1348 01:15:03,200 --> 01:15:06,000 There's a scale at the bottom of the stairs, 1349 01:15:06,000 --> 01:15:07,266 and if you were even one pound 1350 01:15:07,266 --> 01:15:08,300 over your hiring weight, 1351 01:15:08,300 --> 01:15:09,900 you were put on probation 1352 01:15:09,900 --> 01:15:11,300 and you had three chances 1353 01:15:11,300 --> 01:15:12,533 to lose that weight. 1354 01:15:14,600 --> 01:15:16,300 GRANT: I took water pills. 1355 01:15:16,300 --> 01:15:18,366 I took diet pills. 1356 01:15:18,366 --> 01:15:19,966 I starved. 1357 01:15:21,133 --> 01:15:23,400 Those were some of the tricks that all of us did, 1358 01:15:23,400 --> 01:15:25,933 all of us did. 1359 01:15:25,933 --> 01:15:27,566 We just passed the tricks around and said, 1360 01:15:27,566 --> 01:15:30,400 "Here, take this laxative, you'll lose three pounds." 1361 01:15:30,400 --> 01:15:31,433 "Oh, here, 1362 01:15:31,433 --> 01:15:33,933 take this Dexedrine Spansule. 1363 01:15:33,933 --> 01:15:35,800 You won't be hungry all day." 1364 01:15:35,800 --> 01:15:39,633 Just for one pound, you could be taken off of payroll. 1365 01:15:41,800 --> 01:15:43,633 TIEMEYER: No one else at the airline except women 1366 01:15:43,633 --> 01:15:46,433 were being held to this standard. 1367 01:15:46,433 --> 01:15:47,900 If you're thinking of it in terms 1368 01:15:47,900 --> 01:15:52,733 of a system of bodily control, this is pretty extreme. 1369 01:15:53,733 --> 01:15:56,333 (signal chimes) 1370 01:15:56,333 --> 01:15:58,200 BARRY: Airline executives had approached flight attendants 1371 01:15:58,200 --> 01:16:02,000 for so long in such a patronizing way. 1372 01:16:02,000 --> 01:16:04,600 Even though so much had changed around them, 1373 01:16:04,600 --> 01:16:08,233 airline executives don't seem to want to evolve with the times. 1374 01:16:10,800 --> 01:16:15,833 (commercial music playing) 1375 01:16:24,533 --> 01:16:26,666 COMMERCIAL NARRATOR: When a Braniff International hostess meets you 1376 01:16:26,666 --> 01:16:27,966 on the airplane... 1377 01:16:29,633 --> 01:16:32,266 ...she'll be dressed like this. 1378 01:16:32,266 --> 01:16:38,166 VANTOCH: Airlines had this stodgy, old-fashioned image 1379 01:16:38,166 --> 01:16:40,466 that was dependable, reliable, 1380 01:16:40,466 --> 01:16:44,166 but not hip or cool. 1381 01:16:45,200 --> 01:16:48,733 COMMERCIAL NARRATOR: When she brings you your dinner, 1382 01:16:48,733 --> 01:16:51,100 she'll be dressed this way. 1383 01:16:51,100 --> 01:16:57,566 VANTOCH: Braniff hired Emilio Pucci to design stewardess uniforms. 1384 01:16:57,566 --> 01:17:01,966 NARRATOR: The "Air Strip" is brought to you by Braniff International, 1385 01:17:01,966 --> 01:17:04,633 who believes that even an airline hostess 1386 01:17:04,633 --> 01:17:07,000 should look like a girl. 1387 01:17:07,000 --> 01:17:09,866 (commercial music continues) 1388 01:17:12,366 --> 01:17:18,433 VANTOCH: This ad was not just appealing to male business travelers. 1389 01:17:18,433 --> 01:17:20,566 It's appealing to women 1390 01:17:20,566 --> 01:17:23,633 who want to be young and fashionable. 1391 01:17:24,600 --> 01:17:26,233 This was really 1392 01:17:26,233 --> 01:17:31,500 the beginning of an entirely new version of the stewardess. 1393 01:17:31,500 --> 01:17:36,533 ♪ ♪ 1394 01:17:39,933 --> 01:17:41,833 TIEMEYER: Airlines start to go, 1395 01:17:41,833 --> 01:17:44,966 "How high can we go with these skirt lines?" 1396 01:17:44,966 --> 01:17:48,333 Remember what it was like before Southwest Airlines? 1397 01:17:48,333 --> 01:17:50,800 You didn't have hostesses in hot pants. 1398 01:17:50,800 --> 01:17:52,300 Remember? 1399 01:17:54,100 --> 01:17:57,466 ♪ ♪ 1400 01:18:01,500 --> 01:18:05,033 COOKE: Prices were still fixed, so airlines wanted 1401 01:18:05,033 --> 01:18:07,800 to get market share in any way that they could. 1402 01:18:07,800 --> 01:18:09,933 ♪ ♪ 1403 01:18:09,933 --> 01:18:12,333 HEENAN: There was one uniform that was a problem 1404 01:18:12,333 --> 01:18:16,466 because if you bent over, cleavage would show. 1405 01:18:16,466 --> 01:18:18,300 We're going around... (laughs) 1406 01:18:18,300 --> 01:18:19,900 keeping our hand on... 1407 01:18:19,900 --> 01:18:21,833 on our chest. 1408 01:18:26,266 --> 01:18:31,066 VANTOCH: TWA introduced foreign-accent flights. 1409 01:18:31,066 --> 01:18:35,400 They had four different designs for the uniforms, 1410 01:18:35,400 --> 01:18:37,900 and they were all paper. 1411 01:18:37,900 --> 01:18:40,633 HEENAN: The paper dresses were either 1412 01:18:40,633 --> 01:18:42,833 an olde English wench, 1413 01:18:42,833 --> 01:18:45,100 a French cocktail, 1414 01:18:45,100 --> 01:18:47,233 an Italian toga, 1415 01:18:47,233 --> 01:18:49,833 or the Manhattan penthouse. 1416 01:18:51,600 --> 01:18:53,933 I was an olde English wench. 1417 01:18:53,933 --> 01:18:57,033 Maybe they... maybe they wanted us to speak like Chaucer 1418 01:18:57,033 --> 01:18:58,333 or something, I don't know. 1419 01:19:00,500 --> 01:19:03,166 You had to kind of be careful, first of all, 1420 01:19:03,166 --> 01:19:04,866 trying to get it on, 1421 01:19:04,866 --> 01:19:09,033 that you didn't rip, which did happen sometimes. 1422 01:19:09,033 --> 01:19:11,166 And you had to take off your other clothes 1423 01:19:11,166 --> 01:19:14,333 in a tiny bathroom. 1424 01:19:14,333 --> 01:19:17,100 And then parade around in them. 1425 01:19:17,100 --> 01:19:19,333 It was ridiculous. 1426 01:19:23,666 --> 01:19:25,366 I'm Diane. 1427 01:19:25,366 --> 01:19:27,966 I've got 747s to Miami. Fly me. 1428 01:19:27,966 --> 01:19:30,400 I'm Terry, I've got great connections in Miami, 1429 01:19:30,400 --> 01:19:32,166 all over the sunshine states of America. 