Shock over flight attendant ‘qualifications’ for females in 1954: ‘Looks like a Tinder profile’

A document showing the requirements for female flight attendants in 1954 has resurfaced online — and social media users are horrified.

On Reddit, a user posted the outdated “qualifications” list for airline attendants for both Chicago and Southern Air Lines, and many pointed out that it seemed like a man’s list of what he thinks makes a perfect woman.

A document showing the requirements for female flight attendants in 1954 has resurfaced online. Ivan Dmitri/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Unlike flight attendants of today, the cabin crew in the 1950s didn’t receive a lot of training and were more a symbol of luxury and grandeur with the image of young, attractive women in uniform serving travelers.

One of the requirements said the attendants, called the outdated term “stewardesses,” had to be single — explicitly stating that they cannot be engaged.

Flight attendants of the 1950s had the image of young, attractive women in uniform serving travelers. Underwood Archives/Getty Images

The women also had to be between the ages of 22 and 28, between 5’2″ and 5’5″, and between 100 and 120 pounds.

Flight attendants could not wear glasses, needed “good teeth,” “good figure,” “slender legs” and had to have a “natural” hair color.

The list also stated that the stewardesses were required to have a “good carriage,” “nice hands” and “clear skin.”

Aside from the distinct physical attributes the stewardesses were required to have in order to be considered “qualified” for the job, they also had to be “willing and anxious to please,” the “ability to carry on a lively conversation” and an “even temper.”

Commenters couldn’t believe that there were little to no qualifications that actually related to the role of a flight attendant.

“This reads like a bunch of dudes sitting around a typewriter with one of them occasionally saying: ‘Oh and don’t forget __,’” one person wrote. “Looks like a tinder profile,” chimed in a second commenter.

“In short: be eye candy,” added another.

“Ah yes, the golden age of aviation — when you needed a modeling contract, Olympic-level patience, and zero gold fillings to hand out peanuts,” someone joked. “Safety? Nah. Slender legs? Absolutely essential. Imagine getting rejected because your hair wasn’t ‘natural’ enough. Wild times.”

On Reddit, a user posted the outdated “qualifications” list for flight attendants for both Chicago and Southern Air Lines. Reddit
The women had to be between the ages of 22 and 28, between 5’2″ and 5’5″, and between 100 and 120 pounds. Bettmann Archive

“I love how literally everything is superficial. All about looks and such. And then, oh ya, 4-year college degree required lmao,” another pointed out.

“This reads like a 21st-century incel listing what they demand in a woman unironically,” a user commented.