Why Would A Man Be There: The Death Of Club Culture

The music is loud and bumping, the air is warm and slightly damp, the floor is sticky, and the people are dancing- or are they? This is what I believed before going to clubs and going out, but lately a slight club recession has emerged. 

The blame for this isn’t because of the time period or the change in club outfits, but the true cause is MEN. 

CLUB?

The club was born for originality and a safe place for many. This goes back to when many ethnic and LGBTQ+ people were at the center of being targeted just for being themselves. So the club was born to meet new people, make friends, learn new music, and to just be yourself in a SAFE space. 

This isn’t the case anymore. Clubbing became a way to flex status, target women, play the same music, and to assert dominance in the room. This has become the new norm in the past decade and has only gotten worse as time progresses. 

MARKETING AND UNWANTED BEHAVIOR

When I go clubbing now, it feels like a way for women to be at the center of attention. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t hate it. But having some men just look at me like I was a product that was delivered to them isn’t the best feeling. When walking club promoters are constantly looking for any type of woman to enter, just so men will buy drinks and spend more $$$. This creates an unfair dynamic for women. 

If men buy you drinks, which doesn’t happen much anymore, they feel like they’re owed something from you, which can be your presence for the night, your phone number, or sexual favors. Why can’t a nice gesture be taken at face value anymore?

TAKING UP SPACE

Why am I fighting with a man? Lately, men have been taking up space from women. What was once women dancing on tables or on the floor became men standing there looking around seeking approval. In one experience, a 6 ‘3 lanky man slowly pushed me off a table so he and his friends could stand there, look around, and be on their phones. What was the point? To get some type of “aura” from the other men in the room. Another experience I had was recently when going to 6th Street and a man shoved my friend and me down the slide at The Aquarium. The men’s excuse was that they wanted to go down, even though my friends and I were adjusting our dresses before we went. What was the point? 

Being in the club, high places, or in sections became some type of competition and status for men to flex to each other.

• clubbing
• college
• gender
• men
• night life