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What is missing so far in this analysis is women’s responses to these dynamics. There is no question that by following workplace rules of dress and demeanor, Bazooms girls were participants in the interplay of power, gender, and sexuality in the Bazooms workplace. Some waitresses dressed and behaved in ways that emphasized their sexuality and encouraged male patrons’ attention—strategies that were seen to result in bigger tips. The financial bottom line no doubt underlay most Bazooms girls’ calculations about the trade-off between sometimes demeaning dress and behavior expectations and the wages and tips they could expect to receive. There were limits, however, to how much unwelcome attention or harassment the waitresses would tolerate. When these limits were reached, Bazooms girls resisted and manipulated their gendered and sexualized workplace role in a variety of ways….

At Bazooms, waitresses work within and against the constraints imposed by these factors in at least three ways: (1) They attempt to undermine or otherwise challenge the power structure, (2) they manipulate gender to preserve self-image, and (3) they both co-opt and counteract sexualized identities.