Gender roles and the commodification of beauty and physical attractiveness in restaurants: Perspectives of female servers

Abstract

This study examines the perspectives of female servers on their own gender roles and the commodification of their beauty and physical attractiveness during service encounters in restaurants. Previous studies on this subject have been solely focused on the recipient end, that is, consumers. This study gathers insights from the experiences and opinions of servers themselves. The data for this study were collected using semi-structured interviews with twenty female servers working as food and beverage attendants in various restaurants in Macao, China. The findings show that the ways female servers construct their own perceived gender roles are highly influenced by a continuous process of reinforcing stereotypes associated with the traditional gender roles of women. This study also details the measures and practices restaurants in Macao employ to commodify beauty and physical attractiveness of female servers. Of particular note is the finding that, despite recognizing how they were being stereotyped, servers showed no objection to such practices. Nonetheless, the study discusses how such practices devalue contributions women make in the tourism and hospitality industry in general and the restaurant sector in particular whilst suggesting measures that help redress this issue.