Buffalo, like the nation, faces issues related to sexism, racism, economic inequality, and the environment. One way to talk about how all of these issues as inter-related is through the term intersectional, which was coined by Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw and is used to study and discuss where these various systems of oppression and injustice overlap. 

As much as we may turn to restaurants to escape and unwind from our daily lives, they are not spaces immune from societal ills. 

This article is not to discuss problems that already exist in restaurants (sexism, namely). Rightly or wrongly, this is a space and form of bonding that follows similar structures and patterns that many other male-dominated spaces (military, fraternity) have established. All of these spaces require you to rely on the person next to you, and while a kitchen isn’t exactly a war zone, your safety can still be compromised by a careless action which, is why you’ll often here phrases like “behind you” or “knife.” Additionally, though hazing and bullying in school, the locker room, the workplace, etc., are something that many segments of society have now come to reject, there is still work to be done. Culture doesn’t change as quickly as anyone hopes.

Macho Madness

Recently on Facebook a local establishment used a poster from the 1980s sci-fi comedy Zapped! to advertise a brunch event they were hosting. In all of the advertisements I could find for the film, all of the women, or at least all of the female bodies, had one thing in common: They lacked heads. In each, there are simply men ogling a pair of legs in a skirt.The film’s synopsis, from Rotten Tomatoes: “In this comedy, a science experiment goes awry, leaving high-school wiz Barney (Scott Baio) with telekinetic powers. As Barney begins to experiment with his new abilities, he and his friend discover a variety of uses for them, including undressing the local high school girls.” While flouting conventions, or being transgressive, can lead to award-winning advertising, that is not what is happening here. Instead, there is a doubling-down on long-standing tropes of women existing as passive objections to be consumed, at the very least, with the eyes. Doesn’t this feel extremely far from being a successful brunch advertisement?

In addition to the rekindled affair with local produce, house-processed butchering and charcuterie have made serious comebacks on our local menus. It doesn’t take much to scroll through area restaurants’ Instagram accounts to see why the hashtag #meatporn is so popular. All of this cutting of meat, separating choice cuts from offal, closeups where the original animal form is completely lost—all of these things are also reflected in how we represent women. In fact, not only is the woman in the Zapped! image bent over, but her skirt is lifted up, leaving her there completely prone, without a single thought, passive, for the pleasure of the two young men, one of whom makes a fist with a giant smile. It isn’t a stretch to imagine someone asking, or to recall hearing someone joke, leering with a smile, “Are you a leg man or a breast man?”

This image, from what I can tell, was eventually taken down, which means at least two things: Someone affiliated with this restaurant recognized that this is repulsive and had the sense to pull it; but it also, sadly, means that someone else thought the image was perfect and maybe even a bit funny and that it conveyed the message: Eat here.

Another area that the city and the city’s restaurants could do better in is in the homogeny of most rooms. When I go to the Oakk Room, as a Caucasian, I am in the minority but the percentages are much closer to the city as a whole as opposed to the demographic make-up of dining rooms and bars when I am out on the west side of Main Street. Of course, this is anecdotal, but at many of the more celebrated restaurants, and even the casual spots, the staff and patrons don’t reflect the city’s demographics.  Representation matters. Now, I’m not sure they have to or how to go about changing that: legislation? career fares? And there is a cause and effect in that you can’t hire people who don’t apply, but perhaps one doesn’t feel comfortable in applying if no one in the establishment looks like you.

You are even less likely to feel comfortable in an establishment if the staff is wearing shirts that have “#bartenderslivesmatter printed on them. This was the case at a local bar I visited in October. Again, like the previous example, I thought why in the world would a business do this? Even if you believe “political correctness gone amok” is the reality of American culture now, what is the best possible outcome for your business in this situation? This isn’t rhetorical. I suppose the thought is something like, “Those who would be offended—because white people can’t be offended by racism—aren’t here anyway.” Or perhaps that much thought wasn’t even put into it. But if restaurants and bars are supposed to be the locus of communion in our lives, perhaps we can bond over something less offensive than a racist subculture while enjoying a cocktail made with botanically infused simple syrups.

This may seem counterintuitive after the previous 800 words, but I really do enjoy our restaurant culture here in town. It is a completely different world than it was 10 years ago. Proprietors are, with increasing frequency, chefs who have a vested interest in every aspect of your dining experience. They also have been short-changed by owners in the past and are more likely to care for the welfare of their employees. Additionally, numerous restaurants focus on procuring as many ingredients as possible within a 90-minute drive of the city. In terms of food ethics, we are doing really well. There are, however, a few incidents that point to some larger intersectional issues that need to be addressed.

We can do better. We will do better. I just need to remember my own words: Culture doesn’t change as quickly as anyone hopes.