Little Miss Hooters Revisited
Needless to say, I'm relieved and happy that the "Little Miss Hooters" contest that I posted about earlier has been cancelled. As disheartening as it is that someone would think such a contest would be a good idea in the first place, it's very heartening to see that people won't stand for crap like this.
Joe Carter and Sara Butler have brought up some good points about this whole thing I'd like to address. Both Carter and Butler assert that if we see the objectification of women as being okay, then we should not be surprised when little girls are objectified, too.
I would like to address that point, but first, let me interject something about Hooters in general.
I have been to Hooters a couple of times. The command I worked at previously was mostly military (the current command I work at is mostly civilian). Over ten years ago, the office where I worked had a couple of after-work get-togethers at Hooters. I wasn't the only woman since there was another civilian lady who worked in the office. (I think my supervisor's wife also came to at least one of the get-togethers).
I have to say, I wasn't really offended. I thought I might be, but I wasn't. The guys seemed more interested in proving who could eat the most "3 Mile Island" buffalo wings than ogling the waitresses. The waitresses wore short-shorts and tank tops, but I also noticed that they wore flesh-colored tights under the short-shorts. (Maybe this was because this was in the winter months -- I don't know.) Honestly, you could see as much or even more skin at the beach or at the grocery store in the summer than you would see at Hooters. Anyway, what I'm saying is that Hooters did not seem like the den of iniquity that some think it is. Some act like working at Hooters is the same as being a stripper, a pr0n "actress" or a prostitute.
Is the typical Hooters outfit immodest? Yes it is. So is running around in skimpy swimsuits on the beach. So is wearing low-rider jeans with your underwear sticking up out of the top. So is wearing tops that show off large portions of your midriff. So is wearing see-through dresses at film festivals. Do I think women should be more modest? Of course I do.
Okay, back to the point Carter and Butler were making...
I agree with what they are saying -- that when you say that anything goes in the name of "sexual freedom", it's a given that the sexualization of children will eventually follow suit.
Now, the next argument is that there is a huge difference between a child being exploited and a grown woman making her own decision -- even if it's a bad one. And I agree with that, too. You can't infantilize women and say that they don't know what they are doing. And you can't force them to be modest by rule of law. (The only thing the law can do is keep people from running around naked in public.)
But what Carter and Butler said about this still stands. We have created a culture where modesty is laughed at and ridiculed, rather than respected. Being immodest is considered cool. If you object to the increasing pornographication of our culture, you are dismissed as a prude who would like to create an American version of the Taliban.
With that in mind, should we really be surprised that someone would come up with something as appalling as a "Little Miss Hooters" contest?