Well should anyone come back later for the comments….

Chris– I am actually not worried about my husband looking at a girl in a bikini. That was kind of a lame and not the point comment. And women not taking care of themselves is not the reason this kind of business thrives. This kind of business thrives because men like boobs and our society teaches that it’s okay to see women as objects.

Nicole– I apologize. In my frustration that society thinks these kinds of things are okay, I took your comment and ran with it, instead of remembering there was a person behind that remark. I did not mean to hurt your feelings. But I will disagree with you and tell you that there are plenty of other things out there that you could do and still finish college. I graduated debt free with a 3.7 gpa and and I didn’t have to go to work with no clothes on.

And to Sara– I appreciate your concern about your friend, though this post really had no ill intent towards her. I disagree however, with most of your comment. There may not be a stand in my town, but there’s one the town over and I go other places besides the one city that I live in. Allowing it one place opens the opportunity in others as well, so I have a right to be concerned. And I can say I don’t like sexpresso stands without going there and trying it out. It’s sort of a ludicrous thought that I would need to try something before I am allowed to disagree with the principles behind it. We’re not talking about green eggs and ham here, friend. We are talking about a moral issue. I think adultery, for example, is pretty nasty and I am certainly not about to try it before I make that justified conclusion that is wrong and not something I am a part of.
And one more thing, and this is nothing against Nicole, though I am sure you will take it that way– just because a person goes to college doesn’t mean they have self respect or common sense. So that’s just not a good argument. And you can’t tell me that your friend has never had any inappropriate comments or creepy looks sent her way that made her feel uncomfortable.

And that’s all.

We live in a free country, which carries with it the freedoms to work and express ourselves in ways not allowed to others. Does this mean that we should just let all morals and values go? No.

No one was picking on “Nicole” personally, I am sure any smart person double majoring in chem/physics can see that. But as parents, we deserve a little accountability (in fact we demand it as we raise the next generation) from the businesses we chose to frequent and at the very least, a warning so we can make an EDUCATED decision whether to expose or kids to boobies with their hot cocoa in the morning!

Seattle Bikini Baristas
http://seattlebikinibaristas.com

Although it might seem obvious, I have absolutely no problem at all, getting served hot coffee by hot women.

“We don’t have a “sexpresso” stand in our town, I’ve never actually seen one and I don’t drink coffee.”

And you care because… you simply know they’re out there lurking on an unsuspecting streetcorner…somewhere…?
What gives you the right to demean something you’ve never tried? You’ve let yourself become offended by something you’ve never even seen before?
Not a lesson I’ll be teaching my children anytime soon.

“It really wouldn’t even bother me if it was in California, because at least its HOT there. But Seattle? Seriously? Bikinis in the winter? Gross.”

Like, seriously?

“I used to work mornings at another coffee stand. I used to make $30 in the morning, but here I make four, five times that much, if not more, because I’m wearing a bikini and people pay more for that,” said barista Nicole Corpuz.

Go to college! You’ll be able to make better money, still have your self respect and dignity, and you’ll be able to continue to make good money when your body isn’t so hot anymore! And sweetie, people pay more for that because they get a sick thrill from it– are you really okay with that?”

Sweetie, who are you to insult someone you’ve never met. Nicole happens to be a friend, who happens to be double majoring in chemistry and physics in college at the moment. She’s one of the wittiest people I’ve ever met, and makes a damn good white chocolate mocha too.
“I certainly hope that the bikini clad 20 somethings at the espresso stand aren’t running the country in 20 years!”

I certainly hope they are. Someone’s got to be preparing to run the country when there is a site where Seattle Moms can chat about who they don’t want to run the country.
Talk about a glorified Myspace.
These girls are out there experiencing the world, learning, loosing, and breaking away from the white-picket fence stereotype. That might be what some 25-something moms want out of life, but guess what, the baristas are not going to judge you for that. They’re just going to serve you your coffee with a smile and take the next order.
I wish sometimes that women could just have respect enough for each other to accept that not everyone is going to live their lives the exact same way.

