Volume 4 Issue 3

By Lydia Dent, Exeter University

Citation

Dent, L. 2025. The Night-time Economy: a key site for negotiating the performance of femininities. Routes, 4(3): 190-197.

Abstract

The Night-time Economy (NTE) is an interesting lens for geographers to explore femininities as the origins of the NTE were exclusionary to women and demanded a more traditional femininity. Nowadays women’s participation in the NTE is normalised and expected which is symbolic of women’s empowerment and gender equality (Vaadal, 2020). Butler defines gender performance as the ‘acting out’ of a ‘regulatory regime’ to create a ‘natural sort of being’ (1990: 33). This paper offers a close examination of the NTE, revealing multiple femininities sitting awkwardly by each other, including a hyper femininity rewarded by capitalism, queer spaces applauding an authentic portrayal of gender, a more masculine bolder ‘ladette’ femininity, and a vulnerable femininity reproduced by safekeeping practices. This paper draws upon a growing body of work in the NTE to argue that the NTE is a dynamic space that is difficult for women to navigate.

1. Introduction

1.1. The NTE

The NTE is a unique time-space where many formal and informal economies occur in the evening to the early hours of the morning (Cibin, 2021). There are many ways to experience the NTE including going to pubs, bars, clubs, concerts and so forth (Shaw, 2014). It is widely understood by geographers that the NTE adds vibrancy to towns and cities, attracting new businesses, young people and tourists (Shaw, 2014). The NTE has thrived more in urban areas due to their transport links, higher and more dense populations, and mixed-use infrastructure (Roberts and Gornostaeva, 2007). The emergence of British post-work pub culture combined with The Licensing Act of 2003 which lessened restrictions on pub opening hours enabled the NTE to expand in the UK (Roberts and Gornostaeva, 2007). Local governments and police are responsible for managing the NTE due to the increased risk of anti-social behaviour and crime at night-time (Cibin, 2021).

1.2. Femininity and the NTE

The increasing participation of women within the NTE is symbolic of women’s empowerment and gender equality (Vaadal, 2020). In order to study the NTE, it is important to reflect on the origins and development of the NTE, for example women experiencing restrictions on entering pubs, not being able to pay or enter alone (Langhamer, 2020). The restrictions reveal a traditional femininity of obeying rules imposed on women during the Second World War, however, nowadays women’s participation is normalised (Vaadal, 2020). Therefore, the NTE is a dynamic space for geographers to examine existing and emerging embodied femininities. This paper explores a hyper femininity confined by gender expectations and capitalist processes. The presence of queer spaces demonstrates a more authentic and playful nature of gender but face threats of commodification. An emerging more masculine and dominant ‘ladette’ femininity sits awkwardly beside the safekeeping practices taking place and reproduce a traditional femininity. The NTE is therefore a difficult space for women to navigate, focusing particularly on western clubs and bars, drawing upon a growing body of work on geographies of the night.

1.3. Gender

The definition of gender across academia is not established coherently or consistently and cannot be separated from its intersections with race, class, ethnicity, sexuality and regions (Butler, 1990). A universalistic view of gender or normative category of a woman is exclusionary; therefore I will be using Butler’s definition of gender which is:

a ‘[…] set of repeated acts within a highly rigid regulatory frame that congeal over time to produce the appearance […] of a natural sort of being’ (1990: 33).

The performativity of gender is then the repeated ‘acting out’ of this regulatory regime which presents itself in different ways within the NTE, including a hyper feminised femininity (Butler, 1993).

