Recently, while picking up my girls from school, we drove past what has only just now become the grave of a former Hooters, the only Hooters in Wichita. I shared my excitement that it had been closed which was, of course, met with questions from my inquisitive nine-year-old.
To begin with, she had no idea what Hooters was. Her older sister and I tried to explain it in terms that were extremely accurate and developmentally appropriate.
In short, we described it as, “The waitresses wear really tight shirts and really short shorts that are degrading and for men to gawk at them.”
After describing what we meant by words like degrading and gawk, we then entered into a short dialogue about the entire thing.
Basically, my sweet nine-year-old was disgusted at the fact that a place like this would even exist, and she was equally appalled when she had the realization of the connection between the concept and name of the restaurant. In fact, she said that if she becomes president she would make places like Hooters illegal. We also discussed the fact that there are still places like Twin Peaks in Wichita, which she hated.
“Yeah, because women are so much more valuable than their bodies!” I added.
“Yes!” She replied. “They can do things like solve hard math problems too.”
Let me tell you, this little girl is the future of women in the math and sciences. She is basically an engineer with Legos and all of their intricate pieces and parts. Her mind is amazing and comes up with creative and innovative ideas every moment.
She is on the Math Olympics team at her school and does Robotics. She plays soccer, does random gymnastics, plays instruments, plays with dolls, and likes to get her nails done. She, of all people, knows that girls can do powerful things, things that are traditionally "female" and things that are not.
And she is right.
Not only are women so much more valuable than their bodies, but men are too. Not only can women do hard math problems, but men can too.
The idea of a restaurant or any kind of establishment that is centered around the degradation and/or objectification of the female body is detrimental to society.
First, it reinforces the narrative that women and their value is related in some way to their bodies, whether that be through how they display them (being a Hooters waitress is sometimes seen as making a person dirty) or how they do not (the moral “superiority” of women who dress modestly.)
And, on a sometimes overlooked note, establishments like Hooters continue to develop a socialization for men that supports the objectification of women as “normal” or as a “boys will be boys” piece of society.
None of this perspective is new, to be sure., but the fact that even a young and fairly innocent girl can see the good news in the closing of the Wichita Hooters says something about the possible internal moral compass of the future.
Our social fabric can change. Our morals can shift. We can do it, and our children can do it, and we can teach them that by example.
