The Problem with Clubbing.

Clubbing is fun. Even if you don't drink. Getting drunk off the music is enough for me. But there are several very annoying parts of this culture that are incredibly obvious and needs to be rectified.

Getting Drunk: While fun, getting so drunk off your face that you have no idea where you are anymore is not good. Best to be done maybe at a house party. As, on the dancefloor, the biggest drunkards will always make fools of themselves, and need to be carried off to a quieter place. Don't get so drunk that you are out of control of your own decisions, that's irresponsible and can lead to dangerous encounters. Or even just embarassing photos uploaded to facebook the next day.

Dancing: I LOVE to dance. I would dance all night if there wasn't a very big problem. Guys gyrating up against you. Guys. STOP THAT RIGHT NOW. Learn to read body signals before you think you can just hook up with every girl at the club. Because very recently I realized, a very small amount of guys actually like clubbing. They go to hook up. That's it. There really needs to be a badge you can wear if you are taken or not interested. As it's just becomes a disgusting orgy on the dancefloor after a while.

Which leads me to my next problem,

Hook-ups: Okay, so we understand that drunk people are also overtly friendly. Sometimes to the point where they can't help hugging, kissing or fondling each other on the floor. That is appalling and unacceptable. If you want to hook up, go find a corner or go upstairs away from the throb of the crowd. Although, I must say, the crowd encourage it. The mentality that you are safe around a big group of people is probably the reason a lot of people do not go elsewhere.

Friends-hooking-up-with-friends is also quite..I'm not sure what to say...pathetic?

You want to kiss your friend, so you get all the attention of the boys on the dancefloor, then when one of them wants some, you wonder why? Isn't that called a cocktease? While I understand the freedom of every person is important, and people should be able to do what they want without being harassed. That is bound to attract unwanted attention.

I used to never understand why so many straight girls go to gay clubs, but now it is perfectly clear. Men are a big problem at these clubs, there needs to be a women-only-but-not-necessarily-lesbian club. As the amount of guys acting like complete idiots was staggering. It was not simply a few of a large crowd. It was the majority of the crowd. Can't I just enjoy the music and dance?

Now, it's not like I am particularly attractive either. I'm just your average girl. It's just like my friend Nicola said 'It's because I have a pulse, and I am standing here' - is exactly right. These guys are trawling the clubs, asking any girl who looks half-decent, if they want to hook up. It's not even a 'hi how are you, my names joe' introduction-style. Which I would appreciate and be very polite to. It's 'HEYY LAYDEEEES'. It absolutely ruins a good night of dancing have that happening.

Transport: Getting to a club seems to be easy enough, but just you try to get home if you don't have a lift arranged. Public transport is horrendously under-represented, even in big cities like London. I remember sitting outside the Fortitude Valley train station in Brisbane, waiting for it to open, and never thought the same kind of thing could happen in London. Turns out it does, and it's much worse. The train from the major station, Victoria, starts at a reasonable time, but it is bloody hard to get to the actual station if you are nowhere near it. Best bet is to save some extra money just for the cab to the train station.

These tiny occurances make it harder to have a good time and just let go. London is a major international city, it needs to start thinking how many people travel from quite far to be there on a night out. They would not lose money opening the tube/train station earlier so people don't freeze walking around in the cold.

Also, men need to learn that NO means NO. It seems to be a hard concept to grasp. It's really quite easy. Don't hit on girls who are dancing tight, dancing together, having a good time. Don't ruin their night. If you are desperate to hook up, go for those skanky girls gyrating in the middle of the throb.

I like clubbing, but it'd be better if these problems were fixed, and not just 'part of the night' - I have a feeling nothings ever going to change though.

Hollywood

The obvious differences between the Hollywood of today and 50 years ago is more apparent now than it has ever been. I am not simply talking about the changes in dress and style. I am talking about acting talent.

Today, it seems, anyone who is hot enough can be an actor, and I am talking about women. Men, can be as ugly as the back of a bus but still get acting jobs (although I must say that has been declining in recent years too, and the current male actors are ridiculously polished.)

Acting talent has decreased substantially, wooden, expressionless faces are seemingly the norm, and god help you if you are a woman older than 50 in Hollywood. Not just in Hollywood, but even in our own local news stations. How often is it you see an older male of around 60, but a younger woman as his co-anchor? I don't even think i've ever seen older women REPORTERS on the news. Let alone as the main face!

Now, I do consider myself a feminist, but only in the old sense of the word. In movies lately, the female roles are still substantially less than the male roles. Women have very stereotypical roles, 'ditzy', 'ingenue', 'she liked the bad boy but now she likes the good boy', 'bad ass for difference' and 'shes the sensible one.'

It's just pathetic. Also, body image is heavily, heavily influenced by models. Models, who frequently become actors themselves, are usually not trained in acting, but agencies don't mind, if they look good on the camera, then they are usually given precedence. Which is disgusting. Normal sized women are already hard to come by in the skinny-obsessed industry, it doesn't help when models are making their way in as well.

I don't have a problem with models wanting to be actors, but they need to be able to ACT. This seems to be a hard thing for people to understand. Normal sized women should not be 'refreshing' in Hollywood. It should be NORMAL. We should be putting more pressure on studios to do this more often.

The female role in fame has strengthened greatly in the last ten years, with excellent role models such as Tina Fey for the comedy stage (which we are very under-represented), and Christina Hendricks for television. Where she has not yielded to pressure to fit in, as her body is very feminine, putting aside that she works on 'Mad Men' - she would have fit into 50's Hollywood perfectly.

Women need to make sure that this kind of difference, this individuality, is expressed. All types, but especially types that do not fit the norm. Boyish types, Overtly feminine types, sporty types. Women need to have as much variety as men do in Hollywood, and I am sure, over the next 50 years, we can put acting talent back as something that is genuinly admired, rather than just looks alone.