Good morning tic tacs. It is a gorg day here so I’m going running. But first, a little international news for you all…
From the Huffington Post,
”Muzique nightclub in Montreal is feeling the heat after posting an invitation on its Facebook page that included the message “NO FAT GIRLS ALLOWED!!!!!!!!!!” the Montreal Gazette reports. The invite, for the birthday party of one of the club’s partners, was posted last week but deleted over the weekend–after the fete had taken place.
But it seems Muzique prides itself on its elite clientele. From the club’s website:
Opening its doors in the fall of 2009 Muzique has redefined velvet rope exclusivity, positioning itself as the flagship for all things fabulous in Montreal’s high-end party scene.
Attracting a bevy of models, actors and young financiers every weekend to experience Montreal’s most extravagant and exclusive events for the mature and distinguished. The awe-inspiring interior is the perfect backdrop to truly experience the city’s sense of late-night joie de vivre.
The part I can’t get over is that they couldn’t come up with a better name than Muzique?!?!
The article went on to quote two completely different opinions about the fat comment:
1) Stefano Apostolakos, a Montreal club promoter, told the Gazette: “Everybody knows. (Clubs) are selective,” and “(Discrimination) comes with the right to refuse entrance.” He remarked, “They’ll never tell you you can’t come in because of your looks. But at the end of the day, that’s what it comes down to, usually. It’s the sad truth.”
2) ”Co-author of ‘Lessons from the Fat-o-sphere,’” Kate Harding wrote in an e-mail:
Frankly, I find it refreshing to see a ‘no fatties’ policy made explicit — at least now no fat girl will ever have to deal with well-meaning friends trying to convince her she’s being ridiculous and oversensitive when she says she can tell she’s not wanted at that club. Lots of private businesses discriminate based on looks — and in many cases that’s their right — so at least if they’re open about it, nobody has to participate in the fiction that they treat everyone equally.
What opinion are you of?
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{ 20 comments… read them below or add one }
i’ll probably take some heat for this, but i kind of agree. there are certain clubs which are really select, and it’s just a matter of fact that they won’t let ugly or fat ppl in. at least this club is being honest. i appreciate honesty.
i agree with you.
Wow. From a minority standpoint, it’s pretty darn similar to saying no blacks, hispanics,women, etc… allowed.
i dont think its *that* discriminative tho. being fat is (in 99% of cases) something u can change. whereas ur ethnic background or gender isnt.
a lot of clubs are just super selective. its not saying that fat ppl cant go out clubbing anywhere ever. this club is just keepin it real and saying what a bunch of other selective clubs are too scared to verbalize.
Sad, really. And who is fat? Were they explicit in their definition? I mean, I’m a size 8, does that mean I’m not welcome? I guess I could try to squeeze into a 6, but…hmmmm…bad decision, never mind. No, but in all seriousness, that’s why I have always avoided the club scene, too much exclusivity. Even before I smelled like sour milk and had 2 babies on my hips!
I’m kind of torn on this. On the one side, if they aren’t going to let you in either way, that’s there right to refuse someone, maybe it’s best that people won’t even bother to try? It is VERY discriminative though, I mean if the headline had been no Hispanics allowed there would be a lot more to deal with. It’s such a grey area though, I mean I’ve been out to clubs were there’s bigger girls who look absolutely gorgeous, if you know how to dress for your shape and your just out to have fun then whatever, but the girls who are clearly 4-5 sizes to big for there clothes really gross me out, I see that so much where I live, like they can’t bother to work out to fit into it they just squeeze away? It just makes you look like a 100x worse.
Well, I get it and it’s reality, but that’s why I don’t go clubbing. I don’t feel like being constantly judged on my appearance. I can’t help it if I’m 5 feet tall – and I’m sure that wouldn’t have helped at that place either since it’s not really model-like.
It’s reality – I appreciate the honesty, but the that environment is totally superficial and vapid.
i agree with liz…this is nothing new in the world of hooters and sports grills and hot cocktail waitresses. there are always less selective clubs – which are likely more fun – and there are clubs where you can take your ego and meet another ego. who cares in reality? pretty ppl get preferential treatment, and then the rest of us have to use our brains and lift a finger and pay our own bills.
i wouldn’t go as far to ascribe this to race or gender – those are very different types of discrimination sociologically and psychologically.
