I'm sure that there are very strict rules as to which ones would be acceptable, and which would not ;)

I don’t really like to talk about my flair

:confused: :confused: :confused:
Then female should not wear makeups at job, is that what you are saying?
:td: :td: :td: :td: :td:
and aaupgrade well put... ^ ^ ^
I second your opinions as a gay man too.

Does the rainbow flag mean gay and not African National Congress? If it does, I'm sure other gay people know it.

I saw a story on TV that some people have accurate gay-dar (that's the term they used...like radar), but some don't.

By announcing the FA is gay, they will attract the correct people and repel the incorrect orientation. Isn't that what the wedding ring is for, i.e. to tell men to stay away from the married women and women from married men?

I was talking in general, not UA specific policies. If UA wants to allow it, fine. I don't think it *should* be allowed.

No, that is not what I am saying, other than to say that excessive makeup should not be allowed.

A while ago, I also saw a UA FA wearing a rainbow-flag pin. I smiled and said "I like your pin, but I'm a little surprised that UA allows you to wear it." She said, "Oh yes, UA is very supportive."

In a world in which people are assumed to be straight, and in which many people want gay people to be invisible, I think it's very good of UA to allow its FAs to wear a very small symbol. If they want uniformity, and no symbols of sexual orientation, they can ban wedding rings too.

It amused me that on the remainder of that flight, the FA was very attentive to me and my (same-sex) traveling companion. Since he was in the lav when I made my comment to the FA, my colleague was quite puzzled why he was getting such attentive service.

You should definitely go work at Flinger's then.

I would just like to make a minor semantic point to the OP. Being gay is a sexual orientation and not a sexual preference. Yes, there is a difference!!! It is not a matter of preferring one gender over anoter the way one might favor Coke over Pepsi.

Thanks for the request for my thoughts. One of the two parties you mentioned in your post really needs to get a life. IMHO, it's not the FA. Do the math...

I would be inclined to agree with you. Although I am not familiar with United's operations manual, another major US airline's manual would prohibit this. That airline's manual states that "controversial pins are prohibited" and further says that aside from a tie-clip, "crews will not wear any other additional insignia on their uniform".

Seems pretty clear to me.

I think it's a shame that a rainbow-flag pin is controversial. I hope that any pins or pendants that symbolize affiliation with a group that opposes equal treatment for gay people would also be prohibited as controversial. Sauce for the goose ...

I think if I worked for Delta I might replace my commitment ring with one with rainbow colors.

There is no easy answer to the "where do you draw the line?" question. Is a cross, a rainbow flag, a crescent moon, the stars and stripes, the star of david, the anarchists 'A', the nazi swastika, a red cross, a yellow ribbon, a skull and crossbones, or perhaps a confederate flag inappropriate? It depends. Which of these symbols is offensive to you? Some of them would bother me, some of them wouldn't.

FWIW: I'll add one straight male vote to not being offended by a smallish pin of a rainbow flag.

It doesn't matter which would offend someone. As I stated above, all of these things would be banned by the policy I quoted.

Actually, that's why I was surprised that that UA allowed a FA to wear a rainbow-flag pin. IMHO the safest place to draw the line is at no non-airline insignia at all--not at "controversial" insignia. My core identity may be your controversy.

On the other hand, I felt very welcomed by the UA FA's rainbow-flag pin.

The term "controversial pins" is in itself quite unclear. When the rule was adopted, was it aimed primarily at political pins, pro-choice/pro-life pins, "in your face" raunchy humor pins, red AIDS ribbon/pink breast cancer ribbon/whatever-color/disease ribbon pins, etc.? As others have noted, while a rainbow pin will be controversial to some, a small cross pin will be controversial to others. I agree with SJC1K - IF there must be a rule against pins, it should be one against ALL pins not provided by the airline.