Is it okay to have a women-only screening of Wonder Woman? Or is it sexist?
That’s the debate on the Internet right now, after the Alamo Drafthouse theater in Austin, Texas, announced a women-only showing of the new movie, based off the DC comic book. And people (mainly men, it appears) are not happy.
Okay ladies, now let’s get in formation. Tickets: https://t.co/Ue2BhWmKt0
— Alamo Drafthouse ATX (@drafthouse) May 24, 2017
The screenings, scheduled for June 6, will not only be for an all-female audience, but the whole theater will be all-female staffed. Servers, the kitchen team, the projectionists, will be “people who identify as women only,” according to the Austin Chronicle.
The Drafthouse’s Twitter and Facebook feeds exploded after the announcement, with a lot of comments from men complaining that a women-only screening was sexist and unfair.
@drafthouse I hope someone sues this is discrimination based on sex
— ryan tabatabai (@sirtabatabai) May 25, 2017
@drafthouse Nice job being sexist. I love it, so progressive of you, and the extra bonus of sticking it to your male staff, genius.
— Three Thirds (@three_thirds) May 25, 2017
However, Drafthouse didn’t back down, with their own social media team coming back with some witty and snarky comments.
There’s no arguing with the sales, however, since the first female-only screening is already sold out, causing Drafthouse to schedule a second screening—now also sold out. Alamo Drafthouse creative manager Morgan Hendrix said to Mashable that the success of the Austin events will mean more screenings added in other Drafthouse sites around the country.
And as for the trolls? Hendrix believes that the wrath of trolls only “serves to deepen our belief that we’re doing something right.”
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