Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > History
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 03-29-2015, 01:07 PM
 
Location: Lockport, IL
99 posts, read 188,863 times
Reputation: 212

Advertisements

Was there ever a time in the U.S. when females were not legally allowed in bars/taverns/pubs/saloons?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 03-29-2015, 01:48 PM
 
Location: The Triad
34,091 posts, read 82,438,418 times
Reputation: 43642
Quote:
Originally Posted by AngelEyez View Post
Was there ever a time in the U.S. when females were not legally allowed in bars/taverns/pubs/saloons?
Yes. And they couldn't vote or inherit property... all manner of things like that.
Life was much simpler then.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-29-2015, 07:38 PM
 
Location: Independent Republic of Ballard
8,061 posts, read 8,282,617 times
Reputation: 6218
The assumption, both before and after Prohibition, was that any unescorted woman in a bar, tavern, or saloon was a prostitute. Many cities passed blue laws banning unescorted women from drinking establishments.

When I visited Vancouver, B.C., in the mid-1960's, all of the taverns in Gastown had two entrances, one for men and escorted women and the other for unescorted women.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-29-2015, 09:30 PM
 
32,516 posts, read 36,985,292 times
Reputation: 32571
Yes. In fact Gloria Allred made a name for herself as an attorney by fighting the Los Angeles city ordinances that prohibited un-escorted women in bars and lounges. It was illegal for a woman to sit at a bar and order a drink. Late 70's/early 1980's. She got those laws taken off the books then went on to sue the all-male Friars Club. They wouldn't allow women to enter parts of their club... which included the lounge.... so she sued them for gender discrimination. And won. It made her famous and she was able to use that fame to build a law firm specializing in feminist issues.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-30-2015, 02:54 PM
 
13,608 posts, read 20,656,973 times
Reputation: 7614
McSorleys Old Ale house in New York did not let women in until the late 60s/early 70s.

Same with Farrel's in Brooklyn- Shirley McClaine was the first.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-30-2015, 03:58 PM
 
Location: Sinking in the Great Salt Lake
13,139 posts, read 22,705,438 times
Reputation: 14115
With god knows how many bars/taverns that have been set up during the history of the USA and being they were mostly independent from each other, I highly doubt there was ever a second in the past 400 years on the land that now constitutes the USA that no woman could ever enter one somewhere. Sure there were elitist establishments scattered all over with all sorts of stupid rules and requirements for entry, but come on... there are only 2 real reasons to go to a bar and it's not for the spittoons or salty snacks. Take either one of those reasons away and your bar goes broke pretty fast.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-30-2015, 04:07 PM
 
Location: Arizona
8,213 posts, read 8,530,088 times
Reputation: 27463
About 30 years ago my sister took my dad to dinner and they walked through the bar. He was shocked that women sat at the bar. He hadn't been in a bar since the 40's.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-30-2015, 06:41 PM
 
Location: Lockport, IL
99 posts, read 188,863 times
Reputation: 212
Quote:
Originally Posted by DewDropInn View Post
Yes. In fact Gloria Allred made a name for herself as an attorney by fighting the Los Angeles city ordinances that prohibited un-escorted women in bars and lounges. It was illegal for a woman to sit at a bar and order a drink. Late 70's/early 1980's. She got those laws taken off the books then went on to sue the all-male Friars Club. They wouldn't allow women to enter parts of their club... which included the lounge.... so she sued them for gender discrimination. And won. It made her famous and she was able to use that fame to build a law firm specializing in feminist issues.
Was it illegal for a woman to sit at a bar and order a drink all along up until that period then?? Was it an actual law or just ordinances set by various cities? Also, based on your wording, does that mean that it was ok for a female to be inside such an establishment but she just could not order a drink up until the 70's/80's?

The reason I ask is that an elderly gentleman that I was having a discussion with a few days ago INSISTED that it was once illegal for a female to even be inside a bar/tavern/pub/saloon, but I did not believe him as I remember seeing in silent movies and in old black and white westerns that there were females in saloons and not only just as dancers/performers, but as actual patrons. I tried researching this myself but I could not find anything that stated it was ever law, or that it was ever illegal for a female to be in such an establishment....only that there were certain establishments that were deemed "male-only" by the owners, not that it was ever law.

He's one of those people who put on airs, claiming to know everything and is always right, so I was hoping to find some printable proof that he is wrong in this instance lol
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-30-2015, 08:22 PM
 
2,441 posts, read 2,588,381 times
Reputation: 4644
Quote:
Originally Posted by AngelEyez View Post
Was there ever a time in the U.S. when females were not legally allowed in bars/taverns/pubs/saloons?
Or,indeed, women.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-30-2015, 10:20 PM
 
5,413 posts, read 6,659,238 times
Reputation: 9351
Quote:
Originally Posted by AngelEyez View Post
Was it illegal for a woman to sit at a bar and order a drink all along up until that period then?? Was it an actual law or just ordinances set by various cities? Also, based on your wording, does that mean that it was ok for a female to be inside such an establishment but she just could not order a drink up until the 70's/80's?

The reason I ask is that an elderly gentleman that I was having a discussion with a few days ago INSISTED that it was once illegal for a female to even be inside a bar/tavern/pub/saloon, but I did not believe him as I remember seeing in silent movies and in old black and white westerns that there were females in saloons and not only just as dancers/performers, but as actual patrons. I tried researching this myself but I could not find anything that stated it was ever law, or that it was ever illegal for a female to be in such an establishment....only that there were certain establishments that were deemed "male-only" by the owners, not that it was ever law.

He's one of those people who put on airs, claiming to know everything and is always right, so I was hoping to find some printable proof that he is wrong in this instance lol
Do you believe everything you see in the movie now? Geesh.

Some bars in some areas allowed women who had male escorts....most did not allow unaccompanied women....and the few that did....well...it was assumed the women were 'ladies of the night'. 'Respectable' women just didn't go to bars.


The person you were talking to is more Correct on the issue than you are.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > History
Similar Threads

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top