JetBlue deems burlesque dancer's clothes inappropriate for flight

A burlesque performer was barred from boarding a JetBlue plane from Boston to Seattle last week when airline personnel decided she was dressed inappropriately. 

Maggie McMuffin was wearing black and white striped shorts and a sweater when a pilot said that her clothes "would prevent her boarding the plane," according to her friend Molly McIsaac's Facebook post. 

McMuffin offered to compromise by tying a sweater around her waist or using a blanket to cover up, but was told she needed to change her clothes to board the plane, according to ABC affiliate KOMO-TV. 

"Maggie ended up having to go to another terminal to buy a pair of women's sleep shorts in XL for 'proper coverage,'" McIsaac wrote on Facebook, adding that the airline later paid for the shorts and gave McMuffin a $162 flight credit. 

"The gate and on board crew discussed the customer's clothing and determined that the burlesque shorts may offend other families on the flight," said a JetBlue spokesman in a statement. "We support our crew members' discretion to make these difficult decisions, and we decided to reimburse the customer for the cost of the new shorts and offered a credit for future flight as a good will gesture." 

"I feel like it’s just a symptom of our patriarchal society that women are sold scantily clad things and if we choose to wear them, we can be punished for that," McMuffin told KIRO 7. 

McIsaac took her friend's story to Facebook, asking friends to share because she felt "Maggie did not deserve to be treated like this."

"When I was growing up, people were classier and when they went on a plane you were dressed appropriately, not in your underwear," commented Lisa Ondris-Green on the Facebook post. 

"I don't consider her attire appropriate for travel, but would not object," commented Phyllis E. Factor on Facebook. "It's her body and her to decision as to what to wear. As long as her private parts are covered, there shouldn't be a complaint from the airline."