Can we talk about feminism?

at some point this insistance that our being true to our natures by acting out our eroticism and having fun is damaging the future of the human race gets to be unreasonably onerous. the future of humans has thousands of more pressing problems, and fun is required in life. how about you live your life and I'll live mine MKay?

We agree that our culture "ogles women" I wouldn't put it in those terms... I would say that our culture celebrates female beauty, but terms don't really matter.

I don't agree that this is a bad thing in cases where both sides consent and even gain enjoyment (or profit) from such interactions. Attaching an enjoyable interaction with the label "sexism" makes the word "sexism" not mean anything. To me there is a big difference between injustice (where one side does not want to be part of an interaction), and non-harmful human nature. Sexism and racism are only a problem when they are unjust.

If we ogled men in the same way, would that fix the problem for you? (Maybe Anthony Weiner is really a feminist figure).

for many feminists who have been nursed on Male Gaze theory any presentation of visuals which please men must be stopped to protect women from men.

edit: I have come accross arguments from feminists claiming that women have a duty to ugly themselves up for the good of the sisterhood....this is how far some are willing to go with this hostility towards (in their minds) rewarding men with opportunity to gaze upon feminine beauty.

I gotta say that I would not spend time in a coffee bar in which I were served by the Chippendales - if I were ever to go to a coffee bar in the first place. As for the bikinis, I'm offended by the idea that I would select my next new car on the basis of which on had the sleezyest broad draped across the hood - if I were in the market for a new car.

I take it you dont live in an area that has bikini coffee stands.....business is booming, while the general coffee stand business is down because of the bad state of the economy. giving men what they want has financial rewards in capitalism. I go sometimes, I pay more but I get more, the bikini girls are generally much better at chatting up men then the girls at the other stands, and they are ALWAYS girls, no boys allowed.

did you read the original article?

is the American economy still bad?

hunh

yes. consumers in most income brackets have increasingly less buying power and are increasingly discriminating about choosing were to spend what money they have. the $5 coffee every morning is hard to justify for many, so if you want people to spend the $5 with you then you need to offer more than the other guy. offering perceived value is everything now if you want to make money in the current economy, and margins are already almost non existant so there is no way to increase value by lowering prices. Sexing up the girls is a no brainer, and has worked very well.

in my town the only coffee stands doing well other than the ones with sexed up girls are with this one company that specializes in super high caffeine drinks, everone else is sucking on it....too little business spread too many ways so no one is making any money.

shame about the U.S.

I'll have to see if there's a thread that talks about why things are still bad there.

We're not having that experience, and coffee shops are opening and opening and opening and opening and doing well - without gimmicks.

you wont, we are in denial. businessmen know it, we talk amoungst ourselves about it, but otherwise it is not part of the national conversation.

You might have to take into account how pervasive coffee is in the NW US. There are coffee shops/cars/kiosks every block or so in commercial areas, often more than that. There are at least a dozen within a mile of my house.

It's not too much different here.

There are 4 coffee shops on the block where I work. Another dozen within a block each way. There is one at the end of the street I live on going south - there is one about 5 houses west. They are everywhere - and more opening constantly. One closed near the house recently - but that was because the wife of the owner went home to Pakistan to die. It'll likely reopen as another coffee shop.


edit - 8 on the block at work - I forgot about the ones on the east side.

If they are opening and opening and opening, at some point there will be a glut, and they will start closing, and closing and closing.

One thing I've learned about selling stuff is that some competition is a really good thing, but when there's too much, the people who want to buy your product are spread too thin, and suddenly, everyone is doing poorly, or at least worse.

Unfortunately, it's not just the poor businessmen, or people with bad service and product that go under. The good businesses suffer too.

You've got to stay aware of trends, what's popular and go with it, but be ready to pull out before the bottom drops out.

I remember back in the 80's, baked potato bars were all the rage where I lived, and yogurt shops. When was the last time you saw a shop that sold mostly baked potatos? If you have, it's one or two, not how there used to be lot's of shops that sold potatoes as it's main business.

Gimmicks? Sure all these new shops that are opening and opening and opening have gimmicks, each and every one. Even if it's a clever name, or the fact they put in a certain type of counter or display case. Every business has to differentiate itself in some way. That's a gimmick. Bikini girls are just a more noticeable, some may say outrageous one.
In fact, the fact that some coffee places are resorting to things like bikini baristas may be a sign that the peak has been reached, and they are on the downturn.

