Java Jugs

Seriously? A Starbucks with baristas in bikini tops and short-shorts? Over at Feministing http://www.feministing.com/archives/010364.html, the comment page on the blog post about this new coffeeshop is going berserk with questions. If we get pissed about it, are we victimizing the women who choose to work there? My own skin crawls with the idea of leaning over a table of men to give one of them a latte and my boobs in his face, but should I judge other women for doing it?

Seriously, what kind of response is appropriate? Feminist analysis tries to balance observing the individual(s) (like the women who work at Java Jugs) and observing larger patterns like gender socialization. Wouldn’t it be great if we could believe that every man and woman acted individually, without influence? I wouldn’t  swoop in to save these women, but I will point to gender, and I will continue to ask questions about why these expectations and options persistently coincide with greater and possibly more fulfilling options…