Thanks Mike. Entertaining reading. I can't believe I just spent 30 minutes reading about the life of a Las Vegas cocktail waitress. And now I see the point about the hostessing in Japan. Yes, the B-girl is much more to the point.
To the relevance to teaching psychology: The mother of someone I dated in my much younger days was a cocktail "waitress" and not a cocktail "runner" as they called them back then--in a Reno casino. The runners worked the slots and tables; the waitresses worked within the lounges. I think the waitresses at least partly were more hostess-like. So based on your input I can see where I needed to take a broader look beyond my tiny personal experience. NOW, finally, the relation to teaching: I try to make this point with students all the time--you cannot rely on your own tiny personal experience, or even those relatively few people you know; and I fell into the same trap. It's so easy. Annette Annette Kujawski Taylor, Ph.D. Professor of Psychology University of San Diego 5998 Alcala Park San Diego, CA 92110 619-260-4006 [email protected] ---- Original message ---- >Date: Wed, 29 Jul 2009 07:14:21 -0400 >From: "Mike Palij" <[email protected]> >Subject: Re:[tips] Give Me That Old Time Profession >To: "Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS)" <[email protected]> >Cc: "Mike Palij" <[email protected]> > >On Tue, 28 Jul 2009 08:48:01 -0700, Annette Taylor wrote: >> Sounds like the job of a cocktail waitress. I think they only still work in >> casinos. > > I don't know how you define "cocktail waitress" but common usage >defines it as a person who serves drinks and not someone who chats >up or provides "relationship services" to a patron. For example, see: >http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cocktail_waitress > >For the experience of a self-described Vegas cocktail waitress, see: >http://www.cocktaildoll.com/faq.htm >(best quote: "Who says there are no stupid questions?!") > >The closest thing to a Japanese hostess in American culture is, >I think, represented by the old slang term "B-girl" or "Bar girl" >(a staple from crime movies from the1940s and later) but B-girls >either had the job of getting a male client to buy her drinks >(for which she might get a commission) or to set up the client >for some crime (e.g., robbery). Some of the academic literature >on this point is provided by the following articles on Jstor.org: >http://www.jstor.org/stable/3704611 >and >http://www.jstor.org/stable/1140594 > >-Mike Palij >New York University >[email protected] > > >> ---- Original message ---- >>>Date: Tue, 28 Jul 2009 10:10:41 -0400 >>>From: "Mike Palij" <[email protected]> >>>Subject: [tips] Give Me That Old Time Profession >>>To: "Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS)" >>><[email protected]> >>>Cc: "Mike Palij" <[email protected]> >>> >>>An article in today's NY Times reports on a growing profession >>>among young Japanese women: hostessing. What is hostessing? >>>Quoting the article: >>> >>>|The women who pour drinks in Japan's sleek gentlemen's clubs >>>|were once shunned because their duties were considered immodest: >>>|lavishing adoring (albeit nonsexual) attention on men for a hefty fee. >>>See: >>>http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/28/business/global/28hostess.html?hp=&pagewanted=all >>> >>> >>>In some ways, being a hostess is, I believe, comparable to the >>>services that geisha's provided in the past but being a geisha involved >>>extensive training, an apprenticeship, and development of some >>>skill in entertainment (e.g., playing a musical instrument, singing, >>>dancing, etc.). It seems that being a hostess only requires one >>>to be a "pretty young thing", be able to make believe that one really >>>cares about the man who is currently her client, and to hold one's >>>liquor. Sex is typically not part of the package (unlike the "Girlfriend >>>Experience" in the U.S., a subject of a recent Stephen Sonderbergh >>>film, which means that a sex worker/prostitute provides "relationship >>>services" in addition to "sex services"). Prostitution in Japan is >>>illegal but it only became illegal in the late 1950s (see Kenji Mizoguichi's >>>film "Street of Shame" about the women who worked in one house >>>of prostitution in the Tokyo redlight district; it is said that Mizoguichi's >>>film helped to get the anti-prostitution law passed). Thus, the types >>>of services that women could provide were rather rigidly defined >>>though not always obvious to westerners. >>> >>>The more basic issue involved with hostessing is summarized in the >>>following quote: >>> >>>|Atsushi Miura, an expert on the issue, says hostessing will be popular >>>|among Japanese women as long as other well-paying jobs are scarce. >>>| >>>|"Some people still say hostesses are wasting their life away," he said. >>>|"But rather than criticizing them, Japan should create more jobs for >>>|young women." >>> > > >--- >To make changes to your subscription contact: > >Bill Southerly ([email protected]) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([email protected])
