Beginning Introduction- Rachel Dow

The middle of the 20^th century was a period of enormous change. It saw the rebuilding of nations destroyed  or even created by World War II, the rise of the Cold War, the unleashing of mass consumerism, and the beginnings of what would become known as the “culture wars.” Although largely unrecognized for anything during their time except for the glamour of their job and their beauty, flight stewardesses represented the turmoil of the period: the transition from female domesticity to the sexual revolution, the cultural and social facets of the Cold War, and both the gender equality and racial equality movements. Nixon employed the manners and grace of stewardesses to illustrate America's dominance over their Soviet counterparts, various African American rights groups used racist employment practices to push the Civil Rights agenda, and even Hugh Hefner used as his centerfolds. The perception of stewardesses was not a mere consequence of their time but rather a curated image used to further various interest groups's agendas. While given very little agency, the stewardesses of the 1950s and 1960s became a cultural symbol for the mass change the world was undergoing.