Korean Airline Forces Female Flight Attendants to Wear Skirts

Here's a story about a large Korean airline which forces it's female flight attendants to wear skirts and conform to a very traditionally feminine style.  Many flight attendants are trying to change this policy.

to conform to - to obey a certain rule or order, to follow some rule or rules

feminine - the opposite of masculine, womanlike.

a dress-code - a dress code is a specific way workers or students are supposed to dress.  In many schools students have to follow a dress code.

trousers - pants

to add weight to - to add support to

a union, a labor union - an organization that helps workers protect their rights and receive higher salaries

a campaign - an effort

to ease the strict dress code - to lesson the severe nature of the dress code, to make the dress code less extreme

non-binding - it is not a law, the company does not have to follow the commission's advice or recommendations.  If this were a "binding" situation, the company would have to do what the commission says.

a uniform appearance - they wanted all the women to look the same

aesthetic elements - beauty elements

to stay competitive - to be able to compete with other companies, to be able to do as well as other companies

to ban something - to prohibit something, to make something against the rules

an evaluation system - a system to judge someone

meticulous - very detailed

a blemish - a spot, like a pimple, on a person's skin

discriminatory - if something is discriminatory, it forces a certain group to be treated with fewer rights than another or other groups.

http://news.yahoo.com/skorean-cabin-crew-fight-skirt-only-dress-code-145558812.html

1)  Do you think Asiana Airlines is being discriminatory?

2)  Do you care whether your stewardess is sexy or not?

3)  All US airlines stopped trying to force flight attendants to be sexy many years ago and began focusing on training the flight attendants to be more competent in regard to safety issues.  Do you feel that safety is the top priority of a company that has a 10 page set of guidelines for how their stewardesses are supposed to look?

4)  Do you book a flight based on how the stewardesses look?  Why do you book flights with particular airlines?

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Yes, I'm the guy who created the scandal in Asia two years ago :P

http://nwww.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20100511000742

http://nwww.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20100512000682

http://www.shoutcastblog.com/2010/05/11/wondergirls-were-mistreated-by-jyp-entertainment/

Yes, I'm also the guy who wrote the very funny ESL book: New York City Sucks, But You'll Wanna Live Here Anyway
http://www.amazon.com/Sucks-Youll-Wanna-Anyway-ebook/dp/B004TSPAQS