My love/hate relationship with Hooters.....

[poltr1]

Had dinner at the local Hooters this evening. I just had a taste for steamed clams (and hot clam broth), and as far as I know, no other place in town serves them up.

OK. First, I'll admit it. I'm a perv. I like to ogle. It's what straight guys do. I have a weakness for cleavage, thighs, legs, buns, and especially brains and hearts. My rule is "Look, but don't touch".

I don't go to Hooters to pick up any of the waitresses, though. (As if I had a chance.) I primarily go for the food, the atmosphere (lots of TVs to watch sports on), and the 80s music. It's a great place to go with the guys (and some of the girls too!). Tonight, a woman celebrated her birthday there, with her husband/boyfriend, friends, and children.

As for the Hooters girls, the standard uniform is white T-shirt tank top, tight orange shorts, pantyhose, EG socks, and sneakers. (Oh yeah. And underwear too.) A woman working there should be very comfortable with her body, since all of her curves are on display. I realize that any imperfections are smoothed or covered over, like the airbrushed models in Playboy, creating the illusion of "perfect 10s".

But at the same time, the feminist side of me says this is demeaning, that women shouldn't have to dress that way to get and keep a job. How would I feel about Hooter's *guys* in the same outfit? Yecch. It wouldn't fit right, I'd look awful in it, and orange just isn't my color. Although I've heard there's a place or minor chain called Peckers, which attempts to do just that. (Now, where would they put the tips? :) )

They also serve chicken wings there. They're not bad, as long as I order them naked (i.e. no breading).

Comments

[folkmew.livejournal.com]

I despise Hooters. I admit a strong feminist bias however.
Plus I hate sports bars.
I'm not particularly wild on sports anyway and I dislike TV in places where I want to talk.

I even hate the color orange.

And most of all I hate that if I wanted to work at Hooters, even if I were comfortable with my curves as you suggest is required, I couldn't because they hire only women who look good in the uniform.

John Stewart on the Daily Show did a great bit on Hooters. I guffawed most copiously.

I guess I think rather than going to some supposed sports bar to ogle you should maybe just find a good strip bar. I mean what the heck, at least those are honest. I knew a woman once who put herself through law school as a stripper.

[athenawindsong.livejournal.com]

I totally agree about the strip bars, you have an excellent point. Not only are they honest, they are willing and able to suspend their own sexual appetites in favor of someone else's - you gotta respect them for doing their jobs well.

As for Hooters, well, IMO it fills a market niche. Besides, I can't object to a place that requires EG socks as a part of the uniform. Yes, it's exploitive and sets the feminist movement back indefinately, but I put the waitresses in the same category as strippers - just with more clothing. They KNOW exactly what image they project and if they had a problem with men (and women) oggling, they wouldn't work there or agree to wear the uniform.

Also, ogling. Ummmm, IMO, it's perfectly natural - so long as the woman is comfortable with the attention, as seems to be the case here. If in an atmosphere where it isn't invited, hinted at, or is inappropriate, THAT'S when it's creepy.

[folkmew.livejournal.com]

I can see your point that it is a niche market. I still can't shake my viceral reaction against them.

I read a few interesting posts about Hooters while trying to find something about their "you aren't big busted enough or thin enough to work here" hiring policies:

http://www.csulb.edu/~asc/post2.html
This person argues that they should be allowed to continue to hire only women hosts and waitresses and hire based on looks.

Anyway - I have to go get my boys off to school - but I can't help but hope that we can create alternative ways where it appropriate to ogle a variety of people. (and more variety please!) I would hate to think my boys when they grow up would have to resort to Hooters. :-)

[athenawindsong.livejournal.com]

You don't have to change your mind about the restaraunt or the girls who choose to don the uniform. We can agree to disagree. Afterall, my size 3x body would certainly get a resounding "Don't call us, we'll call you," so I should be offended, too. Right?

I also wouldn't qualify for the pages of Playboy, Penthouse, or pass a physical for being a fireman (no matter how well I would pass pencil and paper tests). I'm not a good candidate for reality shows on tv, being a part of a bellydance troupe (although I do know a few plus size models - the biggest is around a size 16), do competative cycling or marathon running, or get picked up in a bar filled with gorgeous Barbie dolls. Should I be offended by all of those and anything else my full figured body would look awkward doing or couldn't physically handle?

Yes, I do agree that Hooters condones the promotion of women of a certain body type and that the uniforms themselves are demeaning. But you gotta admit - they can be a GREAT goal for a BBW for me to aspire to, one goal among a dozen other examples (like fitting into a certain dress or fitting into old high school clothes, or looking goood in a bellydance costume) aside from the obvious health benefits of loosing the weight.

I've been a BBW for as long as I can remember and some people will say "be proud of who you are and what you look like" but I know one of the last types of allowable discrimination is weight-ism. Agism, racism, and discrimination against religion are all fought against in many company policies, but a fat person is almost always the butt of a joke on the stage. Anyway, I digress...

Thanks to the internet, your boys DO have a variety of people they can ogle. There are many special interest groups out there to fill any preference. Hooters is one of a gazillion bars that do hire based on looks - they are just more well known.

[poltr1]

....they hire only women who look good in the uniform.

