Fear of lap dancing club irrational
| Posted: January 15, 2014
I don’t like spiders. Hate the things. But over the course of my life I have managed to make peace with the creepy crawlies hiding under my bed because I know they aren’t going to hurt me.
It is, like many phobias, utterly irrational and as soon as you realise such life becomes a lot easier.
“Am I being stupid?” is the question I now ask myself whenever I am confronted with something vaguely scary.
Worried about trying sushi? IT IS ONLY A BIT OF FISH. Millions of Japanese people are eating it right now.
Motorbikes are dangerous? So are space hoppers if you don’t ride them properly.
Dance floor looks pretty intimidating on a night out? Well, newsflash: You look worse standing awkwardly at the bar like a numpty.
The point is people would have more fun, get more done and enjoy life a lot more if they started asking themselves those four simple words.
Nine times out of ten the answer to the question is ‘yes’ because in all honesty there is very little to be legitimately afraid of when you live in a delightful town in the heart of one of the most picturesque counties in one of the most advanced countries in the world.
Which is why my head hurts when I hear people talking about plans to open a lapdancing club in Bath Road with the same sense of fear and trepidation that I would associate with the McCarthyism of the 1950s.
Anyone would think the plans were for an open air swingers’ club with marauding Vikings the desired clientele.
This is not a defence of lapdancing clubs; it is more a plea for a measured approach to an issue which runs the risk of descending into pitchforks and torches in the blink of an eye.
I understand the instant reaction of some people to the news that a lapdancing club could open close to where they live.
The nature of the words and the stereotypes they conjure makes “shocked outrage” pretty much the inevitable first point of call for many.
But is that rational? I would argue not.
In black and white terms the only visual difference to the existing night club, currently called Voodoo, will be the name changing.
Assuming the licence is granted and the interior of the club is converted, there will still be bouncers on the door just as there are on nights out now.
There will still, you would imagine, be patrons queuing outside the club - again, just like there are now.
Critics will point to the licence which will allow for 4am opening every night and suggest that will mean the problems of the night time economy usually seen in Cheltenham on Fridays and Saturdays extending across seven days a week.
I am unconvinced. After all, a lap dancing club is unlikely to have anywhere near as many customers as a normal night club.
Ultimately, when Cheltenham Borough Council meets to decide whether or not it should grant a sexual entertainment licence to the venue, it will be tasked with making a decision based on the facts and not on moralistic scaremongering.
The facts suggest it should go ahead.
8 comments
I am not sure facts suggest the lap dance club should go ahead. Police in Newquay, Cornwall claim lap dancing clubs have contributed to rapes and sexual assaults ( http://tinyurl.com/ph3dabt ) something Cheltenham Borough Councillors should take note.
Cheap junk food major factor in obesity crisis reports Laura Churchill on page 12 and voucher for Buy One Get One Free quarter pounder with cheese at Burger Star on page 16. Well done Echo !
I am tired of arguments that place the rights of men to access sexual entertainment above my right as a woman to walk without fear at night. There is widespread evidence to suggest that the expansion of lap dancing clubs leads to an increase in instances of sexual violence in the surrounding area. See http://tinyurl.com/ph3dabt
Licensing and regulation doesn't mean that something is acceptable. Whilst the GED is technically separate to licensing, one impacts the other, therefore the council would be to contradicting its commitment to the GED by sanctioning such an establishment.
Sorry Timonline2010 but the Gender Equality Duty 2007 is irrelevant in this regard. They only need to fulfill the licensing requirements as set out by the Sexual Entertainment Venue Policy. Whilst this is contrary to the requirements of GED 2007. Whilst a council could undertake a Gender Impact Assessment of the planned venue there is no mechanism for its recommendations to be taken onboard as part of the licensing process. Joseph Heller would be proud
Providing it is fully licensed and regulated there is no problem, the same goes for any entertainments venue, shop etc. as long as it meets all the legal requirements there shouldn't be any objections. Providing none of the entertainers are forced into doing the job and they are doing it of their own free choice then no objections. Its worth pointing out that women are worse at the strip clubs. @Timonline2010 There are venues in Gloucester that have male strippers, I dont see any objections to them. (some of my female friends visit the strip club regularly) I personally wouldn't visit the club, but I don't go to pubs or nightclubs either.
I suspect [as is normally the case with prejudice] that none of the objectors will have ever been to a Lap Dancing Club. So, they will be forming their opinion from a position of ignorance. I have never been to a Lap Dancing Club and probably never will, as such I cannot oppose it because I know nothing about it. But maybe a fact finding tour might be in order?
This chap appears to have missed the point - of course there will be major differences, not least to those queueing outside! It also contravenes the Gender Equality Duty 2007 which local authorities are obliged to uphold.