Why the hate for Hooters?

[Taverner]

Thing is, I don't really like hooters. Bad wings, and if they're going to tease you, why not just go all the way and go to a strip club?

BUT I digress...I've noticed there's a lot of anger against Hooters here...and true theyre is reason to hate them based on their taping of women in the changing room.

As an establishment tho, its not like its anything beyond exploitation. Strip clubs, brothels, all of these exploit - but thats fucking capitalism. Your place of employment, your job - whether you wash cars or sell insurance, you too are exploited. Corporation makes $100 for every $1 they give back to you, even though you brought in all the $$$. That's prostitution of labor, and no different than any other kind of exploitation.

[CO Liberal]

1. I've Never Met a Hooter I Didn't Like

But some of the ones on "Plastic Surgery Gone Wrong" are downright scary.....

[donheld]

16. I've Never Met a Hooter I Did Like

:eyes:

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

75. Ah very classy

[Liberal Veteran]

2. I think it's silly, but I don't hate them....

I do think if anyone REALLY believes they are selling "food", they are kidding themselves.

[Taverner]

27. Yes the hypocritical element is annoying...

However, as one who pushes for sexual liberation, anything that pushes the envelope can't be all that bad...

[realisticphish]

3. their food sucks nt

[On the Road]

4. My Ex-Wife Likes Hooter's

and frequently suggested it when we were married. Maybe she felt superior to the waitresses, I don't know. I never argued.

[NewJeffCT]

45. my liberal ex-wife worked at Hooters for a bit

She wanted to earn some extra cash before we got married and she was a 'natural' so to speak.

[Bertha Venation]

5. Never been to Hooters. But I'll give you my opinion anyway.

A place whose name is based on slang for female anatomy -- that stupid owl, lousy attempt at diversion, notwithstanding -- deserves my derision, not my money.

[no name no slogan]

12. I assume you don't eat at "Chi-Chi's" either?

After all, that's Mexican Spanish slang for 'breasts'. :dunce:

In Minnesota, we have a grocery chain called "Lunds". Interestingly enough, "Lund" means penis in Urdu (Pakistan's main language).

I have a few Pakistani friends who've had a good laugh over this one. :D

I've been to Hooters once, and I was not impressed. Bottle blonds with bad boobjobs don't do it for me.

[proud2BlibKansan]

31. Does Chi Chis exploit women too?

Does Lunds promote penises?

[Bertha Venation]

44. Never heard of Chi-Chi's, so I'm not in danger of hypocrisy.

If I were ever to learn that it was named "Chi-Chi" on the same sexist basis that "Hooters" got it's name, then no, I won't go there.

"Lunds" -- in Minnesota? Lund sounds like it might be a northwestern European name, so I don't see a problem for me there.

We can parse until we're blue in the face. Maybe the distinction can be made between an obvious name like "Hooters" and a surname like "Lunds."

:)

[no name no slogan]

73. We need a new chain-- call it "Woody's"

I figure it will have a 1960s surfing theme, with male waiters in Speedos (just for Kleeb) and old '30s wood-paneled cars in the decor-- hence the name "Woody's".

And the logo? A Speedo-wearing himbo holding out a rather phallic-looking old-fashioned longboard at waistlevel, of course!

Too bad HQQTERS has the trademark on "More Than A Mouthfull"
:dunce:

[JHB]

59. Obscure linguistic trivia...

Japanese too.

[warrens]

22. Nailed it

It's too juvenile to even take seriously.

[Mad_Dem_X]

51. I'm with you - on one hand, they market themselves

as a "family" place - but on the other hand, their very name is derogatory to females. And the owl--his eyes just *happen* to look like boobies??

[AlCzervik]

6. I don't them but i have no use for them either

cept my own of course. Their food sucks but i can see the attraction. There was a good brewery in SanFrancisco that i use to go to when i was in the city, about a year ago it was closed and re-opened as a Hooters, very disappointing.

