#4 turbulence: THE ISSUE OF NOT FITTING IN THIS BODY-SPECIFIC INDUSTRY

4. The issue of not fitting in this body-specific industry

Bodies and space have a mutually constitutive relationship that has created discourses encoded on bodies in certain spaces. These discourses rely on binary opposition, which establishes  the valuing of certain body types over others; while being normalized in the environment through everyday discourses and media’s representations (Dixon and Jones, 2006). As a result, the sedimentation of the feminized business model might have caused an oppression of those who do not fit – the aspiring ‘out-of-shape’ air stewardess, the air stewardess that is ‘losing-shape’, and the air steward.

4.1 The Aspiring ‘Out-of-Shape’ Air Stewardess

Although not stated explicitly by SIA, the ideal body type of  the Singapore  Girl is  implicitly tagged to descriptions like ‘slim’ and ‘curvaceous’. In fact, Miss C revealed how ‘average’ aspiring air stewardesses who do not “fit into the kebaya” are simply rejected in the selection round and excluded in this space. These women who literally do not fit into the specific dress size of the quintessential Singapore Girl, are conflated as the ‘Other’ -- a binary opposite of the idealistic and desirable ‘slim’ and ‘curvaceous’ body of the Singapore Girl. In the eyes of SIA, these women as viewed as ‘deviant’, ‘not ideal’, to an extent ‘unattactive’, and in essence, unsuitable for the job.

Consequently, the stringent specificities of SIA’s recruitment process can be potentially lethal when it emphasizes that slim and ‘in-shape’ figures as social normatives. The resultant Othering of aspiring air stewardesses who ‘do not fit’ places them at the margins, making them experience oppression due to the denigration of their ‘ill-fit’ body (Thapan, 1995). Such discourse could be potentially detrimental to the physical and mental health of individuals who may adopt anorexic or bulimic behaviours to fit into the ‘ideal’ body size (Tischner and Malson, 2010).

4.2 The Air Stewardess that is ‘losing shape’

After passing rigorous interview sessions and training, a hired Singapore Girl’s body remains ever important --if not more important -- as her body not only represents the company but the nation (Heracleous and Wirtz, 2009). With powerful ideologies inscribed on her body, donning the keyaba not only requires the Singapore Girl to maintain her body shape and aesthetics, but also perform appropriate demeanor that fall under the constant  surveillance and scrutiny of the airline, her peers and passengers (Reel, 2013). Therefore, the degeneration of her body causes these air stewardesses to view her body as oppressive -- a view that is reflected in other’s gaze  when they do not possess shapely, well-adorned and well-clothed bodies (Thapan, 1995).

Notably, the transformation of one’s body is intimately tied to biological degeneration from age (Andrews,2009), and/or transitional life stages like pregnancy (Longhurst, 2000). As such, ‘losing shape’ air stewardesses are not only devalued with time, but also subjected to prospects of retrenchment if they do not shed the ‘excess’ weight. (Lee, 2010, September 26). Furthermore, pregnant Singapore Girls are required to quit flying after their first trimester of pregnancy, and are required to apply for a re-employment interview after giving birth (ibid). Essentially, the Singapore Girl is rendered as an easily replaceable ‘object’, especially when her body is non-conformative. Ultimately, SIA reflects a ‘size-ist’ business model that values the Singapore Girls’ body shape over their experiences (that usually comes with age), despite devoting their youth to the company.

4.3 The ‘Queered’ Air Steward

The role of a flight attendant is defined as ‘women’s work’ that involves skills which women are seen to possess simply by virtue of being women (Taylor and Tyler, 2000) such as “gentle”, “submissive” and “caring”. In contrast, a male body is associated with masculine attributes like “strength”, “power” and “stoic”, where masculinity is a social construct that is defined as opposed to what femininity is in a binary construct (Dixon and Jones, 2006). However, these attributes on masculinity do not seem to tie in well into the gendered nature of the care work. In fact, a study on care work in the nursing industry by Huang, Yeoh and Toyota (2012) suggests that the presence of a male body is presumed to be potentially threatening, both emotionally and sexually, to female patients or care receivers. Resultantly, air stewards are constantly at risk of being accused of sexual violence.

By carrying out work associated with feminine attributes, men are seen to be in touch with their ‘feminine side’. Deviating from masculinity which has been historically tied to stereotypical associations of deviance from sexuality, air stewards are thus sometimes correlated with homosexuality in the public’s gaze (Simpson, 2009). The occupation provides an oppressive environment where the air steward’s masculine identity is ‘queered’ and threatened, perhaps suggesting why air stewards remain a minority among flight attendants.

----> #5 TOUCH DOWN: POSSIBLE SOLUTION: A USE OF GEOGRAPHICAL LENS


photo credit: http://img191.imageshack.us/img191/9156/flyboy.jpg