1430 01:19:32,166 --> 01:19:33,300 Fly me. 1431 01:19:33,300 --> 01:19:34,900 I'm Marisa. 1432 01:19:34,900 --> 01:19:37,066 I've got nonstop flights to Miami every day. 1433 01:19:37,066 --> 01:19:38,300 Fly me. 1434 01:19:38,300 --> 01:19:40,600 "Fly Me." 1435 01:19:40,600 --> 01:19:41,766 Fly me how? 1436 01:19:41,766 --> 01:19:43,966 What are you going to do, get on top of me? 1437 01:19:43,966 --> 01:19:46,933 You can fly me morning, afternoon, or night. 1438 01:19:46,933 --> 01:19:49,733 Just say when. 1439 01:19:49,733 --> 01:19:52,200 I'm Judy, and I was born to fly. 1440 01:19:52,200 --> 01:19:53,800 Fly me. ANNOUNCER: Fly Judy. 1441 01:19:53,800 --> 01:19:55,933 HEENAN: It was pretty close 1442 01:19:55,933 --> 01:19:57,900 to "(muted) me." 1443 01:19:57,900 --> 01:20:00,866 And I, I hated that. 1444 01:20:00,866 --> 01:20:03,466 It was really an insult. 1445 01:20:05,066 --> 01:20:07,933 COBBLE: It wasn't just that the ads 1446 01:20:07,933 --> 01:20:11,666 were demeaning in some abstract way. 1447 01:20:11,666 --> 01:20:17,266 It concretely affected the women's day-to-day lives. 1448 01:20:17,266 --> 01:20:20,700 It made their job much harder. 1449 01:20:20,700 --> 01:20:24,166 We knew when people passed by us and felt our butts, 1450 01:20:24,166 --> 01:20:27,166 or they accidentally pretended they were reaching for something 1451 01:20:27,166 --> 01:20:28,266 to feel our breasts, 1452 01:20:28,266 --> 01:20:30,700 or trapped us, you know, 1453 01:20:30,700 --> 01:20:34,400 tried to squeeze past something so they could feel your body. 1454 01:20:35,400 --> 01:20:37,600 The pilots had a little habit, in particular, 1455 01:20:37,600 --> 01:20:39,633 one of them I remember, when I was going to my room 1456 01:20:39,633 --> 01:20:43,733 at the layover, and he ran his hand down my back and he said, 1457 01:20:43,733 --> 01:20:45,733 "Oh, I see you're a modern woman. 1458 01:20:45,733 --> 01:20:47,566 You don't wear a bra." 1459 01:20:49,233 --> 01:20:50,833 COOKE: Some women were busy 1460 01:20:50,833 --> 01:20:53,100 enjoying their new freedoms. 1461 01:20:53,100 --> 01:20:55,133 Freedoms which they felt 1462 01:20:55,133 --> 01:20:56,600 very happy about, 1463 01:20:56,600 --> 01:20:59,033 to exist as sexual beings 1464 01:20:59,033 --> 01:21:02,100 in a world that was now willing to acknowledge them as such. 1465 01:21:03,666 --> 01:21:05,633 But those campaigns in particular really did cause 1466 01:21:05,633 --> 01:21:08,833 a much wider swath of the women who were working 1467 01:21:08,833 --> 01:21:11,466 as stewardesses to stand up and say, "Hang on. 1468 01:21:11,466 --> 01:21:13,933 That's one step too far." 1469 01:21:13,933 --> 01:21:17,700 (helicopter whirring) 1470 01:21:18,700 --> 01:21:21,600 (explosions) 1471 01:21:23,700 --> 01:21:25,933 (munitions firing) 1472 01:21:27,466 --> 01:21:31,233 TIEMEYER: Just as stewardesses are becoming more sexualized, 1473 01:21:31,233 --> 01:21:33,433 the world is becoming more complicated. 1474 01:21:34,933 --> 01:21:39,933 This is the darkest hour in America's Cold War fight. 1475 01:21:41,333 --> 01:21:44,000 (engine roaring) 1476 01:21:45,633 --> 01:21:47,900 We'd like to welcome you aboard Flying Tiger line 1477 01:21:47,900 --> 01:21:50,233 flight number F2B3 1478 01:21:50,233 --> 01:21:52,433 to Bien Hoa, Vietnam. 1479 01:21:54,133 --> 01:21:57,866 TIEMEYER: By 1968, there are 500,000 troops on the ground 1480 01:21:57,866 --> 01:21:59,200 in Vietnam at any given moment. 1481 01:22:00,766 --> 01:22:03,700 To maintain those numbers, 1482 01:22:03,700 --> 01:22:05,033 the U.S. military can't do it alone. 1483 01:22:05,033 --> 01:22:08,266 So they contract with private airlines. 1484 01:22:09,433 --> 01:22:13,566 The arrangement is that they're leasing the jet, 1485 01:22:13,566 --> 01:22:15,400 fully staffed. 1486 01:22:18,033 --> 01:22:21,266 BRODIGAN: Flying in, it was very somber. 1487 01:22:21,266 --> 01:22:24,200 The soldiers knew where they were going. 1488 01:22:28,200 --> 01:22:30,933 INMAN: We usually landed in the middle of the night, 1489 01:22:30,933 --> 01:22:33,533 and got in and out of Vietnam 1490 01:22:33,533 --> 01:22:37,333 as quickly as possible-- men off, men on. 1491 01:22:37,333 --> 01:22:39,666 They were shooting rockets, 1492 01:22:39,666 --> 01:22:42,066 and that would've been a good score 1493 01:22:42,066 --> 01:22:45,833 if they could pull down a 747. 1494 01:22:47,600 --> 01:22:50,266 BRODIGAN: When we landed, if you heard gunshots 1495 01:22:50,266 --> 01:22:54,466 you had to evacuate the aircraft quickly. 1496 01:22:54,466 --> 01:22:56,266 You ran to the bunkers. 1497 01:22:59,233 --> 01:23:02,400 ANNOUNCER (over loudspeaker): May I have your attention in the terminal area. 1498 01:23:02,400 --> 01:23:04,433 BRODIGAN: Every time we left, going home, 1499 01:23:04,433 --> 01:23:07,800 there's this absolute huge roar. 1500 01:23:07,800 --> 01:23:10,500 (roaring cheers) 1501 01:23:12,266 --> 01:23:16,400 BRODIGAN: Some of the soldiers got hooked on drugs. 1502 01:23:16,400 --> 01:23:19,200 I remember one flight, 1503 01:23:19,200 --> 01:23:22,266 someone had not been weaned off of whatever they were on, 1504 01:23:22,266 --> 01:23:25,866 and he was just shaking all the way back. 1505 01:23:26,900 --> 01:23:29,433 I just put my arms around him and held him, 1506 01:23:29,433 --> 01:23:31,900 until we got to where we were going 1507 01:23:31,900 --> 01:23:35,833 and they got medical transport for him. 1508 01:23:38,100 --> 01:23:41,533 TIEMEYER: The flight attendant profession has always struggled 1509 01:23:41,533 --> 01:23:43,966 with the differences between 1510 01:23:43,966 --> 01:23:48,000 the intensity and seriousness of the work that must be done, 1511 01:23:48,000 --> 01:23:50,000 especially as safety professionals, 1512 01:23:50,000 --> 01:23:51,633 and then you've got 1513 01:23:51,633 --> 01:23:54,833 this public role of being 1514 01:23:54,833 --> 01:23:59,633 desirable, of being serene, of being charming. 