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Virgin Atlantic Flight Attendants Can Now Show up to Work Without Makeup

Working as a flight attendant means having to follow the sometimes very strict policy of the airline company, down to the choice of eye shadow or nail polish, cut of skirt or shirt, and the way you do your hair.
The uniform of Virgin Atlantic female flight attendants 10 photos
Photo: cntraveler.com
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Of course, most of these stipulations apply to female flight attendants, and all of them serve to objectify and sexualize them to the point of turning them into clones of the “ideal” woman men like to ogle. In light of the #MeToo movement in Hollywood, stories of sexual harassment and discrimination on board passenger planes have also started gaining traction.

This, in turn, has prompted an unexpected change: airline companies are starting to consider ways of making the workplace of female flight attendants a safer environment. Virgin Atlantic, for one, is ditching makeup and skirts, in what the Huffington Post calls a “small” but symbolic step in the right direction.

“We have been listening to the views of our people and as a result have announced some changes to our styling and grooming policy that support this,” Mark Anderson, Virgin Atlantic’s executive vice president of customer, tells HuffPost in a statement.

These changes include the possibility to forgo makeup and to opt for pants instead a skirt. They might seem silly, but not if you consider the fact that these women were contractually-bound to apply makeup for every flight and dress only in skirts, as part of their uniform. While many businesses may have a certain dresscode, you’d be pressed to find such strict regulations as those imposed by airline companies.

“Not only do the new guidelines offer an increased level of comfort, they also provide our team with more choice on how they want to express themselves at work,” Anderson says. “Helping people to be themselves is core to our desire to be the most loved travel company.”
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About the author: Elena Gorgan
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Elena has been writing for a living since 2006 and, as a journalist, she has put her double major in English and Spanish to good use. She covers automotive and mobility topics like cars and bicycles, and she always knows the shows worth watching on Netflix and friends.
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