HYDERABAD: It’s 2022 and the dismissive practice of denying stags entry to pubs in the city is worrying. At a time when we are rallying for gender equality, how fair is it to deny entry based on one’s gender? For the unversed, ‘No Stag Entry’ refers to single men being refused admission to nightclubs and some pubs. This, to maintain the male and female ratio, as the presence of many men, according to owners of these venues, makes women uncomfortable.
It was a hot Sunday afternoon when Rasesh SP and his friend Sandeep Gandikota headed out for some drinks and a good chat. Upon reaching a venue, the policy of ‘no stag entry’ was cited and they were asked to leave. “That place was a brewery and not even a nightclub! Even otherwise, the idea of presuming a man’s behaviour based on their gender is so outdated. We were denied entry despite having reserved a table. When we eventually got in after making a couple of calls, we were shocked to see another table full of stags, kids running around and families having a quiet time. This only goes to show that the bouncers there, known to be the so-called gatekeepers of the male-female ratio, merely judged us for the way we showed up,” says Sandeep.
Sandeep, who works in Australia in the F&B industry, is visiting Hyderabad and is disappointed to see such an age-old practice in the city. “Statistically speaking, men are the larger consumers of beer, so stopping single men from entering a brewery is sad,” he says.
This was not the first time Rasesh, an advertising partner at a boutique design agency, was denied entry for being single. He says, “We finally entered the place to find people in slippers having a good time. Nothing against them, but that only means that there’s no consistency in the policy. It’s a Western concept that has been done away with across the world. I have no idea why it’s still practised here. I understand the need to filter the crowd coming in, but that can also happen with better house rules in place.”
Vaibhav Modi, the co-founder of the Hyderabad Dance Festival, events curator and a Kathak dancer, was also at the receiving end of such treatment recently. “Forget single men, where will the LGBTQIA+ community go if this is how they are treated? It has come to a point where men can’t come out on their own, and have to get a couple of female friends and a reservation to have a decent meal or drink at a place. This policy is downright unfair and rude. You are talking about a balance -- if enough women do not want to come out, why should men pay for it, even literally? It’s shocking that places wear their ‘No stag entry’ policy like a badge. If a place lacks security control, why push it on to men?” he asks.
Sip of Sky, at the Hyderabad Airport, has women bouncers to help with better crowd control. Saai Uchil, a partner of the venue, says, “We believe such a policy perpetuates gender discrimination. We also have no separate prices for single men. We focus on better management skills instead of denying someone service. The presence of women bouncers has made our customers feel comfortable. If we ever observe something unusual happening, we take things into our hands and also encourage customers to raise a complaint. We walk up to the table and politely escort the troublemaker(s) out and apologise.”
Aditya Hamilpur, the unit head at Giggle Water, Jubilee Hills Rd No. 1, says their ‘no stag entry’ policy is only for the weekends and for good reason. “The crowds tend to become unmanageable over the weekend and we want to make it a safe place for women to let their hair down. We do not deny entry to a single man, but a group of male friends. We are a very inclusive bar and are known to be non-judgmental and an LGBTQIA+ friendly restaurant,” he says.
Vaibhav offers a viable solution: number control over gender control. He says, “If you aim to discourage a certain kind of crowd, take a snapshot of every person’s ID. Bouncers, too, have to be educated and a security reform has to come in place. An association needs to sit down and discuss how the problem can be addressed better.”