Mens only clubs

Burly · 7 Oct 2006 at 17:07

Is there any in England? or any UK countries?

..Not that I want to go to one, but learning about discrimination in politics.

Kroegen · 7 Oct 2006 at 17:08

Spearmint Rhinos

St0rmer66 · 7 Oct 2006 at 17:10

Kroegen said:
Spearmint Rhinos

Women can go in there.

Something like the WMC? (Working Mens Club).

Sone · 7 Oct 2006 at 17:18

St0rmer66 said:
Women can go in there.

Something like the WMC? (Working Mens Club).

in the CIU only men can be members, but women can be members of the individucal clubs if that club allows

But wives are always allowed in

St0rmer66 · 7 Oct 2006 at 17:20

Sone said:
in the CIU only men can be members, but women can be members of the individucal clubs if that club allows

But wives are always allowed in

Actually, I was thinking of Wildcats not Spearmint Rhino.. whoops. The Spearmint Rhino in Harrogate is now Wildcats.

divine` · 7 Oct 2006 at 17:22

Couple of gay bars in Southampton that only allow men in. Amazing the things they tell you in these Freshers Information booklets...

Geoff · 7 Oct 2006 at 17:31

Burly said:
Is there any in England? or any UK countries?

Yes, but private members clubs only.

Any club that is open to the public, or part of the public, would be committing discrimination under s.29 of the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 if it discriminated against anyone based on their sex, including both admission and facilities once admitted.

However, a genuinely private club is not open to the public, or a portion of it, so the SDA doesn't apply. So the next issue is what a "private" club is. Essentially, if members are proposed, seconded and then voted upon by members (or the committee), it's private. If anybody can roll up, pay an admission fee (or whatever) and join, then it isn't. According to a House of Lords ruling on this, it has to be a private club both in theory and in practice.

There's two wrinkles, though. Firstly, it has been suggested that the Human Rights Act may make this illegal. Courts have to interpret other legislation in the light of the Human Rights Act. If the ability to discriminate on grounds of gender was challenged under the HRA, such a case might succeed. To the best of my knowledge, and from what I've found, no such challenge has yet been mounted.

Secondly, the rules on racial discrimination are different, even for private clubs. A private club with more than 25 members IS covered by the Race Relations Act, so can't discriminate in that way.

In other words, private clubs (other than very small ones) can't base discrimination on race, but can base it on gender.

And, so far as private clubs are concerned, they can decline to admit women members, but can opt to admit women guests, if they choose. If they do, the club gets to define the basis for admission. That might involve not being able to order at the bar, or not able to use a snooker table between certain hours, or having to enter through a back door, not the main door.

semi-pro waster · 7 Oct 2006 at 17:31

Burly said:
..Not that I want to go to one, but learning about discrimination in politics.

Are you thinking of gentlemans clubs? i.e. the places where you sit in a comfy armchair smoking a cigar while reading the days papers like in the films. I don't know of any offhand but I don't think they advertise widely anyway, there are a few listed on the Wikipedia page though, some of the arcane rules are fantastic.

PsiFox · 7 Oct 2006 at 17:32

I have belonged to several "men only" organisations mainly centred around snooker and drinking

Geoff · 7 Oct 2006 at 17:35

semi-pro waster said:
Are you thinking of gentlemans clubs? i.e. the places where you sit in a comfy armchair smoking a cigar while reading the days papers like in the films. I don't know of any offhand but I don't think they advertise widely anyway, there are a few listed on the Wikipedia page though, some of the arcane rules are fantastic.

Like White's, you mean?

That's a rather selective private club, in the sense I referred to above. And no, you can't just walk in off the street, or pay a few quid for admittance. And getting membership is NOT easy ..... unless you know the right people. In fact, it ain't easy then, but it's damn near impossible without.

semi-pro waster · 7 Oct 2006 at 17:40

Geoff said:
Like White's, you mean?

That's a rather selective private club, in the sense I referred to above. And no, you can't just walk in off the street, or pay a few quid for admittance. And getting membership is NOT easy ..... unless you know the right people. In fact, it ain't easy then, but it's damn near impossible without.

I wasn't thinking of any one in particular

I was just trying to clarify what Burly was looking for.

Geoff · 7 Oct 2006 at 17:44

semi-pro waster said:
I wasn't thinking of any one in particular I was just trying to clarify what Burly was looking for.

Oh, sure.

I assumed from his remark about discrimination in politics, that he wanted to know if such clubs (as allowed men only) still existed, or were an historical atavism. And if they did exist, where?

I was just using White's as an example of the genre you mentioned.

i know nothing · 7 Oct 2006 at 20:10

The East India Club would be a good example of what you're looking for. It's located in St. James Square (behind Regent's Street).

Una · 7 Oct 2006 at 20:14

If it is a private members club they are allowed to discriminate on grounds of gender but not on race.

Geoff · 8 Oct 2006 at 01:04

Una said:
If it is a private members club they are allowed to discriminate on grounds of gender but not on race.

Unless, as I said earlier, the club is small i.e. lessthan 25 members.

Or, in some cases, if the club was genuinely set up to benefit some specific race, in which case, in can be legal to discriminate on racial grounds .... though not on grounds of colour.

So, there are exceptions but, generally, you're right, race cannot be used as a basis for discrimination in private clubs.