外刊学习：你有没有想过，空姐为什么必须穿高跟鞋？

今日导读

提到空姐，人们总会联想到各大航空公司宣传广告上的那些形象靓丽的女性：她们面容姣好、身材高挑、制服笔挺、笑意盈盈。这样美好的印象使得搭乘飞机不仅仅是一种现代出行方式，更成为了一种让人愉悦的服务体验。然而，我们在享受着这样养眼服务的同时，往往忽略了一个问题：为什么这些在高空客舱中穿梭的女性们，需要穿着并不舒适的高跟鞋和贴身制服为我们服务呢？难道仅仅是出于我们对航空体验的期待，就可以忽略她们的个人权益吗？今天《卫报》这篇新闻就探讨了这个问题，我们和 Lala 老师一起来看。

新闻原文

Why are airlines so keen on the fantasy of the Mile-High Barbie?

The Guardian

How did it come to this—women required to produce a sick note because they’ve been struck down by… unsexiness? It seems that Norwegian Air requires female flight attendants to wear heels, or have a note from the doctor—other rules cover everything from makeup to false eyelashes.

How mortifying for Norway: in 2018, the country was rated second for equality, after Iceland, in the Global Gender Gap report. Norwegian politician Anette Trettebergstuen said: “1950 rang, and it wants its rulebook back.” Norwegian Air responded that flat shoes are worn in the cabin, there are also dress guidelines for male stewards, and other airlines have similar rules—but it must be aware that last month, Virgin ditched requirements for heels and makeup, with others following suit.

It seems that we’re finally starting to see off the oversexualised “air hostess” cliche, but how has it taken so long? Air travel isn’t alone when it comes to chauvinistic grooming diktats. Officially or unofficially, illegally or otherwise, women have routinely been pressured to dress quasi-sexually for work.

It’s a kind of chauvinistic laziness—an easy (and gratuitous) way to keep sex in the mix. Never mind that the flight attendants may have preferred comfort, elegance and dignity to styling that came perilously close over the years to Mile-High Barbie. On and off ground, airline staff have a big job to do—safeguarding the wellbeing and security of passengers. As with all work environments, if men aren’t required to totter about in heels, why on earth are women?

带着问题听讲解

如何理解 follow suit？

为什么航空公司告别性化“空中小姐”用了如此长的时间？

什么是沙文主义？

新闻正文

Why are airlines so keen on the fantasy of the Mile-High Barbie?

为什么航空公司如此热衷于塑造“高空芭比”？

How did it come to this — women required to produce a sick note because they’ve been struck down by… unsexiness? It seems that Norwegian Air requires female flight attendants to wear heels, or have a note from the doctor — other rules cover everything from makeup to false eyelashes.

女性如果穿得不够性感，则需要向公司出示病假条，怎么会出现这样的情况呢？原来，挪威航空公司要求他们的女性空乘人员穿高跟鞋，如果不穿的话需要出示医生开具的病假条（证明自己因病不能穿）。除此之外，这家航空公司还事无巨细地规定了从化妆品到假睫毛的各个方面。

How mortifying for Norway: in 2018, the country was rated second for equality, after Iceland, in the Global Gender Gap report. Norwegian politician Anette Trettebergstuen said: “1950 rang, and it wants its rulebook back.” Norwegian Air responded that flat shoes are worn in the cabin, there are also dress guidelines for male stewards, and other airlines have similar rules — but it must be aware that last month, Virgin ditched requirements for heels and makeup, with others following suit.

（航空公司的这些规定）对挪威这个国家来说颇为尴尬。在 2018 年的全球性别差异报告中， 挪威被评为世界上性别最平等的国家第二名，仅次于冰岛。挪威政治家安妮特·特雷特伯格斯顿说：“1950 年来电话了，它说想要回它的规则手册（航空公司的规定在过去 1950 年代也许可行，但如今已经过时）。” 挪威航空公司回应称，女性可以在机舱里穿平底鞋，并且男性空乘人员也有着装要求，此外，其他航空公司也有类似的规定。但值得注意的是，在上个月，（英国）维珍航空公司废除了女性空乘人员必须穿高跟鞋以及化妆的规定，其他航空公司也纷纷效仿。

It seems that we’re finally starting to see off the oversexualised “air hostess” cliche, but how has it taken so long? Air travel isn’t alone when it comes to chauvinistic groomingdiktats. Officially or unofficially, illegally or otherwise, women have routinely been pressured to dress quasi-sexually for work.

看来我们终于开始告别过度性化“空中小姐”的一类陈腔滥调了，但为什么花了这么久呢？并非只有机舱里才存在这种男性至上的霸道着装要求。女性在上班时总是迫于压力不得不穿得性感一点，这种压力或出于明文规定，或出于潜在规则，可能合法，也可能并不合法。

It’s a kind of chauvinistic laziness — an easy (and gratuitous) way to keep sex in the mix. Never mind that the flight attendants may have preferred comfort, elegance and dignity to styling that came perilously close over the years to Mile-High Barbie. On and off ground, airline staff have a big job to do — safeguarding the wellbeing and security of passengers. As with all work environments, if men aren’t required to totter about in heels, why on earth are women?

