UNC students protest 'ladies' night' because...sexism

Two University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) students are speaking out against ladies' nights at local bars which they claim promote discrimination and sexism.

Ladies' night is a common promotional tactic used by bars where women receive lesser or no admissions fees and oftentimes discounted or free beverages.

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This concept doesn’t go over well with UNC seniors Trevor Dougherty and Rob Sekay. The duo often DJ at local bars and say they think the attraction is “demeaning to female bargoers.”

“I don’t think a lot of women really realize that they are actually the product being sold,” Sekay told The Daily Tar Heel. “By advertising ladies' night or by offering no cover to women, that tells the male audience that this is where all the women are going to be. And not only is that objectifying the women, but it’s also commodifying them as well, which is pretty harsh.”

This isn’t the first time the boys have spoken out against “sexist injustices.” Back in April, they helped initiate a small boycott of a local pub on behalf of a female student who took issue with a DJ’s choice to play the popular song “Blurred Lines” by Robin Thicke because she felt it promoted rape culture.

Sekay told the Tar Heel that he planned to start a web campaign highlighting sexism he sees in the college’s nightlife, in the hopes of igniting a discussion with local bar owners. In addition, the two DJs say they won’t play at bars on ladies' nights.

Rob Davis, who has worked as the general manager of local bars such as Recovery Room and The Deep End, isn’t too concerned with the issue.

“For us, it’s just purely from a business standpoint,” said Davis. “If girls are in your bar, guys come in. The DJs might have a problem with it, but the guys don’t. I just want a place where students and locals can come and feel safe and have fun. When our customers start complaining, I’ll do something. But until then, everybody’s copacetic with it.”

Others like Richard Sergo, owner of Pulse Nightclub, say it doesn’t have much of an impact on their businesses.

“We’ve noticed that, basically, whether or not we do a ladies' night or just a regular night, the turnout was the same, if not better,” said Sergo. “[Trevor] talked to me about how Pulse would feel, essentially making a commitment to divert from that practice in our official Pulse events, and I don’t see why that would be a bad idea.”

Campus Reform reached out for a comment from the UNC seniors, but did not get a response in time for publication.

Follow the author of this article on Twitter: @MaggieLitCRO