Hooters Girls: It Ain't The Chicken Wings

Sometimes things don't change as fast as you think. This is from the Hooters Girl handout for job applicants, as next month the chain opens its first Pacific Northwest restaurant in Lynnwood.

The Hooters Girl uniform consists of:

"Hooters tank top, half T-shirt or short-sleeve T-shirt. Orange running shorts - sized to fit comfortably. White socks and tennis shoes. White bra - bra straps should never show. Pantyhose. Name tag.

"The Hooters Girl must always maintain a promlike appearance with hair, make-up and nails done neatly. Hooters Girls should project a positive attitude with a bubbling personality and the prettiest smile in the world."

On Tuesday, just after the help-wanted ads began running, more than 100 college-age women had stopped by to apply to become a Hooters Girl. The management expects that total to reach 500.

Sitting on some lumber as construction went on in this latest franchise, there was Maria Rials, 26, of Federal Way, a community college student. She's traveled around the country, she said, and worked at four different Hooters.

Although Hooters claims its chicken-wing dinners will keep you returning, it isn't because of chicken wings that there are now 189 other Hooters nationwide.

Maria, you ask, do you have any problems with, you know, the skimpy costume, the mostly male costumers ogling - as Hooters puts it - your "natural female sex appeal?"

Concerning the sex-appeal issue, last year Hooters received some unintended free publicity from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which said hiring only Hooters Girls and not Hooters Boys was discrimination. In an especially stupid move, the federal bureaucrats demanded, and eventually backed off, that Hooters pay $22 million to guys who MIGHT have been hired as waiters.

Skimpy? No problem

But back to Maria and having to wear skimpy costumes. "No, I don't have a problem," she says. She knows some people have a problem with skimpiness, but not her. She tells about wearing a thong swimsuit to the club. From the stares, she thought they'd kick her out.

What Hooters is about, Maria tells you, is "fun and enthusiasm." It is not major philosophical questions about the women's movement that Maria will discuss. Besides fun and enthusiasm, the philosophical issues are about how a Hooters Girl can average $140 or so a day. It beats typing for a living.

You wonder what a longtime feminist activist would think. All those protest marches so that Maria could become a Hooters Girl? It must be, to say the least, a little frustrating.

"I can't tell you how much," says Pam Whittington, 46, head of the Seattle chapter of the National Organization for Women. "These young women have had it easy, and have a lot of things that older women had to struggle for."

Again, no biggie

You talk to a Hooters Girl who's already been hired for the new restaurant. She is Kari Cats, 24, another young woman who must frustrate the middle-aged feminists who think skimpy costumes "objectify" the young women.

What's the problem with wearing a Hooters costume for work? "I wear a lot less at the beach in Hawaii," says Kari.

From the Hooters "Media Statement":

"Claims that Hooters exploits women who are attractive are as ridiculous as claims that the NFL exploits men who are big and fast . . . The Hooter Systems understanding of the women's rights movement is to ensure that women have the right to choose their own careers. Be that a Supreme Court Justice or a Hooters Girl."

So there, high school counselors trying to figure whom to invite for this year's Career Day workshops. Ever considered a Hooters Girl?

It'd be guaranteed standing-room-only. Might not sound like progress to some middle-aged activists, but today's young woman has spoken.

Erik Lacitis' column appears Sunday, Tuesday and Friday. His phone number is 464-2237. His e-mail address is: elac-new@seatimes.com.