1515 01:23:59,633 --> 01:24:01,900 The late '60s, early '70s 1516 01:24:01,900 --> 01:24:06,533 is this very precarious and completely confused moment. 1517 01:24:06,533 --> 01:24:08,166 (audience laughter) 1518 01:24:08,166 --> 01:24:11,533 Stewardess! I think my window's open! 1519 01:24:11,533 --> 01:24:13,233 (audience laughter) 1520 01:24:13,233 --> 01:24:15,133 "It's not my aisle." 1521 01:24:15,133 --> 01:24:17,166 (audience laughter) 1522 01:24:17,166 --> 01:24:20,533 They are so dumb. 1523 01:24:20,533 --> 01:24:23,366 Beautiful, but dumb. 1524 01:24:25,400 --> 01:24:29,666 TIEMEYER: You're being marketed, basically, as a Barbie doll, 1525 01:24:29,666 --> 01:24:33,166 and yet doing more and more complex work. 1526 01:24:33,166 --> 01:24:35,500 There's a fundamental incompatibility 1527 01:24:35,500 --> 01:24:37,866 between these two things. 1528 01:24:37,866 --> 01:24:40,500 (sirens blaring) 1529 01:24:40,500 --> 01:24:42,033 REPORTER: The scene was an all too familiar one 1530 01:24:42,033 --> 01:24:43,900 at LaGuardia Airport today, 1531 01:24:43,900 --> 01:24:45,133 as an early afternoon bomb threat 1532 01:24:45,133 --> 01:24:46,600 forced the evacuation of the airport. 1533 01:24:50,433 --> 01:24:54,566 IRELAND: In the late '60s, there were a lot of bomb threats. 1534 01:24:54,566 --> 01:24:57,366 And once you get a bomb threat for an airplane, 1535 01:24:57,366 --> 01:24:59,266 you evacuate it, 1536 01:24:59,266 --> 01:25:02,733 and you don't get back on until they've cleared it. 1537 01:25:02,733 --> 01:25:06,666 So we had a bomb threat, and we'd evacuated the airplane. 1538 01:25:06,666 --> 01:25:09,666 The pilot comes out of the cockpit and says to me, 1539 01:25:09,666 --> 01:25:11,400 "While we're here, 1540 01:25:11,400 --> 01:25:15,233 would you mind cooking me a steak and make it medium rare?" 1541 01:25:16,800 --> 01:25:18,766 Without even thinking, I went to the galley, 1542 01:25:18,766 --> 01:25:22,033 I turned on the oven. 1543 01:25:22,033 --> 01:25:24,666 And then all of a sudden it struck me. 1544 01:25:24,666 --> 01:25:27,200 There I was in the galley of an aircraft 1545 01:25:27,200 --> 01:25:29,566 that might explode at any minute, 1546 01:25:29,566 --> 01:25:31,200 cooking this guy a steak. 1547 01:25:32,700 --> 01:25:35,800 I had one of those clicks 1548 01:25:35,800 --> 01:25:40,433 where, "Wait a minute, why would I be doing this?" 1549 01:25:42,066 --> 01:25:43,400 I walked off the airplane 1550 01:25:43,400 --> 01:25:45,466 and I said, "You can cook your steak yourself. 1551 01:25:45,466 --> 01:25:47,833 I'm not staying there." 1552 01:25:48,900 --> 01:25:52,000 That moment was a turning point for me. 1553 01:25:53,166 --> 01:25:56,033 (beeping) 1554 01:25:56,033 --> 01:25:59,066 The men don't have to wear hats with their uniform, why do we? 1555 01:25:59,066 --> 01:26:02,466 The men don't have to wear girdles, why do we? 1556 01:26:02,466 --> 01:26:06,266 The men got single rooms, the women did not. 1557 01:26:06,266 --> 01:26:08,700 Once you open your eyes, 1558 01:26:08,700 --> 01:26:11,700 you can never wholly close them again. 1559 01:26:13,133 --> 01:26:17,200 ♪ ♪ 1560 01:26:18,766 --> 01:26:21,066 INMAN: When I was 30 years old, 1561 01:26:21,066 --> 01:26:24,666 I was the master executive chairman 1562 01:26:24,666 --> 01:26:27,266 with the union, 1563 01:26:27,266 --> 01:26:30,300 which entitled me to sign 1564 01:26:30,300 --> 01:26:34,566 a non-discriminatory contract with Northwest Airlines. 1565 01:26:37,566 --> 01:26:42,466 It included a provision for stewardesses to become pursers. 1566 01:26:44,233 --> 01:26:46,033 The purser handled 1567 01:26:46,033 --> 01:26:49,666 all of the paperwork on international flights. 1568 01:26:51,466 --> 01:26:54,166 They did not have weight check. 1569 01:26:54,166 --> 01:26:56,533 They were able to wear eyeglasses. 1570 01:26:57,533 --> 01:26:59,866 And they always had single rooms. 1571 01:27:01,366 --> 01:27:02,966 There was no reason why 1572 01:27:02,966 --> 01:27:05,966 a female could not be a purser. 1573 01:27:07,133 --> 01:27:08,833 MAN: Remove your jacket from its package 1574 01:27:08,833 --> 01:27:10,700 and place the jacket over your head. 1575 01:27:10,700 --> 01:27:14,933 TIEMEYER: If you were a woman that wanted to make a career out of flying, 1576 01:27:14,933 --> 01:27:16,933 your natural inclination 1577 01:27:16,933 --> 01:27:18,900 would be to move to the purser position 1578 01:27:18,900 --> 01:27:22,466 because of the better pay. 1579 01:27:22,466 --> 01:27:25,600 But certain airlines, like Northwest, 1580 01:27:25,600 --> 01:27:30,333 refused to hire women 1581 01:27:30,333 --> 01:27:31,866 for the purser position. 1582 01:27:35,333 --> 01:27:38,033 INMAN: In 1967, 1583 01:27:38,033 --> 01:27:42,900 Northwest hired five men off the street to be pursers. 1584 01:27:45,933 --> 01:27:48,100 I called the director of Labor Relations and I said, 1585 01:27:48,100 --> 01:27:51,966 "The contract requires you to post 1586 01:27:51,966 --> 01:27:55,633 these purser job positions to everyone," 1587 01:27:55,633 --> 01:27:58,533 which he did. 1588 01:28:02,600 --> 01:28:05,166 The men made the stewardesses feel 1589 01:28:05,166 --> 01:28:07,633 that they were not entitled to the job, 1590 01:28:07,633 --> 01:28:11,400 and they could not handle the job of purser. 