Girls get in free: sexism and nightlife

Sometimes my head feels like it's going to explode when I think about sexism. It's everywhere and influencing many people's decisions and actions every day. Women facing sexism is a common topic discussed in society, and although feminism might be stigmatized, it's topics and issues are well known to average people. In my opinion, people don't think about men's struggle with sexism enough. One Wednesday evening I was standing in line to enter a bar. As a woman, I only had to pay $15 for an all-you-can-drink special; however, my boyfriend had to pay $20. This price discrepancy got me thinking about sexism in night life, specifically in advertisements and promotions for clubs and bars. Walking down Orange Avenue in downtown Orlando on any given weekend night, you'll find yourself bombarded with club promoters offering "Free drinks for ladies," or "Ladies get in free," as men are forced to pay higher prices. My wallet likes that I am a woman who gets discounts, but my morals disagree and think it's unfair and annoying. If I put myself in a man's shoes, I would be upset about constantly paying a higher price to get into the same events as women. As I stood in line to pay my $15, I discussed the reasoning for sexism in club marketing with my boyfriend.

Here is my train of thought: Clubs and bars want more women to enter their establishments in order to attract more men, which are higher-paying customers. I think men are higher-paying customers because they are stereotypically expected to buy women drinks and therefore spend more money than women. So the club supplies the women by enticing them with free entry, and uses the women to lure the men who pay an entry fee to be with the women and then pay even more to buy drinks for said women. So men are not only expected to pay more to enter the club, but also pay more inside of the club due to outdated and unrealistic expectations of what a "real" man "should" do for a woman. What annoys me is that this train of thought is so common, and that if I, a woman, wanted to buy a man a drink, that would seem uncommon. Women are rewarded with free entry for just being women. However, it's not all fun and games for women. Admitting women for free only solidifies their value as strictly sexual objects as they are literally used as bait to attract men. I know that this process is just a marketing ploy to get the establishment more revenue, but it's just another example of how deeply ingrained and normalized sexism is in our culture. Here is an article that explains that some states, such as Minnesota, have rules against entry fee discrimination based on sex and how it violates the Minnesota Human Rights Act.