Scroll To Top
Arts & Entertainment

Men Cry Discrimination Over Women-Only Screening of Wonder Woman 

Men Cry Discrimination Over Women-Only Screening of Wonder Woman 

Wonder Woman

Men are losing it over women-only screenings of the first female-led superhero film in 10 years. 

In a country where Donald Trump and his administration continue an onslaught against women that includes cutting funding for reproductive services, proposing to slash Planned Parenthood federal funds entirely, rolling back protections for women in the workplace, and counting c-sections, rape, and domestic violence as preexisting conditions in Trumpcare, some men are losing their minds over a women-only screening of Wonder Woman at the Alamo Drafthouse in Austin, according to Gizmodo.

To honor the first major female superhero movie in more than 10 years, and the first superhero film with a female director, Patty Jenkins, who directed Charlize Theron to Oscar glory in Monster, the Alamo Drafthouse, which serves food and drinks, posted about the screening Wednesday.

"Apologies, gentlemen, but we're embracing our girl power and saying 'No Guys Allowed' for one special night at the Alamo Ritz. And when we say 'Women (and People Who Identify As Women) Only,' we mean it. Everyone working at this screening -- venue staff, projectionist, and culinary team -- will be female," Alamo Drafthouse posted on Facebook.

Not only did the screening sell out in a matter of hours, with requests from women for a second screening that the venue added Thursday afternoon, but men, who've been the directors, stars, and subjects of the superhero universe for basically ever, began to whine on social media about Alamo Drafthouse's girl power night, accusing the venue of peddling reverse sexism and misandry, and threatening to boycott the space.

As women's reproductive rights are continually assailed by the Trump administration, it's a great expression of privilege to moan about being excluded from two screenings of a superhero movie out of all of moviegoing history. To understand how men/boys are incredibly sensitive when it comes to women invading their primal spaces, one need look no further than the male-led boycott of the all-female Ghostbusters (2016), in which men claimed that the new film starring Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Leslie Jones, and Kate McKinnon was ruining their childhood. Some were so put out by the project that they took the time to flood IMDB with negative reviews before they would have had a chance to screen the film.

While dozens of men and a few women have objected to the female-only screenings, which are only two out of several showings slated at the venue, Alamo Drafthouse has stuck by its original intent to provide a unique, female-empowered viewing space to celebrate Wonder Woman, starring Gal Gadotin what promises to become a full-blown franchise.

For those men who feel left out of the two screenings out of likely hundreds that they could attend in Austin, the stats on superhero films that Gizmodo broke down should make them feel less otherized:

Since 1920, there have been about 130 superhero and comic book films with solo protagonists in the United States, both on the big and small screens. We've had trilogies for Blade, Captain America, Thor, and Iron Man, among countless others. The Hulk has had at least three different films so far, each with different actors, and Spider-Man is on his third franchise in a decade, with at least one sequel already guaranteed. Do you know how many of those 130 films had female leads? Eight.

To be fair, while there are plenty of men crying foul over the women-only Wonder Woman screenings, many evolved, secure men have spoken out in favor of the screenings, taking down the naysayers in the process.

Meanwhile, Alamo Drafthouse refused to be swayed and rather approached the whining with humor. When one fellow who felt marginalized by the screening demanded to know if the venue had ever held a men-only screening Alamo Drafthouse responded, "We've never done showings where you had to be a man to get in, but we *did* show the Entourage movie a few years ago."

Advocate Channel - The Pride StoreOut / Advocate Magazine - Fellow Travelers & Jamie Lee Curtis

From our Sponsors

Most Popular

Latest Stories

Tracy E. Gilchrist