Last week Jello and I were out looking at new apartments to move into. We scoured all of the surrounding Seattle areas and ended up a little out of the way at a gas station. The gas station had one…
Source: Bikini Barista Time
I live in the New York City. In all my years of driving around, I have never run into anything like the “bikini barista.” I am not sure why these kinds of business aren’t more prevalent. Yet, New Yorkers take drinking coffee so seriously that Bikini clad servers might be an unwelcomed distraction. The bottom line is that New Yorkers demand the perfect cup of coffee regardless of where it is purchased. The owner of your “bikini barista” probably believed that a scantily clad woman would increase foot traffic, resulting in more sales. Do you disagree with this assumption?
The woman who was working at your “bikini barista” had to have known what she was getting herself into when accepted the job. It stands to reason that she did not need your protection from the lurking perverts. If you were so concerned about her wellbeing why didn´t you ask why she worked the job? I would have liked to have known her answer.
I know a few women who work in sleazy bars as meseras. It shouldn´t take too much imagination to picture how these ladies dress or carry themselves at work. Yet, they all tell me it is a job and they have bills to pay. From the way these women carry themselves and the lives they lead, you would never guess that they are barmaids. I have no right to pass moral judgment on them for the work that they have chosen for themselves; it isn’t necessary nor would they appreciate my condemnation.
What your post failed to reveal is why you consider yourself to be a member of the morality squad.
paulhunterjones 
I figured I would respond to you on several of your points to my original article.
1. I am assuming bikini barista’s aren’t more common because many municipalities (at least in our area) immediately shut them down. We don’t have a lot of strip clubs, and most city councils consider these the same so have ordinances that forbid them. There isn’t enough foot traffic (or traffic in general) for them to do well outside of city limits, so it is usually just near the Everett-Tacoma sprawl (both sides of Seattle).
The bikini baristas are relatively new (last 10 years) and most of them ended up being fronts for some of the organized crime/money laundering rings. Several of them got broken up and now we just have a lot of individual stands. I assume it is to make the stands “stand out” since Seattle has more coffee spots per capita then I have seen anywhere else
2. I notice you either did not read the entire article, or maybe I wasn’t super clear in my write up about it. I have no problem with women working in any sort of trade (including sex trade, I just wish that were legal so they could have legal recourse when something bad happens and they wouldn’t need to operate under hostile type of management (eg pimps/madams/etc)).
In case it wasn’t clear, I never appointed myself any sort of morality police. I have no problem with what she is doing except for the fact as I get older I have discovered my white male privilege and how much harder it is for other minorities (women, people of color, etc) to make a living wage. I have known strippers in Seattle that work their way through college (and some even quit stripping at the end). There is no morality issue for me at all, it was us worried about the ladies safety.
If you are referring to us going over there because my husband noticed the perv, that isn’t morality police, that is making sure she is ok. A very young female, by herself out in a bad neighborhood I hope you would check on her (or him if it was a guy). A man standing in public, touching himself with a woman who cannot leave isn’t a “morality” issue, it is a sexual predator.
Both my husband and I come from very rough backgrounds, there are signs and hints when you watch people in that area that attract attention that there might be a problem. He noticed something was off, we walked over there. The perv left and the barista explained he wasn’t buying anything, and he kept touching himself in front of her while asking her questions. The fact she thanked us just reinforced we did the right thing.
Just in case my writeup wasn’t clear (that is always a possibility) I will go over it again. I don’t want people to think I have problems with “morality”, what I do have problems with is consent and a woman stuck at her job unable to leave and having someone touch themselves in front of her is without her consent and is wrong.
I won’t feel bad about that at all.
Oh, and I suspect with my experience outside the Pacific Northwest that New York may like a good cup of coffee, but if they want a really good cup they need to come over here to the west coast to get it.
🙂
Oh, if you meant morality squad comment on my comment about the sleazy guys, that may have some truth. I find most guys that frequent strip joints, sex clubs, etc are sleazy. It is a large brush I paint with, but I am comfortable with that.
Even if I think it is sleazy though, I wouldn’t ever make it illegal. They are adults and as long as they are paying for it with consenting adults, that is ok with me (which he was neither paying, nor was she consenting, being at a job itself is not consent to have a guy rub himself at her, especially if he isn’t buying anything).