Summary: Not only were two girls barred from a flight for wearing leggings, another was not allowed to board her plane from Denver to Minneapolis until she had changed into something else. “She’s forcing them to change or put dresses on over leggings or they can’t board,” Shannon Watts, who was at a gate at Denver International Airport, said on Twitter. “Since when does @united police women’s clothing?” United, responding to tweets about the incident tweeted that “United shall have the right to refuse passengers who are not properly clothed via our Contract of Carriage.” And added, “This is left to the discretion of the agents.” The airline’s passenger contract says for the safety of all passengers and crew members, the airline can refuse to let a passenger board if the passenger is “barefoot or not properly clothed.” Though they have this statement, the airline does not adequately define what falls under the category of "properly clothed." An internal policy for employees using the airline travel benefit, he said, specifically forbids leggings while traveling. It is unclear why United considers leggings to be inappropriate and whether other articles of clothing are barred under the policy. Social media exploded Sunday with users calling the incident horrendous, outrageous and nonsense. Several users asked why leggings aren’t proper clothing and promised to take their business — and leggings — to another airline. Many women wear leggings, yoga and athletic gear for comfort while traveling. “I have five kids: four of them are women. They wear yoga pants all of the time when flying,” said Watts in an email from aboard her flight. “I think this policy is arbitrary and sexist. It singles out women for their clothing and sexualizes little girls.”
Analysis: This article was written on March 26, 2017 by Luz Lazo and published under The Washington Post. Prior to reading this article, I knew nothing of the subject of restriction of dress code for a plane. Obviously you can't show up naked, but leggings are an entirely different ordeal. This article was written for air travelers to show a need for awareness in this "dress code" as well as make it known that there are some seriously questionable standards going on to play here.
Synthesis: You can connect this article to the second wave of feminism occurring from the time period between the 1960's up until the 1980's. It proved to be a time of questioning the status quo and western societal ideals about how women should be viewed and treated.
Article: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/dr-gridlock/wp/2017/03/26/two-girls-barred-from-united-flight-for-wearing-leggings/?utm_term=.e1a4e50dbef9
While I do think that people should dress appropriately and be refused service if they are not, I can see how this is a messy situation. Leggings are not pants and should be worn with a long shirt, dress, or cover, but I am not sure if someone wearing leggings should be refused service. Although I doubt that the attendant who barred these women was being sexist, the airline should have specific regulations about clothing to avoid confusion.
ReplyDelete