2. Women and the NTE

There are broader capitalist processes which act upon the NTE to produce a heterosexual affective atmosphere and profit from women performing a hyper feminised femininity. The notion of a “ladies’ night” is a capitalist strategy to encourage women to visit clubs through offering free entry or discounts (Tan, 2013). These spaces rely on the embodiment of certain femininities by women to build an economy around heterosexual desire (Diaz-Fernandez and Evans, 2020). For example, the work of Waitt et al (2011) reveals that there is an implicit dress code that favours a particular presentation of women’s body shape and exposed skin, creating expected subjectivities (Nicholls, 2016). These sites therefore place a social pressure on women to present themselves as hyperfeminized through their dress code, makeup and hair to access these spaces (Tan, 2013). Those who conform to heteronormative femininities are more likely to gain access and benefits, and for club-owners to gain more profit. As a result, particular spaces within the NTE create and sustain gender relations as opposed to merely being the backdrop in which gender relations take place (Nicholls, 2016). Therefore, there are benefits for women who adhere to a certain hyperfeminized script of gender expectations, reproducing and sustaining these heteropatriarchal relations. More recently, there has been a rise in more casual dress such as jeans and a t-shirt which according to Waitt et al’s research is preferable to appearing ‘less observable’ in a club (2011: 265). The work of Waitt et al (2011) demonstrates that whilst there is a benefit to hyper feminism, gender performances in the NTE are also evolving. For example, the evolution of queer spaces which lack heteropatriarchal relations are an interesting avenue to explore next.

3. Queer Spaces

The absence of the heterosexual norms and expectations in queer spaces reveals that perhaps a more authentic portrayal of gender is performed. Queer spaces developed as a space of refuge, belonging and identity away from prewar laws in America which prevented the public gathering of queer individuals (Ghaziani, 2022). These spaces celebrate the existence of multiple gender identities and sexualities, they offer agency to queer individuals (Baydar, 2012). For example, drag queens are key agents in the NTE and actively reproduce a queer femininity through their performances (Taylor and Rupp, 2005). Femininity is performed by men in a creative, hyperbolic and entertaining way. Drag queens demonstrate the impermanence and playful nature of gender, as well as debunk the rigid dichotomies of male and female which are not inevitabilities but rather a performance (Browne, 2007; Butler 1990). Browne’s (2007) research explores how the queer body is fuelled with power on stage, actively being seen and applauded for their portrayal of femininity was found to evoke a sense of empowerment. The agency and ownership of their performance actively contests the rigidity of heteronormative portrayals of gender (Maliepaard, 2015; Browne et al, 2016). Browne argues ‘gender embodiments create the very spaces they occur in’ and in these spaces, performances of femininities are deemed as fluid, creative and experimental (2007: 117; Johnston, 2016). Drag queens’ portrayal of femininity demonstrates that femininity is fluid, ever-changing and diverse and can be performed by anyone (Butler, 1990). Therefore, queer spaces are deemed as a safe and accepting environment for femininities where there is no correct or universal way of performing gender and thus are more authentic.

However, these spaces face challenges such as commodification which Branton and Compton (2021) explore in their research the tension between queer community and the commodity of the queer space itself. Gay bars in popular culture are branded as safe spaces for women, escaping aggressive forms of heterosexual masculinity (Branton and Compton, 2021). The presence of heterosexual women causes tension with the ‘norm’ of authentic queer sexuality, safety and community within these spaces (Branton and Compton, 2021). Branton and Compton’s (2021) research unveils a lack of boundaries and respect for queer performers such as a woman tugging on a drag queen’s wig on stage (Branton and Compton, 2021). The violation demonstrates a lack of understanding for the queer lived experience and space. Queer spaces therefore celebrate an authentic portrayal of gender yet are challenged by the process of commodification. The presence of heterosexual femininity contributes to the commodification and disrupts the authenticity of queer spaces. This essay will explore next an emergent more masculine femininity in the NTE which challenges traditional femininities.

