The yellow jacket as symbol of a woman scorned

S. Mitra Kalita — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 09:28:00 GMT

The first day the cameras focused on the angry and tearful women in their smart uniforms, I remarked to a colleague that the yellow jacket was about to become a symbol. Of dreams deferred, hopes dashed, an industry knocked down, of the worst yet to come.

Sure enough, last year when Jet Airways' new uniforms debuted, the blogosphere was abuzz with critiques of the new look. They were apparently designed by Italian Roberto Capucci, at a time when going global was The Thing (and the Sensex was still in the five digits). He had never designed airline uniforms before--and given the cost-cutting and state of the sector, I wonder if he ever will again?

But while the colour of the uniforms might have blinded passengers, they really did create something of a media sensation and a not-at-all-subtle image of unity among the crew of workers who protested their layoffs earlier this week. You saw them, I'm sure -- the sea of yellow topped off with the fresh faces of young, beautiful women from small towns who suddenly saw their futures disappear. Even after they had been "let go", the uniforms stayed on.

On Thursday night, I bet those yellow jackets haunted Jet chairman Naresh Goyal's sleep--and he reinstated the jobs. "My conscience doesn't allow to just look at the economics,'' Goyal said. "My management did it on the basis of economic conditions as the whole industry is going through a very difficult period.''

To the point of cliche, it is said: "Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned / Nor hell a fury like a woman scorned."

Well, the Jet crew sure exemplified that this week. And consider this line from Wikipedia on yellowjackets: "All females are capable of stinging."

(A nod to Jet and this site for the photo)

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The yellow jacket as symbol of a woman scorned