US cinema chain Alamo Drafthouse is well-known for its unique atmosphere and quirky themed events, but it seems as though a screening of Wonder Woman, ticketed exclusively for women, was a step too far for some.
The Drafthouse in Austin, Texas wrote on their website, "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 'People Who Identify As Women Only,' we mean it. Everyone working at this screening -- venue staff, projectionist, and culinary team -- will be female."
The proceeds from the screening are going to to Planned Parenthood, and the Drafthouse made it clear that the screening was open to 'anyone who identifies as a woman' (in order to not be exclusive of transgender women). For anyone else who wanted to see Gal Gadot as the iconic heroine, there was (and still is) plenty of tickets to several other showings readily available.
However, the social media pages of the cinema swiftly received a barrage of abusive comments who believed that this was oppressive, and exemplified ingrained sexism towards men.
The cinema's Facebook page also turned into a warzone of angry comments, but the Drafthouse's social media managers (rather impressively) kept their cool.
One particularly angry man, conservative writer Stephen Miller, purchased a ticket to the women-only showing in protest, proudly displaying his receipt via Twitter:
Source: Facebook / Alamo Drafthouse.
Source: Facebook / Alamo Drafthouse.
Source: Facebook / Alamo Drafthouse.
Source: Facebook / Alamo Drafthouse.
For which, he received a large amount of eye-rolling:
Despite several online threats of discrimination lawsuits, other Drafthouse locations around the US have now added the women-only Wonder Woman showings to their schedule, and the Austin cinema has added more women-only screenings too.
