It is easy to make judgments about people based on their chosen profession.
Lawyers are ambulance chasers, politicians are all liars and women who work at Hooters are all trying to make it big in some entertainment industry.
There is an obvious exception to this concept. More than 80 women wanting to work at a California Hooter's restaurant were asked to fill out more than an application by former Hooters manager Juan Aponte. Aponte asked to try on the uniform, and is now facing a civil battery claim because some applicants said he touched them or said inappropriate things during the interview, according to Court TV.. Police told some women later that they might have been videotaped while they were trying on the uniform.
People could argue that women work at Hooters because they like being oogled. Yeah, that's it. They want men to stare at them. They don't need money or aren't working their way through graduate school or anything. Anyone with a nice body can't be intelligent.
They are just narcissists. They run around the kitchen bumping breasts and singing "I Feel Pretty" while picking up order after order of wings.
As an endowed girl myself, I can confirm that this is not the case. Everyone who feels comfortable with me will inevitably say, "Why don't you get a job at Hooters?" Snicker snicker. "Oh yeah, they don't have enough short tables."
Not everyone is blessed with height.
Either way, it would be easy for society to say, "Why do we care if some Hooters applicants get videotaped, that's what they want, isn't it?"
Not really. According to Court TV, most of the women were mortified when police told them they could have been filmed. Don't let the tank tops or the skimpy shorts fool you. These are women who might have been violated of their privacy. When something like this happens, women tend to be ashamed.
But they did nothing wrong. They just wanted jobs. Not everyone working there is looking to be a model.
Maybe I'm crazy, but Hooters is not that bad of a restaurant. Women especially seem to feel threatened by Hooters. Some claim it does not forward women's equality. It should be just the opposite. Hooters is a restaurant that celebrates that women are attractive beings. There is nothing wrong with that.
No one can deny that some people go there to oogle. In other nations, it is a compliment to admire the human body. But Americans are ashamed of it. We shudder at compliments about physical appearance. Not everything is a sexual harassment issue.
But the situation with this Hooters lawsuit is. Take the name Hooters out of the picture and a company is left with a violation of privacy and unfair hiring practices.
That is another thing Americans do not embrace. If a company has treated you unfairly, there are many places to go. First, contact the company. They might not be aware of any unfair hiring practices by one of their chains. If you feel like you need support, contacting an attorney you trust can help answer some questions. If you are not satisfied with the advice someone gives you, get a second opinion.
These weren't just servers being violated. They were wives, daughters, mothers, sisters and friends. They deserve fair hiring practices just like anyone, regardless of the tank tops and skimpy shorts.
Write to Lauren at lauren_phillips@lycos.com
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