Sorry! If you are a dude, then you cannot enter Osaka’s Ataraxia Cafe, which is aimed strictly at lady geeks. It’s apparently the first of its kind in Japan.
Over the years, there have been a variety of cafes aimed at women otaku, such as “butler cafes”, which were relatively popular a decade ago among the country’s geek subculture. This cafe, however, explicitly bans “regular people and men.”
[Photo: Ataraxia Cafe [Twitter]]
The idea is to create a space where women can relax and enjoy their otaku hobbies, whether that’s reading manga or playing video games.
[Photo: Ataraxia Cafe [Twitter]]
There is even a “work space”, where people can draw manga, work on cosplay costumes, or pursue whatever creative endeavour they’re doing.
[Photo: Ataraxia Cafe [Twitter]]
The cafe has sewing machines for use as well as a mannequin to help fit costumes. There’s also free Wi-Fi, which can be hard to find in Japan.
[Photo: Ataraxia Cafe [Twitter]]
Besides not being a dude, you need to be a member to enter (also 18 years old and up). Members only bars are common throughout Japan (and have been for many, many years). This is a geek spin on those spaces for women.
The cafe also serves up coffee, tea and tasty sweets as well as alcohol.
[Thanks, mewmew for the tip!]
Top photo: Ataraxia Cafe [Twitter]
Comments
81 responses to “No Guys Allowed At New Geek Cafe In Japan”
Feminism!
…or is that sexism? I can never quite remember.
Fairly certain if it were the other way around, all the women would be crying out about sexism. I mean, I can understand being worried about being hit on and stuff, but it is a café and there are staff to supervise, so I don’t really see the point.
Might just add, I am female.
I don’t take any issue with this cafe. Might just add, I am male.
That’s good. I just wanted to clarify in case someone tried to use the “You wouldn’t know because you’re not female!” defense. Would rather get in early.
If you read what I said, it’s less of an issue with the café and more of an issue with double standards.
Its ok, they can open all male cafes where guys can play magic the gathering without women fawning over them all the time.
It will always be the dream.
yeap in Australia A LOT of places got shut down because of this, only men gyms being the ones to fail hardest, but now there are woman only gyms every where.
Men only gyms fail hard because men weren’t going to them. Women’s gyms are successful because (SURPRISE) women go to them.
@brett sanderson Exactly
A funny example of this is when my old university offered incentives for female students to study engineering. Nobody complained, nothing happened. Then they offered incentives to males to do education, the university was pretty much immediately sued and lost.
Gentlemens Clubs have existed for a very, very, VERY long time.
That is true.
But Men’s Clubs were shut down.
I wasn’t aware of this, and I don’t mean to sound pretentious but, source? I googled and it looks like they were shut down due to illegal conduct.
No, I’ve read in the paper of many clubs getting shut down and it was solely due to the gender restriction and women saying they should not exclude women. While I’m all for not removing people based on gender it’s totally hypocritical of them to then massively support women only clubs/groups etc
In Sydney we have a few men’s clubs still. And a woman’s only one too. If you’re on 6 figures or more you can join and hangout with rich old people.
This is my knowledge in Brisbane too. They still very much exist. If its in the paper it would have been published online – but I can’t find anything closed on this basis alone.
afaik they are allowed under existing VCAT anti-discrimination rules, though if one gets shut down it tends to be more due to a lack of funds/members
Except it is the other way around though, in countless male targeted establishments.
¿por qué no los dos?
Honestly this kind of thing can be a great service to fostering that part of the shy and often shunned portion of female geeks out there. There’s nothing wrong with giving a minority a safe space to flourish?
I’d argue that this kind of place is more about equality than you’d think!
Well, segregation doesn’t help change the majority or culture of the whole and calling it a “safe place” is making it sound like all men are some kind of monsters, if we are going to get all PC Principal in here. Equality involves not making generalisations about large groups of people based on their sex and then banning them from your club.
It’s not necessarily that a large portion of men are monsters, but there is a tendency for spaces like these to attract men with more predatory goals.
When I was younger some of these things irked me as potentially sexist and though the possibility is there for them to develop that way I don’t see it as such anymore.
Sometimes limiting membership is a good idea, it just depends if you have a strong reason to or not, in this case sexism is determined by intent.
My only worry would be how places like this treat those who don’t fit into a binary gender definition.
I’d also be a little jealous I couldn’t check it out as a guy, but sometimes that’s life 😛
I’m also pissed I can’t go into change rooms at cons and see girls putting all of their cosplay pieces on. Sometimes that’s life though. 🙁
Seriously though… This isn’t exactly just meant to be a safe haven to keep all women away from men or anything. This only exists because all people aren’t the same and they don’t have to be!! Everyone deserves the same opportunity a chance, but when there’s a minority that still feels uncomfortable. How wrong is it to give them the opportunity to feel safe and accepted and not just gawked at and judged by the other minority of people that do that.?
