Part 5 in a Jet Age Feminism series exploring the intersection of commercial aviation and gender roles.
Of the 13 uniforms in Runway to Runway, the Museum’s temporary exhibit about the styles and stories of flight attendant fashion, all were worn by women—with one exception. Chuck Duffy, an early male “steward” for Continental Airlines, wore the 1979 burnt sienna ensemble on display.
The history of male flight attendants is full of twists and turns. At the dawn of commercial aviation in the 1910s, the first flight attendant, Heinrich Kubis, was male. Ellen Church changed that when she argued to Boeing in the 1930s that having trained nurses onboard would make passengers more comfortable with these newfangled flying machines. Post World War II, airlines changed their business strategy by enlisting young, attractive stewardesses to entice male customers. This marketing reached its fever pitch with blatantly sexist ad campaigns like National’s “Fly Me,” which drew ire from stewardess unions. After the Civil Rights Act was passed, airlines were required to hire eligible men, although not without much grumbling that doing so would hurt their bottom line.
The 1979 Continental Airlines flight attendant uniform on display in Runway to Runway. Image Credit: The Museum of Flight
In the 1971 lower court case Diaz v. Pan American World Airways, Inc., a would-be male steward argued that he had been unlawfully discriminated against. Pan Am argued that an all-female flight attendant corps ensured that air travel was “as pleasurable as possible.” Pan Am’s psychologist witness even floated the idea that male customers would be emasculated by male stewards. The court did not agree, and the Supreme Court let the ruling stand. Yet there were holdouts like Southwest Airlines, which continued to hire only women well into the 1980s. As The New York Times noted at the time, Southwest was banking on the allure of stewardesses in hot pants and go-go boots.
When men entered the field, they changed perceptions of the role—for everyone. At first, the transition period was awkward. At some airlines, stewards were excused from their female counterparts’ mandatory cosmetic training. At others, they faced restrictions of their own. A 1975 recruitment brochure for Eastern Air Lines required would-be stewards to be between 5’7’’ and 6’2.’’ Eventually, weight, appearance, and marriage status restrictions loosened for all. Uniform design evolved with the times, too. Soon after Diaz v. Pan Am, Continental Airlines unveiled new uniforms for both genders that drew inspiration from menswear.
Soon enough, the occupation evolved again, becoming a haven for gay men. Historian Phil Tiemeyer explores this phenomenon in his book Plane Queer: Labor, Sexuality, and AIDS in the History of Male Flight Attendants, unearthing stories that are absent or obscured from the historical record. Tiemeyer was a guest on The Flight Deck episode “The Gay History of Male Flight Attendants,” which remains one of the podcast’s most popular episodes. He also visited the Museum in October 2026.
Book cover of Plane Queer by Phil Tiemeyer. Image Credit: Phil Tiemeyer
Plane Queer exposes how the HIV/AIDS crisis simultaneously devastated and energized the gay flight attendant community. Take Gär Traynor, a forgotten pioneer for workplace equality. While working as a steward at United Airlines in the 1980s, Traynor was diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. He remained active in AIDS advocacy, meeting with politicians and volunteering at a human services nonprofit in Los Angeles. Traynor’s doctor even testified his ability to keep working through his illness. Yet at a time of widespread panic and misunderstanding about AIDS, United was reluctant to allow a flight attendant with visible skin lesions to serve wary passengers. In a landmark labor arbitration case in 1983, Traynor’s union won him the right to keep working. United mandated that Traynor stay home but continued paying him, which became their policy for HIV-positive employees.
Chuck Duffy recalls his gay colleagues fondly and notes that many did not survive the AIDS epidemic. In Runway to Runway, his uniform stands out in a sea of minidresses and handbags. His story, though, complements the exhibit’s other tales of hard-won civil rights gains, from the Nisei stewardesses of Pan Am to the TWA "girls" who pushed back against demeaning marketing gimmicks. Male stewards piggybacked off wins like the Civil Rights Act that had opened up economic opportunities for women. As Tiemeyer pointed out on The Flight Deck, gay men and presumably straight women found a “synergy” in the cabin, forever transforming crew dynamics and the passenger experience.
Works Cited:
“The Gay History of Male Flight Attendants.” The Flight Deck, 14 November 2023, https://blog.museumofflight.org/flightdeck/the-gay-history-of-male-flight-attendants.
Johnston, Laurie & Thomas, Mcg. Robert. “Notes on People; An Airline Job for Which Males Need Not Apply.” The New York Times, 6 May 1981, p. B8.
Lindsey, Robert. “U.S. Airlines Seek Stewards to Work Aloft.” The New York Times, 7 April 1972, p. 37.
Quindlen, Anna. “Flight Attendants: An Old Stereotype Is Given the Air.” The New York Times, 24 April 1978, p. A20.
"Step into a fascinating career as an Eastern steward, stewardess.” The Museum of Flight Digital Collections, https://digitalcollections.museumofflight.org/nodes/view/27404?lsk=acdf8be97b509a61e3c6bb854226b21c.
Image credit for header: Courtesy of Chuck Duffy