1591 01:28:12,766 --> 01:28:16,266 I realized as master executive chairman 1592 01:28:16,266 --> 01:28:18,400 that someone had to do it. 1593 01:28:18,400 --> 01:28:20,566 So I applied for the job. 1594 01:28:22,566 --> 01:28:24,700 I became the first and only female purser 1595 01:28:24,700 --> 01:28:27,566 with Northwest Airlines. 1596 01:28:31,500 --> 01:28:34,633 When I became a purser, I actually took a pay cut. 1597 01:28:36,166 --> 01:28:41,633 The male pursers were getting $250 more per month. 1598 01:28:41,633 --> 01:28:44,300 It was not fair at all. 1599 01:28:44,300 --> 01:28:47,800 Why should I be treated differently than the men? 1600 01:28:49,066 --> 01:28:53,366 My whole thought was, I am right and they are wrong. 1601 01:28:53,366 --> 01:28:57,500 And as long as I am right, 1602 01:28:57,500 --> 01:28:59,633 I will pursue this. 1603 01:29:01,933 --> 01:29:05,000 Michael Gottesman was an expert in labor law. 1604 01:29:06,466 --> 01:29:08,433 I made an appointment to see him. 1605 01:29:11,000 --> 01:29:13,233 Our expertise was labor law and employment law. 1606 01:29:13,233 --> 01:29:15,566 We were the logical people to call. 1607 01:29:17,266 --> 01:29:21,233 INMAN: I laid out the whole picture of the discrimination 1608 01:29:21,233 --> 01:29:25,666 and how we had no recourse. 1609 01:29:29,700 --> 01:29:32,766 GOTTESMAN: In the course of describing 1610 01:29:32,766 --> 01:29:36,700 her efforts to get the purser job, 1611 01:29:36,700 --> 01:29:38,700 she just said offhandedly, 1612 01:29:38,700 --> 01:29:40,866 "You know, it's particularly ridiculous 1613 01:29:40,866 --> 01:29:43,100 "because it's really the same job. 1614 01:29:47,433 --> 01:29:49,733 "If a man holds it, they call it a purser. 1615 01:29:49,733 --> 01:29:52,166 If a woman holds it, they call it a stewardess." 1616 01:29:54,033 --> 01:29:57,000 It would have been a good case, even if it was just the way 1617 01:29:57,000 --> 01:30:01,566 they had treated Mary Pat, but it was a much bigger case. 1618 01:30:06,233 --> 01:30:08,400 If they were paying a hundred men 1619 01:30:08,400 --> 01:30:10,200 a higher amount for doing the same work, 1620 01:30:10,200 --> 01:30:13,666 then every female flight attendant 1621 01:30:13,666 --> 01:30:15,800 would be entitled to the higher pay. 1622 01:30:17,400 --> 01:30:21,100 INMAN: We filed a class action lawsuit 1623 01:30:21,100 --> 01:30:24,633 on July 15, 1970. 1624 01:30:27,366 --> 01:30:32,600 We originally had 40 people to file the suit. 1625 01:30:32,600 --> 01:30:36,866 That guaranteed us a class action. 1626 01:30:36,866 --> 01:30:38,500 GOTTESMAN: You have to convince the judge 1627 01:30:38,500 --> 01:30:40,766 that this would be an appropriate class action, 1628 01:30:40,766 --> 01:30:43,666 that all of the people have the same grievance. 1629 01:30:43,666 --> 01:30:45,666 And Mary Pat led the effort. 1630 01:30:46,900 --> 01:30:49,700 She was fantastic at organizing. 1631 01:30:50,766 --> 01:30:52,700 INMAN: We had to educate people 1632 01:30:52,700 --> 01:30:55,266 that we were on the right side of the law, 1633 01:30:55,266 --> 01:30:57,666 and we're only trying 1634 01:30:57,666 --> 01:31:00,333 to force the company to obey the law. 1635 01:31:00,333 --> 01:31:03,633 ♪ ♪ 1636 01:31:07,533 --> 01:31:10,100 FILM NARRATOR: Eastern presents "The Losers." 1637 01:31:11,900 --> 01:31:14,066 MAN IN FILM: She's awkward. 1638 01:31:16,166 --> 01:31:19,033 Uh, not very friendly. 1639 01:31:20,866 --> 01:31:23,200 Aw, but she's too young. 1640 01:31:24,700 --> 01:31:27,900 Oh, she's... oh, she bites nails. 1641 01:31:29,566 --> 01:31:33,533 She wears glasses-- honey, no, the other... 1642 01:31:33,533 --> 01:31:35,100 Oh, now... 1643 01:31:35,100 --> 01:31:38,300 TIEMEYER: "Meet the Losers" relishes the fact 1644 01:31:38,300 --> 01:31:43,533 that they're turning away perfectly attractive, 1645 01:31:43,533 --> 01:31:45,866 perfectly articulate people. 1646 01:31:45,866 --> 01:31:48,000 MAN IN FILM: Well, uh... 1647 01:31:48,000 --> 01:31:50,433 TIEMEYER: And they're all white. 1648 01:31:50,433 --> 01:31:52,933 And that is not an accident. 1649 01:31:52,933 --> 01:31:54,700 FILM NARRATOR: They're probably good enough to get a job 1650 01:31:54,700 --> 01:31:56,100 anywhere they want, 1651 01:31:56,100 --> 01:31:57,933 but at Eastern we're very choosy 1652 01:31:57,933 --> 01:32:00,333 about whom we let serve you on a plane. 1653 01:32:02,166 --> 01:32:04,200 TIEMEYER: Eastern Airlines is stressing 1654 01:32:04,200 --> 01:32:06,533 we're still an exclusive form of transportation, 1655 01:32:06,533 --> 01:32:09,266 and the promise of exclusivity 1656 01:32:09,266 --> 01:32:12,500 is also a promise of racial exclusivity. 1657 01:32:15,433 --> 01:32:18,100 GRANT: The first Black flight attendant for Delta was hired in '66. 1658 01:32:19,766 --> 01:32:22,166 And then I was hired in 1971. 1659 01:32:23,433 --> 01:32:24,800 So we're saying 1660 01:32:24,800 --> 01:32:28,400 nearly a decade after Pat won her case. 1661 01:32:28,400 --> 01:32:30,766 Pat opened the doors, 1662 01:32:30,766 --> 01:32:32,600 but the doors weren't kicked open, 1663 01:32:32,600 --> 01:32:33,933 they were cracked. 1664 01:32:36,433 --> 01:32:39,566 MIA BAY: By the start of the 1970s, 1665 01:32:39,566 --> 01:32:41,666 there's only about a thousand Black women 1666 01:32:41,666 --> 01:32:44,533 working across all of the airlines, 1667 01:32:44,533 --> 01:32:47,300 but that's only three percent 1668 01:32:47,300 --> 01:32:49,000 of the total number 1669 01:32:49,000 --> 01:32:50,100 of flight attendants 1670 01:32:50,100 --> 01:32:51,500 in the country at that point. 1671 01:32:52,566 --> 01:32:54,766 Affirmative action was designed 1672 01:32:54,766 --> 01:32:58,533 to make sure that candidates of color, 1673 01:32:58,533 --> 01:33:01,833 if they're qualified, they get hired. 