This 1970s Footage Shows Men’s Reactions to the First Ever Women Allowed in Australia’s Bars
Although gender equality still has a lot to do, a 1970s vox pop shows that we have made some progress.
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation shared archive footage ( ABC). It shows how men reacted when women were allowed to drink with them in the country’s bars.
In Queensland, women could have a drink at the ladies lounge or in the beer garden of a pub up until 1970. However, the bar was only open to men.
They could be barmaids but were not allowed to serve as customers. Nice, isn’t it?
After the Liquor Act was changed and women were allowed to drink shoulder to shoulder with their male counterparts again, the ABC sent an female reporter into a pub in order to get feedback from punters.
It’s enough to say that the men were not pleased.
She sat beside a group of people at the bar and asked them if they had any objections to her being served with them.
One yelled, “Yes!” Another replied, “I believe that the best place for women in the lounge or saloon bar is the lounge.”
When asked why, he replied: “If you want to speak or swear, and a woman stands behind you, then you can’t. Can you?”
