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When I say I miss the coffee in Seattle, this isn’t what I mean. Five baristas in Everett have been accused of prostitution for their work at a drive through coffee hut, aptly named Grab-n-Go Espresso. They’ve been arrested for baring their bodies and allowing customers to pay extra for a feel of their breasts and/or butts.
I’m not sure if the scantily-clad barista phenomenon has caught on nationally, but in the Seattle area they’re a fairly popular trend. Drive up to see a woman in tiny clothing serving coffee. The idea is naturally repulsive and offensive, taking advantage of young, broke women in much the way that strip clubs do. I imagine they’d make more as strippers, but then maybe it seems less degrading to be a barista. Maybe they didn’t quite know what they signed on to do when they were hired.
In any case, the Everett police took their time in ascertaining the nature of activities at the stand:
Police have received more than 40 complaints in the past year of women exposing themselves at coffee stands. Goetz said the department investigated Grab-n-Go because it had the most complaints.
“This was about alleged conduct, not about what the women were wearing,” he said. “They could have been wearing parkas and if they continued to conduct themselves that way, we still would have filed the criminal charges.”
Undercover detectives began posing as customers in mid-July.
During one visit, a barista allegedly told a detective that for $20, she and another barista would give him a show. He paid and they bared their breasts and pulled down their undergarments.
It kind of creeps me out imagining the police planning their undercover work on this project. But really, the whole idea is pretty creepy. It was bad enough to know that entrepreneurs in the Seattle area took coffee, a lucrative product in the area without any sex appeal, and added barely dressed women to the mix.
I did a quick internet search to see whether there have been reports of harassment at these kinds of stands, and, naturally, there have been. But for some reason The Associated Press doesn’t pick up the harassment suits like it did the prostitution case. For some reason, cases showing bad behavior on the part of the women involved are more interesting and suitable to mainstream media than are cases showing bad behavior on the part of the customers who keep the industry alive. Grrrr. Harassment cases have included reports of a customer revealing his private parts and customers taking unauthorized photographs; a bit less sensational than a “prostitution” headline.
Other stories about “sexpresso” stands include the community outrage at the stands. This view seems so myopic; how about we hate the culture that produces circumstances in which young women feel they can get ahead by wearing little clothing? How about we hate the men who keep the coffee stands in business?
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Men are jackasses but being a jackass isn’t illegal, taking money for a sexual performance is. If the girls just wore skimpy outfits that would be fine but they took it to the next level and that isn’t. How about arresting the owner aka their boss for being a PIMP?
This is definitely worse than stripping!
I paid for my undergraduate by working in clubs. The vast majority of cities have “No-Contact” ordinances, which means it is illegal for an entertainer to touch or be touched. Quite honestly, none of the girls I knew had a problem with it…. we didn’t *want* to be groped! Also, the undercover cops were usually even sleazier than your average perv. Your municipality probably has a whole stack of sting operation corruption charges somewhere.
I know there are low rent clubs, and girls that do it because they have to.But not all clubs are bad, not all dancers are skeezes, and not every situation is so exploitative. This coffee thing sounds not only nasty, but waaaay out of hand. I’m betting the girls that work there didn’t know what they were getting into.
How is a scantily clad woman serving coffee disgusting and repulsive? It’s no different than a Hooters. I’d serve coffee in a bikini in a heartbeat; its not degrading , its just a way to get better tips. As for the whole groping, pulling off underwear thing, I’m most concerned from a hygiene stand point. That has to be violating a shit ton of health codes.
Just sayin’…. I wouldn’t drink the coffee.
This is so on point– No different than Hooters. This is the choice they made and obviously there is a market for it.
Agreed. Obviously, the groping and removing underwear is not right. But it isn’t repulsive to wear a revealing outfit to work. It isn’t repulsive to be a stripper, and honestly, I’d be more comfortable serving coffee in THAT outfit than what Starbucks employees have to offer. Offering sexual favors? No. But they made the CHOICE to work there, just as the women at Hooters or strip clubs made the choice to work there. They aren’t being degraded unless they are being forced to work there. And ultimately, they aren’t: for every strip club, sexy coffee shop, and Hooters, there is a McDonald’s, a Starbucks, or an Applebees that will hire them. They CHOSE to work in bikinis and hot pants, and you can’t blame men because these women chose to do this instead of working at Starbucks where they would wear a pair of long black pants, a modest black shirt and an apron, a job that requires the exact same qualifications and that would have probably hired them had they applied.
Yes! You took the words right out of my mouth! Restaurant workers are a dime a dozen. They didn’t have to choose that career. Taking their clothes off is a bit extreme though.