1674 01:33:01,833 --> 01:33:05,566 It replaces nepotism, where employers 1675 01:33:05,566 --> 01:33:07,633 hire people that they're most comfortable with, 1676 01:33:07,633 --> 01:33:09,833 which is usually people like themselves. 1677 01:33:10,833 --> 01:33:14,766 BLAIN: Airlines are forced to hire Black people. 1678 01:33:14,766 --> 01:33:16,266 It doesn't mean they want to. 1679 01:33:18,233 --> 01:33:20,833 UNDRA MAYS: I was hired in 1970. 1680 01:33:20,833 --> 01:33:24,333 Once I completed the training 1681 01:33:24,333 --> 01:33:27,833 and I started the job, 1682 01:33:27,833 --> 01:33:30,700 I realized that the company, 1683 01:33:30,700 --> 01:33:35,533 National Airlines, did not want me. 1684 01:33:35,533 --> 01:33:39,400 When I would see certain captains, 1685 01:33:39,400 --> 01:33:42,766 I knew scheduling was going to pull me off the flight 1686 01:33:42,766 --> 01:33:45,500 because they'd refuse to fly with me. 1687 01:33:45,500 --> 01:33:51,000 ♪ ♪ 1688 01:33:55,000 --> 01:33:58,900 When we traveled, you had to share a room. 1689 01:34:00,933 --> 01:34:04,166 We would pull up to the hotel. 1690 01:34:06,233 --> 01:34:07,900 The other three flight attendants, 1691 01:34:07,900 --> 01:34:10,500 they've already discussed it 1692 01:34:10,500 --> 01:34:12,600 among themselves. 1693 01:34:12,600 --> 01:34:16,200 One would run out into the hotel, 1694 01:34:16,200 --> 01:34:19,166 and sign up for the rooms. 1695 01:34:21,000 --> 01:34:23,566 By the time I'm getting into the hotel, 1696 01:34:23,566 --> 01:34:27,833 they, they already have the key and they're gone. 1697 01:34:30,233 --> 01:34:31,500 They would open the door, 1698 01:34:31,500 --> 01:34:33,266 but then tell me that 1699 01:34:33,266 --> 01:34:36,933 I have to go downstairs and get my own room. 1700 01:34:39,200 --> 01:34:42,966 I remember the front desk, not being able 1701 01:34:42,966 --> 01:34:45,600 to convince them to open the door, 1702 01:34:45,600 --> 01:34:49,000 not having any rooms available. 1703 01:34:52,333 --> 01:34:55,333 And on many occasions, 1704 01:34:55,333 --> 01:34:57,333 I would kind of settle in a corner. 1705 01:34:57,333 --> 01:35:00,800 You know, I'm still in uniform. 1706 01:35:00,800 --> 01:35:03,633 And I would sleep in the lobby. 1707 01:35:03,633 --> 01:35:06,600 (indistinct talking) 1708 01:35:09,533 --> 01:35:14,966 There was absolutely no one that I could discuss 1709 01:35:14,966 --> 01:35:17,500 a problem with. 1710 01:35:17,500 --> 01:35:20,633 The union, uh, 1711 01:35:20,633 --> 01:35:23,733 did not want me as well. 1712 01:35:23,733 --> 01:35:25,866 If I had a problem with my own supervisor, 1713 01:35:25,866 --> 01:35:28,366 who was I going to go to? 1714 01:35:33,066 --> 01:35:38,400 I ended up calling the Southern Poverty Law Center 1715 01:35:38,400 --> 01:35:41,766 and I told them, I explained to them, and they, of course, 1716 01:35:41,766 --> 01:35:44,766 they asked me for proof or paperwork or whatever, 1717 01:35:44,766 --> 01:35:47,500 and I said, "They won't give it to me." 1718 01:35:47,500 --> 01:35:50,966 And they said, "Well, we, we'll make a few phone calls." 1719 01:35:56,333 --> 01:35:59,166 I have no idea what was said. 1720 01:36:00,666 --> 01:36:03,866 I have no idea if they in fact made those calls. 1721 01:36:05,033 --> 01:36:08,366 But all of sudden things started to change. 1722 01:36:12,066 --> 01:36:13,600 My supervisor called me in, 1723 01:36:13,600 --> 01:36:16,766 and said, 1724 01:36:16,766 --> 01:36:19,933 "The director's asking, you know, to submit names 1725 01:36:19,933 --> 01:36:21,566 for the Fly Me ad." 1726 01:36:25,000 --> 01:36:27,000 And I thought about it. 1727 01:36:27,000 --> 01:36:28,800 MAN: Prepare for takeoff at this time. Thank you. 1728 01:36:28,800 --> 01:36:30,266 MAYS: Okay. 1729 01:36:30,266 --> 01:36:32,466 You don't want me here? 1730 01:36:32,466 --> 01:36:33,933 Watch this. 1731 01:36:33,933 --> 01:36:36,833 ♪ ♪ 1732 01:36:41,233 --> 01:36:43,933 You don't like me in the workforce? 1733 01:36:43,933 --> 01:36:45,866 Then how are you going to like me 1734 01:36:45,866 --> 01:36:48,700 with my picture pasted all over? 1735 01:36:49,966 --> 01:36:53,266 The sexual nature of the campaign ad, "Fly Me," 1736 01:36:53,266 --> 01:36:55,966 really didn't bother me. 1737 01:36:55,966 --> 01:36:59,900 I did the ad because I, I wanted to show them. 1738 01:36:59,900 --> 01:37:04,233 ♪ ♪ 1739 01:37:06,100 --> 01:37:08,400 GRANT: When you looked at all the different advertisements, 1740 01:37:08,400 --> 01:37:10,533 you never saw a Black face. 1741 01:37:10,533 --> 01:37:13,366 You never were chosen to do any advertisement. 1742 01:37:14,466 --> 01:37:18,000 So, the sexism was secondary. 1743 01:37:18,000 --> 01:37:23,300 I'm not sitting here in a sexy position to advertise sex. 1744 01:37:23,300 --> 01:37:25,600 You were representing the Black stewardess, 1745 01:37:25,600 --> 01:37:27,700 and all that we could accomplish 1746 01:37:27,700 --> 01:37:29,533 and that we were capable of doing. 1747 01:37:31,866 --> 01:37:35,366 ♪ ♪ 1748 01:37:35,366 --> 01:37:39,233 We understand the burden of the doors that we possibly 1749 01:37:39,233 --> 01:37:41,833 could be opening up for anyone else to follow us. 1750 01:37:42,866 --> 01:37:45,533 Take your hands so that you've got them up out of the water. 1751 01:37:45,533 --> 01:37:46,766 Push the water away... 1752 01:37:46,766 --> 01:37:48,666 MAYS: A couple of times a year, 1753 01:37:48,666 --> 01:37:51,800 we used to go to recurrent training. 