Yeah. I noticed that. Approximately the same height, same weight, and same build. The only difference is the hair color. Bleah.

John Stewart on the Daily Show did a great bit on Hooters. I guffawed most copiously.

I'd like to see this sometime. Would this clip be on YouTube?

FWIW, if I want to go to a sports bar to watch the game, eat some good food, and feel like a regular, I'll stop in at the local Beef O'Brady's family sports pub.

[folkmew.livejournal.com]

I was looking for that John Stewart Show clip - I saw it on the Comedy Central page, but I couldn't find it for the life of me. The problem is it was ostensibly about something else and Hooters was the punch line. Something about wholesome food - or culinary delights or... I forget...

I really don't despise people just because they go to Hooters btw. I guess I can see the appeal but still - I think there have to be better places to ogle. :-) Good luck with that!!
Hugs

[poltr1]

I once went to a local "gentleman's club" for a bachelor party. It was called the Living Room.

I asked the waitress for a Cape Codder. "Never heard of it", was the response. I then asked for a Labatt's Blue. "A what?", she asked. I think all they had was Budweiser and Miller.

I haven't been back there since.

I miss the trips across the border to the King Edward Hotel in Niagara Falls, ON. The clubs here just aren't the same.

*hugs*

[catalana.livejournal.com]

I used to have a lot of problem with Hooters. Then I moved to Las Vegas. There is, in fact, a Hooters here. But I've never seen such a superfluous establishment. Hello? Las Vegas! Actually, the Hooters girls look positively overdressed. *grin*

I think the chain is kind of tacky, but I don't really have any serious ethical problems with them at least in the abstract. (I don't know enough about their actual business practices to comment in any degree of specificity. It's a problem if girls are only working there because they have no other options, or if they are treated disrespectfully. But if not...*shrug* Why not?) There are things that would be highly inappropriate to hold at a Hooters (like a business meeting), but if people want to go there, that's their business.

And, personally, if I *were* being a cocktail waitress in Las Vegas, I'd definitely choose Hooters - they get to wear tennis shoes rather than heels. *grin*

[tigertoy.livejournal.com]

I've never been in a Hooters, because the impression I pick up about the kind of place that it is just isn't the kind of place I'd enjoy. I seldom enjoy looking at women I don't know doing something uninteresting (like waiting tables) even if they're good looking. And I really don't enjoy the kind of noisy, crass, overly-served crowd that I assume I would find there.

On principle, I'm ambivalent; I'm disgusted by forced exploitation of women, but if the women went into the situation freely and want to be there, then I'm perfectly happy with it (and that goes for any level, from Hooters to kinky prostitution).

Oh, and you're not a perv for enjoying looking at the women; you're a normal het male. I'm a perv because big breasts don't do anything for me.

[redaxe.livejournal.com]

you're not a perv for enjoying looking at the women; you're a normal het male. I'm a perv because big breasts don't do anything for me.

Ain't necessarily so; tastes come in all sizes and shapes, and most folks just don't like one thing or another for no apparent reason.

Now, if you'd said you were a perv because you thought Star Wars I-III was all-time great film, I'd be forced to agree with you :-D

[redaxe.livejournal.com]

I don't think I've ever actually been into a Hooters. How's the food?

Personally, I think that if the ladies are there voluntarily and are treated decently in the workplace, there's nothing to object to. I'd probably enjoy it, but then, I think the female human form is the epitome of beauty in this our wonderful universe.

[poltr1]

From what I've had there -- chicken wings, steamed oysters, steamed clams, wing-style-cooked shrimp -- the food is decent.

[yourmommma.livejournal.com]

It's damned hard to get steamed clams and oysters around here without breaking the bank. Maybe I should check out Hooters.

My feelings about women and their bodies changed a great deal after I started belly dancing...not just dancing myself but watching other women dance. I never thought that I would enjoy seeing women perform that way, but I do--I love it and I'm not even shy about tipping. I remember the first MECDA party I went to with a girlfriend. We were watching this woman do a very complex and intricate veil dance that involved a lot of veil teasing and my friend and I agreed that we had never before had the experience of actively desiring to have a woman take her "clothes" off. A good dance is a good dance.

As for myself when I was bellydancing, the thing I loved the most about it was that after about a year it changed my walk completely. It wasn't like I was bumping and grinding when I walked, but it changed the way I carried my weight--deeper in my pelvis and more fully in touch with the ground while my posture was superb and my gestures were more graceful. Wish I were well enough to go back to it.

I think somewhere in this universe there must be a way for men and women to indulge in the very human desire and pleasure in taking part in such things without hostility. There's nothing wrong with looking at people no matter what sex they or you are. It's a natural and normal human thing to do.

I would go to Hooters if the women there treated me the same way they treat the men that go there. But if there's anything I hate it's going out to dinner or lunch and having a waitress act like I don't exist because they think the man with me is more important or more likely to leave a big tip. 30 years ago this was more likely but nowdays more women realize what an influence the "wife" has on the tip so more often waitresses are charming to everyone at the table.

Strip clubs I wouldn't go to...too "raw" for me. But Burlesque style dancing/stripping a la Dita Von Tease is lovely and I would go to see that.