[Placebo]

7. Typical Hooters Customers...

and this...



aaaaaand, the frat boy...



All I have to say is: EW.

[Jack_Dawson]

9. LOL!

Hilarious.

[Hobarticus]

11. LBN: Hooters to be renamed...

Now to be known as Get Your Picture Taken Next to a Woman Who Normally Wouldn't Give You the Time of Day Cafe...

[dean_dem]

23. Let me guess....they're not sorry either?

[UpsideDownFlag]

8. i like my g/f's hooters.

[motely36]

10. I heard that the most popular Hooters in the country

is in Rehoboth Beach DE. :)

[JimmyJazz]

14. I knew we were friends. That place is actually pretty new. I know the

wife of the guy who owns that particular territory. I remember when they were scoping that site. They are from Kentucky and actually didn't realize Rehoboth was a gay/family resort! They were hoping the liqour license would fall through and they could get out of the deal.

I had no idea it was actually successful, though. :hi:

[TlalocW]

13. I used to like Tulsa's Hooters for one reason

A waitress nick-named Snoopy. She was Mexican-American, just about five feet tall, cute as hell, and had a great personality - especially compared to the other waitresses and knew tons of jokes. She had a degree in sociology I believe and had recently gone back to get one in physical therapy and was studying for her certification tests and rightly figured that Hooters was probably the best paying job she could get that would allow her flexibility for studies and didn't require her to take off her clothes.

Also, she once sang, "Me and Bobby McGee," acappella (sp?) and sounded exactly like Janis Joplin.

As you can probably tell, I was a bit smitten. :)

TlalocW

[BOSSHOG]

15. No Hate Here

I like their Buffalo Wing Sandwich, the sports ambience, and 87% of the waitresses are attractive and competent. Many a Sailor in New Orleans had their going away gaggle at Hooters (until the Navy decided to "deglamorize" alcohol use.) I save my hate for right wing fuck sticks who want to use the constitution as a weapon.

[Ian David]

21. Strange Hooter problems

When they wanted to open a Hooters here in Boston, there was a storm of fundie outrage.

So, of course they tried to deny them a liqueur license.

And when they failed, and Hooters got a liqueur license, what did they do?

They saw to it that Hooters couldn't get A DAIRY LICENSE!

So, now we have a Hooters where you can eat buffalo wings, drink beer until you puke, but you CAN NOT GET CREAM FOR YOUR COFFEE!

Yeah, that'll show 'em! Take that, Hooters! Enjoy your coffee!

Big hooters and no milk. Gotta love the irony, too.

[Anakin Skywalker]

28. Heh Heh Heh! Fundies are Funny!

Well, mostly they are hurtful but in the story you described, it was funny. :)

[DS1]

46. There was initially a lawsuit from a man who wanted to be

a Hooters Waitperson :eyes:

Attention whores, Gawd I hate them

[seemunkee]

55. Is that the one by Coyote Ugly?

On the same block as a cheap hostel I've stayed at. Lots of good pubs so why go to either of thost places

[enki23]

17. i save most of my hate for the clientele

i don't hate them because they go to hooters. i hate them because they're assholes, and they go to hooters.

maybe that's just anecdotal. but i've never known a hooters fan i failed to dislike.

[skygazer]

18. When they open a place called "Peckers"

maybe the concept of Hooters won't annoy me so much.

[Placebo]

20. I like how you think!

Hehe

[Taverner]

26. Wonder if I could get a job there

Since i do have a pecker....lol

[AwakeAtLast]

35. And call it "Chachi's"

See post #12

:7

[LincolnMcGrath]

37. As you wish my dear.

[seemunkee]

53. Big Peckers in ocean city md

http://www.big-peckers.com/

[MelanieArt]

19. I feel there is absolutely nothing wrong with strip clubs, porn, etc.

I don't feel these things are degrading to women at all. A woman is not a child and has responsibility and control over what she does. I think it's degrading to assume a woman can be degraded while concentually doing whatever she decides to do. We don't say a man is degraded when he decides to put himself in the position of being sexualized, why is a woman? Women don't need "protecting", they can take care of themselves just fine.