1754 01:37:51,800 --> 01:37:55,366 And this person stopped and said, 1755 01:37:55,366 --> 01:37:58,200 "There is a huge billboard 1756 01:37:58,200 --> 01:38:02,866 "with your, with your ad, the Fly Me ad, 1757 01:38:02,866 --> 01:38:07,400 "and when I saw you, I thought, 1758 01:38:07,400 --> 01:38:09,900 I didn't know they had Black stewardesses," 1759 01:38:09,900 --> 01:38:13,300 and she went and applied. 1760 01:38:16,400 --> 01:38:21,333 (horns honking, whistling blaring) 1761 01:38:21,333 --> 01:38:25,433 WOMAN: Women's Rights Day, come join us in the march tomorrow! 1762 01:38:25,433 --> 01:38:27,333 FILM NARRATOR: For more than four years, 1763 01:38:27,333 --> 01:38:29,066 members of the National Organization for Women 1764 01:38:29,066 --> 01:38:31,600 have been campaigning throughout the nation 1765 01:38:31,600 --> 01:38:33,833 for more equality and better civil rights, 1766 01:38:33,833 --> 01:38:36,333 and today their movement is wider and stronger than ever. 1767 01:38:36,333 --> 01:38:39,866 (marchers chanting) 1768 01:38:39,866 --> 01:38:41,900 GLORIA STEINEM: This inhuman system 1769 01:38:41,900 --> 01:38:44,233 of exploitation will change, 1770 01:38:44,233 --> 01:38:48,266 but only if we force it to change, and force it together. 1771 01:38:48,266 --> 01:38:50,133 (cheers and applause) 1772 01:38:50,133 --> 01:38:52,300 I've never been captive. 1773 01:38:52,300 --> 01:38:54,833 No, I don't feel, you know, enslaved, or anything like that. 1774 01:38:54,833 --> 01:38:57,100 We love you, men, and you can be the boss. 1775 01:38:57,100 --> 01:38:59,400 CROWD: Women's liberation, now! 1776 01:38:59,400 --> 01:39:01,333 Equality-- you don't know what the hell you want! 1777 01:39:02,433 --> 01:39:04,700 (exertive exclamations) 1778 01:39:04,700 --> 01:39:06,066 BETTY FRIEDAN: We called this strike 1779 01:39:06,066 --> 01:39:09,966 to confront the unfinished business of our equality. 1780 01:39:09,966 --> 01:39:12,833 I'm a very happy housewife and a very happy mother. 1781 01:39:12,833 --> 01:39:18,300 CROWD (chanting): Go do the dishes! Go do the dishes! 1782 01:39:18,300 --> 01:39:21,066 (cheers and applause) 1783 01:39:22,066 --> 01:39:25,300 SHIRLEY CHISHOLM: We're not going to be able to do anything, 1784 01:39:25,300 --> 01:39:28,300 unless we begin to do it for ourselves. 1785 01:39:28,300 --> 01:39:30,033 (cheers and applause) 1786 01:39:32,800 --> 01:39:34,033 I've heard about it, thank you. 1787 01:39:34,033 --> 01:39:35,266 Will you come? Yes. 1788 01:39:35,266 --> 01:39:37,033 Good! 1789 01:39:37,033 --> 01:39:38,833 REPORTER: Women's liberation has reared its pretty head 1790 01:39:38,833 --> 01:39:40,066 in the friendly skies. 1791 01:39:40,066 --> 01:39:45,066 Leaflets for our first national convention. 1792 01:39:45,066 --> 01:39:46,700 REPORTER: These women are protesting what strikes them 1793 01:39:46,700 --> 01:39:50,000 as sexual discrimination on the airlines. 1794 01:39:50,000 --> 01:39:52,566 The question is whether or not a stewardess 1795 01:39:52,566 --> 01:39:56,933 is a flying waitress, a sex object, or a safety expert. 1796 01:39:56,933 --> 01:39:59,300 They seem to be a little bit of all three. 1797 01:39:59,300 --> 01:40:03,400 But some of them are so annoyed by that sex object business, 1798 01:40:03,400 --> 01:40:05,833 that they formed an organization to try and change their image. 1799 01:40:08,166 --> 01:40:11,500 I would like you to know that I am trained to open this door 1800 01:40:11,500 --> 01:40:15,700 in case of emergency, to take care of an epileptic attack, 1801 01:40:15,700 --> 01:40:18,633 take care of a heart attack, if you should have one. 1802 01:40:18,633 --> 01:40:20,966 I am there to help you with these things. 1803 01:40:20,966 --> 01:40:23,133 And, also, if none of these things should happen 1804 01:40:23,133 --> 01:40:27,066 on your flight, I will serve you a meal and offer you a cocktail. 1805 01:40:27,066 --> 01:40:28,466 If I were... 1806 01:40:28,466 --> 01:40:30,266 COOKE: In 1972, 1807 01:40:30,266 --> 01:40:32,666 a group of women founded Stewardesses for Women's Rights 1808 01:40:32,666 --> 01:40:34,833 and they were really trying to find 1809 01:40:34,833 --> 01:40:39,133 a place in the broader women's movement for stewardesses 1810 01:40:39,133 --> 01:40:41,166 who were invested in political change 1811 01:40:41,166 --> 01:40:42,833 as well as workplace change. 1812 01:40:44,466 --> 01:40:48,400 DOROTHY SUE COBBLE: They wanted to professionalize the occupation, 1813 01:40:48,400 --> 01:40:53,500 raise the status and respect of the job. 1814 01:40:53,500 --> 01:40:57,466 They also wanted to make the airplane safer, 1815 01:40:57,466 --> 01:41:00,400 not just for the women who worked there 1816 01:41:00,400 --> 01:41:04,633 and for the employees, but also for the passengers. 1817 01:41:06,400 --> 01:41:08,566 There's really nothing wrong with being a stewardess. 1818 01:41:08,566 --> 01:41:10,600 What's wrong is the image 1819 01:41:10,600 --> 01:41:13,666 that has been portrayed to the public. 1820 01:41:13,666 --> 01:41:17,066 That we are empty-headed little fluffs 1821 01:41:17,066 --> 01:41:19,700 that serve you a meal 1822 01:41:19,700 --> 01:41:23,666 and take care of anything that you want taken care of 1823 01:41:23,666 --> 01:41:25,733 on the airplane without a complaint. 1824 01:41:25,733 --> 01:41:27,466 In fact, that we're not people. 1825 01:41:29,300 --> 01:41:31,766 COBBLE: They took up economic issues, 1826 01:41:31,766 --> 01:41:35,600 like promoting women into positions 1827 01:41:35,600 --> 01:41:38,000 that they had been excluded from, 1828 01:41:38,000 --> 01:41:41,900 but they also focused on issues 1829 01:41:41,900 --> 01:41:44,933 that had not been seen as labor issues, 1830 01:41:44,933 --> 01:41:48,300 issues having to do with appearance and grooming 1831 01:41:48,300 --> 01:41:51,400 and control over women's bodies. 