Phil Tiemeyer

This is a model monograph: a detailed, informative, and historically compelling narrative that investigates the men who challenged gender norms by entering into the profession of air stewards/flight attendants, from the 1930s to the present. (The book was published in 2012.)

It's true that I am something of an ideal reader for Plane Queer: a gay historian who has taught courses on Queer American Life. Moreover, I am the product of an airline household - my mother a stewardess in the 1950s, until upon marriage she was forced to give up her career, and my father a life-long employee of TWA, who spend much of his employment as a manage and trainer of ground services. Having had something of a front-row seat into the aviation industry for much of my life, I was fascinated to read Tiemeyer's excellent account of the way in which male flight attendants battled the sexism of American society and of national and international airlines, until they were ultimately allowed to succeed in a career that was well attuned to their interests and personalities.… (more)