Uncle Tetsu, purveyor of lineup-inducing Japanese cheesecake, has opened a maid café. This style of café, which hails from Japan, is characterized by servers dressed as French maids. I imagine at least some people will be offended by this, because it raises some questions about gender equality and demeaning workplace uniforms. But is this café actually offensive?

I would like to clarify that I understand the ways in which workplace dress codes can be demeaning. I used to work in the service industry and was once spontaneously ordered to wear a naked apron as part of a new dress code. The apron was so stupid that I couldn’t wear it. As in, I physically could not make myself put it on. I no longer work that job.

The key thing for me is that I did not sign up to wear a naked apron. I took the job thinking that I would look decent doing it. I expected to wear a dress shirt and dress pants at all times, not to be a clown. So I get it. All employees should have the right to be treated with respect and to look respectable.

In Japan, maid cafés have been around for over 15 years. At a first glance they seem kind of fetishistic, but they are ostensibly more kawaii than kink. Touching or harassing the servers is forbidden.

I’ve never been to a maid café, but Buzzfeed has. Here’s what the writer had to say about it: “There are misconceptions about what a maid café is in Japan. Many think the women who work there are doing some kind of sex work. But in truth, it’s all really innocent.”

In all likelihood, the folks from Uncle Tetsu know that some Canadians will find the café weird. Apparently, part of the intention is to “expand the conversation” around Japanese culture.

The key point here is consent. Entrepreneurs should be transparent, but they should also be free to create themed establishments. Employees, too, should be free to choose this type of employment, if that’s how they want to make a couple bucks. If the employer and employee are in agreement, I don’t see a problem.

The issue is not cut and dry, of course. Maybe this is a sign of something deeply insidious. Maybe the job market is so parched that employees have no choice but to work a maid cafés, or to wear skimpy outfits at places like Jack Astor’s or Earls.

Or maybe this is simply a business having a bit of fun with cosplay.