A lesbian traveler has taken to X to share an awkward interaction she had with a United Airlines flight attendant, who called her shirt offensive, and that post has gone viral. While I disagree with the exact words the flight attendant reportedly used, I completely agree with the idea of what she’s saying.
United flight attendant calls “lesbian as sh*t” shirt offensive
A woman shared the following story on X:
my flight attendant just made sure to let me know that my “lesbian as sh*t” shirt was “deeply offensive” and when I laughed nervously she went “seriously.” happy pride from @united i guess
As of the time of writing, the post has been viewed nearly two million times, and has received nearly 75,000 likes. Not surprisingly, opinions are mixed, with some people supporting the airline, and others supporting the traveler.
Officially, United’s contract of carriage states that the airline has “the right to refuse transport on a permanent or temporary basis or shall have the right to remove from the aircraft at any point, any passengers who are barefoot, not properly clothed, or whose clothing is lewd, obscene or offensive”
The flight attendant should’ve asked this woman to change
If the flight attendant actually said the shirt was “deeply offensive,” I think that’s way too extreme. However, the flight attendant absolutely should’ve asked this woman to change shirts, and I’m shocked that she didn’t.
The issue with the shirt isn’t the word “lesbian,” but instead, the word “sh*t.” As I see it, there are two ways that a ban on “offensive” clothing can be interpreted:
- Clothing can be interpreted as offensive on account of what’s written or pictured on it
- Clothing can be interpreted as offensive based on how revealing it is
My inclination would be to say that if you wouldn’t feel comfortable explaining to your child what’s on a shirt, it could probably be considered “offensive.” I tend to think that cuss words fit in that category, in general. Several weeks ago, I wrote about how I was at an airport and saw a group of four people all traveling in what I’d consider to be offensive shirts, with two being as follows:
- One man was wearing a shirt with a picture of a confused-looking Joe Biden, which read “WHO SH*T MY PANTS?” (it was this shirt)
- The other man was wearing a shirt that said “NEVER KILLED A MOUNTAIN LION BUT I’VE CHOKED A COUGAR” (it was this shirt)
As I said at the time, I didn’t find it “offensive” because of my own political beliefs, as I’d feel the same way if someone wore one of those “F*CK TRUMP” shirts, a shirt joking about Charlie Kirk being killed, etc. I think those people should be asked to change as well. Similarly, here, the word “sh*t” just isn’t necessary in a family environment.
In reality, all too often airline dress codes are just used to force women with large breasts to cover up, which I find to be completely ridiculous. I’m not trying to be crass, but a vast majority of the time when there are stories of people being asked to change, that seems to be the reason.
There’s nothing that should be offensive about that — if you’re at the beach and a woman has large breasts, I don’t think you’re going to tell your kid “oh, look away.”
And of course some people may point out that people should dress differently on planes than at the beach, but that’s not actually what the airline contracts of carriage say.
Bottom line
A post is going viral on X about how a United flight attendant told a passenger that her “lesbian as sh*t” shirt was “deeply offensive.” While I think that’s extreme (assuming that’s actually what was said), I don’t think the flight attendant took it far enough — she should’ve asked the woman to change her shirt.
Airlines ban “offensive” clothing, so whether that says “F*CK TRUMP” or “lesbian as sh*t,” it has no place on a plane, in my opinion.
What’s your take on this United lesbian shirt situation?