This video was created in an effort to demonstrate to the public that Hooters girls are “real people”. According to an 2010 episode of CBS’s “Undercover Boss”, in which Hooters CEO Coby Brooks went undercover as a Hooters line chef, he was is surprised to discover that many Americans did not view the Hooters franchise as a family establishment, but rather as degrading to women. The aim of the promotional video was, as the CEO has described elsewhere, to show that “Hooters empowers women all of the time!”. The video highlights some of the thousands of Hooters alumni, showing them as professional women – doctors, lawyers, and teachers.

discussion

The Hooters organization uses this public promotional video to suggest that the female employees are in a position of power, and empowered to use their success at Hooters as a way to advance other career goals. How do you respond to this claim?

What does it mean to have sexual power or to use your sexuality as a form of power?

Are there advantages or drawbacks to relying on sexual power to this extent?