So fat men are allowed, just not fat women? I appreciate honesty as much as the next person, but the problem here is there is a very ugly truth at the root of this issue that no amount of money or good looks can disguise. This is the perfect example of beauty being only skin deep.
usually with clubs, ugly (possibly fat) guys can get in if they have the money to buy out a table and bottle service in the VIP section.
however, when it comes to girls, getting in to the club is usually based on looks.
im sure if a fat girl had a couple stacks to blow on VIP bottle service, she could get in.
the guys are paying all this money cuz they expect really good looking girls to be there.
I’m torn because on one hand they can deny entry to anyone they want (but it’s a shame to label people as “fat” – what definition do they use? Do they ask for BMI at the door?) But Ashley (comment above) has a really good point – it COULD be viewed as discrimination.
I think they probably just made the statement for publicity. I mean you wrote a post about it and we’re commenting and now all aware this place exists – maybe they’re not assholes, they’re just geniuses!
It’s true that clubs are selective, and it’s pretty much their right to decide who they will and won’t “do business” with.
I once went out with a group of friends in Dallas, and one of the guys was wearing a $175 Hugo Boss button-down shirt, designer jeans, and spotless white, expensive sneakers… and the bouncers wouldn’t let him in until he went home and changed his shoes.
Having said that though, I don’t think Kate Harding would find it quite so “refreshing” if she were the one being rejected based on her looks though. haha
And do you remember that lawsuit a while back where a guy was suing because “Ladie’s Night” was discriminating against men?! I don’t know what ever happened to that case, but it kind of reminds me of this scenario.
They had to change the name to something other than Ladies Night. Like “high heels night” or ” Wear a skirt and get in for free”
Kate Harding is a fat activist … I think she’s pretty familiar with these issues! You can check out her blog here: kateharding.net
I think that is the most awful thing I have ever heard!!
It is a private business, so if the business doesn’t want you spending in there, then, you just don’t go there. And if it is offensive enough, the skinnies can boycott the business and with enough people not going to the club, the business will close.
Yeah, what the club is doing is not PC, but hey, the owner has the money to open a club, so shouldn’t he/she have a say in what kind of club he/she wants it to be? I am sure he/she had a “vision” for what the club would be like.
Honestly, those people in the clubs probably want to hook up with the rich and famous and skinny and pretty/handsome anyway. So, if you think about it, the club is catering to the needs of its customers.
The fat or ugly people can open a club
and discriminate against the skinnies too.
This is sad, but it’s an unfortunate reality. It’s not a secret that clubs discriminate based on appearance. Yes, this would attract a lot more media attention if the invite excluded Hispanics- but that would also be illegal. There’s currently no law on the books regarding physical discrimination. That would be impossible. I used to work in casting, and I remember seeing girls’ resumes littered with comments on their appearances. Like it or not, appearance will always play a role. The entertainment industry is an extreme, but don’t we always try to look a certain way on interviews? We know that we are judged by our appearance and we cater to that.
The best way to solve this problem would be to simply not go to the club. If the consumer shows that he’s turned off by that kind of shallow, hateful comment, then the club would be forced to change its policies or go out of business, and other clubs would follow suit.
sounds like a crappy, pretentious club to me in the first place. “muzique”? lame name and probably a phony, poseur atmosphere.
here’s betting they are doing a favor to a buncha people, advertising their club in this fashion. and like darn near every other club, it will be trendy for awhile and then people will find someplace else to hang out. they just might be speeding up that process to a degree.
pretty, pretentious people rarely make good company, and i wouldn’t wanna visit a club where john belushi and chris farley wouldn’t be welcome, but these people http://biboz.es/imagenes/metrosexual.jpg would be.
Is it kind of along the lines of refusing the right the serve anyone? I mean, it sucks if you’re fat, but I’m glad the club is owning up to being discriminant. Better to KNOW than to wonder.
I grew up an hour and a half a way from Montreal (from an anglo-quebecker family but went to french school, so I have a foot in both cultures). The french are a bit different, seeing a name like Muzique misspelled would not strike them as being as cheesy as it would us anglos. Montreal is an extremely mulitcultural city filled with beautiful interesting people. The club is just being honest, we all know this is what these clubs are about. Hot girls fill the place because men are very visual. They will spend big bucks (vip tables, bottles of champers) to be surrounded by hot women (strip clubs are an obvious example). To me this just feels like a tired argument, it really must have been a slow news day for the huffington post! Honestly no one in Montreal would give two shits about this. So it’s kind of funny that a whole bunch of Americans care. And no one in quebec would ever sue over something like this. Litigiousness (sp?) Is not a hobby in Canada like in the U.S. (Thank-god!) I know I might sound a bit harsh but these comments really needed the quebecker viewpoint! Love your blog, natural athleticism and sense of irreverance skinny runner