How can you be so naive, ladies? Women using their bodies as commodities will only perpetuate everyone–men and women– from seeing women as *people*. You must not live in Seattle or have children as I do. How do you explain this to your 4 year old daughter as you drive by? Your 6 year old son? It is so hard to get my 4 year old not to measure herself against her brothers, so hard to get her brothers not to view her as less than themselves. And I’m sad for both my little boys and girl that they are growing up in a culture/ city that doesn’t value women enough to regulate abberrant behavior so they can learn to respect people– male and female– as people. This is definitely where feminism has gotten off track, and I will never forgive any of you or consider you as real feminists until you wake up and realize that this is only 2 steps away from sex trafficking. What the men are doing with it is no different– purchasing women’s bodies for their own comfort and enjoyment/ disposal. Yes, disposal. Disposable. That’s what they think of these poor baristas. And I wish we all did better by them than calling this a “choice.” It is ignorance. Of course they make higher wages doing this than serving at McDonalds. Because yes, they are making themselves the commodity, a “hot” commodity, and that is why it is all the more sad. These beautiful women deserve better.
Women are fragile little creatures who can’t make their own decisions, and need to be protected from their own sexuality. They don’t know any better. They’re being taken advantage of. I understand where you’re coming from on this.
Wait, no I don’t. If a girls is being pushed directly into something like this, arrest the pusher. If a girl has ‘issues’, offer her counselling. If a girl is underage, arrest the hiring manager. If a girl knows that she has the right body, since when is it not her right to leverage it?
Yes, there are girls who are taken advantage of in these situations. There are employees who are taken advantage of in any possible industry. There are also many girls who don’t feel exploited, and feel like they’re getting their money’s worth for doing their job underdressed. It’s not for me or for you to determine what is appropriate for another girl to choose.
As for the whole prostitution thing, let’s be realistic. Men pay for sex from women all the time, all over the place. The woman gets nice dinners and pretty jewellery, and other nice things, while the man gets sex. Why is it illegal to skip the middle part and just pay cash?
Duh….it’s a coffee shop operating in the middle of a town in broad daylight not a red light district, plus, they are breaking the law. Laws exist for a reason.
I agree that this particular instance is not good. As the big k says above, it’s a problem for hygeine alone. But Dharma up top there didn’t write this with the tone of criticising a single coffee shop for the way it runs. There’s a clear tone of ‘these women are coerced and need to be watched out for and no woman would ever get into such a thing without major major problems and poverty and all similar activities must be stopped’. That’s what I was responding to.
As for breaking the law, the law is a fair point of discussion in a place like this. ‘It’s the law’, is unacceptable reasoning. Laws change over time, and we’re discussing the issues here, above the law. Yes, the law says this coffee shop should be shut down, and that’s great, but let’s go above that and discuss the point of the law. Sure, laws are made for a reason – but that reason isn’t always a good one. Laws are also changed for a reason.
Here’ an example of a great (most of) North American law:
Prostitution is illegal. You can’t accept money for sex.
Pornography is legal. You can accept money for sex on camera and sell it.
So it’s only illegal if you don’t film it? It’s only legal if someone else pays you both? How exactly does this work?
Many people would like to make both illegal. I’d prefer to make both legal. But ‘It’s the law’ is hardly an appeal to reason in many places.
IMO Porn should be illegal. It’s more destructive than plain old prostitution because it’s promoted as if it were normal for women to screw disease infested guys for money and let them do degrading things to them. It sends unhealthy ideas to women that their bodies are product to be used for profit instead of respected as something that should only be shared with someone that cares about them and it gives men the idea that women exist only for their pleasure. It’s no coincidence that serial killers/rapists love that crap.
^ A whole lot more people that AREN’T serial killers also enjoy porn.
You’re a pervert, we get it.
^ And you’re fucktarded, we get it.
That’s the best you could do? lol
Serial killers and rapists also like bread! I hear most of them have been fans since they were small children! This can’t be a coincidence!!!
It doesn’t matter how many serial killers and rapists like porn. It matters how many porn fans become serial killers and rapists. and THAT number is probably statistically insignificant.
Many people, including women, like pornography, and are happy, well-balanced people.
But then, porn isn’t the discussion at hand here. :)
That wasn’t supposed to be an insult ” you’re still a poster child for abortion”. It’s the lord’s truth.
I don’t know. If I were a barista working a drive thru window and a customer offered me a $20 tip for copping a feel I might go for it. No nudity, that’s just nasty and frankly unhygienic but $20 just for a quick grope in a public place? Seems like a good deal for a minimum wage retail slave.
