Sexism in Nightclub Culture

Nightclubs and bars seem to be a hotbed for ‘lad culture’ and if you don’t know what lad culture is, it’s as stupid as its name; it’s a subculture of boys (not men) who find it necessary to partake in violence with one another, drinking until they can’t walk and shouting crude comments at women they don’t know to establish their ‘masculinity’. If you ask any nightclub-goers about ‘lads’ they’ll know what you mean. We’ve all encountered them; they’ll definitely be wearing a muscle-tight t shirt that cost more than their rent, hair spiked up so much that they have to duck when they walk through corridors, and they’ll definitely tell you ‘you’re the most beautiful girl in this club’. That may sound cynical and bitter but don’t worry, it is.

Sarah Toon, an American DJ, summed it up when she said women who go to clubs are seen as going to meet men, not for the music, or to dance, or drink. Men like to presume that women at the bar MUST be there to talk to them because… why else would they come out, right? A study by NUS showed that “groping in nightclubs was viewed by some as part of a ‘normal night out’” How painful is it to read that? Sexual harassment is too common in clubs, and nothing is being done about it. More often than not, if a woman yells at the man who grabbed her bum on the dancefloor, she is told to calm down and leave him alone.

There are more measures taken to help people out of harmful situations in clubs than anything actually preventing those situations from occurring. Does anyone remember the ‘angel shot’? There was such a thing invented that you can order at the bar that is code for the bartender to understand that you need help. And nail polish that changes colour if it is put in a drink that has been spiked? While these are genuinely helpful ideas that have probably saved lots of people from danger, let’s take a step back; we shouldn’t need these things.

In 2013, Cardiff Met Student Union was under fire following an advertisement for a Fresher’s Week event they were hosting. The advert features a t shirt that reads “I was raping a woman last night and she cried.” Similarly, ‘Tequila UK’, a nightclub in Leeds, promoted an event called ‘freshers violation’, with a promotional video featuring male students explaining how they would violate a fresher. The video has been removed, but this huffingtonpost article provides quotes from the transcript, where students outright made comments like “she’s going to get raped”, “I’m going to fist them in the arse. They won’t even know.” and “I’m going to take advantage of someone.” Comments like this were not only allowed to be made, but used to advertise the event and attract more people.

I asked some students, male and female, what their biggest fear surrounding going to a nightclub was, and every single woman mentioned the fear of being harassed or taken advantage of. The men didn’t mention anything of the sort, only worries such as running out of money or drinking too much. Women are victimised too often, and I agree that that image is tiring, but we are still teaching women to stay in groups, always watch your drinks and don’t get a taxi alone, and not teaching men not to harass women, spike their drink or follow them home. Nightclubs should be a fun and safe environment for everyone there, and I hope to see some serious changes in aid of this.