I wear pigtails as a server to get higher tips from men. It's gross, but it works — and I need to pay rent.

• Hannah Pemberton, a server in Ohio, uses the viral "pigtail theory" to get more tips at work. 
• The theory is that when female servers wear pigtails, and thus look younger, men tip them more.
• "I should be tipped based on the fact that I'm a great server, but that's not how it is," she says.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Hannah Pemberton, a server in Ohio. It has been edited for length and clarity.

I wear pigtails to work to make more money. If you think I'm playing the men who tip me, then I'll say this: I am playing them, and I love it. I've spent my life under the male gaze, and now I'm making it work for me. It's empowering, and I'm glad to do it.