With that said, I think Hooters is sleazy and I agree with the original poster. The reason being not because it's degrading to women, but because it gives the impression of being a "family establishment" and they try to be all cute about it. I prefer directness and honesty.

Anyways, isn't it kind of gross to have junior see his dad drool all over the scantily dressed waitress, while he tries to eat his chicken wings?

BTW I am a woman, and these are my opinions. :)

[NewJeffCT]

48. good points

But, I know down in the South, Hooters is a "family restaurant", as I used to go to ones in Florida in the early 90s as a novelty... I had a friend down there and we'd go to hang out when I'd visit. However, it was quite common to see whole families eating at Hooters.

Up here in more liberal Connecticut, Hooters is more of a guy's hangout. I think sometimes women go with their boyfriends or husbands for the novelty, and I think families are quite rare. Granted, I've only been to the one in CT maybe 5 times in the 5 or 6 years it's been open, so I can't say for sure. But, that's just my general impression.

[Ekirh]

61. In Kentucky...

When I was fifteen and went to visit my Dad on one of my summer visits.. I was quite surprise that he took us all out to a family outing at hooters. I had always assumed it was a guy's hang out. So your theory that The South it's a family restaurant is quite correct (If you consider Kentucky part of the south.. it is a red state though)

With that being said, never been a huge fan of hooters, but I don't hate them. I'll reserve my hate for things that deserve it.

[Beer Snob-50]

62. at the hooters in beautiful springfield mass

i have seen many families in there. i have even brought my sons there (14 and 12). i have tried to teach them respectful to all women and they have behaved real well while there.

[Misunderestimator]

56. When the opportunities are far more plentiful for women to be in a...

degrading position in her job than for men, when the job opportunities across the board are far fewer for women than for men, and pay far less, when a woman who has been left penniless by a husband and has children to raise finds a job that gives her twice as much income in tips than if she were working her ass off at Denny's... it's kind of hard to blame the woman for being degraded. Better to accept that for a better life for you and your kids, than to steal, eh?

No... the whole concept of Hooters is degrading. It's more degrading than strip-clubs or pornography because it's seen as a "Family" restaurant. Women who choose to work there are are not choosing to be degraded, they are being set up to be degraded.

[Susang]

64. That's it exactly

A woman here in Chicago recently won a lawsuit against them. Why? Because the management (male) had holes drilled in the dressing rooms where the women were required to change into their uniforms. They could not come to work in "costume", and were spying on the employees while they changed.

If you're hired to work in a restaurant named "Hooters", and the dress code requires you to stuff your bra, then you're probably not being hired for your talent in food service. The women who work there know it, I used to wait on some Hooters employees at a bar I worked at. A lot of them didn't have any experience when they started there and needed a job fast.

Hooters, as a company, doesn't care if you've ever waited tables. They do care if you wear lots of make-up, suntan nylons, tank tops and padded bras.

[FizzFuzz]

70. exactly! There is only ONE industry where women can earn more than men.

Porn.

And the winking "family values" hypocrisy of Hooters is what really sends me over the edge. What a sleazy trivialization of all the females in a family that goes there.

It's not a matter of women choosing from among a variety of equivalent job opportunities, it is entrenched sexism. And looksism of course, which in this case prevents ordinary looking girls from accessing this opportunity for big bucks. (Guess she'll have to stock shelves at Wally World)

I once went with a boyfriend, and while we were there, the (male) manager blew a whistle indicating it was time for some game where the "girls" got on little tricycles and scooted around for some kind of demeaning contest. The protocol was, the girls lined up before him, and he chose the contestants, along with remarks about their *ahem* physical suitability for said contest. He chose the ones with the biggest booties and boobies who obediently made fools of themselves where the customers on elevated stools could look down on them and laugh. It made me feel dirty.