You know, I’m all for shifting the blame to men when it seems quite convenient, but really guys, come on. Society doesn’t put a smart woman behind a stand flashing her goodies. No one FORCES women to be strippers or to have to turn to their sex appeal to have to get far in life. These women, regardless of the situation they’re in (economic or otherwise) should have the dignity not to stoop so low. I get that we’re fighting to build a stronger nation of healthy, happy women but seriously? Don’t put the blame on something that any intelligent female would say is easily fixable. Prostitution is prostitution and I’d rather not have boobage with my coffee at all, thanks.
I feel similarly. Couldn’t do such a thing.
BUT
If another girl feels differently about their ‘dignity’, who am I to say it’s an unacceptable move for her? Not everyone feels the same way about their body, and if you can pierce it, tattoo it, make babies with it, abort things inside it, dress it up or not, etc, why can’t you accept money for sex with it?
It’s not so much a matter of whether a woman can or can not do those things, as I really couldn’t care less what she does, since itt’s her choice any way. I was commenting more on the whole ’shifting of blame thing’. Society deems a lot of things unacceptable, such as accepting money for sex or stripping etc. but I don’t think people really care to know why. Personally I would say it’s because it’s a degrading type of thing to do to yourself. If you truly love flaunting your goods, then by all means have at it. If you like having men pay you for sex, then keep it going. Most women, however, use said things as a ‘last resort’ or when ‘times are hard’ which, as I was saying, is kind of a lame excuse. Speaking from personal experience, I have struggled most of my adult life trying to make ends meet and pay for college, but by no means am I going to start sleeping with people for cash or spinning on a pole. Maybe it’s just me, but I would rather be homeless with dignity than rich with shame.
Again, there are exceptions I guess. It’s ‘wrong’ because the vast majority of people would agree that being in that sort of position is bad.
I was debating what seemed to be your thought that since you couldn’t fathom it, no other woman should lower herself to such a level either. With your clarification, I agree that anyone who does choose to work such a job should take responsibility for it, without excuses. Sure, you’re probably doing that job because you can’t get something better, but I bet most of us have a dream job in mind we’d happily leave our own for.
I would rather strip than be homeless. I’d feel that way even if I didn’t have kids I was obligated to provide for.
I bet most of these women aren’t even poor. They’re attention addicts.
I’d never degrade myself to work at a McDonalds, getting verbally abused by the morbidly obese because I’m not frying their meat by-products fast enough. But just because I don’t want to do it, doesn’t mean it should be illegal.
Oh so you’re too good to make an honest living and would rather lay on your back?
Lol! Sorry, auditions for ” The Magdalene Sisters” already took place. (Pretty ironic comment from some one named after a famous stripper.) And no, I find hooking about as distasteful as deep-frying, but how is prostitution not an honest living? Some one performs a service in exchange for money.
I’m not sure how many whores can lie to themselves about what they do.
And you can’t make an honest living at a fast food joint. Do you know how much those guys get paid?
There are many options besides deep frying and whoring. I couldn’t ethically bring myself to work in a McDonalds. If I ever find myself needing a minimum wage job then there are a whole host of other places I could find work rather than pushing a product that kills people every single day.
Aside from this particular stand crossing the line with their “prostitution”– not to be confused with the actual definition of prostitution where money is actually exchanged for penetration — what’s the problem with scantily clad espresso stands?
I don’t condone the behaviour of the 5girls at all, but I personally do not see a problem with the existence of the bikini stand industry. These java huts are quite obvious when you see them so you have to be completely oblivious or a moron to confuse “Grab N Go Bikini Hut” “Cowgirls Espresso” and “Chicka Latte” with the tasteful competition “Stadium Coffee” and “Pioneer Roasters.”
So if you don’t like it, just don’t go. Simple as that. But why should a few people who disagree with a woman serving coffee to pathetic men who are so desperate to see a mediocre, half naked woman for 5 minutes that they pay double and triple for a bad coffee be able to decide it should be illegal just because in their OPINION it is distasteful. These girls choose to do this and are successful at it- just let them be.
You can’t possibly have children. Listen people, the world becomes a whole lot more clear when you’re driving around with young kids in the car. Maybe you think it’s no big deal, these women have choice, whatever… how do you explain to them, no honey, they do it because they can make a lot of money at it! Why mommy? Because men like to see their bodies! Oh, I see mommy. (Little girl looks at her body.) Later on she says, Mommy, I don’t ever want to be an adult. Hmmmm…. wonder why.
I look at those stands, the fact that women can make a lot of money doing degrading things and they “choose” it (I happen to know a stripper who does so because she’s indian, was a foster child, and its the fastest route to a living, so yes, she “chooses” it), only means that the world is screwed up. Are you okay with trafficking North Korean women for sex slavery? Well, these are the same conditions causing it, and I hate that feminists aren’t fighting back.
