Social clubs
Encyclopedia
- Social Club may also refer to a video game community service by Rockstar GamesRockstar GamesRockstar Games is a major video game developer and publisher based in New York City, owned by Take-Two Interactive following its purchase of UK video game publisher BMG Interactive. The brand is mostly known for Grand Theft Auto, Max Payne, L.A...
, see Rockstar Games Social ClubRockstar Games Social ClubRockstar Games Social Club is a free online service provided by Rockstar Games for use with their latest generation of games. Rockstar Games Social Club was first announced on 27 March 2008, with pre-registration beginning on 14 April 2008. However, that date was moved to 17 April 2008...
.
A social club may refer to a group of people or the place where they meet, generally formed around a common interest, occupation or activity (e.g. hunting, fishing, politics or charity work). Note that this article covers only two distinct types of social clubs, the historic gentlemen's club
Gentlemen's club
A gentlemen's club is a members-only private club of a type originally set up by and for British upper class men in the eighteenth century, and popularised by English upper-middle class men and women in the late nineteenth century. Today, some are more open about the gender and social status of...
s and the modern activities clubs. This article does not cover a variety of other types of clubs having some social characteristics, for example specific single-activity based clubs, military officers' clubs, country clubs, and fraternities and sororities
Fraternities and sororities
Fraternities and sororities are fraternal social organizations for undergraduate students. In Latin, the term refers mainly to such organizations at colleges and universities in the United States, although it is also applied to analogous European groups also known as corporations...
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History
Working men's clubWorking men's club
Working men's clubs are a type of private social club founded in the 19th century in industrial areas of the United Kingdom, particularly the North of England, the Midlands and many parts of the South Wales Valleys, to provide recreation and education for working class men and their families.-...
s developed in Britain during Victorian times
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
as institutes where working class
Working class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
men could attend lectures and take part in recreational pursuits. The Reverend Henry Solly
Henry Solly
Henry Solly was an English social reformer. William Beveridge said of him: "He was a restless, inventive, constructive spirit, part author of at least three large living movements; charity organisation, working men's clubs, and garden cities".He was the son of Isaac Solly and became a Chartist...
founded the Working Men's Club and Institute Union
Working Men's Club and Institute Union
The Working Men's Club and Institute Union is a voluntary association of private members' clubs in Great Britain & Northern Ireland, with about 3,000 associate clubs. One club in the Republic of Ireland, the City of Dublin Working Men's Club is also affiliated. Most social clubs are affiliated to...
(CIU) for this purpose in 1862. Many middle class social reformers founded these clubs during the temperance movement
Temperance movement
A temperance movement is a social movement urging reduced use of alcoholic beverages. Temperance movements may criticize excessive alcohol use, promote complete abstinence , or pressure the government to enact anti-alcohol legislation or complete prohibition of alcohol.-Temperance movement by...
as a place to relax without alcohol, but in time this changed. They became a combination of public houses (pubs), music-halls, and clubs, becoming places to be entertained, to drink socially, and to play bar games. Their mainly working-class patronage is not seen as fashionable among some sections of society today, and they have come under increasing pressure regarding attitudes to membership rights for women and ethnic minorities. The CIU was heavily involved in resisting the banning of smoking in private clubs; it remains to be seen how many survive the change of law.
Modern clubs include San Francisco's Urban Diversion
Urban Diversion
Urban Diversion is a San Francisco Bay Area activities and adventures social club. Established in 2003, the company reportedly serves over 700 members and hosts and organizes 35-50 unique events each month in San Francisco, the East Bay, and the South Bay...
which opened in 2003 as a general adventure and activities social club and Soho
Soho
Soho is an area of the City of Westminster and part of the West End of London. Long established as an entertainment district, for much of the 20th century Soho had a reputation for sex shops as well as night life and film industry. Since the early 1980s, the area has undergone considerable...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
's Groucho Club
Groucho Club
The Groucho Club is a well-known private social club located at Dean Street in Soho, London. Its members are mostly drawn from the media, entertainment, arts and fashion industries....
, which opened in 1985 as "the antidote to the traditional club." The "traditional club" referred to is the elitist gentlemen's club
Gentlemen's club
A gentlemen's club is a members-only private club of a type originally set up by and for British upper class men in the eighteenth century, and popularised by English upper-middle class men and women in the late nineteenth century. Today, some are more open about the gender and social status of...
, a fixture of upper class male British society. This is not to be confused with the modern use of the phrase, which now stands as a euphemism
Euphemism
A euphemism is the substitution of a mild, inoffensive, relatively uncontroversial phrase for another more frank expression that might offend or otherwise suggest something unpleasant to the audience...
for a strip club
Strip club
A strip club is an adult entertainment venue in which striptease or other erotic or exotic dance is regularly performed. Strip clubs typically adopt a nightclub or bar style, but can also adopt a theatre or cabaret-style....