4. ‘Ladette’ femininity

The NTE consists of spaces of sexual expression for women, they are important in the formation of sexual and romantic relationships (Tan, 2013; Vaadal, 2020). The infectious heterosexual atmosphere imagined and sustained enables women to experiment with more risky, assertive and pleasurable femininities (Nicholls, 2016). The NTE offers women an escapism from everyday life and encourages a freedom, openness and fluidity to their gender performance, in other words, women can ‘let their hair down’ (Nicholls, 2016). For example, the emergence of a ‘ladette’ femininity, a more masculine and dominant femininity, challenges rigid social norms as women re-work the historic heterosexual scripts prescribed on these spaces (Waitt et al, 2011). There is a sense of sexual freedom that women experience within the NTE (Tan, 2013). For example, Vaadal’s work explores women’s identity as ‘elusive objects of desire’ within the cultures of the night allow them to ‘bask’ in male attention and men are seen as ‘powerless and vulnerable to exploitation’ (2020: 1035; Tan, 2013: 721). By women actively redefining conventional forms of femininity through ‘sexual agency’ and ‘independence’, women gain a sense of empowerment from their pleasure-seeking behaviours on their terms (Nicholls, 2016: 79).  Waitt et al deem this as a ‘cruel equality paradigm’, despite women taking ownership of their experiences in the NTE (2011: 72). They argue that ‘ladette’ femininities are complacent in their own ‘self-sexualisation’ which thrives in a space that profits from the practice (Vaadal, 2020: 1027). Furthermore, perhaps this femininity is limited to the spaces within the NTE and not reflective of wider gender relations (Nicholls, 2017). These new assertive femininities ‘sit awkwardly’ beside the traditional forms of femininities present within the NTE (Nicholls, 2016: 78). Therefore, the NTE is diverse and conflicting, making it a challenging space for women to navigate especially with the presence of risk at night-time.

5. Safekeeping practices

Traditional femininity still exists within the NTE through fear of danger and vigilant ‘safe keeping strategies’ which deem women’s bodies as being inherently vulnerable and victim to the desires of men (Nicholls, 2017: 262; Shaw, 2022). The darkness of the NTE is literal in the sense that it operates in the night as well as the dark lighting within clubs. Men tend to perform a more dominant role in these spaces as women’s mobility is reduced in darkness (Shaw, 2022). Shaw’s (2022) work on the impact of darkness reveals that when things become more unclear, there is a lack of clarity of boundaries around own bodies. Tan deems a night-club a ‘hunting ground’ for men to ‘pull’ women, driven by ‘hypermasculine lust’ (2013: 726). Tan’s (2013) research indicates that ‘cozy[ing] up’ is a practice used instead of talking to women, and the sexual nature of it, minimises women to an object of desire and sex. Diaz-Fernandez and Evans (2020) explore lad culture in the student NTE across the UK and draw upon a club night called ‘Freshers’ Violation’ which consists of older men actively seeking to assault first-year female students, revealing that aggressive traditional forms of masculinity present themselves and manifest within these spaces. Kavanaugh argues that there is no distinct boundary between ‘sexual victimisation versus ‘normal heterosexual behaviour’ within the NTE (2013: 29 in Nicholls 2017). Women are forced to self-govern by negotiating their safety as a potential victim of sexual harassment whilst also being socially pressured to have ‘fun’ and enjoy themselves by adopting a carefree attitude (Vaadal, 2020). The carefully considered safety routines such as covering drinks and never being alone, actively reproduces vulnerability as women become responsible for managing their own behaviour and the behaviour of men (Vaadal, 2020). This research reveals the wider injustices of women’s safety at night such as gender violence, harassment and assault which evidence suggests are more likely to happen in these spaces (Fileborn, 2016; Nicholls, 2017). Whilst women can experiment with different femininities in the NTE, they are restricted by feelings of unsafety and fear.

6. Conclusion

The NTE is diverse and complex with multiple conflicting gender performances, identities and power dynamics. Whilst having more traditional origins with women’s presence being restricted and monitored, the NTE is evolving with the presence of queer spaces and a ‘ladette’ femininity. The emergence of new femininities sits awkwardly beside the safekeeping practices and expectations placed on women entering these spaces. It is messy and complex, affected by the characteristics of the NTE with alcohol, loud music and dancing. Not all spaces are dominated by heterosexual masculinity as queer spaces evidence; however they face other challenges such as commodification affecting the authenticity of queer representation. There is also a sense that there is no right or universal way of performing gender through drag queens but equally there is a strong sense of a ‘sexual regulatory regime’ which is still present in NTE spaces (Butler, 1990: 33).

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Professor Jo Little for this insightful and informative module that led me to write this essay. Thank you to those who have always encouraged me.

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