Co-working spaces are kind of like modern-day communes for the entrepreneurial generation where all freelancers are welcome. Except girls — girls have cooties.
At least that seems to be the sentiment of one Brisbane-based startup, Nomadic Thinkers. They’ve placed a ban on women and their tendency to have “tea parties and stuff” and the internet isn’t happy.
The Australian company’s “no girls allowed” co-working space, which also doubles as a gym, came to public attention Tuesday when Junkee ran an interview with one of its founders, Samuel Monaghan.
Nomadic Thinkers’ pitch was that their hybrid space was a response to a “lack of social support and community,” saying that a men’s-only space could act as a “preventative measure,” against depression, which he linked to domestic violence.
Nomadic Thinkers told Junkee they have the backing of six investors and plan to open the co-working space in January 2017 after finalising lease negations.
Membership packages include options like “The Bear Grylls” and “The Musk Have,” in tribute to Elon, of course.
After acknowledging that the gender-based membership restrictions were bound to “ruffle some feathers,” the company stood firm Wednesday, releasing a statement defending their brand and again referencing the disturbing suicide rates for Australian men.
IMAGE: NOMADIC THINKERS BLOG/SCREENSHOT
As the Junkee article points out, a Parliamentary Library research paper into domestic violence released in 2011 found no link between men suffering from depression and perpetrating domestic violence, instead citing “drinking habits, levels of aggression and controlling behaviours,” as major factors that should be addressed.
Enter YouTube legends the Bondi Hipsters, who noticed the company had used their image on a blog post — and subsequently went H.A.M. on the group’s Facebook page.
The dudes penned a satirical love letter that asks questions such as “Will the office be made entirely of those easy-to-punch gyprock walls so that if our testosterone makes us angry whilst doing our jobs, we can punch a hole in a wall without breaking our fists?”