Unbelievable as it may seem, there is a limit to the number of people that want to ingest coffee and it's related products, and a limit to amount of product even the most coffee addicted individual can take in. When it's all said and done, it's really just a cup of coffee and a muffin.

Coffee shops are here to stay of course, people always want a cup of coffee. I wouldn't say that there will always be dozens of shops within a couple of blocks though.

Right now we are in the midst of the gluten free craze, when from my understanding only about 3% of the population has any problems with gluten.

There's enough people right now willing to shell out extra money for a product that doesn't even help them, or rather keep them from feeling bad, that if I were a whoremaster, I might be tempted to jump on the bandwagon of selling gluten free products. I won't though, because I couldn't feel good about myself selling stuff to people who don't need it.

Years ago, I worked for a bottled water company. Every minute I worked there I was aware I was selling stuff that was the most ridiculous concept ever....selling something you can get for practically free, in an area where the water tasted fine, and there was no chemical difference between what was coming out of the tap, and what was going into bottles. Back then I guess I had a subliminal mindset that if someone was a big enough fool to believe they were getting a greatly superior product, I'd be willing to screw them and take their money.

Same thing with the bikini baristas. If someone wants to pay for a cup of coffee to get a flash of cleavage, when they can get the same product down the street, I totally get why someone will take this fools money.....I haven't been keeping up with this thread much, but I think I saw something about sexual favors on the side.....no surprise there either.

gluten free is not a craze.

it is affecting a growing number of folks at a surprising pace.

GMO food is my favorite scapegoat...

I know you have a problem with gluten, I thought about you when I made that comment about gluten free.

I don't know the numbers as to the increase rate of the people with sensitivity, and I'd welcome it if you could cite statistics.

However, I'm in no way convinced that the number of gluten free products offered in stores in any way reflects the number of people who need that type of product.

In fact, I've conducted a little informal research of my own.....very informal....

I have actually made it a point to ask people who either bring up the subject of gluten free, or am with them when they order/eat/purchase something gluten free....and to a degree with people I'm just casually talking to when they are purchasing something that specifically states gluten free on it.

With the people that I knew well enough while they were purchasing consuming the product...I would ask them if they had celiacs disease, and all but one even knew that word (maybe a dozen people). I'd ask them if they were gluten sensitve, and they all said no. Maybe they just liked the way that product tasted. I buy stuff target to a specific market all the time, because I like it.

With people who were strangers, but I was talking to them and they were buying something labeled gluten free, I'd somehow work the question in, asking them if they were sensitive, and I'd have to say only 1 out of the 4 or 5 that were buying said they were.

I'm not trying to be dismissive of a real problem, I do know it can be difficult.

However, in a large area where I live, people start doing things like buying vegan foods right along side their purchases of steak, and have gluten free bread in the same cart with their shredded wheat.

I do know if girls in bikinis were selling gluten free products from a street cart, there would be a line.

I was thinking we were talking about the shacks, one or two girls in the middle of a parking lot. we have not added any in years, what has happened is that many have turned bikini girl. only one
bikini stand has closed, it was nabbed for old fashioned prostitution.

I have gluten free for over 40 years. And I really react badly when I have gluten (as does 1 out of 3 of my progeny). I still think gluten free is a bit of a craze. I know people who are eating gluten free because they think it is healthier (not because they have any real symptoms).

However, for those of us who really need to be gluten free, this craze is a very good thing. When I was a kid, there was zero gluten free options that my mother didn't cook herself. Birthday parties, and the ubiquitous pizza parties were horrible (and quite often I would get myself sick because I couldn't stand the temptation even knowing the consequences).

Now it is a lot easier. There is gluten free food in every store and a gluten free bakery around the corner. This is a very good time to be gluten free.

But as I tell the people behind the counter at the bakery; I was gluten free before it was cool.

Id like to see pictures of the women that down other women for being hot and using it to make money. No difference than Hooters. Get over it if they don't like it don't look and don't visit. These women should bark up someone elses tree. I love PORN! Howard Stern, Bababooey Bababooey!

tata toothy?