Theater Banning Men From Two Showings of Wonder Woman

[CarolAnn856]

I apologise, I was incorrect in assuming that the policies for Scouts were international.
Here in NZ Scouts is unisex after protests in the 80s. Girl Guides are specifically for girls.

No need to apologize, at least not to me! Until my kids joined Scouting, and I learned more about it, I assumed that other countries operated in a similar fashion to the US.

One thing I love about these boards is discovering similarities and differences between countries or regions.

 

[Monykalyn]

I've heard of local school where there's a "Dad's Club", which is a registered nonprofit organization. I got curious and found out more about it, and women are actually allowed to join, but they've just kept the name.

Is it Watch D.O.G.S. (Dads of Great Students)? Great organization to try to get men more involved in schools. My husband helped start 2 chapter at 2 different schools in 2 states LOL! Women tend to take over PTA/O so this was to help the school and give dads (or dad figures) a way to get involved.

think it would be a great thing for a group of guys to do together.

My husband and son would love something like this!

Apparently a guy (kind of a butthole I agree) says he bought a ticket to one of the "women only" screenings in Brooklyn. Given his reputation he's probably going to go through with it, and I'm sure there's going to someone there to see if it turns into a train wreck

yeah there is always one of those attention seeking "I hate my life so I MUST make it miserable for everyone else" jerks around.

It's actually not really about 2 showings, it's about a society systematically allowing women's only events of all types but not affording men the same opportunitie

Sounds like things may be different where you live from what you've previously said. Too often in USA those who have always had "privilege" cry foul when other groups attain the same rights they have always had, sadly.

 

[Colleen27]

And some of these "specific" problems go both ways, I worked for years as a personal trainer. It's not just girls being hit on, in fact the worst offenders of openly oggling and making suggestive "jokes" are middle aged women.
So yes have I heard of a man who was uncomfortable in a gym, for sure, I have also heard of men who didn't feel comfortable because of the mean girls who make fun of overweight people working out, something I have never seen a man do.

That's interesting. It is something I've never heard from male friends, but it makes sense that it would happen in both directions. Fat shaming at the gym, unfortunately, is a sort of universal experience here I think - that's a complaint I've heard from so many people, across genders and generations. And that one seems practically inescapable, because both men and women are so often guilty of judging their own gender as well as the opposite sex.

Is it Watch D.O.G.S. (Dads of Great Students)? Great organization to try to get men more involved in schools. My husband helped start 2 chapter at 2 different schools in 2 states LOL! Women tend to take over PTA/O so this was to help the school and give dads (or dad figures) a way to get involved.

My daughter's school had separate moms and dads clubs for decades, until last year. Moms club was basically PTO and dads club was basically sports boosters, and no one really challenged the gendered nature of the two groups until a couple of moms started getting involved with sports boosters 3-4 years ago. Now they've combined the two and just have separate committees to deal with various areas, but the fundraising and planning set are still all female and the sports boosters are still mostly male.

 

[mummabear]

Is it Watch D.O.G.S. (Dads of Great Students)? Great organization to try to get men more involved in schools. My husband helped start 2 chapter at 2 different schools in 2 states LOL! Women tend to take over PTA/O so this was to help the school and give dads (or dad figures) a way to get involved.


My husband and son would love something like this!


yeah there is always one of those attention seeking "I hate my life so I MUST make it miserable for everyone else" jerks around.


Sounds like things may be different where you live from what you've previously said. Too often in USA those who have always had "privilege" cry foul when other groups attain the same rights they have always had, sadly.

Sadly here it is more of a you can't do this but since you used to we can now do it.

 

[PollyannaMom]

Have you ever heard of a man who didn't feel comfortable hitting the gym because of unwanted sexual advances?

Of course I haven't - because the social pressure on a man who did feel uncomfortable to keep it to himself would be overwhelming!

Have you ever heard of men dumbing themselves down to avoid standing out as too smart or too successful?

Plenty of times, because the culture in DS's school has already skewed to "girls are the smart ones."


Again, I have nothing against this particular charity event, or the idea of this type of events if anyone could realistically hold their own. What worries me is that attitudes are different toward girls having their own special events and boys having them.

 

[Letterhead]

This is totally unacceptable.

Next they will be telling us that there are toilets for women only!

Not sure why anyone is even bothered by this. PC brigade going mad again. Plus, the movie looks average at best.

 

[3 MEN AND A BOAT]

I wish they would make grocery and department stores Women only.
"I'd love to take you shopping for a couple new blouse honey, yes I'll pick up milk on my way home, oh I forgot it's women only, I'll be at the bar"

 

[FlightlessDuck]

96% on Rotten Tomatoes right now. Every reviewer I follow who thought Man of Steel, Batman v Superman, and Suicide Squad were "meh" have said they really liked it. It's no Moonlight, but it doesn't sound like a piece of garbage, either.

 

[Colleen27]

Plenty of times, because the culture in DS's school has already skewed to "girls are the smart ones."