1832 01:41:53,033 --> 01:41:55,433 I find it depletes me, I get so angry, I... 1833 01:41:55,433 --> 01:41:57,933 certain things can set me off, and I get in an irrational rage 1834 01:41:57,933 --> 01:41:59,433 and I have to hold it back. 1835 01:41:59,433 --> 01:42:00,933 HEENAN: I joined because 1836 01:42:00,933 --> 01:42:04,633 I've had a lot of frustrations and I felt that 1837 01:42:04,633 --> 01:42:08,633   the union was not the answer to a lot of this stuff. 1838 01:42:10,066 --> 01:42:12,666 The union reps were just a bunch 1839 01:42:12,666 --> 01:42:16,133 of 50-, 60-year-old guys that were oblivious 1840 01:42:16,133 --> 01:42:21,000 to the advertising, and to the sex discrimination. 1841 01:42:21,000 --> 01:42:22,433 I just don't think 1842 01:42:22,433 --> 01:42:25,333 they were capable of understanding it or something; 1843 01:42:25,333 --> 01:42:28,266 you know, it was like we're dealing with people 1844 01:42:28,266 --> 01:42:31,200 who were in a different generation. 1845 01:42:31,200 --> 01:42:36,133 ♪ ♪ 1846 01:42:37,733 --> 01:42:39,900 COOKE: I don't think that a lot of feminists thought 1847 01:42:39,900 --> 01:42:43,266 that these stewardesses who, 1848 01:42:43,266 --> 01:42:46,633 on the surface, looked so complacent 1849 01:42:46,633 --> 01:42:48,833 could be so effective. 1850 01:42:50,466 --> 01:42:53,966 I think the experience of standing up and speaking out 1851 01:42:53,966 --> 01:42:59,133 for one's rights and the rights of others is a contagious one, 1852 01:42:59,133 --> 01:43:01,866 and it's one that just, 1853 01:43:01,866 --> 01:43:05,333 that really does make waves and change lives. 1854 01:43:05,333 --> 01:43:07,666 It's like throwing a pebble into a pond, 1855 01:43:07,666 --> 01:43:10,733 the waves of reaction continue for a very long time. 1856 01:43:12,033 --> 01:43:14,466 COOKE: Gloria Steinem championed stewardesses' rights 1857 01:43:14,466 --> 01:43:16,733 from the beginning. 1858 01:43:16,733 --> 01:43:19,500 Gloria was so supportive. 1859 01:43:19,500 --> 01:43:22,833 She used to come to the offices. 1860 01:43:22,833 --> 01:43:26,966 She felt that flight attendants would make 1861 01:43:26,966 --> 01:43:31,766 a good case for changes that women were going through. 1862 01:43:31,766 --> 01:43:35,600 We could represent a new era. 1863 01:43:35,600 --> 01:43:39,466 She just had a lot of positive energy, 1864 01:43:39,466 --> 01:43:41,233 like, "We can do this. 1865 01:43:41,233 --> 01:43:43,800 We can just, you know, fight them." 1866 01:43:43,800 --> 01:43:49,666 ♪ ♪ 1867 01:43:49,666 --> 01:43:52,933 COBBLE: Stewardesses for Women's Rights were savvy 1868 01:43:52,933 --> 01:43:57,233 in terms of fighting fire with fire. 1869 01:43:57,233 --> 01:44:01,166 They distributed bumper stickers 1870 01:44:01,166 --> 01:44:03,833 and buttons, 1871 01:44:03,833 --> 01:44:08,166 and the buttons said, "Go fly yourself." 1872 01:44:08,166 --> 01:44:11,900 The bumper stickers said, "National, your fly is open." 1873 01:44:15,166 --> 01:44:17,033 (plane engine roaring) 1874 01:44:17,033 --> 01:44:19,466 And one of the things they did... 1875 01:44:19,466 --> 01:44:22,166 FLIGHT ATTENDANT: May I have your attention, please. 1876 01:44:22,166 --> 01:44:24,200 COBBLE: ...was what they called a "counter-commercial." 1877 01:44:25,600 --> 01:44:28,466 I don't think of myself as a sex object or a servant, 1878 01:44:28,466 --> 01:44:31,533 but as someone who is capable of opening the door of a 747 1879 01:44:31,533 --> 01:44:34,933 in the dark, upside down, and in the water. 1880 01:44:36,000 --> 01:44:38,700 Fantasies are fine in their place, but let's be honest, 1881 01:44:38,700 --> 01:44:41,666 the sexpot stewardess image is unsafe at any altitude. 1882 01:44:41,666 --> 01:44:43,533 Think about it. 1883 01:44:51,166 --> 01:44:53,666 We went to trial on December the 4th, 1972. 1884 01:44:55,000 --> 01:44:58,433 70 percent of Northwest Airlines stewardesses 1885 01:44:58,433 --> 01:45:01,033 were part of the lawsuit. 1886 01:45:01,033 --> 01:45:04,466 It was a six-week trial. 1887 01:45:04,466 --> 01:45:07,233 Executives of Northwest Airlines had to testify. 1888 01:45:08,566 --> 01:45:12,500 We were the plaintiffs, so we had to put our case on first. 1889 01:45:12,500 --> 01:45:15,400 ♪ ♪ 1890 01:45:15,400 --> 01:45:17,533 (gavel bangs) 1891 01:45:17,533 --> 01:45:21,866 INMAN: Northwest tried to make a point that 1892 01:45:21,866 --> 01:45:23,966 for safety reasons, 1893 01:45:23,966 --> 01:45:26,466 they thought that women would want to share rooms, 1894 01:45:26,466 --> 01:45:30,066 whereas men, they didn't... 1895 01:45:30,066 --> 01:45:32,533 they felt quite safe staying in their own room. 1896 01:45:34,433 --> 01:45:36,166 Why do you put women in double rooms 1897 01:45:36,166 --> 01:45:39,233 and allow men to have single rooms? 1898 01:45:39,233 --> 01:45:41,800 (indistinct talking) 1899 01:45:41,800 --> 01:45:44,900 INMAN: The company's witness said, "In restaurants, 1900 01:45:44,900 --> 01:45:48,600 "you see women going to the bathroom together. 1901 01:45:48,600 --> 01:45:51,266 They don't go to the ladies' room alone." 1902 01:45:54,066 --> 01:45:56,100 That was their explanation. 1903 01:45:56,100 --> 01:45:57,866 That this is what women want. 1904 01:45:59,566 --> 01:46:01,700 The whole staff in the court were like, 1905 01:46:01,700 --> 01:46:05,500 "Oh, what kind of logic is that?" 1906 01:46:09,066 --> 01:46:12,233 GOTTESMAN: And I remember the judge's reaction. 1907 01:46:12,233 --> 01:46:14,533 He just leaned back in his seat and roared. 