Ben O. sent us this vintage airline commercial for Braniff International.  In it, a “stewardess” models new uniforms to stripper music and narration.  What struck Ben was the final uniform and commentary.  The commercial ends with the assertion that Braniff International “believes that even an airline hostess should look like a girl.” Sexism aside, Ben argues, and I agree, that what she is wearing is hardly feminine at all given today’s standards. The commercial, then, nicely demonstrates how norms for gendered appearance shift and change.

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Lisa Wade is a professor of sociology at Occidental College. You can follow her on Twitter and Facebook.