An online petition has been launched which calls on Oxford City Council to prevent future establishment of lap-dancing clubs in the city.
The petition currently has 274 signatures and is targeted at Councillor Bob Price, the Leader of Oxford City Council.
The petition notes that the council has previously taken a strong stance against lapdancing clubs and ‘Gentlemen’s clubs’ in the past. It claims that lapdancing clubs “demean women and contribute to a view of women as ‘sex objects,’” and suggests that such clubs encourage the use of women’s bodies “purely for men’s sexual pleasure in the pursuit of creating profits for the club owners.”
A second year History and Politics student at Oxford University remarked, “It is disgusting and demeaning that in this modern day and age, women can be viewed in such a derogatory and objectifying light. I wholeheartedly endorse the online petition.”
Another undergraduate described the “commodification of women” in lap-dancing clubs. A feminist student at Oxford offered a different perspective however, saying, “Feminist movements are mainly about giving women choices. How can a petition to ban women from doing a job which many of them have chosen truly be feminist?
She continued, “Lapdancing is associated with crimes and abuses, but so is excessive drinking. When it comes to drinking, however, it is accepted that each person has free¬dom of choice.”
Bob Price told Cherwell, “The Council’s consultation on the licensing of sex entertainment venues has just ended and shows a strong popular view in opposition to any such venues in Oxford. I believe that this view is shared by a majority of members of the Council and it is my intention to bring a report to a fu¬ture meeting of the Executive Board, identifying how this policy can be implemented with due regard to the relevant statutory provisions.”
