I’ve been a bartender for a long time. Of the myriad of jobs I’ve had in my lifetime, bartending is the most fulfilling. I spend my day making wishes come true. For some, I’m a pharmacist who fills a prescription. For others, I help them decide on the cocktail, wine, or beer that breaks the ice during an uncomfortable moment. I dispense joy to the masses. Requests are made and I do my best to grant every request. On occasion, I do get a request that is both annoying and humorous at the same time. A gentleman will order a cocktail, but ask that it not be served in a girl glass.
Generally, this request gets an inward chuckle. Sometimes, I’ll ask what exactly a “girl” glass is because I’m curious to hear the responses. When it’s really busy, I’ll comment that glasses don’t have gender. This is usually followed by a confused look. This is my intention. I want the perpetrator to think about what he just said. The usual responses run the gamut: You know what I mean. I just want a man’s glass. What does gender mean? It’s pretty amusing. Sadly, since I’m in the business of customer service, I have to honor the request, but I do like to make people feel uncomfortable when they are clearly being ridiculous. I also hope that it’s a learning experience for the person making the request.
The point that I’m trying to make is that there is no such thing as a girl glass or a boy glass. Glassware is genderless. Like speakers, pencils, keys, Venetian blinds, and so many other things that we use in our daily lives, glasses are just that—glasses.
Glassware has a specific purpose. We use it mostly for drinking and everyone in the modern world who drinks anything probably uses a glass of some sort sometime: boys, girls, men, women, priests, nuns, doctors, nurses, soldiers, teachers, mayors, bartenders and even writers. We use glassware in our daily lives just as we use detergent or toothpaste. Not once have I ever thought to myself, I can’t brush my teeth with that girly toothpaste or wash my dishes with that female dish detergent. It just never happens. In an effort to prove my point about glassware; let’s look at a few examples.
The Cocktail Glass is the iconic glass used to drink a Martini. Most people don’t know that it’s not called a Martini Glass. It was developed before the Martini was ever invented. Its design suits cocktails that are served “up”. The idea behind the design was that the lengthy stem and separated bowl allowed the cocktail to stay cold. You’re meant to hold the glass by the stem.
The Coupe was initially the preferred vessel for drinking Champagne. Legend has it that the coupe was molded from Marie Antoinette’s left breast, and that she wanted her court to toast to her health by drinking from a glass shaped like her bosom. As fascinating as this sounds, the coupe appeared in 1693, long before her reign as queen. It was one of the first glasses invented specifically for drinking Champagne.
The history of the Snifter is cloudy, however, the name dates back to 1844. It is derived from a Scottish and northern English word which is an obsolete verb meaning to snift, snivel which came into use in the mid-14th century. By 1937, the meaning shifted to the large bulbous stemmed glass used to drink Cognac.
So far, with the exception of Marie Antoinette’s breast, I haven’t mentioned gender. That’s because while women were not ever prohibited from entering taverns, saloons, or bars, their presence was rare. During the colonial era, women did spend time in taverns while dining or traveling with family or friends. Entertainment was also held in taverns during this time because they had rooms big enough to host large groups of people. Women often attended these events and also owned taverns during the colonial period.
During the Victorian era, the idea of a ladies’ entrance and a ladies’ waiting room was born. This was an effort to appeal to a particular segment of Victorian society. In the old west, many bars and saloons had a separate entrance for women. This permitted them to enter inconspicuously while avoiding the scrutiny of those who frowned upon women who frequented these establishments. It also allowed women to avoid the ire of their male counterparts. At this time, the main area of the saloon or bar was designed with men in mind: spittoons, moustache towels, and foot-rails. For the most part, women living in this period in history wanted to socialize, but not at the expense of being in areas where they were clearly not welcomed.
With this bit of history, it should be quite clear that not one piece of glassware that was described above or any piece of common bar glassware used anywhere was ever designed with a specific gender in mind. The engineering was always functional. Wine glasses are designed to help you experience the aromas of the liquid in the glass. The long stem design is similar to the Cocktail glass. It keeps the liquid in the bowl from experiencing drastic temperature changes caused by a hand holding the bowl rather than the stem. The tall slender design of a pilsner glass reveals the color and carbonation of the beer, while the broad top helps maintain the beer’s head. Neither beer nor beer-head have gender.
If you’re uncomfortable with the way a glass looks or the way you imagine people perceive you holding a specific type of glass, I suspect that the problem is not the glass at all. Try holding the glass properly, closing your eyes, and enjoying the moment. Chances are that if you ordered your favorite drink, no matter what glass it’s served in, you’ll enjoy it—every single time.