© 2024 KALW 91.7 FM Bay Area
KALW Public Media / 91.7 FM Bay Area
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Plane Queers - Airline stewards' impact on labor and civil rights

A mile-high look at modern US history. Is it true most male flight attendants are gay? Was it ever? How did their legal battles with airlines help advance gay rights and workplace gender equity? Is the tale of “Patient Zero” – a steward accused of being the initial transcontinental spreader of HIV – accurate? Stow your tray tables and put your seats in their fully upright and locked positions for a quick flight through the history of airline stewards. Eric Jansen's guest is Philadelphia University history professor Phil Tiemeyer, author of Plane Queer: Labor, Sexuality and AIDS in the history of male flight attendants, published by University of California Press.

Tags