Business without Decency Debases Women

Dec 17 , 2022
By Kidist Yidnekachew

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A video I saw on social media from one of my favourite TikTokers, Filagot, a.k.a "ye_lij_manga", urged me to reflect on how ideas are hardly original.

The clip showed a waitress working in the rain wearing a short skirt while covering her hair with a serving tray. It mentioned how those short skirts were against professionalism and urged proper uniforms. No parent would be happy to see a daughter exposed like that. As the saying goes, "don't do unto others what you don't want others to do unto you."

It has been a regular sight in restaurants for servers to wear skirts exposing their bodies. Many swear that it is done for the sake of business. This speaks poorly of the managing skills of restaurants that believe business booms by hiring "attractive" women and dressing them up rather provocatively. It is a limiting way of doing business for two reasons.

Men are not the only customers spending time in restaurants. This also shows how society sees men. Despite the perception that men lack "self-control", some could be displeased by such acts. Besides, the menu and taste of the food should let customers return, not the prospect of intimacy with a staff member.

Some waitresses could be contented with themselves enough not to let it bother them. These women would have chosen a similar provocative way of dressing regardless of their assigned uniform. They walk flaunting and proudly. But most of the waitresses I encountered looked uncomfortable. I do not mind if it had been one waitress dressed that way, but they all cannot have the same short uniform unless they are told to follow orders from their managers.

It could be very awkward to witness, especially with family members. People take their kids to a restaurant that serves liquor and even sips a beer or two while the children enjoy their soft drinks on weekends and occasions. I could not have understood the reasoning behind the skimpy skirts in bars and clubs, let alone at two in the afternoon. It is risky, luring undesirable reactions from drunk customers leading to sexual harassment. It may not always be limited to catcalling, but it sometimes escalates to physical as it gets with no bystanders to interfere.

I often picture women as either mother willing to do anything to provide for their children or sisters and daughters trying to earn a living.

As if wearing a short skirt is not enough, some leave a button or two open from their shirts. It pains me to see them being objectified and used to attract customers as the revenues of the restaurant rise. I doubt they would get a salary bump or a bonus for working in such a manner. They may get tipped and perhaps an invitation to a date with their male customers whose intentions could be fleeting.

People act their worst under the influence, and these women could be victims. How society is obsessed with keeping up moral traditions while staying unbothered by this degrading act remains a puzzle. Sometimes, on the way from work, I see people shivering out of the cold weather; remembering the women serving customers wearing skirts in such weather gives me goosebumps.

I want to walk into restaurants where servers are dressed immaculately in uniforms without exposing their body parts. It is for the restaurants to work on their menu and earn the respect of their customers rather than looking for a shortcut to lure in customers by objectifying women employees.

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PUBLISHED ON Dec 17,2022 [ VOL 23 , NO 1181]

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