The meaning of the word doorman as the person allowing or refusing entry is found in Mesopotamian myths and Greek myths including that of Nergal overcoming the seven doormen guarding the gates to the Underworld.
In the Old Testament, the Levitical Temple is described as having (gatekeepers) one of their duties was to protect the temple from thieves, illegally entering into sacred areas, the same purpose they share with the modern concept of the bouncer.
The Romans used 'Ostiarius' which was a term for a (doorkeeper) also known as a porter, initially a slave or other such inferior person, who guarded the door, and sometimes removed unwanted people from the house whose gate he guarded.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, saloon-keepers and brothel madams hired bouncers to remove undesirables who were either violent or extremely drunk, and protect the saloon females and prostitutes. The word "bouncer" was first used in the saloon sense in an 1883.
In the 1870s US Western towns in , high-class brothels known as "good houses" or "parlour houses" hired bouncers for security and to prevent patrons from dodging payment. "Good house" thought of themselves as being the cream of the crop, The best bordellos resembled respectable mansions, with well decorated parlours,. For security, there was always a bouncer, a oversized man who stayed sober to handle any patrons who got too aggressive with the girls or didn't want to pay his bill.
In parts of the US in lumberjack days, security would physically remove drinkers who were too intoxicated to keep buying drinks, freeing up space in the bar for new patrons. The term known as 'snake-room' was used to describe a room off a saloon, usually two to three steps down, which a bar-keeper or the bouncer could slide drunk lumberjacks head first through swinging doors from the bar-room
Around the 1880s and 1890s, bouncers were positioned to maintain order in the "The Gut", the toughest part of New York, which was filled with bars, cabarets, fleabag hotels and brothels. Giant bouncers patrolled these establishments of vice and ejected anyone who violated the rules.
In the 1890s, San Diego had a similarly rough red light district, where bouncers worked the door of brothels. Prostitutes worked in small rooms, paying a fee to the procurer who usually was the bouncer at the brothel. The more expensive, high class brothels were called "parlour houses", where the best of food and drink was served. To keep the high-class atmosphere of the establishments, patrons were expected to act like gentlemen, if any customer did or said anything out of line, he was asked to leave.
In Weimar Republic in Germany in the 1920s and early 1930s, doormen protected establishments from the fights initiated by Nazis and other potentially violent groups like the Communists. Some bouncers in underground jazz clubs were also positioned to screen for Nazi spies, because jazz was thought to be a degenerate form of music.
Bouncers often come into conflict with football hooligans, where groups of these undesirables would congregate at pubs and bars before and after games. In the United Kingdom long-running feuds between opposite fan groups where fights between rival fans would erupt, causing serious injury or in some cases death, where bottles, knives, bats and even guns were used.
Bouncers have also been associated with criminal gangs, specially in places like Russia, Hong Kong or Japan, where bouncers may often belong to these groups or have to pay the crime syndicates to be able to operate.
A number of bouncers have written books about their experiences on the door around the 1990s and 2000 indicating that male bouncers are respected by some club-goers as the ultimate hard men.
A common stereotype of bouncers is that of the thuggish brute, although a good club security staff member requires more than just physical attributes such as strength and size: The best bouncers don't in fact "bounce" anyone anymore, they talk to people reminding them of the venue rules. The ability to judge and communicate well with people will reduce the need for physical intervention in most situations, while a steady personality will prevent security from being easily provoked by customers. Security also profits from good written communication skills, they are often required to document assaults in an incident log book. Well-kept incident logs can go a long way in protecting the security if criminal charges later arise from an incident.
British research from the 1990s indicates that a major part of the job satisfaction of bouncers is related to their self image as a strong masculine person who is more than capable to dealing with and dealing out violence. Bouncer subculture is strongly influenced by perceptions of honour and shame. This research has also indicated that the decisions made by bouncers, while seeming haphazard to an outsider, often have a basis in rational logic. The decision to turn certain customers away at the door because of too casual clothing is for example often based on the perception that the person will be more willing to fight compared to someone dressed in expensive attire. Many similar decisions taken by a bouncer during the course of a night are also being described as based on experience rather than just personality.
Often movies show bouncers physically throwing people out of clubs and restraining intoxicated customers with headlocks, which has led to a popular misconception that bouncers have or reserve the right to use physical force freely. However, in many countries bouncers have no legal authority to use physical force more freely than any other civilian, in fact they are restricted to reasonable levels of force used in self defence, to eject drunk or aggressive customers refusing to leave a venue, or when restraining a customer who has committed an offence until police arrive.
Around the 1990s and 2000s, increased awareness of the risks of criminal charges have resulted in many bars and venues training their security to use communication and conflict resolution skills rather than brute force against troublemakers.
The UK now has one body that governs the security industry "Security Industry Authority" which was formed in 2003 to regulate the security industry and ensure all security staff known as "Door Supervisors" are trained and licensed, there are modern training programmes to ensure security staff avoids using force and they are made aware of what the Law considers "reasonable force". the training also consist of conflict management, search and arrest procedures, equal opportunities, health and safety, criminal and licensing law, recording incidents.
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