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Virgin Atlantic is facing increasing criticism of its newly introduced gender identity policy.
Male flight attendants, pilots and ground staff may wear women’s red skirt suits, while female staff may wear burgundy trousers designed for men.
The UK-based airline has also changed its ticketing system. This will allow you to have a gender neutral marker (available in the US, India and Pakistan) in your passport and select a U or X gender code when booking.
Virgin Atlantic also said passengers can use the “gender-neutral title Mx” and pronoun badges that they can request at check-in desks.
Juha Jarvinen, Chief Commercial Officer, Virgin Atlantic Airways, said:
“So we want our employees to be able to wear the uniform that best suits them. And how do we want to be able to identify customers and respond with their preferred pronouns?”
In an ad for the new policy, a male flight attendant in a Vivienne Westwood-designed skirt and red high heels walks down an airport runway.
and media update Virgin Atlantic on Wednesday called itself “the most comprehensive airline in the sky” and called the new policy a “fluid approach.”
Criticism and calls to boycott airlines grow
However, the move has drawn a lot of criticism in the media and social media, with many critics threatening to boycott the airline.
“I will never fly this airline,” I said. Sydney Watson Australian Political Commentator, Sept. 30
“Virgin Atlantic Woke Up Stupidity” US Foreign Policy Analyst Nile Gardiner murmured Sept. 30, “The Surest Way To Lose Customers Who Go Elsewhere.”
British media personality Darren Grimes argued that Virgin Atlantic’s gender identity policy “shows corporate virtue and is nothing short of attention-grabbing.”
“I highly doubt that there was a great demand for this change to occur,” he pointed out. Twitter post September 29th.
British social commentator Frank Freddie Said GBNews has revealed that Virgin is “questioning” millennia of traditional social norms.
“What’s really happening here is how sensitive the PR firms and ad agencies that advise Virgin are to them and making these noises about essentially breaking down the boundaries between men and women.” I’m saying it in a way that shows it’s good intentions,” he said.
“If we were really concerned with making our staff feel comfortable, we would simply say that everyone wears a trouser suit. Then the discrimination that people might complain about would be Not really.”
He also said he believes the policy is simply a new kind of branding activity, largely carried out by the PR and advertising industry, and that the new ads announcing the policy have an insidious message behind everything. warned that it contains
“I think what they’re doing is questioning everything that people have been living with for thousands of years. They’re making a joke of it,” he said.
History of Virgin’s LGBTQ+ activism
This isn’t the first time Virgin has been known to be involved in LGBTQ+ activism.
Virgin Group founder Richard Branson bought the London nightclub Haven in the 1980s. The club has long been associated with London’s LGBTQ+ scene, hosting the long-running gay night GAY.
Moreover websitethe airline sponsored the Pride Festival, backed the pro-gay publication Attitude Magazine, and actively promoted pro-LGBTQ+ legislation.
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Nina Nguyen is a reporter based in Sydney. She covers Australian news with a focus on social, cultural and identity issues. She is fluent in Vietnamese. Please contact her at [email protected].
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