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The Jet Sex: Airline Stewardesses and the Making of an American Icon Victoria Vantoch. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2013.
Victoria Vantoch's The Jet Sex: Airline Stewardesses and the Making of an American Icon examines the progression of the airline stewardess from the early 1900s to the 1980s. Vantoch tells the story of Ellen Church, the first female airline stewardess, Patricia Banks, the first African American stewardess, along with the stories of many others, but the main focus is on the period of time following World War II and during the Cold War when the airline stewardess rose in popularity and political importance. The Jet Sex contributes to conversations of feminism, gender, history, and the role of media in constructing history and society. Although the focus is primarily on American stewardesses, Vantoch broadens the view to include Russian stewardesses, giving an insight into the role of the stewardess in international terms.
There are books which have been previously published that address the history of the...