There's a "Woody's" bar here, but they don't have guys wearing codpieces. (I don't go there, so I don't know much more about the ambience.)

[tjdee]

24. You can ogle T&A while still being respectable. Yuck.

I have a friend who used to work there. Smart of the women, actually, work there, get compliments, and make hundreds in tips. It's a good job.

But I've always thought of Hooters as a place where men could go to stare at women while pretending they're there for the delicious wings and beer, and that is irritating to me.

What makes it so much funnier is that Hooters has a children's menu. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

[ncrainbowgrrl]

32. Yeah- well, look at this item from the gift shop

[NurseLefty]

39. What's on the kiddie menu? Milk in a plastic booby cup?

Nothing like good family fun. Yuck.

[Mad_Dem_X]

52. Sweet Jesus...

That's what I hate...pick one: Family establishment or titty joint? You can't do both, IMO.

[mitchum]

25. I am proud to say that I am BANNED from Hooter's...

played a gig there once and the band proceeded to get incredibly drunk. Then I got incredibly foul-mouthed. Later, I was told that I didn't respect the establishment and would "never play Hooter's again" Oh my! It's freakin' Hooter's, not Alice Tully Hall.

[stanwyck]

41. Now that's an accomplishment!

Banned from Hooters. I'd put that bumper stickere on my car.

[Misunderestimator]

57. "It's freakin' Hooter's, not Alice Tully Hall." LOL

:thumbsup:

[FizzFuzz]

71. LOLOL!!!!! something to be proud of!! n/t

[RagingInMiami]

29. Deleted

[MichaelHarris]

30. I have no problem with it but then again

I'm a pornocrat from way back.

[Niccolo_Macchiavelli]

34. for the non-native (US)english speaking Eurodude

what is hooters? i'm sure missing half the connotations and stuff so please fill me in :-p

[mac56]

54. Hooters is a US restaurant chain

whose main claims to fame are the well-endowed waitresses in tight clothing. Very popular in the Southern US, where it's promoted as a "family restaurant", and less popular in the North, where it's promoted as a guy's hangout.

Many cities have organized protests when Hooters plans to come to town.

The food is quite ordinary pub grub, and the beer selection is bland and overpriced. The women employees are very attentive to male customers, but don't completely bare any body parts.

A man once took Hooters to court for refusing to hire him as a server. Here in Georgia, a high school girl got a job at Hooters for a vocational training course. She worked as a greeter, fully and demurely clothed. After she worked there for most of a year, her instructor found out about it and refused to give her credit for the work experience.

[Blue_Tires]

33. the food is overpriced shite

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

36. My main beef is that the food is just terrible. Even simple stuff like

wings, oysters, burgers.

The whole Hooters concept is a quintessentially American one. In America, one can make much more money with a faux strip club like Hooters than you ever could with a real chain of strip clubs.

It's basically the strip club concept watered down: Good looking, scantily clad (instead of UNclad) women pretend to like you.

[Dastard Stepchild]

38. The short shorts bother me...

I would not want to order nibbles from Hooters because of the short shorts. With a pants leg, the server's groinal hairs would travel down the pants and land safely on the floor. But with short shorts, that pantsleg-floor-delivery system is nonexistant, and my plate may become the target. Just not sanitary....

[Nevernose]

40. I've eaten thousands of those hairs;

I'm pretty sure they're not dangerous.

[Dastard Stepchild]

42. At a Hooters?

I mean, it's one thing when ya can choose the owner - it's quite another when you get them delivered sans request :)

[gmoney]

43. that's why they have to wear the awful panty hose

Panty hose with shorts creep me out...

