Hooters Calendar Girl Melissa Poe in traditional orange and white uniform This page is about the restaurant chain; for other uses see Hooters (disambiguation). Hooters is the trade name of two restaurant chains, Hooters of America, Inc based in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, and Hooters, Inc, based in Clearwater, Florida. Between company owned locations, and franchisees, there are now over 350 Hooters restaurants, in 43 US states, plus 13 other countries. The chain began in October 4 1983 with a restaurant in Clearwater, Florida, and is still privately held. Hooters targets male customers with a mostly female staff, and sports shown on big-screen TVs. The menu includes hamburgers, steak, other sandwiches, and seafood. It specializes in buffalo wings. Contents 1 Hooters Girl 2 Employee handbook requirements 3 Public perception 3.1 Controversy 3.2 Public relations 4 Pop culture trivia 5 See also 6 External links Hooters Girl A Hooters Girl is a female waitress employed by the Hooters restaurant chain. It is generally thought that Hooters Girls are chosen for their breast size, but in fact are usually chosen for all-around good looks and if small-chested may be asked to pad their bras. They are instantly recognizable by their uniform of a white tank top with the Hooters owl logo and the location name on the front paired with the famously short orange runners' shorts. Originally, the T-shirts were white cotton, pulled tight, and knotted in the back to emphasize the breasts. For years, this knot tying was a Hooters ritual before opening. Later, Hooters changed to a tight white spandex top that eliminated the knot-tying and is also less transparent when wet. The company also began using other colors and designs for their tops such as a camouflage theme on Monday ("Military Mondays"), black on Friday ("Formal Fridays") and the football uniforms of a local NFL team during the NFL season. The remainder of the Hooters uniform is glossy suntan pantyhose and white tennis shoes. Employee handbook requirements The Smoking Gun obtained a copy of the Hooter's Employee Handbook, which notes that: Customers can go to many places for wings and beer, but it is our Hooter Girls who make our concept unique. Hooters offers its customers the look of the "All American Cheerleader, Surfer, Girl Next Door." Employees are required to sign that they "acknowledge and affirm" the following: my job duties require I wear the designated Hooters Girl uniform. my job duties require that I interact with and entertain the customers. the Hooters concept is based on female sex appeal and the work environment is one in which joking and sexual innuendo based on female sex appeal is commonplace. I do not find my job duties, uniform requirements, or work environment to be offensive, intimidating, hostile, or unwelcome. Public perception Controversy The chain is controversial on two counts. The uniform is considered by some to be objectification of women. The general environment of the restaurant is seen by many feminists as sexist and demeaning of women. The restaurant hires only women as servers, and refers to them as "Hooters Girls." Several discrimination lawsuits have brought against the chain but have been settled out of court or dropped by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The company's management "acknowledges that many consider 'Hooters' a slang term for a portion of the female anatomy." But adds, "Hooters Girls have the same right to use their natural female sex appeal to earn a living as do supermodels Cindy Crawford and Naomi Campbell." The chain sees itself this way: "Hooters characterizes itself as a neighborhood place, not a family restaurant. Seventy percent of all customers are male, most between the ages of 25-54. Hooters does not market itself to families." Public relations Hooters calendar girls sign autographs for U.S. troops in Afghanistan to boost morale. Hooters has an extensive public relations campaign and has actively supported charities through its Hooters Community Endowment Fund. It has provided money and/or volunteers to charities such as Habitat for Humanity, Make-A-Wish Foundation, Special Olympics, Muscular Dystrophy Association[1]. Local resteraunts will often select their own local charities. Hooters also launched what it calls "Operation Let Freedom Wing", which involves sending its celebrities, like Hooters Calendar Girls, to visit troops overseas, including to Afghanistan. Hooters musical group, UC3, performs at a variety of sporting events, promotional appearances, and charity shows. Pop culture trivia Hooters has been parodied in a South Park episode and a Simpsons episode. An episode of Sabrina the Teenage Witch portrayed a bachelor party in a Hooters of the "magic realm," in which the employees are giant owls that give "flap dances" instead of lap dances. In the Adam Sandler film Big Daddy, Sandler's character has a girlfriend (played by Kristy Swanson) who used to work at Hooter's, and by film's end, has picked up her old job again at a new location. Some famous former Hooters girls are Fox Sports Net's Leeann Tweeden, Former WWE diva Christy Hemme, and Playboy Playmates Lynne Austin and Miriam Gonzalez. See also Hooters Air Hooters Casino Hotel External links About Hooters - the Atlanta-based chain's information page Original Hooters - the non-Atlanta-based founders sub-chain Hooters' UC3 Musical group Transfer of "Hooters" brand from Clearwater to Atlanta, a March 2001 article from Atlanta Business Chronicle So You Wanna Be A "Hooters" Girl?, from The Smoking Gunde:Hooters (Restaurantkette) Search Term: "Hooters" Categories: Casual dining restaurants | Burger restaurants