The Girls Had Good Intentions

I read an interesting but disappointing article online the other day.  The city of Los Angeles' Animal Services Department was having a fundraiser to raise money for spaying and neutering, and some Hooters girls in Hollywood offered to help.  The Hooters girls wanted to have a bikini contest, with all of the money raised going to the spaying and neutering program, and they were going to call it "Hooters For Neuters."  The director of the Animal Services Department quickly put a halt to the bikini contest fundraiser, because he said it was "degrading to women." Based on the information that I read, the Hooters girls offered to help with the fundraiser on their own free will; nobody held a gun to their heads and told them "you'd better hold a bikini contest and give the money to the spaying and neutering program or else."  So what's the big deal?  I'm sure the Hooters girls could have raised a whole lot more money than the department ended up with. 

If this had happened in the 'Ville, I can't say that I would have gone to a Hooters bikini contest, but if they'd had a car wash, I'm sure me and my family would have taken all three vehicles and let the Hooters girls wash them.  But then again, my family and I usually stop at any charity car wash that we see -  it's our way of giving back to the community.  It makes no difference to us who's washing the car - be it a church youth group, a school football team, or bikini-clad women - as long as the car gets washed in exchange for a donation to whatever cause they're working for.  If having bikini-clad women, or the Hooters girls in their orange shorts and white t-shirts can drum up more business for a charity fundraiser, then good for them.  I don't see it as exploitation if they do it of their own free will.  If they're willing to donate their time and efforts, regardless of what they're wearing, then I say go for it.  At least those Hooters girls were willing to volunteer for a fundraiser.  That's way more than I can say for the majority of people that belong to charitable organizations.