Alex's Restaurant, an ethnography
The Wiseguys (scene one):
*These four old guys (definitely into their late sixties, early seventies) sell cars at one of the dealerships on the boulevard. I would bet fifty dollars that they all work for Cadillac. They come in once a week, on Friday afternoons. They love me. They like to give me a hard time, ask why I don’t love them anymore, when I’m going to run away with them, etc, etc. They are caricatures of car salesmen but are obviously unaware of this. They hold court in Eat Well like it’s 1965 at the Sands, talking in loud voices and telling stories about one another to each other. (“This guy here, one time he says to me, ‘Paulie’…”)
It has been suggested to me that perhaps these old guys are, in fact, aware of their stereotypical niche and of the roles that they assume by coming to have lunch in the restaurant. This is certainly possible and is something that hadn’t occurred to me, so natural and seemingly without irony is their behavior. For the younger generation(s), irony is something that is nearly always acknowledged, either articulated (the perennial gesture of finger-quotation-marks) or thinly disguised as humor. For older people, however, participation in ironic or staged situations need not necessarily be acknowledged.
Most of their boisterous comments--well, nearly all--are addressed to my chest. Ordinarily I would comment on this; put a stop to it at once. Ordinarily, that is, if I wasn’t at work. As a self-defined feminist, I am outspoken and assertive when I feel that I am being demeaned or stereotyped. At work, however, I find myself confronted with strange challenges. I am forced to walk a line between power and respect. I am not at liberty to chastise or even...
... middle of paper ...
... had become stifling, claustrophobic, and to be able to bring my perspectives as a student to bear on it was a (surprisingly great) relief.
From a feminist perspective, this is a rich area for study. I would like to further explore the subject, to study the relationship between the server and the served…as “the relationship between the waiter and diner is problematic because of the blatant purchase of human service that is involved” (Finklestein, p. 56). This is true, and is further complicated by gender expectations and prejudices. True, attitudes towards these public-private taboos are changing, but there is much to be learned as we continue to adapt.
Sources:
Dining Out, by Joanne Finklestein, NYU Press, 1989, Chapters 1-4
Woman, Culture and Society, by Michelle Rosaldo, Stanford Press, 1974, pp.17-42.
Updated by Jeff Tobin on January 23, 2001
Jennifer. Gender Relations and Alchol: An examination of The Cocktail Waitress: Women's work in a Man's World. 5 November 2001. http://www.geocities.com/Wellesley/6265/papers/gender/cocktailwaitress.html.
Brian Palmer’s “Tipping is an Abomination”, he tries to reach out to all types of audiences. He attempts to appeal to the emotional side to each audience. He often states that tipping “perpetuates” racism. African-Americans, on average, tip 3% less points than a white customer would have tipped. The tipping gap between Caucasian and Hispanics is even smaller. This fact can affect racial groups greatly. He also shows that this gives restaurant serves an excuse to serve different ethnic groups over other groups. This can anger others to know that they will be served differently and will not get the same respect from their server solely based on their ethnicity. He also often expresses to us that it not fair to waiter to have their tip based most commonly on their attitude and personality rather than their hard work and effort. Although he appeals to racial groups emotionally well, he fails to showcase the sexism side of tipping. It’s no surprise that female servers will most likely receive larger tips than a male server, regardless of the quality of the service. Overall, his article appeals emotionally to many types of
In The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the main characters Tom and Gatsby are both similar and different in their attitudes and their status. Both Tom and Gatsby have attained great wealth and live in very lavish conditions. They differ greatly, on the other hand, in the way that they acquired this wealth, and the way in which they treat other people. Even though both characters have great amounts of wealth, they are almost complete opposites due the way in which they acquired their wealth.
This article describes the sexism that the author, Sam Polk, witnessed while working on Wall Street and how he believes it affects the women working there. The article comments that there was, and is, a great deal of sexism in the workplace, specifically on Wall Street. Polk describes that sexist comments about female coworkers are how he would bond with his male coworkers when women were not present. Polk discusses how he feels that this way of speaking about women contributes to the fact that women on Wall Street do not hold high-level positions. This article suggests that the general attitude men on Wall Street about women, as described by Polk, might contribute to the overt sexism that is reported by women working on Wall Street. This
He was very smart and successful in what he did. I believe that if a few things would have gone differently for Herman when he was a child, Holmes might have never existed. Henry H. Holmes was a clever individual; some might even say a genius. Most serial killers work alone and rarely ever finish college. Holmes not only finished college, but also graduated from medical school. Holmes always stood out from the others, and I believe that if some of the different techniques we have presently would’ve been used on Holmes as a child, his behavior could have been controlled and even prevented. Instead of becoming the genius he had the potential to be, Herman Mudgett became America’s first serial
This essay focuses on the topic of globalization, taking along several other factors with it. Increasingly in the world, it becomes obvious that the globalization is affecting almost all the businesses of the world. Every market in some way or the other is following the principles of globalization. For example, McDonalds is a chain of restaurants working in collaboration to deliver their customers with the best product and to achieve this McDonalds follows the concepts of globalization. This essay will discuss anc ethnographic study at McDonalds examining whether it confirms or denies the claims made about globalization.