I’m not sure comparing stripping or having sex for money to flipping burgers at McDonalds is right. If you’re 50 and doing it, I’d be concerned but for young women who especially have no job experience (maybe they just got out of high school, maybe they’re building up their resumes etc.) it’s a more appeasing job than stripping since you’re actually working for your pay. So what if you have the body? Any one can strip, it’s not exactly as demanding of a job as people seem to think.
I’m gonna assume you’re replying to my comment: How is stripping not working for your money. They’re not just sitting on a couch naked, watching tv. I’ve never done but from what I’ve heard its physically demanding and is mostly about salesmanship, not looks. ( Also, I think the word you were grappling for is “appealing” )
* done it
Anyone can do it?? *Not working for you pay??* Unless you’ve been there, done that, for more than just amateur night, you can’t really make that judgment.
Flipping burgers may not pay much but at least it’s an honest living. Selling your cooch for $$$ is disgusting. If I had a choice between serving grease and selling my puss I would rather serve grease. At least I would keep my personal dignity.
The very special , super classy dignity that only those who refer to female genitalia as ” puss” and “cooch” can possess? What do your cat and dog? Penis and clit?
Which word do you prefer? VAG? Cooch? Coin slot? Please advise, I wouldn’t want to offend the sensibilities of someone who loves porn and prostitution.
I’d prefer for Sasha to register commenters in order to screen out trolls such as yourself but in the mean time I’m just going to content myself with asking YOU a question: Why exactly are you so scared of porn and prostitution?
Not to nitpick or anything but the coin slot is round the back. Are you the only person who hasn’t seen that SNL coin slot cream skit with Lindsay Lohan?
Why are you so pro-prostitution/porn? Both of those things are as anti-feminism as you can get. The whole purpose of feminism is to remove the idea that women are just objects of sexual pleasure for men and both of those things reinforce that warped idea. A real feminist uses her intellect to get ahead.
“The whole purpose of feminism is to remove the idea that women are just objects of sexual pleasure for men”
No, it’s not. The point of feminism is that women are not less than men.
If a woman wants to sell her body she shouldn’t be looked down upon any more than a man would.
The idea that sex CAN’T be sold like any other service is solely moralistic in my opinion. If there are two consenting adult parties, and neither one is gettng hurt, why SHOULD it be wrong? Because YOU don’t like it?
The burden of proof is on those wishing to restrict human behaviour. Give me a reason, one not based in Judeo-Christian moral code (or the rules of another religion in hich I do not take part) that pornography and prostitution are publically restrictable activities, and I’ll START considering at the argument rationally from your side.
I’m not even considering it from a feminist standpoint. I’m speaking on it as an issue of personal freedom.
I guess it’s never occurred to you that “personal” dignity is very subjective. Maybe these women don’t suffer from a lack of dignity over holding this kind of a job.
Maybe they think that they’d rather make three times the money that you and your “personal” dignity would make flipping burgers.
Sex workers are messed up in the head. 95% of them were sexually abused as kids. Are you really foolish enough to think they do it for the money? They do it because they have no self worth and crave attention.
That statistic smells. Did you pull it out of your ass?
I don’t care how awesome the tips are–my excess of dignity would never allow me to take a job like that.
Um, then don’t. Nobody is forcing you and I doubt anybody forced these girls.Like I said above, I have too much pride to work fast food. But I don’t look down on those who do.
I wouldn’t want to work in fast food either, but it’s somewhat higher on my personal scale of indignity than letting men grope me for money.
Not every bikini stand is engaging in these behaviour of groping and “basketball” in their panties with tips. It was just 5 girls at one out of numerous stands in the Seattle area.
This (Seattle Times) article was poorly written and is blowing the whole “Bikini Barista” industry out of proportion.
My father actually works in a business near the bikini stand in question.
Many of his co-workers attended high school with the girls that work there, and it is fairly common knowledge that their boss is also their drug dealer.
As for weather or not they are happy… No. These girls are not. They appear perky for their customers, but I have also seen them out back on their cigarette breaks, looking downtrodden and demoralized. Often they will grimace and close their eyes as they shake their chests for patrons of the coffee stand.
One other thing I would like to say- these girls are NOT wearing bikinis. Most of the time they are wearing g-strings with fishing line for “strings” and black electrical tape over their nipples.
Bingo. Like I said earlier, the boss is a PIMP and they should arrest him. Behind every hooker or stripper or porn star is a creepy man exploiting her, hence my moral indignation towards it.