“I don't necessarily think it's sex work, but I wouldn't be offended if someone to call it sex work,” said Serenity, a 20-year-old who’s worked at a bikini barista stand in Oregon since October. “That’s one I’ve definitely battled with, myself,” added Duncan, who works at a newly opened bikini barista stand in California. “I go to the beach in my bathing suit. So what's the difference [with] me working in my bathing suit?”Regardless of how they feel about it, the baristas are certainly stigmatized like sex workers; there’s a reason that many of the baristas who spoke to VICE News asked that their last names not be published. When Johnson opened his stand, one neighbor slammed it as “disrespectful to women.” (“It’s not for everybody. There’s certain restaurants in town, or even out of town, that aren’t for me,” said Johnson, who doesn’t allow baristas to wear thongs or anything see-through. “I simply just don’t go for them.”) And after a Washington state bikini barista stand owner was charged in 2014 with running a multimillion-dollar escorting ring out of her stands, a Seattle-area bikini barista named Eilish said that she started getting harassed by the police “constantly.”For the unfamiliar, bikini baristas are women—because they’re almost exclusively women—who wear sexy outfits and serve extra-expensive coffee from tiny drive-thru stands throughout the Pacific Northwest.
Politicians have also tried to go to war against them. In 2015, activists in Spokane, the second-largest city in Washington, tried to essentially ban bikini baristas from the city after a city council member tried and failed to restrict them. Another Washington city spent years locked in a court battle over a dress code law that would have made the bikini baristas cover up so much that it would have defeated the entire point of the business. Hillbilly Hotties, a chain of bikini barista stands, sued, arguing that their outfits constituted free speech that promoted “female empowerment, positive body image, freedom of choice, and personal and political viewpoints.” They won in late 2022.Regardless of how they feel about it, the baristas are certainly stigmatized like sex workers.
People are rude and even violent towards servers of all kinds, not just bikini baristas. But it is impossible to separate out that garden-variety superiority complex from the moralistic judgment often directed at sex workers.“We can get people that are pretty nasty towards us just [because of] the fact that we're in a bikini. Because I've worked at a family-friendly stand, too,” Caprice said, using the bikini barista lingo for typical, clothed baristas. “And people were very rarely mean to the extent that they are at bikini stands.”The baristas who spoke to VICE News also had stories of men who crossed the line. Caprice said she’ll “see a penis unexpectedly” at least once a shift.
“I always have to remind myself, ‘I don't even have to speak to you if I don't please.’”
It worked, too: One of her employees went from 800 followers on social media to having more than 10,000 followers in one month, just because she started posting photos of herself working in the coffee stand. “I’ve honestly thought about just renting out my stand for people to take pictures in,” Caprice said.Not only is social media the best way for stands to advertise which baristas will be working that day, but baristas can bring in a little extra change online. Baristas often list their CashApps and Venmo handles or their Amazon wishlists on their profiles, so their customers can send them gifts; out-of-state customers will sometimes ask Terri for photos of her outfit, then send her a virtual tip for obliging.“I've learned a lot about men since starting the job,” Duncan said. “I can say that for sure.”Being willing to appear in bikinis or lingerie on social media is now just part of the job description.