WOMEN AND THE EVOLUTION OF THE PUB

Women and the Evolution of the Pub



Women and the Evolution of the Pub

Introduction

Scholars of pub culture promoted the idea of the pub as an essential community place and space traditionally cherished by men and limited for women; however, recent trends in management, design, and culture have opened the pub to a greater number of women, but may spell the end of the traditional pub. While public houses were historically linked with a residence, women played limited roles within the public area of the building. The English and North American pubs catered to the male need to escape their everyday lives and socialize with other men from different walks of life. In the male dominated atmosphere of the pub, social norms governed which types women were welcome, if women were welcome at all. While the pub served as an "equalizer" for men from all walks of life, the roles unaccompanied women played were limited to barmaids, prostitutes. Few single unaccompanied women found acceptance amongst the regulars at pubs. As the design of the pub transformed from a single front room of a house to a multi-room facility on one story of a home, the pub design accommodated the various groups of people, and separated women into a special room away from the men. As women gained greater social power and pubs became more commercialized, the physical design of pubs and the beer served changed to cater to unaccompanied women and a larger range of clientele. On the other hand, attitudes toward women in pubs were slower to change, thus women's full acclamation into pub culture has yet to be realized. Though more unaccompanied women frequent pubs today, it remains to be seen if women will value the pubs in the same fashion men have traditionally, or find a different community space and place. Thus, a better understanding of pub clientele is essential in preserving the pub in the manner which best suits its best customers.

Discussion

Traditionally the pub stood as a third place for men, providing a physical space and an open place for men to escape their daily lives and enjoy the company of other men. Good conversation, neutrality, social levelling, accessibility and accommodation, regulars, a low profile, a playful mood, and a homey atmosphere were important characteristics in a third place, and essential elements for a successful pub atmosphere. (Oldenburg, 22-39) These characteristics also facilitated male bonding, which "is institutionalized learned behaviour whereby men recognize and reinforce one another's bona fide membership in the male gender class." (Hey, 10) The all male atmosphere provided a more comfortable environment for men to talk as "the average individual is never quite as comfortable in the presence of the opposite sex as when in the company of friends of his own sex." (Oldenburg, 249) Without any women present "they could be talked about, jokes easily exchanged, stories told, situations quickly becoming the nexus of a working-class oral tradition of masculine ...