Cramming everyone into the same room and situation as each other is not the way to solve inequality. That’s just some weird and twisted form of communism.
The first thing you said is just insane and horribly offensive, not funny.
Fixing inequality doesn’t mean segregating and making up random stuff about how people are treated by others with no actual facts or information. I assure you whatever you read on your sensationalising ultra left wing blog tabloids does not reflect the reality of the situations in real life.
“your sensationalising ultra left wing blog tabloids ”
Who’s making random stuff up here? Is left wing an insult? Am I allowed to just say what comes off the top of my head?
Neat idea.
Feminists were pleased with this female only cafe until
Burn it down, burn it to the ground.
I speak in jest of course but i can’t help but think there would be that one person that thinks like that heh.
I reckon communal costume-making spaces like that would be pretty cool to have. Great for sharing equipment and ideas, getting help, etc. Like how you have hackerspaces and men’s sheds and things like that. I wonder if this is a thing? It seems like it should be a thing.
Communal as long as you have a vagina, dont forget that.
In the case of this particular one, sure. No reason they couldn’t have guy-only ones and unisex too.
Yeh i was referring to the article with that comment, but for Australia though places like that are up to the interested parties to create. It doesn’t take much money if any, just group interest. Good luck bro and brosettes.
I know a lot of even die hard feminists (the type you joke about) that’d love to have facilities like that to assist with cosplay. Do you always try to twist things in your head to create a negative?
Obviously they’re not the feminists i was talking about it if they’d enjoy it….. It was simply a lighthearted jest at how extreme some feminists appear to be (just like extremists from all ideological groups).
Not allowed to joke anymore… Unless you’re a non-white transgendered minority vegan.
For Aussie readers- just imagine the media frenzy “Men’s only Cafe opens in downtown BlokesTown”.
You do get them but they are more like ‘Men’s Sheds’ where men can go and get peer support, mentoring and stuff like that as well as engaging in hobby activities. I don’t think women have a problem with it. I don’t have a problem with women excluding men from similar places. It’s not like there aren’t plenty of alternatives 🙂
Hey I agree – I’m so over the sewing machines / mannequin cafe scene. It’s so 1956. But it would be a fun Good Morning Australia if the headline was “Cafe just for Blokes – and Koshie”.
Well if it didn’t ban guys I would have given it a try. Poor form on their part
Cool idea, disappointing comments section.
Seems much better than the US copy of the article, at least judging from my friend’s reaction to that one 😛
Really? Lots of outrage, I guess?
@scrumptatoes
Most people aren’t complaining about the café per se, but rather how if a men’s one opened up here, it wouldn’t be allowed.
The café is a great idea, but as long as there is also a unisex one too, that would be good. Especially, when personally, most of my friends are male. It sounds like a great place to relax with mates, but it’s a bit hard when they’re banned.
I think there are around a dozen men’s only clubs in Perth alone.
That’s the ones actually advertising as men’s only. Then you have the dozens of strip joints and assorted sleaze dives that no woman is going to enter unless she’s paid to work there.
It sounds like you’re trying to make edgy commentary about nasty feminism but unfortunately you don’t have a leg to stand on.
Of course a woman won’t enter those places. Did you not read the part where I said “Especially, when personally, most of my friends are male. It sounds like a great place to relax with mates, but it’s a bit hard when they’re banned.” I’m talking about an otaku themed café, not a strip club.
It’s like if 8-bit in Footscray suddenly banned one gender. it’s not exactly fair.
It sounds to me like you’re trying to brush it all under the carpet in an attempt to make it seem like you’re a new-aged individual who understands feminist needs. It’s not nice putting words into other people’s mouths.
Eh fuck it. I’ll open my own café, with blackjack, and cosplay hookers. And EVERYONE allowed, unless they’re a dick.
😀
🙁
I don’t think you’re a dick. You’re allowed.
I can be if I wanna!
And miss out on your awesome cosplays? No way.
Fiiiiiine, I’ll play nice.
Brush WHAT under the carpet?
You’re making a lot of comments in here but they are very incoherent.
‘Fairly certain if it were the other way around, all the women would be crying out about sexism.’
a) You’re a woman apparently, so this includes you.
b) This reads like Men’s Rights Activism 101, they don’t need your support as they have this covered on Kotaku.
c) There’s a bunch of really good reasons why you’d open a women-only venue like this, if you’re a woman who is lucky enough to not know what they are then congratulations, you should play lotto.
d) You don’t seem to grasp the difference between WHY some venues segregate. If they are doing so for reasons of power = Sexism/not OK. If they are doing so for reasons of safety/harassment/health = Not Sexism/OK.
