Utter Fool

A seafood restaurant chain touted as “The Hooters of the Philippines” has divided netizens over centering its promotions on busty waitresses. For all the progress made in advancing gender equality, establishments like these are a stark reminder that women’s bodies are still heavily commodified, with businesses continuing to profit from a system that sells objectification as entertainment rather than advancing genuine empowerment. Crab N’ Bites came into the spotlight last month after a customer complaint about lackluster service went viral. Since the incident, however, netizens have begun examining the restaurant’s notorious business model with a more scrutinizing eye. The chain has locations in Tagaytay City, Cabanatuan City in Nueva Ecija, and Lemery in Batangas. The chain was established in 2021 and offers the standard fare of any seafood boil restaurant: assorted seafood, vegetables, and seasoning boiled together and poured directly onto a table for customers to feast on, à la boodle fight. But what evidently drew in customers was how the chain dressed up its waitresses. The women servers, called Crab N’ Bites Babes, wear skin-tight, bright red, low-cut tank tops that accentuate their figures and show off their cleavage. Seafood boils are served with a giant shovel, which the waitresses use to unload the food onto the table in a plowing motion. The exaggerated movement is part of the spectacle, deliberately making their breasts bounce to the delight of their predominantly male customers and online audience. It’s tiring how, despite all the efforts to secure women’s equal rights and protection, the beliefs that underpin women’s oppression are still very much alive—and worse, are being used to extract profit. Netizens pointed out that Crab N’ Bites takes its cues from the playbook of Hooters, an American chain restaurant that gained similar notoriety for its scantily clad waitresses. Founded in 1983, the company filed for bankruptcy in 2025 amid declining revenues. WOMEN SHOULD EXPRESS THEMSELVES IN THEIR OWN TERMS Let this be clear: women should be able to express themselves on their own terms, whether by showing off or covering up. Pushing for gender equality does not mean women can no longer have sex appeal; rather, women should not be defined solely by it. When a business profits from women’s bodies—specifically, by presenting them as commodities for men to visually feast on—it only reinforces the patriarchal view of women’s existence. This practice does nothing to meaningfully advance women’s contributions to the workforce, despite what business owners might say. It is futile to argue that these women willingly chose or are happy to do this work; a choice made under economic pressure is hardly proof of empowerment when the alternative is poverty.  Autonomy does not exist in a situation where the only options are to strip or starve. Worse, Crab N’ Bites brands itself as a family restaurant. The risk here is not that children might see breasts, but that they might see their fathers fawn over other women’s bodies and conclude that it’s completely acceptable to dishonor the marital commitment made to their mothers, openly ogle women, and treat revealing clothing as consent to disrespect them. The solution here is not to create a restaurant where muscular men serve food shirtless for women’s pleasure or to ban all revealing clothing in public spaces. The issue is a business model that turns women’s bodies into selling points and sexual objectification into a source of profit. Reducing people to mere objects of sexual desire harms everyone, but disproportionately affects women. (✍️: Kiara Gorrospe) #radarPHBusiness #radarPH

“In bear markets, stocks return to their rightful owners.” - JP Morgan and Philippine tycoons

20 years ago today, The Wire Season 4 Ep1: “Boys of Summer” premiered on HBO. Arguably one of the best cold opens in TV history.

Keith Richards and Willie Nelson outliving Dolly Parton and Richard Simmons has me seriously questioning everything I was told in D.A.R.E. in 3td grade.

BREAKING: The US Treasury announces it will double the size long-term US government debt buybacks following the rapid surge in US Treasury yields. Repurchases of $2 billion will now be increased to "at least" $4 billion, the US Treasury said. The move is intended to provide "liquidity support" for bonds maturing in 10 to 30 years as total US debt nears $40 trillion. There is the intervention we have been calling for.