Waitresses in American Culture. How Has the Image of the American Waitress Changed Over the Centuries? (PDF)

Essay from the year 2014 in the subject American Studies - Culture and Applied Geography, grade: 2,0, University of Paderborn, language: English, abstract: The present term paper is about the image of American waitresses and how it has changed within the past centuries. Waitresses in the United States do not have the best reputation. They earn less than minimum wage and are considered as not so smart. What is the reason for this disdainful treatment of women working as servers and why is it considered as a mostly female occupation?

Eating is one of the basic requirements humans have. According to Maslow's pyramid of needs, eating is one of the physical needs everybody has besides breathing, drinking, warmth and rest. Why is such a regular and natural thing like eating regarded as a social event? Why is dining in a high-class restaurant considered as a status symbol and why are mostly men serving in such places and not women? What are the psychological, historical and cultural reasons that modulated the image society has of waitresses today?

During my research I will resort to secondary literature and field reports of waitresses in America, to invest the phenomenon of waiting tables in the United States.