Judging from the comments posted to the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram story about the anticipated arrival of the purveyor of wings and, um, things, you decidedly give a hoot. Reactions were mixed on the Atlanta-based chain's anticipated foray into the land of brick sidewalks and lobster rolls.

Some, like Sarah, opposed the chain because she thinks it peddles sexism along with its arguably tasty wings:

"Establishments like Hooters objectify women, plain and simple. It reduces them to breasts and buttocks, and not much else. Maybe some nice hair, too."

Sarah, they don't just reduce women to those things. Don't forget the legs! Those short orange shorts and tan nylons aren't purely functional, you know.

To those crying sexism, many responded with a virtual roll of the eyes and a full-fledged endorsement of both the chain and the uniforms.

Another Sarah was among them, saying, "I see more people walk down Congress Street with smaller outfits on than the Hooters employees wear. I'm in my 30s, am upper-middle class and say 'Bring on the Wings!' I would proudly take my family, along with my children, out for lunch or an early dinner of wings at Hooters."

Sarah has a point about Congress Street couture as compared to Hooters'. Still, the thought of bringing children to Hooters struck a few (to borrow a word from Jennifer Halm-Perazone, coordinator of Portland NOW, quoted in the story) as icky.

Jan was among the people questioning others' notion of a family restaurant: "Oh please. A 'family restaurant?' That's JUST what we do at home on Sunday dinner night. I wear tight revealing clothes and serve lousy food and the kids color."

While Hooters doesn't quite rise to the level of Platinum Plus when it comes to atmosphere and attire, it takes a pretty strong dose of naivete to think it's Chuck E. Cheese with a side of celery and blue cheese dressing. But I suppose the owl explanation comes in handy when your kid asks why the place is called Hooters in between bites of their mild wings. (And before you label me a prude, I've been to Hooters. Tip: Skip the salad. I know, I should have known better.)

Many others opposed to the idea of Hooters weren't so much opposed to the idea of the place as much as the proposed location. LGD pointed out that while the presence of a Hooters in Maine would be unique to Mainers, it wouldn't be to a lot of visitors - and that might hurt Maine's image and tourism industry:

"Tourist destinations like Portland become a destination because there is something unique about them. A chain is not unique, and frequently the successful presence of one chain attracts more chains."

One could also argue that tourists would be drawn to Portland for Hooters and not a local restaurant. One only needs to drive out to the chain restaurant Mecca, the mall area, to see that chains are as popular with visitors as they are with locals. But should Portland follow that model? Do we really want to have to decide whether we'll go to Bugaboo Creek, Longhorn or Outback for steak tonight - as opposed to maybe Norm's?

LE thought there was room for both chains and locals in Portland:

"I'll probably pop by Hooters once in a while for a beer and ballgame but I generally try to spend .75 of my dining dollar locally when possible."

Of course, it's partly up to city officials and planners to try to ensure that downtown retains an appropriate mix of local and national businesses - and to that end, a user named Bob suggested more small business-friendly measures.

"If you don't want 'chain' business opening up in downtown Portland then vote out all of your elected city officials until you get a group that will lower property taxes on small businesses and get rid of stupid fees like 'bar stool' taxes."

The city can't give locals unfair advantages over nationals, but in the interest of keeping downtown Portland as unique as possible, it should do all it can to support local businesses. Still, for all the talk about business and good wings, the debate kept coming back to the tank tops - and what they were scarcely hiding. For those who couldn't get past the fleshy image Hooters projects, a user named PS offered some consolation:

"Perhaps most people opposing this have not been to a Hooters on a cold rainy day. They wear long sleeve shirts. This is Maine. It is cold 9 months of the year. I'm sure most of those days, the girls will be wearing sweatshirts, and won't be dressed in tank tops."

Maybe L.L. Bean can fashion them some new fleece tank tops. There, who says the locals and nationals can't live happily ever after?

Colleen Stone can be reached by e-mail, but if you have a comment about this piece, please post it below.