HENS’ nights were once the domain of cheeky fun and light-hearted antics, but they are being taken to a crass new level as girls try to outdo the boys in celebrating their last moments as singles.
The boisterous bride-to-be and her entourage have become such a problem that many Perth clubs and pubs have started banning them.
Historian Leigh Straw, from Edith Cowan University, said the rowdy hens’ night was part of a new-age women’s liberation movement. Partying hard was seen as a form of gender empowerment for young women who were out to prove they could match men in the drinking stakes and that they had just as much right to let loose.
“Hens’ nights have become hugely popular and turned into big business on the back of weddings,” Dr Straw said. “It’s a huge commercial market for capturing young women, and obviously the drinking culture is a big part of that.
I think there is an element of “grown-up fun”. People want their last hurrah to pretend they have no responsibility. It’s just sad when these nights go badly because they forget any shred of common sense.