A friend sent me the link to this page because she was upset about it too, but I’ve already taken enough time out of my work day to respond to this ridiculous post. Shame on me.

Maybe if more American women (and American men for that matter) took better care of themselves by eating correctly and keeping their bodies (and minds) fit there would be less of a market for this type of business.

Maybe if you spent less time caring about this and more time caring about how you look (and how that affects your relationship) this would be a non-issue for you.

As far as a business model goes, this is just a wimpy way out. Everyone knows that sex sells. It’s a simple easy way to make money. It’s not really a challenge to just throw some sex into the mix to make a few bucks in the short term.

The problem comes with your reputation and resulting customers. It also lacks vision. What is the goal of this shop? What kind of mission statement do they have? With gimmicks like this, they seem to just be interested in making a quick buck. I can’t imagine that’s very fulfilling… that and knowing you made your money blatantly promoting the degradation of women.

But I do think there is a HUGE difference between the ones wearing bikinis and pasties. HUGE. And I, at least, would want some kind of warning about that before I pulled thru their drive-thru with my 11 and 9-year-old sons or my daughter, for that matter, in the car. It isn’t the kind of shining example of feminism that I want my kids exposed to.

But, this is a free country. So, there’s that line, and I guess I’ll walk it.

Maybe we could have a bikini espresso district?

Agi– This is good. I was interested in knowing some other perspective on this.

The point about the glass ceilings and all that being 40 somethings is not my opinion. It is someone elses and I just thought it made an interesting point about how younger girls don’t really appreciate all that women have gone through.

I’m not saying bikinis are porno porn. What I am saying is taken out of context, (the beach, someplace warm) they are meant to be eye candy in a sexed up world and it’s blatant. These girls become “soft” porn just like the models in Victoria’s Secret– especially when you add what Moses Lake Mom said that they move around to flaunt themselves.

And I know plenty of go getter women out of college that do great things. I certainly hope that the bikini clad 20 somethings at the espresso stand aren’t running the country in 20 years! And while I don’t think everyone needs to go to college, I do think people need a life plan that doesn’t count on their “temporary” good looks.

Secondly, of COURSE 40-somethings are the ones breaking the glass ceiling! They’re the ones who have 10-15-20+ years of work experience and are being promoted for it. You don’t see too many 25 year old CEO’s, superintendants or university presidents, do you? The young people I know as a whole want some success in life-but just out of college, they aren’t expecting to be heading up business just yet. I think that in 20 years they WILL be the ones running things, both men and women, which is precisely what the women of my generation worked for.

And, though it isn’t a choice *I* would make, if a young woman is comfortable enough with her body, to use it on HER TERMS to bring in some extra coin, well, isn’t that what freedom of choice is about? Just as some young women get a college degree and then stay at home with their kids, never working at all, othes choose to wear a bikini and make good tips for a nice living. I’ve always thought that feminism is more about choice than a specific path.

And porn? Please. Either a bikini is ok or it’s not. It sure isn’t porn, whether on the beach or at a coffee stand. You don’t like it? Don’t look-there’s that free enterprise again. It’s just like changing the channel on TV when you find a program you don’t like.

As for husbands draining money from the family till-I’m not even sure what to say about that. A few extra cents here and there doesn’t break many family budgets, plus in all the families I know each spouse has some amount of discretionary spending. I would gather than no husband is so addicted to seeing a bikini girl that he’s taking food from Muffy and Jimmy while Mommy counts out pennies so they can eat.

I’m no world traveler, but in my forrays to assorted Caribbean locales, bikini wear was pretty much everywhere at the resorts I stayed at-even indoors. No one died from looking at it, even the husbands. And get this-even the kids’ caregivers wore skimpy bathing suits! Even when they WEREN’T SWIMMING! I don’t know if any husbands gave them bigger tips though.