I have to say, I envy that a bit even though I understand why it would be just as problematic as the opposite. The culture here is still very "traditional" - girls do better in the early grades, when classroom expectations favor those who mature earlier and can handle sitting quietly to learn, but by middle/high school the "girls are good at liberal arts, boys are good at science & math" sorting definitely kicks in. And outspoken, confident girls definitely get the bossy/witch-with-a-b label and have a harder time socially. DD doesn't date boys from her school after a couple of experiences with guys who wanted her to "act more like a girl" or who got unpleasantly competitive over grades and achievement.

 

[DopeyDame]

Whenever issues like this come up, I'm always amazed that people complain rather than doing something to fill a need they see.
I have no problem at all with a womans-only showing of wonder women or a moms club at school. Just as I think Watch D.O.G.S is awesome.

If you see an unmet need DO SOMETHING!
In our area, we have a great program called Girls on the Run. Predictably, there were all sorts of people whining about having a running/empowerment program for girls and nothing for boys. Lots of whining. And then a few people actually did something and filled a need that they saw: They created Hero Boys Running club just for boys. And now there are lots of schools that have both Hero Boys and Girls on the Run. Some schools have only one or the other depending on the needs and interests in their community.
Want a boys cooking club because the girls take over the cooking classes? GO FOR IT!
Want a professional group for male teachers who have a lot of unique issues being in such a minority in grade schools? GO FOR IT!
Want a book club for boys since their English skills are (on average) below girls? GO FOR IT!

Just please stop the whining when some people actually take the time and effort to do something they think is neat/interesting/needed/fun/whatever.

 

[BrianL]

I know a bunch of people up in arms about this, but really, who cares? Is it really a battle worth fighting? I say let the ladies have their screening. I'd be far more interested in seeing their reaction when the movie is terrible (I base that assessment only on the recent previous DC Comics movies - which in my estimation were pretty bad). I don't even plan to see Wonder Woman because it looks so bland and not very much like the character I know. I'd be first in line for a good WW movie, but I think I'll be waiting a while for one.

 

[snarlingcoyote]

You really don't get why guys would want to see Wonder Woman?

Come on now......

Masochists who enjoy seeing a strong woman beat the crap out of men while fantasizing it's them?

Woman in suggestive costume with whips, and a binding lasso? All those guys that claimed they read Playboy for the articles would NEVER want to see that.

The original Wonder Woman would lose her super powers if placed into bondage by a man, and that happened quite often. Why would a comic book geek want to see that?

There was some criticism about casting Gal Gadot because she's kind of thin and hardly fits the image.

That weakness has been written out of her character for years. And the original weakness was permitting a man to connect the bracelets. The permitting part was lost in some of the stories that came later. The original origin story was that the Amazons were Greek women who had been bound by the wrists who at one point broke free. They moved to their island where in the absence of males, they grew stronger and longer lived. The unbound cuffs (bracelets of submission) were still worn to remind them that allowing men power over them was what sapped them of their own power. Also if the bracelets were lost or cracked, Wonder Woman would develop an insatiable lust for combat and go into a rage.

Ya'll might want to read The Secret History of Wonder Woman. I loved it. Puts Wonder Woman into context, both good and bad.

 

[BrianL]

96% on Rotten Tomatoes right now. Every reviewer I follow who thought Man of Steel, Batman v Superman, and Suicide Squad were "meh" have said they really liked it. It's no Moonlight, but it doesn't sound like a piece of garbage, either.

The problem is that you can't build a castle on quicksand. Right or wrong, my dislike for MoS, BvS, and Suicide Squad has quelled any excitement I might have had for this movie. I'm so checked out that I just don't care anymore. Even if it's good, I'm just not invested.

It would have taken something very amazing and special to lure me back in, but unfortunately this movie looks pretty basic and by the numbers at best, and includes some questionable choices in my opinion.

 

[Colleen27]

So the girls who pressed the issue to get into Scouts when they had Girl Guides are giant buttholes too?

I'm curious about this... How do the two programs compare? Our experiences with Girl Scouts in the US were pretty mixed. It was fun when the girls were very young, but as they got older it got more "girly" and my daughter was really jealous of her friends in Boy Scouts who were doing wilderness camping and shooting sports while her GS troop was doing cabin camping and art classes. So I can totally get why girls might agitate to be a part of the boys' program if that program is more suited to what they expected/wanted out of scouting. My DD left GS in favor of 4H because of that, but that only worked because we live in a rural area with an active 4H program; in the city, scouting is often the only organization providing outdoors activities (other than team sports) for kids so the difference between GS and BSA has more impact.

The problem is that you can't build a castle on quicksand. Right or wrong, my dislike for MoS, BvS, and Suicide Squad has quelled any excitement I might have had for this movie. I'm so checked out that I just don't care anymore. Even if it's good, I'm just not invested.

It would have taken something very amazing and special to lure me back in, but unfortunately this movie looks pretty basic and by the numbers at best, and includes some questionable choices in my opinion.

Yeah, DC really hasn't found their movie magic yet, have they? The Chris Nolan Batman films were the last ones I really liked, and nothing since then has been at that level. BvS was especially disappointing because it was filmed here and I so wanted to love it.

