Drinking and Striving

Networking with the Feminist Drinking Club, the Valley’s tippling source for activism

Julie Seabaugh

"The original idea came from a few friends and I who had a graduate feminism class that ended at 9:30 at night, and we would unwind afterward at Champagne's. After the semester was over, we missed getting together like that, and [the club] just popped into my head one day," recalls Jackson, who had taken part in the UNLV program National Education for Women, or NEW. "Through NEW leadership, I saw various amazing women in the role of community activists. It led to the idea that this is something I could do that was useful for the community.

"It wasn't so much that something was lacking in the community as it was, for example, you telling a story about how some jerk sexually harassed you on the street or something, and it would be nice to be surrounded by people with that like-minded, feminist mindset," she continues.

"It gives an outlet to those of us who work hard on issues important to women in Nevada: domestic abuse, sexual assault," says Jessica Brown, president of the Nevada chapter of the National Organization for Women. "All of us in Nevada NOW and Southern Nevada NOW work full-time jobs, so we enjoy any time we can to relax."

Officially formed in early February of 2005, the Drinkers meet Thursday evenings at various watering holes across the city. While Champagne's served as a base of operations for several months, the departure of a favored bartender, Patrick, prompted a diversification of locations. Whether previously supporting the female DJ collective Beauty School Dropouts Downtown at the Beauty Bar or gathering at UNLV hot spot the Freakin' Frog, up to 30 members now show up on a regular basis.

"People might overhear some crazy conversations and give weird looks, but nothing ever gets too uncomfortable," says Freakin' Frog bartender and club member Trish Martin. "It's a place that's welcoming to all sorts of people, a place where a lot of people, most of whom are female, and maybe even new to town, can meet people of all ages. Who really wants to go clubbing to meet people?"

And it's not just women who join in the discussions. "There's at least one guy every week who comes out on their own," Jackson says. "They're not just coming because their girlfriends are making them come. ... Sometimes the guys have joked about starting the Misogynist Drinking Club, but, you know, they're really on our side."

Of course there's a flip side to the opposite-gender coin: "It can be interesting to see the reactions of some of the male patrons when there's a large group of us and it ends up being loud. It's like they don't now know how to react to these loud, boisterous, confident women."

The group's MySpace profile, myspace.com/feministdrinking, currently boasts more than 550 friends. In addition to maintaining contact with club members, Jackson also utilizes MySpace bulletins to promote such events as the Palestinians' Right of Return Forum on the UNLV campus, the availability of free Emergency Contraception at a local Planned Parenthood, and information about holiday toy drives.

"I try to make bulletins more locally relevant or include national legislation that affects people here in the Valley," Jackson explains. "We don't officially sponsor stuff, but we'll go to the Sin City roller-derby games, and the Ladyfest Las Vegas that happened over the summer used the Feminist Drinking Club to help spread the word."

Though finals and the holiday season have reduced the amount of events club members participated in during the past month, Jackson says the group will "start up strong again" come January 11. 2007 will see members begin to assemble for monthly dinner-and-drinks meetings, promote the January 20 Nevada Women's Summit (sponsored by the Nevada Women's Agenda) and above all, continue to serve as conduits of information. "The ultimate goal is always just to provide something that other feminists feel we need," says Jackson. "Getting to know each other as friends helps us better work alongside each other as activists."

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