Introduction
In the period between the World Wars, there was no more widespread and dangerous sport than airplane racing. The book Fly Girls talks about how women fought with rickety single-rotor aircraft with questionable instruments and open cockpits, in which pilots were often blinded by smoke. Furthermore, with the contemptuous and dismissive attitude of men who sometimes went to great lengths to undermine them.
Discussion
Journalist Ken O’Brien depicts the struggle of 5 brave women who were among the first representatives of their sex to receive a pilot’s license and competed on an equal footing with men in a profession that was then extremely dangerous. This vision vividly describes how the first female aviators rendered a service to feminism by winning the hearts and minds of the public imagination. The way forward has never been straightforward for each of the women represented. Their environment was influenced by repressive gender norms and doubts about the abilities of women who wanted to succeed in a new field. Nevertheless, women overcame these unfair obstacles and were the first to receive pilot licenses.
Few women were eligible to fly than construction workers, electricians, and police officers. Those who piloted the planes were often bullied and then ignored. Pilots have received many nicknames: “pilots in skirts,” “ladybugs,” “flying firecrackers,” “powder puffs,” and “flying girls” (O’Brien, 2019). O’Brien highlights the appeal of such affronts: “A woman with a good plane and a bold plan was impossible to ignore—and easy to humiliate” (O’Brien, 2019). For women whose achievements were not taken into account because of their gender, the frequency of superficial descriptions is irritating.
One of the most compelling characters is Amelia Earhart. She was the first woman to make a successful transatlantic flight in 1932 (O’Brien, 2019). She was a knowledgeable and gifted pilot until she went missing during an attempt to circumnavigate the globe in 1937 (O’Brien, 2019). Florence Klingensmith, a high school dropout who eventually became an outstanding mechanic, is also well described by one. She was very fond of dangerous stunts, and as a result, she became a stuntwoman.
Moreover, an exciting topic of this book is the description of various problems in the working environment in early aviation. Novice pilots had to deal with single-rotor aircraft that were literally on the verge of collapse. Their tools were so complex that they could not be efficiently prepared and assembled without spending too much time and resources. As a result, the women were dealing with terribly unsafe flight conditions, risking their lives daily. These risks and frustrations were compounded by the resistance they faced from men, many of whom even banded together out of pure contempt to thwart their ambitions.
O’Brien describes in detail how women first got into aviation, overcoming the difficult path of rules and regulations to compete and win on an equal footing. Fortunately, there was no immediate ban on women’s participation in air races. This sport became extremely popular almost overnight, partly thanks to the rich men who showed interest in it. However, not all air racing fans were there to see how the pilots were doing well. Many have come to look forward to the almost inevitable plane crash.
Conclusion
Thus, in my opinion, the most exciting topics of this book are, first of all, the difficulties women face trying to break into aviation and their challenging and exciting path. Here the theme of how persistent, innovative women overcame all obstacles to greatness is perfectly revealed. Moreover, how the aviation industry was organized in general. This book perfectly reveals these topics with all the details.
Reference
O’Brien, K. (2019). Fly Girls: How Five Daring Women Defied All Odds and Made Aviation History. HMH Books for Young Readers.