Love, Postilius
Friday, December 24, 2010
Friday, December 17, 2010
Parenting Artifacts: Hooters
Much like anthropologist Jane Goodall immersed herself into the world of the gorillas, Amanda and I are becoming a part of parent culture. Along the way, like all social scientists, we are discovering the many strange and unique tools specific to this exotic culture. Here is a sample of one of our preliminary findings.
I have never been to a Hooters restaurant. My assumption has always been that it is a restaurant chain marketed as a more acceptable alternative to the strip clubs their customers would prefer to frequent. Nudity is replaced with the tight and revealing Hooter’s uniform and lap dances are not on the menu, but I imagine these are small sacrifices for less social stigma, a full menu, and a familiar, friendly Applebees’ like atmosphere. Plus, patrons can use the frequently heard excuse, "I only go to Hooters because they have the best 'wings'." Translate: wings are to Hooters as articles are to Playboy.
I have recently learned that my assumption about Hooters and their marketing was far from accurate. Through a Facebook posting of an acquaintance, which included a photograph of her and her embarrassed, preteen son at Hooters, I discovered – to my surprise – that the restaurant actually markets itself as a family dining establishment. There is a kid’s menu, and several of the restaurants have “Kid’s eat free!” days. Perfect if you are sexist and cheap.
The Internet is full of photographs and written accounts of family (and school!) outings to Hooters. My favorite is a blog entry by a father who used a trip to Hooters as a tool to measure his adolescent son’s emerging interest in the opposite sex, and whether or not the time had come for him and his son to have another talk about the birds and bees. Though I question the appropriateness of using a restaurant whose name is a slang term as the best starting point for sex education (and next you put your wee-wee in her hoo-ha), I do admit there are many interesting discussions the restaurant can stimulate between a parent and child such as: the objectification of women, displays of masculinity, tackiness, and why there isn’t a restaurant named Dicks?
I have never been to a Hooters restaurant. My assumption has always been that it is a restaurant chain marketed as a more acceptable alternative to the strip clubs their customers would prefer to frequent. Nudity is replaced with the tight and revealing Hooter’s uniform and lap dances are not on the menu, but I imagine these are small sacrifices for less social stigma, a full menu, and a familiar, friendly Applebees’ like atmosphere. Plus, patrons can use the frequently heard excuse, "I only go to Hooters because they have the best 'wings'." Translate: wings are to Hooters as articles are to Playboy.
I have recently learned that my assumption about Hooters and their marketing was far from accurate. Through a Facebook posting of an acquaintance, which included a photograph of her and her embarrassed, preteen son at Hooters, I discovered – to my surprise – that the restaurant actually markets itself as a family dining establishment. There is a kid’s menu, and several of the restaurants have “Kid’s eat free!” days. Perfect if you are sexist and cheap.
The Internet is full of photographs and written accounts of family (and school!) outings to Hooters. My favorite is a blog entry by a father who used a trip to Hooters as a tool to measure his adolescent son’s emerging interest in the opposite sex, and whether or not the time had come for him and his son to have another talk about the birds and bees. Though I question the appropriateness of using a restaurant whose name is a slang term as the best starting point for sex education (and next you put your wee-wee in her hoo-ha), I do admit there are many interesting discussions the restaurant can stimulate between a parent and child such as: the objectification of women, displays of masculinity, tackiness, and why there isn’t a restaurant named Dicks?
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