Victory for Yapping Virgins

On Monday I heard conclusively that ASK, the developers behind Leopold Square in Sheffield had decided NOT to continue talks with the Hooters chain. They had finally realised that this proposal would mean shooting themselves in the foot. For the past year, ASK have worked hard to create an upmarket and prestigious dining area, safe for families and single people alike. Hooters would not only be a step backwards for the square and for Sheffield, but it would also be damaging for the surrounding businesses.

Lets take a look at the concept for a moment. Hooters claims to be 'tacky yet unrefined'. This is not only a motto but is sprayed across the back of the waitresses t-shirts, along with 'HOOTERS' across the chest. So not only are women labelled as a derogitary word for a woman's breasts but they are also told what to be. Tacky and unrefined.

Hooters likes to call itself a 'sports themed restaurant'. I've been to a sports themed restaurant, namely Champs on Ecclesall Road. None of the waitresses there where shorts and vests with the body parts labelled for easy viewing. Wings over England, the company behind the UK version of the chain also like to say that the bar is suitable for families. This is ridiculous. What kind of society do we live in where parents think is is acceptable to take their impressionable youngsters into a restaurant which had bikini competitions, stag nights and a soft-porn magazine? Because this is exactly what Hooters is: A bar which is based on sex. A bar where there online site sells calendars of the girls and where there girls pose naked in Playboy: http://www.wwedaily.com/the-women-of-hooters-from-playboys-february-2008-issue/

Don' t get me wrong, I do not hate sex. I'm not a virgin, a prude or a man-hater. What I do hate is sex appeal brought to the lowest common denominator. People telling us 'Look at that pair of breasts, aren't they great? Now lets get drunk.' I hate women being put into boxes, that of breasts, leg or thigh. I hate the fact that this company insults the intelligence of men out there, because not all men like this. Not all men read Zoo or Nuts. However the ones who stand up and express their opinions about this raunch culture we live in are vilified. Many men who have wrote on the 'Yes to Hooters in Sheffield' group have been called gay or poofs, just because they stood out of line.

Wings Over England contradict themselves, first saying their for families and then saying "Sex appeal is legal and it sells. Newspapers, magazines, daytime talk shows, and local television affiliates consistently emphasise a variety of sexual topics to boost sales." Oh so you admit it then? I want to be employed on the basis of my intelligence not how big my breasts are. I want my children to grow up without a t-shirts like this: http://www.hootersgear.com/Merch/MerchItemDetail.aspx?webitem_seq=872

Oh and I want them to figure out what sex appeal means, not this socially constructed raunch culture where women kiss each other to turn men on and girls where Hugh Hefners logo of crap.

I could probably go on and on but my fingers are tired and I'm fed up of writing on this french computer (where's good old qwerty when you need it, eh?)