Straight men spend approximately 3/4 of their day (OK, probably more) wishing that whatever they happened to be looking at involved boobs. As such, establishments that cater to straight men, like sports bars, realize that by filling their place of business with scantily clad women, they can get men to come in and buy… anything, actually. But does that make it OK to be one of those scantily clad women?

On one side of the argument are supporters of the girls who work there and like it. They say it’s just like any other waitressing gig, except that the outfits are smaller. Some girls find that they can make better tips in places like these, because the men are trying to win them over. They aren’t having sex, they’re just wearing small outfits – outfits that are quite a bit bigger than, say, what most of us wear to the beach. Some even argue that a part of what we fight for with feminism is the right to work in any profession we choose, even if that profession does pander to men, so to put a limit on what a woman can and can’t do with her own body or her own career would be anti-feminist.

The flip side of the argument is made by those who think that working in places where women show off their goods is exploitative and contrary to the equality women have fought so long for. They say that this kind of work sets girls back because it makes men view us as sex objects for their entertainment rather than equals. There are also rights issues, like the fact that only girls of a certain physical appearance are chosen for the jobs and are strictly forced to maintain that appearance (this woman was fired for being bruised after she was the victim of domestic violence). By the same virtue, men don’t get hired. There are also, of course, plenty of allegations toward both the establishments and patrons about sexual harassment.

So what do you think? Would you be willing to work in one of these “breastaurants”? Is it really setting women back? Or are all of these people just morally offended by a legitimate way of making a living?

Let us know what your vote is in the comments.

My days often look something like this: Wake up and write as much as I can from the notes I took the previous day. (Morning is the only time my mind is fresh). Head out around noon and do some research — visit hotels, eat at restaurants, and participate in some activity that I can write about. Come back to my dorm room in the evening and jot down notes from my day. Go to bed.

Rarely do I go out, rarely do I feel like this is an authentic vacation. This is a job, just like my previous job as a high school English teacher. This is my new profession — one that doesn’t even pay for itself right now. I remain hopeful that it will one day.

Travel writing is not a glamorous job, as Thomas Kohnstamm, a Lonely Planet writer, explains in his new book, Do Travel Writers Go to Hell? Kohnstamm goes so far to detail his life as a travel writer that he admits he wasn’t paid enough (tell me about it!) to go to Colombia, so he never went and just wrote the book in California. For another assignment in Brazil, he sold drugs to supplement his income.

Unlike Kohnstamm, my moral values are in place and, though I kick myself for being a hedonistic and poor writer on the road, I wouldn’t trade this lifestyle for a minute. However, despite his immoral approach to travel writing, Kohnstamm still provides a golden nugget of truth: Travel writing is a career and individuals committed to this profession deserve greater benefits.

There is an inherent problem with the travel writing industry. Graduates fresh out of college delay their entry into the real world by snatching up jobs I want. I want travel writing to be my life, but for these youngsters it’s just a stint — something they can say they did before they settled down. And they are willing to do this same job for pennies. Travel guides like Lonely Planet keep payment low because they know someone write for their book if they can travel for free.

There is no solution to this problem. People like myself who come into the profession later in life have to start from the bottom wrung. Right now, it’s just a reality we have to live with.