This is quite a plot twist. A few days ago Virgin Atlantic was in the news for updating its gender identity policy, giving employees the option to choose the uniform that best represents them. However, now the person who claims to be the main force behind this policy change is “exposing” the airline.
Virgin Atlantic “exposed” for “erasing” non-binary employee
A non-binary (now former) Virgin Atlantic cabin crew named Jaianni took to Facebook to share their disgust with Virgin Atlantic. Essentially Jaianni claims to be the person who pushed for this policy change at the airline, only to find that they were “erased” from the marketing campaign highlighting this policy change.
Let me try to sum up the Facebook post as concisely as possible, because it’s… a lot. Here we go:
- Jaianni joined Virgin Atlantic as cabin crew in 2020, and started a conversation with the company about allowing more flexibility with uniforms; at the time, executives at the airline didn’t seem open to the idea
- Jaianni was made redundant due to the pandemic within weeks of joining the company and that “absolutely destroyed” them, but then returned to the company in 2021, which they were “over the moon about”
- Once back at the company, Jaianni restarted conversations about a more flexible dress code, and this time the company seemed more receptive; Jaianni was consulted during the process for months, and even gave talks on how the company can be more inclusive
- Jaianni claims they were “the person to start this huge change,” and then after months it was confirmed there would be an ad campaign, and they were told that they “would be a major part of this campaign, as [they] had started the whole process off”
- The commercial was filmed over a 12+ hour day, and those that worked for the airline got “offered a stupid payment of 150 pound when the Influencers get paid over 1k minimum”
- Jaianni’s problem is that they “started this whole process for a company to take [their] idea and CAPITALISE on it when they don’t actually authentically care about there (sic) staff and [their] background of what non binary means”
- Long story short, they spent all day filming, and Jaianni was featured as “a massive part” of the campaign during that time; however, when the ad campaign came out, Jaianni wasn’t featured in any way
- Jaianni feels they were used “as a show pony for the company” and that the company was “not even recognising [them] or even worse [their] trauma and hurt from [their] Entire life which led to [them] fighting for this change”
- Jaianni feels they were “ERASED from the commercial”
Jaianni finishes the Facebook post with the following:
“YOU ERASED ALL MY HARD WORK THAT I PUT IN FOR YOU TO GAIN ON YOUR CAPITALISM. YOU DO NOT GET TO DISREGARD WHO I AM, I AM A HUMAN BEING, I FOUGHT FOR THIS CHANGE, I DEVOTED MY TIME AT THE COMPANY FOR THIS CHANGE, I FOUGHT FOR AN EASIER LIFE FOR MY YOUNGER BROTHERS AND SISTERS. YOU HAVE BROKEN ME AND DAMAGED ME MORE THAN YOU EVEN KNOW AND NOBODY GETS TO DO THAT. This is my life and my communities life’s, let’s not forget though you’ll never take away the fact I was the one to start this change and there will always be evidence and proof of that won’t there? Yes is the answer to that if you was wondering. THIS IS BECAUSE OF ME, THIS WAS MY FIGHT, THIS IS MY SUCCESS.”
While the exact details surrounding Jaianni’s resignation aren’t known, it would appear that they no longer work for Virgin Atlantic.
For context, here’s the 30-second ad from Virgin Atlantic:
My take on this Virgin Atlantic situation
First of all, it’s important to acknowledge that Jaianni obviously feels very hurt, and that’s clear in the writing. That’s something most of us probably won’t be able to fully relate to. Nobody wants to feel erased or forgotten, and that’s especially true of someone belonging to a marginalized community.
That being said, I can’t help but feel like the German phrase “Das Gegenteil von gut ist nicht böse, sondern gut gemeint” applies here (it roughly translates “the opposite of good isn’t bad, but rather well intentioned”). Why?
- While it’s entirely possible that Jaianni was the one who championed non-binary issues at the airline (we don’t know how many others may have expressed similar concerns), Virgin Atlantic has been progressive with LGBTQ+ issues since long before 2020
- I can understand that Jaianni feels frustrated about not being featured in the ad, though unfortunately this is all too often the reality of these kinds of projects; they film for 12 hours, and then have to condense it down to 30 seconds
- Shouldn’t a non-binary person be happy that Virgin Atlantic is trying to “capitalize” on championing progressive policies for non-binary employees? Because the alternative would be not doing that…
- Even if Jaianni wasn’t featured in the ad, surely they can appreciate that Virgin Atlantic did highlight many non-binary employees, which is something that very few airlines are doing; that kind of visibility should be good for the community
I get Jaianni’s frustration. Maybe Virgin Atlantic should have communicated more proactively about Jaianni not being featured in the ad, so that it didn’t come as such a surprise when it was released. That’s especially true if it was promised that they’d be a major part of it. But I still find the concept of “exposing” Virgin Atlantic here to be a bit much, for what should ultimately amount to great progress for the non-binary community.
Bottom line
A (now former) Virgin Atlantic cabin crew member who allegedly pushed the airline to introduce more progressive policies for non-binary employees is now “exposing” the airline, claiming that they were “erased,” and have never been so hurt in their life.
It sucks that this is how this situation unfolded, given that Virgin Atlantic is basically in a league of its own when it comes to how progressive it is.
What do you make of this former Virgin Atlantic cabin crew’s take?
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