1908 01:46:14,533 --> 01:46:18,500 He was looking up and he was laughing. 1909 01:46:18,500 --> 01:46:21,466 A federal judge today ordered Northwest Airlines 1910 01:46:21,466 --> 01:46:24,566 to do the following things: pay back salary and interest 1911 01:46:24,566 --> 01:46:27,433 to all stewardesses who were fired since 1965 1912 01:46:27,433 --> 01:46:29,000 for being overweight, 1913 01:46:29,000 --> 01:46:32,266 give stewardesses paid less than stewards since 1968 1914 01:46:32,266 --> 01:46:33,966 the difference in salary, 1915 01:46:33,966 --> 01:46:36,633 and reimburse stewardesses for the difference in room rent 1916 01:46:36,633 --> 01:46:39,900 since 1968 when they doubled up while stewards had single rooms. 1917 01:46:42,433 --> 01:46:47,166 INMAN: The judge made the decision in our favor 1918 01:46:47,166 --> 01:46:49,200 on all issues. 1919 01:46:50,200 --> 01:46:53,600 But then Northwest Airlines was able to appeal the case. 1920 01:46:55,200 --> 01:46:57,200 GOTTESMAN: Their strategy was 1921 01:46:57,200 --> 01:47:02,566 to take every opportunity that was legally available to them 1922 01:47:02,566 --> 01:47:05,600 to defer the final moment 1923 01:47:05,600 --> 01:47:07,833 when they were going to have to pay this money out. 1924 01:47:07,833 --> 01:47:10,233 ♪ ♪ 1925 01:47:10,233 --> 01:47:12,533 It took 11 years. 1926 01:47:16,266 --> 01:47:18,300 INMAN: My sister 1927 01:47:18,300 --> 01:47:20,266 was folding her laundry and she called me 1928 01:47:20,266 --> 01:47:22,566 and said, said, "Patty, you won." 1929 01:47:22,566 --> 01:47:24,366 I said, "What?" 1930 01:47:24,366 --> 01:47:26,500 The Supreme Court today upheld a big payoff 1931 01:47:26,500 --> 01:47:29,233 awarded to stewardesses who sued Northwest Airlines 1932 01:47:29,233 --> 01:47:31,366 for sex discrimination. 1933 01:47:31,366 --> 01:47:33,166 The women charged... 1934 01:47:33,166 --> 01:47:34,966 There is justice. 1935 01:47:34,966 --> 01:47:39,300 That was my thinking-- there is justice. 1936 01:47:42,100 --> 01:47:43,800 GOTTESMAN: It was a big win. 1937 01:47:44,966 --> 01:47:47,733 $60 million is a big chunk of money. 1938 01:47:47,733 --> 01:47:51,633 And for a flight attendant to be receiving, 1939 01:47:51,633 --> 01:47:56,000 in one fell swoop, $50,000 in back pay. 1940 01:47:58,000 --> 01:48:00,966 INMAN: Women could wear eyeglasses. 1941 01:48:00,966 --> 01:48:04,700 They would no longer be suspended for weight. 1942 01:48:04,700 --> 01:48:07,800 And we could have single rooms. 1943 01:48:09,266 --> 01:48:14,333 One flight attendant sent a note and said that 1944 01:48:14,333 --> 01:48:17,466 every time she walks around 1945 01:48:17,466 --> 01:48:21,433 in her single room, naked, she thinks of me. 1946 01:48:21,433 --> 01:48:23,966 (laughs) 1947 01:48:23,966 --> 01:48:27,233 ♪ ♪ 1948 01:48:31,933 --> 01:48:34,266 TIEMEYER: Mary Pat Laffey's victory 1949 01:48:34,266 --> 01:48:36,966 is definitive in saying 1950 01:48:36,966 --> 01:48:42,366 that under no circumstances shall a woman 1951 01:48:42,366 --> 01:48:44,966 doing this job be presented 1952 01:48:44,966 --> 01:48:48,966 with different and unequal standards 1953 01:48:48,966 --> 01:48:51,233 as a man doing this job. 1954 01:48:52,833 --> 01:48:57,200 This is what women's workplace civil rights are designed to do. 1955 01:48:59,100 --> 01:49:03,733 COBBLE: The Mary Pat Laffey case encouraged flight attendants 1956 01:49:03,733 --> 01:49:07,100 to push the boundaries, 1957 01:49:07,100 --> 01:49:10,866 and to move into those jobs that had been off limits. 1958 01:49:15,733 --> 01:49:18,133 INMAN: The women were finally allowed 1959 01:49:18,133 --> 01:49:21,000 to have the same benefits that the men had. 1960 01:49:22,100 --> 01:49:26,333 If you were capable, you could have a man's job. 1961 01:49:30,833 --> 01:49:36,600 ♪ ♪ 1962 01:49:41,166 --> 01:49:44,133 BRODIGAN: Now a flight attendant 1963 01:49:44,133 --> 01:49:48,166 can be male, can be older, can be married, 1964 01:49:48,166 --> 01:49:51,966 can be any race, ethnic origin. 1965 01:49:54,066 --> 01:49:56,866 We're different now, we kind of match the passengers. 1966 01:49:56,866 --> 01:49:58,266 (chuckles) 1967 01:49:58,266 --> 01:50:00,366 ♪ ♪ 1968 01:50:18,866 --> 01:50:24,133 ♪ ♪ 1969 01:50:39,133 --> 01:50:44,266 ♪ ♪ 1970 01:51:00,500 --> 01:51:03,933 ♪ ♪ 1971 01:51:11,466 --> 01:51:14,166 ROADS: We weren't fighting for ourselves. 1972 01:51:14,166 --> 01:51:16,000 That's what made it so wonderful. 1973 01:51:16,000 --> 01:51:17,366 I wasn't fighting for me. 1974 01:51:17,366 --> 01:51:19,233 I was fighting for the girl next to me. 1975 01:51:20,866 --> 01:51:25,666 ♪ ♪ 1976 01:51:30,766 --> 01:51:35,800 ♪ ♪ 1977 01:51:59,466 --> 01:52:01,300 ANNOUNCER: Next time... 1978 01:52:01,300 --> 01:52:03,000 The sun's energy is absorbed 1979 01:52:03,000 --> 01:52:05,000 and transformed into heat. 1980 01:52:05,000 --> 01:52:08,066 MAN: Mária Telkes was a solar evangelist. 1981 01:52:08,066 --> 01:52:10,800 WOMAN: She really imagined this as revolutionizing 1982 01:52:10,800 --> 01:52:12,366 the way that people lived. 1983 01:52:12,366 --> 01:52:14,366 WOMAN: Nothing else would even get close 1984 01:52:14,366 --> 01:52:15,633 to the Dover sun house. 1985 01:52:15,633 --> 01:52:18,000 WOMAN: She's laying the foundation 1986 01:52:18,000 --> 01:52:20,900 for pretty much everything now that we do with solar. 1987 01:52:20,900 --> 01:52:22,100 ANNOUNCER: "The Sun Queen," 1988 01:52:22,100 --> 01:52:24,033 next time on "American Experience." 1989 01:52:24,033 --> 01:52:25,566 Made possible in part 1990 01:52:25,566 --> 01:52:27,466 by Liberty Mutual Insurance. 1991 01:52:27,466 --> 01:52:31,566 ♪ ♪