Information & Support for Door Supervisors - National Doorwatch

The Chairman of National Doorwatch, Ian Fox, explains why this has been a resounding success.

National Doorwatch in the media spotlight as a result of asking the Oxford English Dictionary to remove the term "bouncer".

The biggest challenge National Doorwatch, or any other single-issue organisation face, is getting heard.  If no one is listening, then your voice, your message, is never going to change the status quo.  History shows that, in order to to be heard, you need so many people supporting your cause, you can no longer be ignored.  The first step in this process is getting people, to understand their perception of something is wrong.  In this case it is that Door Supervisors are only interested in being bullies and thugs. This belief is reinforced by the continuous use of the term "Bouncer", even when it is simply not relevant to the incident. 

For example, Raul Moat made  the news for shooting his ex-girlfriend, killing her boyfriend, and blinding a Policeman.  Every media headline carried the word "Bouncer".  This despite the fact he had never been licensed by the SIA since it started.  He was a gardner by all accounts, a clearly troubled individual, but the term "Florist shoots/kills/blinds etc" won't sell newspapers.  Another example is the story "Ex-bouncer kills partner", when the killer hadn't been in the profession for over 20years.

It is stories like these which promotes the idea that Door Supervisors are fair game - not just for some reputation hunting wannabe - but more importantly the legal system.  Door Supervisors learn very quickly they will recieve very little in the way of support, which is why they remain such a close-knit society.  Therefore by continuing to define themselves as "Bouncers" they will do nothing to help their cause or the cause of their colleagues. 

In challenging this term, we got the opportunity to explain why the image it portrays is totally out of step with the realities of the modern profession.  A profession which is one of the most diverse occupations in the UK, if not the world.  A profession which exists soley to provide as safe an environment as possible for the venues guests. 

This challange has told people we don't want our industry to be defined by the past, but by the increasingly important part we play in the future of the evolving Night-time Economy.   It is for this reason that the word "bouncer" must go - not political correctness or cheap publicity stunts - but simply because its the right thing to do!

We would ask all Door Supervisors/Stewards/Men/Women and right minded people to write to their local media, and ask that they be referred to as such.  The Chair of Derby Doorwatch, and others, have already made it happen in their City.