[Beware the Beast Man]

47. I've heard their food is lousy anyway, so I have no opinion.

[mondo joe]

49. I just hate the hypocrisy

Particularly as a gay man, I feel this is another way in which conservatives and repigs demonize others by saying they're all about sex and promiscuity, while they hang out at these scumpits feeling virtuous.

[NewJeffCT]

50. I understand

There are a lot more Hooters' in the red state South than there are in the bluer North.

[FizzFuzz]

72. bingo!

good point.

spin. Male virtuous superiority and female degradation.

[livinginphotographs]

58. Their food sucks and their beer is overpriced.

Other than that, I could care less. No one is forced to work there. :shrug:

[jmowreader]

60. The local Hooters is the waiting room for the Harley dealer

In Fayettenam, the Harley dealer is half a mile from Hooters, and on the same road. Some of my coworkers ride Harleys and they report that when you take your bike in for a repair, the service writer will ask you if you'd like to go to "the waiting room." If you say yes, they'll take you to Hooters then pick you up when your bike's done.

If there's anything to complain about in this situation, it's that the Harley dealer charges $65 per hour for non-warranty repairs but pays its technicians $7 per hour.

[Susang]

65. Do you know for sure that's how much the technicians make?

Most make more than $7.00 an hour, I can assure you.

BTW, I work for Harley, so I do know the going wage, even outside of Illinois. ;-)

[jmowreader]

66. Yeah, I helped a guy take his bike there

One of my garden people cracked a head on his Sportster. It was under warranty--I have no idea what he did that could crack a head that's still under warranty--so the shop told him to bring the bike in and they'd switch it out. He recruited me to help, I recruited my department's Harley rider (who owns a pickup), we went to his house, picked up the bike and hauled it in.

This place is a Harley fanatic's dream. The shop is only a couple years old, huge and beautiful. Absolute state of the art, and it's full of bikes getting worked on. Naturally, my guys wanted to go to work there. So they start shooting the shit with the tech..."how much ya make?" Seven an hour.

Most Harley techs make what, thirty an hour? One would think that the cheap bastard who owns the place would split the $65 with the tech...no dice.

What happens in Fayetteville is that a guy comes out of Motorcycle Mechanics Institute, works for Cape Fear Harley-Davidson for a year, then gets snapped up by Superior Motorcycle, American Dream Cycles or one of the thirty other independent Harley shops in town--places that do pay $30 an hour. The really good techs go to Ray Price H-D in Raleigh, who pays exceptionally well.

As for my department's rider...I've been working very hard on convincing him to get the hell out of the lumber business and go into the Harley trade. He built his own chopper; there is one Orange County bike in town, and it's not as nice as John's is. The welds on John's bike are better, for one thing. This bike could easily be on the cover of Easyriders. It's that good. The thing is, he's one of these good ol' boys who was raised up to do just like his daddy done, and his daddy worked in lumber for forty years.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

63. I don't like it because it's an example of increasing crudeness in our

alleged culture. The customers don't have the courage to go to a real strip club, but they want to pretend that they're big, tough he-men with all the other guys, so they go to an ordinary chain bar distinguished only by the waitresses' provocative costumes.

Yeah, I know men like to look at women. I'm not thirteen, for heaven's sake. But I think a lot of the Hooters customers are thirteen emotionally, thinking a woman is "out of one's class" just because of how she looks, thinking that she's desirable just because she's all tarted up, never mind that she MAY be just as stupid and shallow as they are.

Going to Hooters, like wolf whistles or lewd comments on the street, is largely a group phenomenon. It's a way for emotionally immature guys to show off to other emotionally immature guys what studs they are. (That's why the best response to street hasslers is no response, because ANY response, angry or not, wins them points with their group.)

I wonder how all the Hooters enthusiasts among male DUers would feel about going into a bar where a bunch of women were ogling young waiters wearing tank tops and tight swim trunks. The difference is that most women would treat it as a big joke, and would never think, "Oh, I'm getting to ogle guys who are out of my league." Because frankly, I would really wonder about a guy who took a job like that.