I'll still be seeing Wonder Woman this weekend because DD15 insists, but I'm not excited for it the way I have been for many of the Marvel movies over the years. Even seeing the first Justice League trailer this past weekend at the drive-in was just "meh". They need a real blockbuster to put the hype back into their releases.

 

[Magpie]

No need to apologize, at least not to me! Until my kids joined Scouting, and I learned more about it, I assumed that other countries operated in a similar fashion to the US.

One thing I love about these boards is discovering similarities and differences between countries or regions.

I love that about these boards, too!

FWIW, Canadian Scouts are also co-ed. And we have Girl Guides, which is for girls both biological and trans.

Girl Guides is not a girl version of Scouts. It's a very different organization, largely focussed on helping girls find personal power and independence in a society that still sometimes silences girls.

Just by way of example, my own daughter had to struggle against male classmates who told her that "girls aren't good at math", and said that she should just be quiet when working in groups with them. Thanks to an understanding maths teacher, she was allowed to do the group work on her own (and got better grades than the boys who'd told her she was no good). She was very lucky her teacher wasn't all hung up on "learning teamwork"!

Girls Guides attempts to tackle this type of societal problem, by providing girls with opportunities to excel and compete with each other, in a non-male dominated environment.

Canadian Scouting however, is more about developing well-rounded youth, who are prepared to make a positive contribution to the world. There's nothing about it that is gender-specific.

I enrolled both my boy and my girl in Scouts, for convenience's sake more than anything. But I thoroughly support the Girl Guides' mission, and no... I don't see a specific need at this time for a matching "Boy Guides". We've come a long way, but in our society girls are still somewhat disadvantaged (a less determined girl than mine, for example, might have given up on maths when faced with her classmates' antagonism). Not everything we offer to our boys and girls has to be exactly identical. It's okay to give special attention to one or the other, as the need arises.

"From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs," may be Marxism, but I still like it lots better than, "Even-steven!"

 

[BrianL]

Yeah, DC really hasn't found their movie magic yet, have they? The Chris Nolan Batman films were the last ones I really liked, and nothing since then has been at that level.

I didn't even like those. There is such a thing as too dark, even for Batman. The problem is, since Dark Knight made so much money, DC and WB think that the all movies have to be dark like that. They don't realize that just because it worked for Batman, doesn't mean it will work for Superman. They are different characters.

It seems that they have brightened up some for WW here, at least in color palette, but it still looks like she gets pretty stabby with that sword. I'm just not a fan of WW with a sword. She doesn't need one!

 

[bcla]

I love that about these boards, too!

FWIW, Canadian Scouts are also co-ed. And we have Girl Guides, which is for girls both biological and trans.

Girl Guides is not a girl version of Scouts. It's a very different organization, largely focussed on helping girls find personal power and independence in a society that still sometimes silences girls.

That's dependent on the organization. The original UK organization with that name was specifically started by Robert Baden-Powell as a counterpart to the Boy Scouts.

 

[Rockette]

While I think a lot of this stuff has been blown out of proportion, Alamo Drafthouse could have definitely handled the event with a bit more professionalism and tact. Coming out and claiming it as a "women only" event does come across as sexist even if it isn't meant to be. There can be ways to entice a women only event by special pricing and marketing strategy.

The "no boys allowed" stuff does come across as juvenile, and hurts the intent of the fundraiser to begin with.

 

[Magpie]

That's dependent on the organization. The original UK organization with that name was specifically started by Robert Baden-Powell as a counterpart to the Boy Scouts.

Good point! Though, actually I believe it was founded by Robert's sister, Agnes.

She'd been involved in the fledgling scouting movement with her brother, and thought that girls would benefit from something similar. There were already thousands of girls registered with the Boy Scouts, so together Agnes and Robert created "Girl Guides" and moved those girls out of the Boy Scouts and into that group (not all of them were happy with the move, as at the first rally they'd been called "Girl Scouts"). She became the first president.

I think in Canada the gender-integrated Scouts is the true heir to both Boy Scouts and the original Girl Guides, as envisioned by the Baden-Powell siblings - it's simply we've recognized that there's no longer any need to segregate children by sex, in order to teach them nature appreciation, good character, and inner strength.

Meanwhile, "Girl Guides" as an organization has evolved to meet the very specific needs of girls in the modern world. And they've become quite activist. While the Scouts are off camping, the Guides are marching at Pride.

 

[amberpi]

Yeah, DC really hasn't found their movie magic yet, have they? The Chris Nolan Batman films were the last ones I really liked, and nothing since then has been at that level. BvS was especially disappointing because it was filmed here and I so wanted to love it.

I'll still be seeing Wonder Woman this weekend because DD15 insists, but I'm not excited for it the way I have been for many of the Marvel movies over the years. Even seeing the first Justice League trailer this past weekend at the drive-in was just "meh". They need a real blockbuster to put the hype back into their releases.

I've really had to decide that BvS never existed. Suicide Squad was watchable but not what it could have been. I'm really holding out hope for WW, but I'm not going to lie that it's easy.