Australian cafe that implemented 18% 'Man Tax' on male customers, collapsed

The initiative of 'Man Tax' backfires as Australians thumbs down extreme feminism.

A vegan cafe, Handsome Her, in Melbourne is set to close its door after introducing the controversial 18 per cent 'man tax'. Through the tax, the cafe wanted to make a difference in closing the gender pay gap. The Brunswick venture asked men to pay an 18 per cent premium one week a month and advertised ruled on a chalkboard out front that included 'women have priority seating' and 'respect goes both ways'. The tax went to Elizabeth Morgan House Aboriginal Women's Services.

Alexandra O'Brien, the owner of the vegan cafe said the tax wasn't strictly forced onto anyone. In a Facebook post, announcing the cafe's closure, she said they had expected 'to make a stir' but received more than their share of negative feedback. "We were just one little tiny shop on Sydney Rd that was trying to carve out a swathe of space to prioritize women and women's issues and suddenly we became the punching bag of Melbourne and the internet. Yes, we are the evil, discriminatory, man-hating dykes who charge men more when didn't you know the wage gap doesn't even exist?" O'Brien said they tried not to engage with negativity online, but was happy to discuss the policy respectfully in house. "When we learned that it wasn't only men's rights activists targeting us, yet people from within our communities, we encouraged respectful and robust debate."

The post said the cafe encouraged a range of diverse opinions from all intersections of society and insisted that people critique their inner fear of conflict with inquisitiveness and openness, rather than hostility. The cafe's last day is April 28. Supporters have expressed sadness.