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Legalities
Clubs in England and Wales were not controlled by the licensing system until the Licensing Act of 1902 was passed, or in ScotlandScotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
until the Licensing (Scotland) Act 1903 was passed. They were passed mainly to check the abuse of “clubs” being formed solely to sell intoxicating liquors free from the restrictions of the licensing acts, but it applied to all kinds of clubs in England and Wales. The act required the registration of every club that occupied any premises habitually used for the purposes of a club and in which intoxicating liquor was supplied to members or their guests. The secretary of every club was required to give a return to the clerk to the justices of the petty sessional division a return with this information:
- the name and objects of the club
- the address of the club
- the name of the secretary
- the number of members
- the rules of the club relating to:
- the election of members and the admission of temporary and honorary members and of guests
- the terms of subscription and entrance fee, if any
- the cessation of membership
- the hours of opening and closing
- the mode of altering the rules
Social activities clubs
Social Activities Clubs are a modern combination of several types of clubs and reflect today's more eclectic and varied society. These clubs are centered around the activities available to the club members in the city or area in which the club is located. Some have a traditional club house, bar or restaurant where members gather, others do not.Events can include a broad range of activities from sporting events and social parties to the Ballet, the arts or book clubs. Unlike traditional clubs they are not limited to one kind of event or special interest, but include a broad range of events in their monthly calendars. The members choose which events the club is going to take part in based upon the changing interests of the members. The members themselves determine which events, of those offered, they will attend.
Because the purpose of these clubs is split between general social interaction and taking part in the events themselves, both single and married people can take part. However clubs tend to have more single members than married, and many clubs exist for only single people, or are limited just to married couples or are limited by sexual preference(homosexuality, bisexuality or heterosexuality).
Membership can be limited or open to the general public, as can the events. Most clubs have a limited membership based upon specific criteria, and restrict the events to members to increase their feeling of security, creating an increased sense of camaraderie and belonging. There are many examples of private social clubs including the University Club of Chicago
University Club of Chicago
The University Club of Chicago is a private social club located at 76 East Monroe Street at the corner of Michigan Avenue in downtown Chicago, Illinois...
, The Mansion on O Street
The Mansion on O Street
The Mansion on O Street is an American luxury boutique hotel in the Dupont Circle historic district of Washington D.C. The hotel is noted for eccentric interior styling which includes hidden doors, secret passages, and rooms in which all furnishings and fixtures are for sale...
in D.C. and New York Friars' Club
New York Friars' Club
The Friars Club is a private club in New York City, founded in 1904 and famous for its risqué celebrity roasts. The club's membership is composed mostly of comedians and other celebrities. It is located at 57 East 55th Street between Park and Madison Avenues in a building it calls the Monastery...
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Social activities clubs can be for profit, non-profit
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
, or a combination of the two (A for profit club with a non-profit charitable arm, for instance).
Some social clubs have function hall
Function hall
A function hall or banquet hall is a room or building for the purpose of hosting a party, banquet, reception, or other social event.Function halls are often found within pubs, clubs, hotels, or restaurants. Some are run by fraternal organizations and rented out as a fundraiser for the organization...
s which members or, sometimes, the general public can rent for parties.
A number of Jewish community center
Jewish Community Center
A Jewish Community Center or Jewish Community Centre is a general recreational, social and fraternal organization serving the Jewish community in a number of cities...
s and other organizations such as the YMCA
YMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...
have social clubs for people with social anxiety
Social anxiety
Social anxiety is anxiety about social situations, interactions with others, and being evaluated or scrutinized by other people...
and learning disabilities
Learning disability
Learning disability is a classification including several disorders in which a person has difficulty learning in a typical manner, usually caused by an unknown factor or factors...
. Membership in these clubs is limited to individuals with these conditions.
See also
- Urban DiversionUrban DiversionUrban Diversion is a San Francisco Bay Area activities and adventures social club. Established in 2003, the company reportedly serves over 700 members and hosts and organizes 35-50 unique events each month in San Francisco, the East Bay, and the South Bay...
Adventures & Activities Social Club - Association of Conservative ClubsAssociation of Conservative ClubsThe Association of Conservative Clubs is an organisation associated with theConservative Party in the United Kingdom. It represents and provides support to the largest association of political clubs in the country estimated at 1,100....
- Socialist societiesSocialist societiesA socialist society is a membership organisation that is affiliated with the Labour Party in the UK.The best-known socialist society is the Fabian Society, founded in 1884, some years before the creation of the Labour Party itself . The Society's membership is relatively small , but in Labour...
- Liberal democracyLiberal democracyLiberal democracy, also known as constitutional democracy, is a common form of representative democracy. According to the principles of liberal democracy, elections should be free and fair, and the political process should be competitive...
- List of American gentlemen's clubs
- Gentlemen's club (traditional), known as a private club in the United States.
- Anime clubAnime clubAn anime club is an organization that meets to discuss, show, and promote anime in a local community setting and can also focus on broadening Japanese cultural understanding. Anime clubs are increasingly found at universities and high schools. Organizers may also utilize public meeting spaces such...
- Membership discrimination in California social clubs