Men have it so damn rough, don't they?

So apparently there are a bunch of lawsuits going on right now against "Ladies Night". That is, men are suing bars and clubs across the country for discrimination.

I really don't know what to say or feel about this.

On the one hand, I'm no fan of gender discrimination, regardless of which gender it's directed at. On the other hand, give me a fucking break. It's Ladies' Night, geez.

Those poor poor guys... I mean we women get all the breaks, don't we?

We get to deal with rape, sexual harassment, unequal pay, ridiculous beauty standards, the government trying to take away our reproductive rights... Who cares about all that when we get all those kick-ass drink specials!?

Roy Den Hollander, the lead plaintiff and lawyer in a suit against many NYC clubs and bars - including the Copacabana Nightclub - says he has personally suffered from these unconstitutional specials and is tired of "being treated as a second-class citizen". Gee. I'm so sorry that the rich white male lawyer has to buy himself his own cocktails. How oppressed he is!

The National Law Journal also quotes him as saying:

"Whether this case succeeds or fails, it will result in a much needed victory for men."

Yeah, because men never win anything! Not political elections, or high level executive positions... no, stopping women everything from getting a free crappy White Zinfandel is what's really important.

He later suggests that clubs could reap the same benefits as Ladies' Night if men were given discounts as well, because...

"Each guy that walks into that club will have more money to buy her a drink, and the more she drinks, the more fun she and the guys will have"

Okay. So he doesn't want women to get free/cheap drinks... he wants men to get them, so they can buy them... for the women. Alrighty then!

Call me old fashioned, but part of me thinks that bars should be allowed to use whatever marketing techniques they want to attract people. That is, if the ratio of men-to-women isn't what they'd like... they offer women an extra incentive (such as a Ladies' Night drink special) to show up. How is this that much different from numerous parties bars thrown on Halloween that let people in for free (or discounted) if they're in costume?

There's a bar in Manhattan, that we happen to love, called No Idea. They offer an ingenious promotion called "Name Night". Each night is assigned a name (chosen semi-randomly) and if that's your name - you drink for free from 5:00-11:00. So far they haven't chosen my name (hint hint, hope you guys are reading this) but the ESC has gone to many a name night with friends. So should I sue them for discriminating against me because I'm not named Edna (7/25/07) or Steve (7/09/07)? Of course not, because I'm not a complete moron and/or asshole.

Should we sue a bar who offers a half-priced Budweiser Happy Hour special for discriminating against Mexicans because they're not extending the deal to Corona? Should we sue a bar that only offers drink specials on say, Tuesday, for discriminating against those of us who have to go to work early Wednesday morning?

I'm pretty sure the bars could come up with more offensive marketing schemes than "Ladies' Night". How about "Big Boob Thursdays: D-Cups Drink Free!" (Although really, D-cups always drink free, don't we?)

The ESC recently went to Ladies Night at a local bar (technically it was "Ladies Night/Unlimited Marinated Sliced Steak Night" - how can you go wrong with a deal like that?). We happily partook of the half-priced beer and couldn't find a single man there who was offended by our increasing intoxication.

I would be interested in the legal crusade George Washington University law professor, John Banzhaf, has brought about public bathrooms. The issue at hand (er... hand?) is whether women are treated unfairly when restrooms for men and women are equal in size, but have different sized lines/waiting times.

Now that's an issue I can get behind.