The way women are treated in high end nightclubs is totally wrong

It’s not pretty for either side


From my, admittedly little, experience of high end night clubs I’ve never really had the best time as a woman. I know that some girls revel in the opportunity to get dressed to the nines, spending hours on make up, choosing the right outfit and the perfect pair of heels but that’s just not for me.

I’m most comfortable on a night out sitting in a Wetherspoons in my jeans, leather jacket and docs drinking pitchers to my heart, and my wallet’s, content. When it comes to make-up, I feel like tinted moisturiser and a bit of mascara is more than enough. I cannot contour to save my life, despite the hours of YouTube videos I’ve watched.

Casual Fifth nights ftw

So for me, being expected to look a certain way that takes me entirely out of my comfort zone and right into a little black dress in which I can hardly breathe is a bit of a nightmare. Heels are possibly my worst enemy, with even a pair of heeled boots having been known to make me fall flat on my arse on several occasions. I know that not every woman will feel the same as me but it’s just that expectation, or really, requirement to look ‘good’ to the standards of particular people that puts me off. The unwanted stares, attention and catcalling that come along with this attire make it even worse.

Although, for this discomfort we do get the advantage of free entry, and in some cases, even free VIP treatment that comes with a free table and booze. Even though I can never really grumble at free alcohol, last time I was in this situation – in an exclusive club while on holiday in Spain – I couldn’t shake the feeling that me and my four friends were all being used as dolls to decorate the club.

We had to be there at 11:30 when the place was dead, and we were told that we couldn’t share our table or our drink with the boyfriend of one of our group. There’s also a rule that at least four girls, with a certain look, have to turn up to be allowed the table. If that doesn’t suggest that they’re just using us as fillers, then I don’t know what does.

The free sparkler almost won me over

But this attitude of segregation doesn’t help men either.

In the same club in Spain, one of our male friends was practically banned from sitting on our table. This was for no other reason than the fact that he was a boy, and would theoretically scare other men away from coming into the club. Not only this, but he had to pay €20 for the pleasure of just standing in the club when his four friends had come in moments before paying absolutely nothing.

Even when we were walking to the club, promoters would come up to the girls and give us wristbands for free entry but just entirely ignore the boy in our group. One promoter did pay him some attention and tell him that he’d be expected to pay €50 to get into a club. There is no club on earth that is worth that amount of entry fee. With the exchange rate as it is, that’s pretty much £50 and that’s enough to get you 30 trebles in Empress, Newcastle – which also doesn’t have an entry fee for any gender so happy days.

All these beers cost less than entry for boys

This kind of sexism doesn’t only occur in foreign countries, but is also just as bad in many similar clubs around the UK. Even in Manchester, a group of friends was denied access to the guestlist queue because their party was an equal number of girls and boys. Surely this kind of treatment just pushes the equality movement back, and can generate a feeling of resentment between guys and gals.

It’s one of the things a lot of anti-feminists will use to show that sexism can be beneficial in some ways to women. Personally, I’d much rather have complete equality in society than a couple of free drinks at a club and a man paying for my dinner.