Bikini-clad women audition for flight attendant jobs in China

An audition held recently by a modeling school in Qingdao, China, required women to parade in bikinis for a chance to become flight attendants or, maybe, fashion models.
Modeling agency Oriental Beauty hosted the event, reports the Daily Mail, and entrants were required to be “elegant, slim, have sweet voice and have no scars in the exposed part of their skin.”
To be considered for the competition, women had to be at least 5’6” tall, but those who were shorter — at least 5’5” tall — but especially pretty could get an exception.
News of the competition has enraged the world’s largest labor union for flight attendants.
"We condemn those responsible for this publicity stunt at the expense of women everywhere,” said Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, AFL-CIO (AFA) International, in a statement. “This is not a fight just for the women of China. In this era of increased globalization and trade agreements that pit American workers against these abhorrent labor practices, our union understands this very real threat to Flight Attendants in the U.S. and around the world.”
Via email, Nelson reminded Today in the Sky that at one time airlines in the United States imposed discriminatory practices on flight attendants as well, imposing girdle checks and weigh-ins for flight attendants before flights.
“Our union used Title VII of the Civil Rights Act to fight these practices in court,” she said.
Nelson said her union has vowed to work with unions around the world to expose practices such as bikini auditions for flight attendant positions “and work to stop them through public pressure.”
But it may be an uphill battle. A news story from 2014 features photos of bikini-clad male and female flight attendant hopefuls and reports that the competition began in 2006.
Harriet Baskas is a Seattle-based airports and aviation writer and USA TODAY Travel's "At the Airport" columnist. She occasionally contributes to Ben Mutzabaugh's Today in the Sky blog. Follow her at twitter.com/hbaskas.