It is a common practice for many night clubs in Denmark to charge men a cover charge while letting women in for free. But now, the same practice by the nation’s sex clubs has prompted a man to successfully report one of the clubs to the nation's gender equality watchdog for discriminatory behaviour.
Ligebehandlingsnævnet ruled in favour of the complainant that it was indeed discriminatory for the unnamed sex club, where men and women meet to have sex with each other, to charge men between 200 and 400 kroner to get in, while letting women in for free.
The man, who also remains anonymous, maintained that that he hadn’t complained in connection with a personal visit to the club, but that he lodged his complaint as a matter of principal.
And he isn’t the first person to protest over the practice. According to Ligebehandlingsnævnet, it is at least the fifth such case against a swinger club within the past four years.
Even with the reprimand, sex clubs are free to continue their pricing practices since Ligebehandlingsnævnet is not authorised to issue sanctions.
Tucan Swinger & Wellness Club in Almind, Jutland, which has about 2,400 members, is just one of the sex clubs that has been involved in discrimination cases. Yet, the club still charges a lower admission fee for women, largely for competition purposes, but also because it is more difficult to attract women to the clubs.
“There are never any members that complain over the price difference, even though many of the members are men,” Torben Nielsen, the club's co-owner, told Politiken newspaper. “They are not interested in seeing us raise the prices for the women, because they want them to come.”
According to swinger website swingerguiden.dk there were nine swinger clubs in Denmark as of 2011, and about 70,000 people who admitted to 'swinging'. Their average age was between 35 and 50.
