For those of you visiting from, Girl & Guitar, most likely having just finished reading Sauce's latest post regarding me, or for those of you who perhaps also misinterpreted my own previous posting about one of the many factors that contributed to my decision to discontinue working as a Hooters Girl, I would like to make one point perfectly clear: My departure from Hooters has absolutely nothing to do with any alteration in my perception of myself, nor any decrease in my level of self-confidence. Never once did I feel as though my self-esteem were deteriorating as a result of working at Hooters, nor have I ever made any such assertion. Sauce's interpretation of my postings and the conclusions that she made based upon that interpretation is, for whatever reason, entirely erroneous."You see, though the majority of the customers that I served during my time as a Hooters Girl, first as a waitress, then as a bartender, were basically good people, there was a small but impactful and seemingly always present group of regulars whose treatment of me, my coworkers, and women at large left a great deal to be desired, so much so that they, being the people whom I saw the most of at the time, were coloring my perspective of all men for the worse."
As I believe the above statement, taken directly from my post on the matter, makes clear, one of the numerous reasons that I did not return to my job as a bartender at Hooters was the realization that my opinion of an entire gender was changing for the worse, due solely to the behaviors of a small group of regulars whom I served on an almost daily basis. This group, comprised mostly of men in their mid-forties through mid-sixties, the majority of whom were friends with one another outside of Hooters, were rather detestable in that they continually strove to make me, as well as several coworkers, uncomfortable. The delighted in making statements about the perceived superiority of men, in making "jokes" about women's worth being based only upon their appearance and cooking skill, and they intentionally tried to, as one of them put it, "knock me down a peg or two." These men were a rather despicable lot who seemingly enjoyed making a sport out of trying to get beneath the skin of the pretty young women who waited upon them, particularly those of us whom they deemed to be somehow too prideful. Those Hooter Girls who simply giggled along as they cracked sexist jokes and discussed how in a perfect world all women would have breast implants they did not seek to insult, but the Hooters Girl who shook her head in disgust, perhaps after being told that she is, "a moron," for not opting to date a wealthy man, becomes almost targeted. Suddenly, every time that she is near the members of this informal little group she is the recipient of increasingly misogynistic comments, assessments and critiques of her body, and so on. Of course, when called on any of their statements, these men simply laughed and admonished us not to take things so seriously. It was quite trying, to say the least, however, my self-esteem was never impacted by these men. I am not one who takes such things to heart and I can see these men and their words for what they are. What I did not see, though, was that my opinion of these men and others of their ilk were being internalized somehow, that their behavior was skewing my perception of everyone who belonged to their gender. It is for this reason, among others, that I decided it would not be in my best interests to continue working as a Hooters Girl.
