Alison Sullivan
There is an extreme double-standard for how clothing norms are seen and enforced on women’s bodies versus men’s bodies. What’s talked about a little less is the way the shape of a woman’s body will dictate whether or not an outfit is considered “appropriate” by others, even if it’s just what nature gave her.
Sorry, I’m talking about breasts. If you have big boobs, you know that people will give you lots of unwanted attention around them, no matter how you try to disguise them. You could wear the exact same shirt in the right size for you that a more flat-chested woman is wearing and be called names.
That seems to be what happened to Twitter user @UziSuzy, or Kayla Eubanks. She posted her saga with a Southwest agent, who tried to keep her from boarding her flight because of the cleavage revealed by her halter top:
In a series of tweets, Eubanks showed how the agent wouldn’t allow her to board, stating there was a company policy saying she no one could wear an outfit that’s “lewd, offensive, or obscene,” but was unable to locate the policy anywhere that Eubanks could see.
This was her outfit, which does show a lot of cleavage…because she has breasts. That’s normal. And a woman with smaller breasts probably wouldn’t have gotten a second glance in the same top.
At one point, the agent went to get the pilot, who rolled out of the gangplank and tried to flirt with Eubanks, but she wasn’t having it.
She wanted to know why she was being kept off her flight when no one could show her a policy that should keep her from boarding in written words anywhere:
Eventually, the flight’s captain lent her a shirt so she could board, but she was told she had to speak to “supervisors” after they landed, like she was a truant school girl.
In the video, she asks if she should have “left them at home,” pointing to her breasts. She asks what they will do if she tries to fly again in a halter top, and they say “Try it” in a menacing way, clearly not liking the way she is standing up to their hypocrisy.
People are pretty grossed out on Eubanks behalf and disgusted with Southwest:
And this has apparently been an issue for that airline before:
Maybe they should have a dress code, it would sure clear up a lot of confusion.