Since the emergence of the flight attendant role, nearly 100 years ago, women have primarily worn skirts onboard. Over time, male stewards have joined the profession, and women have increasingly been allowed to wear trousers. In some cases, men have even been permitted to wear skirts. These evolving norms put pressure on the skirt as a uniform component. When is a skirt a fashionable garment, when is it a cultural symbol, and when does it challenge traditional gender roles?
Skirts and cultural norms
At the beginning of 2024, I started creating English-language videos about aviation uniforms. I post these on various social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram, allowing me to interact daily with cabin crew members from around the world. (For those interested in learning more, I recommend the podcast The Uniformer, where Rick Levine interviewed me about my work) Through these interactions, I have learned how complex it is to wear uniforms that align with a country’s culture while also ensuring they are not offensive or controversial in the countries being traveled to.
For example, in the Western world, traditional gender roles are increasingly being challenged. Dress codes that apply only to women are now considered a form of sexist discrimination. Additionally, individuals who do not identify strictly as male or female are gaining the freedom to wear uniforms that suit their bodies. While airlines like Alaska Airlines have simply adjusted their dress codes, Virgin Atlantic went as far as turning it into a media campaign.
In 2022, the world was treated to a promotional video featuring well-known men parading in the famous red skirt uniforms of Richard Branson’s airline. The company announced that, from that point forward, male employees would also be allowed to wear skirts.
The complexity of skirts and cultural norms
Thanks to my social media followers, I have learned that the reality for men who wish to wear skirts is not as widely accepted as Virgin Atlantic makes it seem. In fact, there are only two flights where men are actually allowed to wear a skirt. The reason? Not everyone in the world approves of a man wearing one.
The irony is that men have been wearing skirts and dresses across cultures for thousands of years. However, these garments often look different from the skirts worn by most airlines. Consider, for example, the Qamis, an ankle-length robe worn by many Muslim men, or the Sephardi Dress, a type of robe worn by Jewish men. Then, there’s the kilt, a culturally significant skirt from Scotland. A few years ago, EasyJet’s male crew members even wore kilts onboard.
These garments are well-known and widely accepted. However, when a man wears a skirt that is not tied to culture or religion, it is often perceived as unusual.
What is a skirt?
The reason men can wear religious and cultural skirts without controversy is not just due to their different appearance but also because they are given different names. The skirt at Virgin Atlantic is simply called a skirt, a term widely associated with women. Meanwhile, a kilt is never referred to as a skirt. In fact, calling it that could anger many Scots, as I have learned. Yet, from a design perspective, a kilt is no different from a skirt. Some argue that skirts have distinct characteristics, but since a skirt is simply a broad term for a garment that hangs from the waist down, a kilt is objectively still a skirt.
Some people claim that uniforms should be separate from religious or cultural clothing and that, for this reason alone, men should not be allowed to wear skirts as part of their uniforms. However, this argument falls apart when looking at the many uniforms in the aviation industry. Countries often incorporate their cultural, and sometimes even religious, heritage into their uniforms. A great example is Malaysia Airlines, where female crew members have worn the traditional Kebaya onboard since 1963.
By prioritizing gender equality in uniforms, we cannot avoid the presence of men in skirts. Whether it is about culture, religion, or fashion, skirts will continue to be part of uniforms, especially in aviation. We simply need to learn to embrace this diversity.
