Hooters is dying and the sticky American sexual culture could go with

The wings are always greasy, the shorts always orange and the tights are always a bizarre brown – but the atmosphere is extinct. Hooters, the formerly legendary “make -up” chain is on the verge of bankruptcy, and it could finally say goodbye to one of the most emblematic institutions in America.

Hooters has applied for the balance sheet against the balance sheet, Gq Reported, thanks to a perfect storm of modern problems: inflation, increase in labor and food costs and a sharp decline in ability of the Americans short of money that simply do not want to spend $ 18 on wings. Even if they are brought to you by an attractive server in this infamous outfit.

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The company still has and operates 151 locations, with 154 other dichandises, mainly in the United States – but even these figures are far from its summit in the early 2000s.

Now, in a last movement, Hooters plans to unload all its stores belonging to companies at a pair of long -standing franchisees which already run 30 of the most efficient places in the chain, in most Florida and Illinois. The private company shares a capital owner owner with the TGI Fridays also struck, which does not exactly shout “stability”.

Aside from business, Hooters was hardly a brilliant model of well-being at work. A study in 2014 revealed that women working in sexually objectification environments such as pirnes and twin peaks were more likely to report depression, anxiety, disorders’ diet and deep dissatisfaction with their bodies.

Basically, being paid to flirt in the Orange spandex did not do exactly wonders for mental health.

It is strangely ironic, however: we live in a time when sexual positivity is stronger than ever, but hooters – a brand entirely built around performance -based sexuality – is tanking.

What could be the difference? Autonomy. We will subscribe to someone’s only fans because they control the story. Watch someone forced to flirt for advice under fluorescent lighting? Not so much. It’s less sexy, sadder.

The hooters who enter are not only the fall of a Décingy business model built on objectification – it is also simply a sign of time. Everywhere, relaxed catering chains are swinging by inflation, labor costs and consumer tastes constantly evolving.

Today’s guests want more than wings and gadgets. They want affordability, ethics and an atmosphere that does not seem to have been made a million times before. The hooters could not follow. Whether it is obsolete uniforms or obsolete business plan, the chain simply does not fit into the world today. But damn, these wings are missing.