Southwest Airlines - Not the Taliban, but Every Journey Starts with One Small Step

Putting aside for the moment all of the newsworthy events going on in the world (Darfur, the Iraq War, the collapsing housing bubble and mortgage meltdown as a few examples), let's play pretend that Southwest Airlines' actions pertaining to passenger Kyla Ebbert is an actual news story. While it is not necessarily a newsworthy item in itself, it does serve as an example of our society's hypocrisy when it comes to women's appearance.

For those who are unaware of what happened, here's a recap: Two months ago, Kyla Ebbert, a 23-year old woman boarded a Southwest flight to Tuscon, where she had scheduled a doctor's appointment. Shortly after she had taken her seat, a male flight attendant asked her to come to the front of the aircraft, as another passenger had complained about her so-called "revealing attire." This flight attendant informed Ebbert she would have to go to an airport gift shop and purchase additional clothing, which would have forced to to catch another flight. She was also told she was "showing too much skin," inappropriate for a "family" airline such as Southwest.

After Ms. Ebbert explained she needed to stay on the flight so she could make her doctor's appointment, and that she did not have any extra clothes or luggage, the flight attendant agreed to a "compromise" in which she would pull up her top, a green cropped sweater over a white tank top, and adjust her miniskirt downward. In a later interview, Ms. Ebbert described how she found the incident to be so humiliating and embarrassing - it occurred in front of her fellow passengers - she requested a blanket so she could cover herself up for the remainder of the flight.