The criminal profiler Thomas Cronin identifies Holmes as a very unique criminal as he states that criminals are smart, but they are not discipline enough to finish college and the fact that he finished medical school, makes him even more unique. Holmes was able to hide his dark nature as he had an important facilitator which was his career and charm that brought him plenty of victims.
The book, ‘How to Care for Aging Parents’ is authored by Virginia Morris and with a forward by Robert M. Butler. In up-to-date new edition, the author completely revised and expanded over 200 pages of the text, covering the emotional, the legal issues and procedures, the financial aspect of every kind, medical related issues, and logistical related issues in caring for the elderly.
Two men were working the front end, the cashier at register 3 was helping an older looking woman with a sun hat, Capri pants ,and far too much make up on, the other cashier was leaning on the bag rack behind him, enjoying a break in a slow day . Both of the clerks looked as if they were in their early twenties, definently townies, the townies hated summer vacationers. Townies never said a word to vacationers, and you could tell in their attitude; they all longed for Labor Day to roll around so everyone would go home, bringing peace to their little town again. My observations of the store and town politics were...
Holmes claimed the lives of hundreds, though officially under the law they were only able to charge him with 9 counts of murder, many died at his hands. In a day with better technology, a bigger population, and a changed society, we need to try and end serial killers for once and for all because who knows the impact they can
As a white, middle-class woman, I hold much more privilege than people, particularly women, of colour who may fall at or below the poverty line. This has granted me many more opportunities in life, such as the ability to find jobs fairly easily, as well as retaining the resources required to get an education. These are all building blocks to power, as an education hypothetically leads to a well-paying job, which provides financial security and power in a capitalist society. I do experience some backlash when discussing feminist points, usually when in a group of men. I wish I had the privilege to have these debates while taken seriously, instead of being written off as a crazy feminist in attempts to dismiss my opinions. However, as I said, I come from a position of power which I must acknowledge, and understand that my view of feminism is drastically different than those of other women, and it is imperative that I listen to their views as well. This way, together, we can create a better future for feminisms, and for
Aging is inevitable. People go through life meeting milestones such as going to college, getting married, having children, and then growing old. Getting older is not only hard on the individual but, also the family. It is difficult for a person who has taken care of themselves all their life to wake up one day and realize they can no longer do things on their own. That is why their are nursing homes. There are many speculations about whether or not it is okay to place a family member in a nursing home however, there are many benefits to nursing homes. The adult children of the elderly should opt for professional care for their aged parents rather than allowing them to live on their own because, nursing homes have constant help, daily activities, and people who can give family members continous support.
In the novel The Great Gatsby, the conflict is created by the differences in the two opposing characters.
Battle among the sexes….ready, set, WORK! Today, it is common for a work environment to consist of both male and female, in attempt to contribute to the success of a business. With the significant rise of woman being in a workplace, gender has become a prominent aspect today. Though some experts believe that a balance of both genders are ideal in a workplace, studies show that women tend to excel in certain areas and men tend to excel in others. Research shows that gender characteristics do exist and plays an influential role on the in the workplace. With that being stated, my ethnography project is in regards to the gender and the results of performance and service provided for the customers in a workplace. More specifically, I will be observing
Therefore, the theme of this research is to analyze and evaluate the gender differences in use of space and social roles in Grace’s Beauty Parlour. In other words, I sought to examine the different ways in which men and women (customers and employees) utilize the same space and how their social roles and responsibilities differ from one another. In addition, I will be discussing how the space at Grace’s Beauty Parlour is constructed and laid out in order to influence customer movement. Moreover, another theme I will discuss in greater detail relates to the power dynamics between men and women employees at Grace’s Beauty Parlour. I will discuss how Grace’s Beauty Parlour is a highly gendered and feminized space, where women participate more actively than men, but, men employees obtain a higher position than women