I’ve recently noticed three large problems that all humans have: we don’t listen, we don’t pay attention and we jump to conclusions way too quickly. I would say that this is a modern issue that has stemmed from the plague of social media and fake news, but I suppose it has existed since yellow journalism was a big issue in the 1890s. 

Recently while scrolling through my Facebook news feed, I saw a headline that said something along the lines of passengers not allowed to board plane because they were wearing tights. So, I immediately begin to rant about how unfair it is that women are held to greater social constraints by being criticized about the way they looked or behaved in public. I was going to mention a lot of topics that arose because of those problems, like breastfeeding in public and girls having stricter dress code rules in order to not distract boys in school. All of these problems may very well exist, but at that point, I was getting ahead of myself in a topic that I knew very little about. I made the decision to pay attention to the details of what was actually going on. 

The truth is, passengers were not banned solely because they were wearing leggings. Time magazine published an article on Mar. 26 that addressed the social media controversy that arose over the alleged leggings ban and then told the truth of the situation towards the end of the article, despite a somewhat misleading headline.

Here’s what really happened: A United Airlines gate agent in Denver refused to allow multiple women to board a flight. There is a general United Airlines rule that states that gate agents can prevent passengers from boarding if they are barefoot and are in attire that they consider improper clothing. This is not necessarily defined on their site and could be easily be misinterpreted.

However, there is something called a pass rider or traveler that typically allows family members of employees to travel with the perks of a free ticket, or one at a highly discounted ticket price. In order to utilize this benefit, there is an additional dress code policy that must be followed. This dress code policy restricts pass riders from wearing leggings. 

Could this policy still be viewed as sexist? I would be surprised if it wouldn’t be. But, make your decision about this policy after you are informed of the whole story beyond what I have stated in this opinion. Both men and women are expected to uphold the professional appearance of the employees whom they received the pass rider status from. Is it okay for airlines to tell you what you can and cannot wear whether you paid for your ticket or not? The easy answer is no. However, there must be rules and procedures for all businesses, especially airlines. If you don’t agree with these rules, there are several alternative modes of transportation available.