What’s your actual point?
You’ve come into the article looking for a fight. I’m not going to respond to you anymore.
The different comments were to different things and perhaps my opinions changed, as opinions do. You’re not going to change yours, so discussion over.
I’m not looking for a fight but I am certainly going to question people making wild and unfounded accusations.
Good to hear you changed your opinion, well done.
There are already a bunch of unisex membership only clubs. If the problem is that they don’t offer the same facilities… Then customers just need to let the owners know that’s what they want. It’s not the complicated. Maybe if the Japanese people themselves get as ‘outraged’ as people are here they’ll take note and build some ASAP. Well if that’s what people actually want.
There’s logic in this though and not a double standard –
Women’s only club – to keep women safe.
Men’s only club – to exclude others based on power and control.
When men stop overrepresenting in sexual assault and DV against women, then we can talk about double standards.
Women’s only club so women don’t ever feel the need to exclude based on power and control eh? Good to know. I guess I can though out all that evidence to the contrary 😛
Please, show us all this evidence.
Can we create clubs where ethnic minorities that are over represented in crimes are excluded to protect those that aren’t then?
So all men should be punished because a tiny fraction of them can’t keep it in their pants? Sounds fair, doesn’t it?
I don’t understand how people are assuming there would be outrage over the opposite idea. Gentemen’s/Men’s clubs have been in existence for ages. It’s not a big deal to seek support and company with likeminded people – we do it all the time.
Outrage – nah not from any sane person. It is very likely tho that if a womens club opened up it would be seen in a positive light whereas a mens club would casted in a negative one from the media. There are people actively trying to shutdown those mens clubs as well.
All in all im for it – clubs based on gender certainly isn’t my cup of tea but they’ve been around for eons for males and whats good for the goose is good for the gander!
As I said above men’s clubs have existed for eons. There is no negative light from the media, and articles don’t exist because it’s been happening for such a long time. It is what it is.
“I don’t understand how people are assuming there would be outrage over the opposite idea. ” Cause that’s what happens whenever we see men’s clubs of any kind mentioned..
Link?
I get some of the “questioning” over double standards and it would be nice if “maturity” or “discussions” today weren’t defined as ignoring people whilst dismissing them entirely and negating their existence – which is why a lot of intelligent people seem to be bringing up the same old perspectives over and over again.
I don’t really have a problem with it, though. There are some battles worth a damn and some that aren’t. If you’d really like it to be cool to hang with a bunch of dudes without it offending anyone, then it’s cool for a bunch of girls to hang with each other, too. Supporting this is the same, the place isn’t the problem it’s the assumed and appropriated standards consistently made through cognitive and confirmation bias that is. Whittle the stupidity and prejudice down by being cool with the same things you’d like – thus, not supporting division like you say – and maybe they wouldn’t base so much of their action on assumption. (we’re still a ways off)
Can I still go inside?
For those wondering why this is a thing, it’s because heaps of guys simply can’t manage themselves socially.
Until such a time as we have a serious redress in how many, many men act poorly towards women, these kinds of places are a good idea.
Don’t blame ‘FEMINAZIS’ for ‘DESTROYING EQUALITY’, blame our society for not teaching males how to relate to women.
So much +1 to this.
So all guys are excluded because a minority of them can’t manage themselves? Seems reasonable.
So all guys are excluded because a minority of them can’t manage themselves? Seems reasonable.
So all guys are excluded because a minority of them can’t manage themselves? Seems reasonable.
So all guys are excluded because a minority of them can’t manage themselves? Seems reasonable.
So all guys are excluded because a minority of them can’t manage themselves? Seems reasonable.
I think you were too busy repeating yourself to consider the thousands of other situations in which this occurs and why. That’s the main reason we have laws.
Japan has many men or women only events, places, etc. It’s not really that big of an issue.
I think a lot of people are forgetting this is in Japan. Japanese values and views and culture is quite different from the west.
I am really glad someone mentioned this. There’s a lot of cultural assumptions and coding missing from this discussion
Good on em, I can’t recall how many times I’ve seen male gamers lose their shit once a girl appears.
Not a problem.
“Regular people and men”.
Regular people? What does that even mean xD
This is probably a weirdly translated Japanism meaning non-geeks. Otaku culture is weird in that calling someone that can be both an insult and a point of pride. Often at the same time.
Everyone goes to manga cafes to kill time or have a nap when they’ve stayed out too late. This place is not for them. Outcasts only.
Joke’s on them! I’m going to hang out on the outside and play monster hunter on the wifi.