Angry & Sad About The State Of Our Industry
In the same week I shared an article where I said there’s a great sense of community in the industry and it’s “a very wholesome environment” something quite the opposite and very significant was occurring.
The past couple of weeks have seen the brutal reality of sexism in the craft beer industry come to light. It started with a US focus when Brienne @ratmagnet started to share horrific accounts of harassment and assault. This was followed by the UK beer scene put on blast when Siobhan @britishbeergirl opened up her Instagram in the same way as a supportive and empowering platform for sharing even more accounts of sexual harassment, sexism and abuse a bit closer to home.
It’s heavy but important reading. Your “favourite” craft beer breweries have been called out multiple times and some of the friendly brands you hugely admire and hold close to your heart are now being implicated.
The topic was covered by Women’s Hour on BBC Radio 4 and there is now a drinks industry wide conference taking place on the 7th June hosted by Burum Collective to move forward to a safer and more supportive structure that should mean incidents of harassment and abuse no longer go ignored.
Same S*it, Different Day, 3 Years Later!
Back in May 2018 when we (The Dodo Micropub, majority female back then) had experienced sexism and harassment behaviours first-hand I drew a firm line under it quickly and “publicly”. I made it clear what the boundaries were (zero tolerance) and reminded everyone of our community culture.
It’s a shame that 3 years on the blog post I put together back then is still highly relevant and the messaging still needs repeating –
Conversations Not To Have In A Micropub
I appreciate it’s very easy to uphold a company culture and action a zero-tolerance approach to narrow minded-ness and misogyny when you have a tiny team and run a small business but honestly since that post went out some amazing supportive conversations were had amongst the Hanwell Massive and it certainly set the tone and seemingly cleansed our space to keep it as safe and as open as possible.
Sure, we lost a few patrons but with that we also lost a lot of worry over that awkward moment where we’re going to have to step in and tell that sexist idiot number 1 to pipe down on the “lad banter” or the sexist and homophobic idiot number 2 who repeatedly orders the International Women’s Day Collab beer and purposely calls it a “lesbian beer” thinking it’s funny.
Thank you for showing up and using your voices. You’re the catalyst for change.
I don’t really have any answers (which is why I’ll be attending the Common Ground Conference). I’m furious and sad about the state of sexism and harassment in the beer industry and I’m disappointed in myself that I’ve been so unaware and passive.
When 2 of the big, hugely popular craft beer breweries repeatedly got named in the whistle blowing over on @britishbeergirl it’s sad that my thought process could be “not surprising from them”. The red flags were there but ignorantly I didn’t take serious note and now I see the horror of why I should have.
So I’m drawing a line again. I pledge to be better at showing up for this fight against sexism in our industry. To everyone sharing their accounts and re-living their traumatic experiences, you’ve already shown what strength in numbers can do and I’m standing with you.
Thank you for using your voice. A change is going to come and know that you were the catalyst for that. Be proud of yourself please.
Lucy x
The Drinks Trust Helpline
If you’ve read this and need further support and advice then The Drinks Trust stands against abuse and bullying in the industry.
They have a 24/7 helpline – 0800 915 4610 or you can contact helpline@drinkstrust.org.uk or WhatsApp to 00 353 87 369 0010. All calls are answered by counsellors and trained psychotherapists and are of course confidential.
If you need it, please use it.
Incase it helps at all in any way …
Understand what gaslighting is. Especially useful for anyone remotely interested in tackling systemic inequalities like sexism and racism. It can also exist interpersonally, like within the relationship you had with your bullying, creepy, inappropriate boss.
If you’ve gone through life not really ever considering this behaviour trait and how to recognise it then please get to know how it can diminish and manipulate your strength. Educate yourself on how it exists, what it can sound like, what the signs are and what the impact of gaslighting can be.
Personally I found this to be very empowering knowledge to have in life and it’s my only, very tiny “solution” that may be helpful to someone out there dealing with a horrible sexist situation.
I hope things get better and I’m not having to rehash this blog post 3 years down the line!