The café that sparked global debate over its “man tax” has insisted its decision to shut down had nothing to do with the “optional surcharge” or the “misogynistic vitriol” it has received.
Handsome Her, a vegan café in Melbourne Australia, gained international notoriety for offering women priority seating and charging male customers an 18 per cent premium to “reflect the gender pay gap”.
It shut its doors for good on April 28 after two years of trading, to the delight and dismay of people across the world.
Following speculation over its reasons for closing, the cafe’s owners took to social media to set the record straight.
“We’ve never shied away from controversy in the spirit of social justice and it seems fitting that we go out in the same style in which we came in: a whirlwind of sad, angry male tears,” the team posted on their official Facebook page.
Quipping that they had received “a spate of love letters from adoring men worldwide” in the run-up to their final day of businesses, they wrote: “Let us assure you that we are not closing because of:
“A) Male tears or misogynistic vitriol from men's rights activists. We’re lesbians, we’re quite used witnessing the fragility of the male ego.
“B) Not making enough money. If you've been in you know we are doing just fine.
“Most of our male customers have happily paid above and beyond the optional surcharge (man tax) which we donate to charity.
“As much as people would love to believe it, sorry but the man tax did not run our business into the ground, we just don't want to own a cafe anymore.”
The team described the abusive comments they had received as “mostly amusing”, and claimed they “only reinforced our views about how toxic sexism is, and great motivation for us to keep up the good work”.
To conclude their post, co-owner Alexandra O’Brien and her colleagues clarified that they had sold the business simply because “we are young, educated and off on our next adventure”.
“For those of you who have run your own small business, you know how much time, blood, sweat and tears it takes, and we are looking forward to a slower, more deliberate way of living out in the world and putting our feminist, vegan, low-waste politics into practice.
“We remain ever yours, the leftist, extremist, man-hating, vegan d***s of your worst nightmare xx,” they signed off.
Ms O’Brien has described Handsome Her as a “social experiment” which became “the punching bag of Melbourne and the internet”.
However, as part of their final farewell, she and her team acknowledged all the support they had received since the cafe opened in 2017.
In an emotional Instagram message, Ms O’Brien thanked friends, family and the local community who helped shape the “pillars” of the project: “Social Justice, Feminism, Environmental Responsibility and Community Development”.
She also praised her “earnest funny and warm” team who had become “some of the greatest friends I've had made”.
“We have a huge network within each other and our growing allies and we know what's up,” she concluded.
Fans responded with messages of thanks and support – an antidote to the streams of “abuse”, which included “NOBODY CARES” from one Facebook critic, and “scum” from another.
“Thanks for the raw desserts, the brownies, the cookies, the coffees and most importantly for being an example of the kind of business I hope to see more of. Vegan, feminist and community minded,” wrote an Instagram follower.
While a Facebook admirer commented: “You girls are amazing! Love what you did (and continue to do) for women. I'm sad I never made it over Alexandra but I kept and eye on your amazing work. Let the haters hate, you just keep being fabulous. Love you x.”
Handsome Her responded with a parting message offering hope to supporters: “Never fear, you will see us around in the future. We plan to continue our events and activism in various other ways, so keep an eye out.
“THANK YOU!”
