Foxtail Credit: CP Photo: Jared Wickerham

Walking into Foxtail on South Side is like entering a frat boy’s wet dream. The venue, formerly known as Diesel, boasts itself as “one of the city’s most attractive bars.” Attractive in whose eyes? Its hyper-sexualized environment was undoubtedly made with the male gaze in mind. 

Outside the building, Foxtail’s name is illuminated in yellow lights with blinking bulbs rounding the sign’s perimeter. It’s a nod to Las Vegas: flashy, bright, and alluring. 

Inside, the blatant sexualization of women is like a slap in the face to any, well, woman. Bartenders, all women, were dressed in see-through mesh tops and short shorts. The hostesses wore bralettes, bikini bottoms, fishnets, and high socks. With full face makeup and similar body types (long hair, big chests, and flat stomachs), women’s appearances seemed to fit specific criteria.

The club’s name, Foxtail, is also a double entendre. In the sex-toy industry, a foxtail is a butt-plug that can make the wearer look as though they have a tail.

To the right of the bar, on the first floor, is a huge sign in neon purple, pink, and yellow that reads “trust me, love me, f*ck me.” Spray-painted on a brick wall towards the back is a giant set of black and white wings, similar to those on the wall next to Local, with one difference; written above the picture-taking spot is the phrase “my boyfriend is away…”

Upstairs, the signage continues. One with a mirrored background reads “I f*cking love f*cking you” in pink lettering. Another, poised above a painted pair of eyes, reads “well-behaved women rarely make history.” That saying is a popular take on the quote “well-behaved women seldom make history” from Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, a women’s studies professor at Harvard. But Ulrich meant to uplift women and motivate the breaking of gender norms, in Foxtail’s worldview “well-behaved women rarely make history” seems raunchy and sexual.

If a woman wants to wear minimal clothing, she should. If a woman wants to wear a full face of makeup because that’s what makes her feel beautiful, she should. But in the environment Foxtail fosters, the elements create a degrading experience.

This emphasis on appearance and sex encourages the separation of a woman’s body from her person. And when women are repeatedly objectified, their bodies hyper-sexualized, in a place such as Foxtail, harmful gender stereotypes that can trivialize violence against women are often reinforced, which goes against “well-behaved women rarely make history.”

Foxtail isn’t empowering women. It is pushing that women should look a certain way, that they should love sex and pleasing men. Its business strategy leaves nothing to the imagination and shows no imagination. Neither approach is likely to pay off in an increasingly progressive Pittsburgh. 

Foxtail is out of touch. Pittsburghers would do well to keep out.

Follow staff writer Jordan Snowden on Twitter @snowden_jordan

This article appears in October 3, 2018 – Pittsburgh City Paper.

City Paper Staff Writer with a Focus on Music

6 replies on “Foxtail is a frat boy’s wet dream”

  1. As a 43 yr old woman who has been to Foxtail a few times, I find this review ridiculous. I am attending the concert for a cause for young womens breast cancer event on Tuesday. Foxtails newly removed club is truly amazing and obviously others feel same. Both men and women pack the club every night theyre open. My opinion is, if youre that uptight try chess club!

  2. you must not have anything better to write about… Im sorry, Ill make you drink or two to easy your frustration!

  3. Yet this bar will have more women than men on most nights, likely tons of Duquesne students. Im all for empowering women, but this posters desperate attempt to use this bar as a scape goat for men that treat women horribly is a bit ridiculous. Isnt it a woman that owns the bar too? I lived in south side for 4 years and the women bartenders dress like that at most of the bars to get as many tips as possible, and thats quite alright. Its their occupation and their right to dress how they feel to maximize the money the bring home to feed their families. Who am I to say thats wrong? Just my opinion…

  4. This article is everything that is wrong with the service industry. Clearly, Ampd group decided to stop advertising with your publication and this is your attempt at revenge. It’s disgusting that this review was approved to be published on any forum, whether it is online or print. The unfortunate larger picture for City Paper is that actions like this will deter other bars/nightclubs from advertising because no one is interested in being the next target in a petty war of words.

  5. The patriarchy isn’t only promoted by men, especially when there’s money to be made. The bright side is this comment: “actions like this will deter other bars/nightclubs from advertising because no one is interested in being the next target in a petty war of words.” Hope it spreads everywhere.

  6. This is such a poorly written article. I’m not even sure where to begin. Your attempt to speak as though you are lifting women up, was completely lost. “If a female wants to show her chest, she should. If she wants to wear a face full of make up, she should.” But not at Foxtail, right?? Have you ever been outside of Pittsburgh? Have you seen how women are empowered by their sexuality and don’t need to have the approval of people like you?? I’m a male who has lived in Washington DC for 3yrs and San Diego, CA for 6yrs, before moving back home to Pittsburgh. The marketing nods to Vegas and fun slogans are a genius play on the growing popularity of music festivals and celebrating life, living in the moment, living for the night.. Not to have some hack of a writer judge the way we like to let loose.. I guarantee you, not one female working at Foxtail feels uncomfortable or like they are being held back. You speak of a progressive Pittsburgh, but this article reads as though it were written when government officials used to roam the beaches measuring women’s bathing suits ensuring they were of legal length covering her legs. PGH City Paper must be sorely hurting for writers or editors after letting this one get posted!!

    In the appropriate words of James Downey from Billy Madison, “At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.”

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