这是一种男性沙文主义的懒惰——轻而易举（而且分文不出）就能（让机舱里）保留性感元素。撇开不谈空乘人员可能更愿选择舒适、优雅和尊严，而不是多年来无限接近高空芭比娃娃的造型。无论在地面还是在空中，航空公司的工作人员都肩负着一项重要任务——保证乘客的舒适和安全。就像所有的工作环境一样，如果男性不被规定要穿着高跟鞋摇摇晃晃地四处走动，那究竟为什么女性就要穿高跟鞋呢？

重点词汇

keen
/kiːn/
adj. 非常有兴趣的，对某事着迷的
英文释义：very interested
搭配短语：keen on sth.

flight attendant
空乘人员
相关词汇：stewardess; air hostess

heel
/hiːl/
n. 脚跟；鞋跟
相关词汇：heels（n. 高跟鞋）
heels 相关词汇：low-heels；high-heels

mortifying
/ˈmɔːrtɪfaɪɪŋ/
adj. 使人难为情的，令人尴尬的
搭配短语：a mortifying experience
例句：How mortifying to find that he was right.

steward
/ˈstuːərd/
n.（飞机的）乘务员

follow suit
仿效
英文释义：to follow the example set
例句：When one store reduces its prices of products, the rest usually follow suit.

see off
目送（某人）；打败，停止
搭配短语：see sb. off
英文释义：to defeat or stop
搭配短语：see off the enemy

oversexualised
/ˌoʊvərˈsekʃuəlaɪzd/
adj. 过度性化的
相关词汇：sexualise（v. 性化）

cliche
/kliːˈʃeɪ/
n. 陈词滥调，老生常谈
英文释义：sth. that has become overly familiar or commonplace
例句：It’s a cliche but it is believed that the wedding day is the happiest day of our life.

chauvinistic
/ˌʃoʊvɪˈnɪstɪk/
adj. 沙文主义的
近义词：chauvinist（adj. 大男子主义的）

grooming
/ˈɡruːmɪŋ/
n.（人的）打扮，装束
搭配短语：grooming policy

diktat
/dɪkˈtæt/
n. 勒令，死命令

quasi-
/ˈkwɑːzi/
(in adj. and n.) 类似……，准……
相关词汇：quasi-official（adj. 准官方的，半官方的）

gratuitous
/ɡrəˈtuːɪtəs/
adj. 无偿的，免费的

perilously
/ˈperələsli/
adv. 危险地
例句：We came perilously close to the accident.

totter
/ˈtɑːtər/
v. 跌跌撞撞

why on earth
究竟为什么
相关表达：how, what, where, who on earth…
例句：How on earth did this happen?
例句：Why on earth didn’t you tell me before?

补充词汇知识

produce
v. 拿出、出示某物（以供检查或者供别人使用）
英文释义：show sth or offer sth
例句：To rent a car, you have to produce a passport and a driving licence.

strike
v. 突然袭击
搭配短语：strike down
例句：I was struck down by flu and had to take a few days off.

stewardess
n. 女性空乘人员；空中小姐
同义词： air hostess

makeup
n. 化妆品

false eyelashes
n. 假睫毛

ring
v. 给…打电话

rulebook
n. 规则手册

ditch
v. 抛弃，丢弃

it seems that…
看起来是……
例句：It seems that he is a bit angry.

when it comes to + 名词或动名词
一谈到，一提及……
近义词：referring to；talking about

routinely
adv. 日常地，常规地

be pressured to
被强迫，被催促

a kind of something
用来表示对某事或者某物的描述是不准确的
例句：I had a kind of feeling this might happen.

in the mix
英文释义：in the situation

Never mind that
别想它，先别管

prefer sth to sth
比起什么更喜欢什么

styling
n. 造型

safeguard
v. 保护，保卫

长难句解析

Never mind that the flight attendants may have preferred comfort, elegance and dignity to styling that came perilously close over the years to Mile-High Barbie.

撇开不谈空乘人员可能更愿选择舒适、优雅和尊严，而不是多年来无限接近高空芭比娃娃的造型。

Never mind that 表示“先不管”某事，后面 that 引导了一个宾语从句 the flight attendants may have preferred comfort, elegance and dignity to styling，这里包含了一个 prefer A to B 的结构。styling 后面又嵌套了一个 that 引导的 定语从句，用来修饰 styling。在这个定语从句中，插入语 over the years 是时间状语前置，把它拿掉，可以看到主干就是 that came perilously close to Mile-High Barbie。

学习资源

推荐的查音标网站：

https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com（牛津学习者词典）

一句话总结新闻

本期《卫报》的这篇新闻，是针对挪威航空公司最新出台的一系列衣着装扮规范进行的评论文章。作者不仅指出这些装扮规定在如今社会的荒谬和过时性，还进一步剖析了各行各业的性化女性的问题。

拓展阅读

sexualization 性化

sexualization（或 sexualisation）性化，这个词被创造于 1975 年，一开始对这个术语的讨论聚焦于年轻女孩在现代文化中被性化的问题。 2008 年，美国心理学协会（APA）对 sexualization 进行了权威的定义，表示性化是通过物化、过分重视或强调一个人的外貌和/或性行为，等等，来借此使人意识到一个人的性特征。判断一个人的价值仅仅通过 ta 的性吸引力的外表或行为，也是一种性化。

研究发现，女性相比男性，被以性的方式所表现的频率更高（例如身穿袒胸露背的衣裳、展现妖娆动人的胴体或摆出性暗示的表情），被物化的频率也更高（例如被当成装饰品、或仅展现身体的特定部位而非整个人）。很多调查研究表明，性化对于女孩的认知发展、身心灵健康都有不良影响。越多接触主流媒体，女生越容易认同媒体塑造的对于女性的狭隘审美标准，由此可能导致对自己的身材不满、食欲不振、缺乏自信心和抑郁等症状。