Women's Studies Colloquium April 16

April 16:

“A Japanese in Every Jet” Gender, Mobility, and Modernity in Postwar Japan

By Dr. Christine Yano (Professor, Dept. of Anthropology, UHM)
Date: Thursday April 16
Time: 3:00 pm—4:30 pm
Location: Korean Studies Auditorium, East West Rd (opp. Moore Hall)

(Refreshments Provided)

See attached flyer for more information.

Abstract:
In 1964, the Japanese government lifted international travel restrictions, opening the floodgates for international travel. By May 1967, Life magazine proclaimed, “Newest Stewardess Fad: A Japanese in Every Jet,” featuring Japanese stewardesses on eleven international carriers.

This paper examines the “Japanese-in-every-jet” phenomenon through the experiences of Japanese stewardesses who flew for the world’s premier carrier, Pan American World Airways.
It suggests that the job took elite Japanese women out of the national home and into the corporate sphere of Pan Am’s global cabin and foreign ports of call.

Free and open to the public.