In fact, I would go to such a place maybe once out of curiosity. But what I would pay a premium for would be a bar where the waiters wore nice jeans and sweaters and regaled their women customers with brilliant and witty conversation.

[Beer Snob-50]

67. you are being very hard on us men

yes, we go to a hooters to "check out" the women. my friends and i go and treat the evening as a big joke. are the women out of our class? most could be our daughters. i find it amusing that these girls do openly flirt with me in the quest of bigger tips. and finally, i wouldn't care if my wife and her friends went to a place with scantily clad men.

[FizzFuzz]

74. maybe women are hard on men because we get tired of the constant

expressions of sexism and the never ending defense of it.

That was a valid, proven sociological explanation of male group behavior. There are many studies of male group behavior vis a vis oppression of women, violence against women, rape and in work situations, denial of wage/promotion parity.

Please see some earlier posts about women and wages, and the best paid low-skill jobs for women being this kind that require women to whore themselves. Survival. Pay. These girls are getting more attention and better pay than their sisters at Denny's.

[Beer Snob-50]

76. i will agree that in some circles there are cases of

oppression and violence of women which lead to rape. i don't find though that this behavior is prevelant with the men at hooters. i would have to agree with you though that the woman at hooters are better paid than their compatriots at denny's. a large part of this descrepancy is due to their uniforms but also the clientele at hooters is a more affluent than at dennys.

[FizzFuzz]

79. Hooters is very popular with frat boys. There is extensive research

showing highest percentages of rape on college campuses committed by frat members. Read Fraternity Gang Rape. Google on fraternity rape, rape on college campuses, etc. Check out Planned Parenthood's website which is a great source of information on violence against women. Google on violence against women, or gang rape, for that matter. You will be led to alot of information on male group behavior.

Anyway, my post wasn't referring only to rape, it was about a variety of oppressive behaviors that men exhibit more strongly in groups. And of course you don't see that behavior AT Hooters! The cat calls and date rape and bragging about how many drunk girls they pressured into giving them head happens off premises.

[Niccolo_Macchiavelli]

69. yeah

a bunch women imaginarely undressing the waiters must really be a frightening uncomfortable thought for the waiters.

But at the end they seem to have paying customers when targeting those hollow heads as do the malls targetting women of the shallow spendomaniac society.

Most people are idiots and each of the idiot groups gets targetet accordingly no matter what sex.

[Danger Duck]

68. Ann Arbor wouldn't let Hooters

set up shop, denied them a permit way back. So, another bar, being enterprising, had the waitstaff dress like Hooters girls. Point being, Hooters is not an isolated evil entity, it is just a logo that allows us guys to know that there is a place where the beer is overpriced and the woman are scantily clad. But whatever. I prefer Buffalo Wild Wings.

[Lisa0825]

77. I don't mind Hooters... Ihave gone many times with male friends.

I've gone to strip clubs with friends too. I feel more comfortable at Hooters than a strip club, but I don't have any real antagonism toward either.

Hooters' food sux, but the ones I have been to had actually good beer specials and very nice waitstaff (even to women).

[Beer Snob-50]

78. everyone says the food sux

but i don't think the wings are any worse or better than at other places i have had them. regarding the beer, i think they have a good selection of beer and am always pleased with the selection.

[windlight]

80. My Mom Loves the Place

She embarrasses me all the time when she tells me 'her and dad went to hooters and she is better stacked then the waitress'... I swear she tells me those things... granted i'm 32 liberal son and should be able to take it but still...

[MissMarple]

81. Choose the Blue says Hooters contributes more to Republicans.

96% to 4% for Dems. But its not very much for such a big company, just over 49,000 dollars to Republicans.

But I did read it is amenable to women wanting to work their way into upper management. Interesting.

[xultar]

82. BAD WINGS!!! we know you aren't going for the food. n/t